Hi fellows,

I'm thinking of taking an inexpensive, slightly beat up 12 ga sxs (currently have a Husqvarna and an older CZ), opening up one of the barrels to C or IC, installing rifle sights (with a flip down rear sight so I can wing shoot), maybe adding a recoil pad and lightening the triggers, and using it as a canoe gun. I like to float the Missouri for whitetails, pheasants, waterfowl. My idea is to use one barrel for slugs (pie plate accuracy at 60 yards seems reasonable.)

Is there any reason this should be more difficult than it sounds?

I've got an idea for a more expensive, but still economical cape gun. Buy a 12-gauge double and have Simmons Gun Shop (Kansas) replace one of the barrels with a 20 gage fully rifled barrel from ER Shaw. Put rifle sights on it, and sight it in for the 20 gauge barrel. Most likely the 12 gauge birdshot barrel will not hit exactly where the 20-gage barrel does, but no problem. Have Briley install an eccentric choke to regulate it to hit where the sights point. Actually this is a future project I would like to do. I have the barrel already, and am looking for a double to modify. May use a 10-gauge instead of a 12-gauge. I have a Thompson-Center TCR (hammerless-breakover-single-shot) with a custom 20-gauge fully rifled barrel. Outside conture is like their 10-gauge barrels, so it has thicker walls, and I think it would stand 20,000 psi. I had Rocky Mountain Cartridge make brass cases and have rifle type reloading dies for it, and a 720 grain bullet mold. It shoots them at 1,000 fps with very good accuracy. Pressure is very low, but the gun only weighs 8-1/2 pounds so recoil would be bad if I increased the velocity. I shoot deer with it using Wichester sabots with the .454 pistol bullets at 1,900 fps. It's good past 150 yards. My three longest shots for deer with it were at 196 yards, 185 yards, and I think 165 yards, measured with a loser rangefinder. The 20-gage Wichester sabots work REAL WELL! Anyway, if you're willing to spend more, you can have a reasonably inexpesive cape gun with a lot better rifled slug performance. You could even experiment with brass cases and rifle type bullets. - DON

Don,

Thanks a lot for the detailed info - you've really given me food for thought!

Clay

don't know what this cost you but I know a Husqvarna cape gun here in europe for 330 euro. 16 bore smoth and rifled barrel. one of this old swedish mouse guns with iron sigth's.

pwm - thank you, I would like to find a Husqvarna like that in the US. Vielen Dank auf jeden Fall.

CS

A modern double shotgun + rifle sights + this:
http://www.sauvestre.com/index_us.htm

Paul, that is very interesting. Where can these cartridges be purchased?

I have seen an add in either Shotgun News or Gunlist couple years ago. I don't know if they are still being imported. They were expensive costing about $20 for box of five.

have shot them some years ago, yes they are expensive, thinking it must be now 3$ or more for a round. Very accurate bullet and much power for a shotgun slug at 100 meter. this will be the future of the slug idea, no doubt.
Have their catalog somewhere and remeber a picture of a west african buffalo ( something smaller than a east african cape buffalo) shooting with 12 bore pumpgun and the 12/76 magnum load.

clayws, have you get my e-mail and found the Husquvarna cape gun?

pwm - Yes, thank you very much.

Friends All......There are many medium price doubles out there that would make up into an ideal boat, truck, etc gun. The 311's would be good.
Send the barrels up to Mike Orlen, have them cut back to about 22", threaded for Remington long choke tubes, mount sights for left barrel (rear trigger), sling, and go hunting.
Our Predator slug weighs 563 grs and is hard cast, heat treated........732" diameter and hollow base. The gun set up this way will work good for both large and smaller size shot, buckshot, and slugs in the barrel that's sighted in.........James