doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 8g hand loading knowledge bank

Mike - I believe it is a state-by-state thing. Like in Alabama, it is illegal to hunt turkeys with anything larger than a 10 gauge in virginia, but in Maryland the regulations do not restrict the gauge, just the number of shells in the gun and the shot size.

I hate to try taking and bringing that monster through security and customs here and there. It would be worth the hassle just one time to put it to work in he field.

If anyone is interested in 8 gauge hulls, primed or not primed, a friend has quite a few that he is parting out. I believe the hulls are Remington. The minimum he will sell is 50.
You can contact him at eightbore@hotmail.com for pricing.

Regrettably, not in Victoria or other states for game ie ducks and quail. No such restriction for pest animals. A shame really: ducks shot on the wing inside a bag limit won't know the difference if they were shot with ratshot from a .22 or BBs from a 4 bore.
When I was growing up, we used to have black swans eat emerging oat, wheat and other crops; Dad used to shoot at them with a .22 - not legally, but farmers did what they had to do on private land to protect their livelihood. Oh for a 8 bore back then!

From what I can decipher in the regs, one can use an 8 ga for everything but waterfowl in Idaho as long as the case is not more than 3.5" in length.

I'd need to look into it a bit more in depth, before the above statement is taken as gospel.

Still O.K. to hunt ducks and geese; in fact anything, with an 8 here in the U.K. . Just have to use non-lead shot in England and Wales for waterfowl but lead still O.K. for anything in Scotland if not over wetlands.

What powders do you have available to you? I have information for American Alliant/Hercules Blue Dot, French Vectan AO and British Nobel 82. Don't know what components are available to you in Australia. I will help if I can. Did you chase up that lead to the 8 bore loading book I sent you? Lagopus.....

It's nice to see that the Scots have taken a common sense approach to the lead shot deal, i.e., no lead shot, but only over wetlands. I could easily accept that concession regarding the great lead scare, but for it to be illegal here to shoot a duck or a goose flying over a grain field where you happen also to be hunting other legal birds is absolutely ridiculous!! As someone said earlier, the dead birds in the bag don't know the difference as to what they were shot with!!

I'll agree with that Perry as at a pheasant shoot ducks may come over and changing cartridges without changing position seems a bit pointless.

Don't agree with the bit about Scottish common sense since they had their own parliament. They have now taken the move to require a certificate in order to hold a low power air rifle. They will only issue certificates for vermin control and proper target shooting on ranges. Use one to plink at tin cans in the garden and it's off to court. Odd that I can take my rifle to Scotland to shoot deer but would have to get a special visitor's permit to take an air rifle to shoot rats. Since having their own parliament they have come up with some weird legislation. And don't even think of carrying a knife. O.K. to carry one when out deer stalking but don't think of calling in at the shop on your way to or from. Lagopus.....

Someone I know has a photocopy of the Douglas McDougall book; at the price, I won't be buying a legitimate copy!
ADI powders are the generally most available here; some are sold elsewhere as Hodgdon powders. At the moment I'm using BP, as mine's BP proofed, but some lower pressure smokeless loads might be good for case life.

8 gauges have been legal for turkeys in Georgia and South Carolina. I took a turkey with a Parker 8 gauge and it was a very memorable hunt.