long range guns

Posted by charlie cleveland on July 3, 2012, 11:16 am
66.211.114.250

i am very interested in determing if the lc smith longrange 3 inch guns were capable of what was claimed by the smith people that the guns were capable of killing duck and geese at the 70 and 80 yard range.... i have a 3 inch longrange but the barrels are bored modified...they will not give good patterns beyond 50 yards... was wondering if some of the guys that own and hunt with the 3 inch guns would give us a little insight on what they think is the true range of these guns... charlie

Re: long range guns

Posted by charlie cleveland on July 6, 2012, 11:32 am, in reply to "long range guns"
66.211.114.250

dont guess nobody hunts with there long range guns... charlie

Re: long range guns

Posted by jimmyd on July 6, 2012, 1:19 pm, in reply to "Re: long range guns"
71.176.47.33

I have several long range & wild fowl guns. I've never hunted with them, but they do a great job around the holiday turkey shoots. I've only shot light or target loads out of them. I really need to get the pattern board out and see if they really live up to their bragging rights. I'm sure if that special choke that they used will throw a long tight patteren. If it ever cools off I'll do some testing out at the shooting range and I'll post the results.

Re: long range guns

Posted by Skip Dunlap on July 8, 2012, 10:31 am, in reply to "Re: long range guns"
166.251.222.13

Charlie I have a Specialty Grade long range 3" with 32 " tubes choked Full & OMG Full. I do hunt ducks & Geese with it on my farm in WV. I shoot 2&3/4" heavy shot thru it with no adverse effects. I'm not one to "sky bust" geese as most shooting is passing shots. I have killed ducks & geese many times outside 55 yards with #2 & BB shot. I don't remember shooting at any at over 70 yard, not that the gun won't do it, I just don't think it is a high % shot or one that is really ethical. No one likes to have crippled birds, it's such a waste. I'll try it on a pattern board and let you know what it does. You can see what it has done by looking at hunting with a Smith on this web site.

Re: long range guns

Posted by Gary D. on July 8, 2012, 2:58 pm, in reply to "Re: long range guns"
199.89.180.254

I use mine religiously, and while I don't as a rule take long shots, there have been occasions when I brought down birds (wounded by my steel shot slinging brethren) that were getting away. I'm sort of the default 'go-to guy' for hail mary shots in that situation. Much more often than not the Smith comes through. (I try and try to convince them to switch to Smith guns and non-steel shot, for they are pretty good shots as a rule. )

Re: long range guns

Posted by Tom Salzer on July 8, 2012, 7:07 pm, in reply to "long range guns"
173.48.189.57

I have Long Range and Wildfowl guns chambered for both 2.75 and 3.00 inch shells and have not found any difference between these guns and normally barreled and choked Smiths. I have looked for a difference with a barrel micrometer and on a pattern board. I know that some guns were specially bored to be more effective at long range, but suspect that not all the long range marked Smiths received the "special" treatment.

Re: long range guns

Posted by charlie cleveland on July 9, 2012, 10:09 am, in reply to "long range guns"
66.211.114.250

i wish i had a few more long range guns to test on the 70 and 80 yard shots...i do believe these guns were capable of a killing shot at least to the 70 yard line...this i know for fact...i have a 10 ga hammerless lc smith with 32 inch barrels choked tight full both barrels...i set up a target at 70 steps a paper plate used as target it being 8 3/4 inch in diamter...the shells used were the old remington paper hull green long range express loads... they were 4 3/4 dram 1 5/8 loads of no 5 chilled lead shot as all know this old loading does not carrythe new plastic wadding... ok i loaded the gun and shot the target there was 9 hits in the target at 70 long steps pretty good for no filler or shot collier...i fired several more rounds and the average no of hits in the taret stayed at about 9 hits... i then put some gage mate adaptors in the old 10 to reduce it to 12 ga i then run several winchester and remington turkey loads thru the old ten...now these were 3 inch 1 7/8 ounce of no 5 s..these loadsperformed better than the old 10 ga remington express loads...there was an average of 15 hits to the target the paper plate... these 3 inch 12 ga loads performed better but these were premium loads...back to my first load..these old remington express loads i was shooting were made sometimes in the early 1940 s by then the 12 ga loads in a 3 inch gun were also 1 5/8 ounce.. so in my opinion i think the longrange 3 inch guns were capable of killing at the 70 yard mark and killing cleanly... because 9 hits of no 5 lead shot would certainly bring down a large duck and it not be a cripple...this is my opinion of the longrange guns in 3 inch..but to make it a fact some of you boys gonna have to shoot your full choke guns at 70 steps or yards using no 4 5 or no 6 shot...hope somebody has some of the old loads that did not have the plastic wadding to prove that these old longrange guns could kill at this range...i toosuspect not all longe range guns got the special choking... hope someone trys this paper plate shot at 70 yards or steps very soon... charlie

