Rifled Shotgun Barrel Legal

While hunting snails were originally developed for the convenience of the hunter who already owned a shotgun and did not want to buy a rifle to hunt game, densely populated areas today allow big game hunting only with shotguns. The limited range of the slow, heavy snail – even a sabotaged snail – compared to a bullet provides a safety advantage by limiting the maximum range. Although buckshot is capable of catching game-sized game, it is only effective at close range, usually less than 50 yards (46 meters). A properly selected gun and screw load can increase the range to 150 yards (137 meters) or more. While most rifled rifle barrels work best with shoe screws, which are a single projectile with a diameter smaller than the bore enclosed in a fiber or plastic shell designed to activate the barrel rifle to rotate and stabilize the projectile, but then detach from the projectile as it leaves the muzzle, some shooters report successfully firing standard Foster snails through their rifled shotgun barrels. A barrel is usually a bit cheaper than a full gun, and removing and installing shotgun barrels is almost always a 5-minute job with modern shotguns. So, you can use your smoothbore barrel to hunt turkeys, ducks, geese or highland game, and then install your rifled rifle barrel to hunt deer-sized game. In a logical world, the legal length for rifles and barrels would be the same. Unfortunately, government agencies do not operate in logical worlds. It`s a bit reminiscent of host Drew Carey`s introduction to Whose Line Is it Anyway? in which he says: “Everything is invented and the dots don`t matter!” Like many questions about weapons today, the answer to these questions is a bit more complicated than it seems at first glance.

In general, shotgun barrels are what is called a “smooth tube,” meaning they are essentially metal tubes with a smooth, undrawn surface inside. Thus, most shotgun barrels are not fired. However, there are exceptions. Many people can only afford to buy a hunting gun, or they live in very restrictive jurisdictions where buying an additional firearm is a big deal. For these people, a smoothbore shotgun with an additional rifled barrel may be a “one gun for all seasons” option. Welcome to the wonderful world of legal definitions as defined by the government! Through the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, firearms that fall below certain barrel or total length requirements are called “short-barreled shotguns” (SBS) or “short-barreled shotguns” (SBR). When a firearm is considered an SBS or SBR, it is subject to stricter regulation than other types of firearms. In the discussion of the third type of ammunition (snails), rifled shotgun barrels come into play. In some states and jurisdictions, the use of a traditional rifle for hunting is illegal, but the use of a shotgun is not, even if the barrel of the shotgun is fired. For example, gun manufacturers have developed “worm cannons” for their popular models of shotguns, which are intended exclusively for use in shooting Foster snails or Sabot snails. You can find more information about these types of projectiles in our article “Shotgun Ammo 101”. As we discuss in our article “The Origins of the Shotgun”, shotguns were originally called “poultry pieces” and were intended for hunting birds.

Read our article “Shotgun Ammunition 101” to learn more about the three basic types of shotgun ammunition (shot, shot and snails). If you decide to try it, make sure your run goes ahead and keeps your hole clean. Foster slugs are quite soft, and although they are called “striped slugs”, they are designed to be fired through smooth shotgun barrels and are aerodynamically stabilized by the thin skirts and heavy front part of the snail, much like a badminton shuttlecock. (The angular “rifles” on the sides of a Foster snail do not give the projectile rotation, but are intended to allow the snail to safely infiltrate when fired through a restricted shotgun robe.) A shotgun barrel must be at least 18 inches long, as described in the NFA.