Re: long range guns

Posted by jimmyd on July 9, 2012, 1:20 pm, in reply to "Re: long range guns"
71.176.47.33

Charlie, I think one thing we all need to take in consideration is the difference between today's legal waterfowl shot VS the "good 'ol days" of lead shot. I was lucky enough to have hunted in the 60's & 70's on the eastern shore of Maryland & Delaware. Duck & Goose hunting was as better then as it ever will be and there is just no substitution for lead shot. I don't care what you put into a Smith or Browning it will never have the killing power & distance that lead delivers.

Re: long range guns

Posted by charlie cleveland on July 9, 2012, 7:25 pm, in reply to "Re: long range guns"
66.211.114.250

jimmy what im trying to find outif for sure these guns will kill ducks or geese cleanly at 70 yards...by shooting loads that were made for them the first bunch of shells i shot were of the late 30 s or nor later than early 40 s...this was a 10 ga but a 12 ga with the 1 3/8 oz load or the 1 5/8 ounce load should shoot as well as my 10 ga loads of yester year of 1 5/8 oz the old ten will put on average 9 hits of no 5 lead at 70 long steps in a 8 3/4 inch circle which should be about like a large duck...i too grew up shooting in the late 50. and 60 s shot my share of everthing...but i do believe the 3 inch long range guns with tight chokes will kill a duckeven now with the hevi shot loads...they pattern bettern than any lead load ive ever shot and retain more energy down range than lead shot but they are sure more costly than lead.... charlie

Re: long range guns

Posted by MarketHunter on July 11, 2012, 12:51 pm, in reply to "Re: long range guns"
98.224.238.92

Jimmy I've got to say you're absolutely wrong about none of the modern substitutes being as good as lead. I've done extensive field testing at long and short range with the Kent Tungsten Matrix shells and they will kill just as far just as dead as anything loaded with lead. And in the HeavyShot line, I've seen amazing long range work done with it though I've never used it personally. I'm not talking HeavyShot Classic Doubles, I'm talking about the regular HeavyShot. And NiceShot is just as deadly when loaded right. My friend Russ Bickel (now passed away) had a tremendous 1 3/8 loading he used that would kill a duck graveyard dead at 70 yards if the man behind the gun was doing his part. And Russ could do it, more than nearly anybody I ever saw. Destry

Re: long range guns

Posted by Dick Miller on July 11, 2012, 5:45 pm, in reply to "Re: long range guns"
96.228.92.184

Jimmy, My experience mirrors yours, including spending many days in the blind on the Eastern Shore of Maryland during the twilight years of lead and the advent of the steel mandate. Steel (the early version) almost made me give up waterfowl hunting, but I persevered with the various "improvements"---then Hevi-shot came along. Since I started using it in the 3" version, in the same shot size that I formerly used in lead, I can say without reservation that it is, at least, as effective as the old lead loads. I am continually amazed when we bag a limit of birds, both ducks and geese, and rarely have a cripple. Granted, all in my group are experienced waterfowlers and seldom take extreme shots, but the fact remains that, IMHO, lead has met it's match in Hevi-shot. I couldn't agree with Destry's statement more---