First firearm for hunting

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Originally Posted by loliveros

Thanks again for all the valuable advice. I am once again taken aback by how welcoming the community is here.

I finally purchased my first shotgun, a Mossberg 500 12ga with a smoothbore and a rifled barrel. I have yet to take it shooting but I am pleased with how it fits me thus far.

On to my next question! Now that I have my first shotgun, what do you recommend I also get out of the way? I mean both in regard to maintaining the firearms, as well as what groups to become a member of, insurance, etc.

Looking forward to all your replies!

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I strongly recommend a membership with OFAH. There's insurance that comes with membership and you may purchase extra covverage if or when the need arises. As for cleaning kits,they don't need to be extra eleaborate. Even a basic kit from Canadian Tire will do an excellent job. You may want to add a good gun vice that sits on a table top for easy cleaning access. Canadian Tire is also excellent for hunting clothing,back packs and camping gear. Warm and dry are the by-words for fun and comfort in the field. You don't have to spend a fortune.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by loliveros

Thanks again for all the valuable advice. I am once again taken aback by how welcoming the community is here.

I finally purchased my first shotgun, a Mossberg 500 12ga with a smoothbore and a rifled barrel. I have yet to take it shooting but I am pleased with how it fits me thus far.

On to my next question! Now that I have my first shotgun, what do you recommend I also get out of the way? I mean both in regard to maintaining the firearms, as well as what groups to become a member of, insurance, etc.

Looking forward to all your replies!

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Congrats!

-A cleaning kit
A good knife - No one ever regretted a Buck 110 folder as a do all hunting knife.....
-Dont worry about camo gear at this point. Focus on versatility and warmth. Any earth tone stuff is fine
-OFAH for insurance. Covers any outdoor activity related to hunting/fishing
-G96 gun cleaner
-Comfortable sling
-Sabot slugs are very expensive, try out Challengers or Winchester Rackmasters. They are designed to shoot out of either smooth bore or rifles barrels and if they perform well in your gun will save you a lot of money

For Sabots try a few brands sometimes there can be large differences in performance.

Both my Mossbergs 535 (almost the sames as the 500 but can take 3.5 inch) and the Mossy 835 (Which is bored out like a 10 guage.) like the Federal Blue box sabots the best followed by the Winchester almost as good, Federal Premiums not bad but the Horandy they hate and are all over the map so bad that I thought something was wrong with my barrel.

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Originally Posted by loliveros

Hi all,

I just passed my CFSC and am working on my OHEP. I have never hunted before, and have very limited experience with firearms. I wanted to know what sort of firearm you would recommend to start out. I was thinking I would start by hunting quail and other smaller animals.

Any direction you could provide would be appreciated.

Thank you.

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A nice light weight single barrel shotgun, would be good place to start for what you intend to hunt They are simple and uncomplicated in terms of maintenance. You are more likely to develop your shooting that way, in terms of lead and follow through. You can always pick up a repeating firearm later on after you have developed your shooting skills. Its probably best to go with a 20 or 12 gauge, normally either will come with 3 inch chambering so you have the flexibility of using 2 3/4 of 3 inch ammunition. Unfortunately a lot of singles are fully coked, where you might have better success with a modified or improved cylinder choking. The add advantage of a single over a repeater is you're less likely to shoot at game that is out of range, wasting ammunition.

You don't stop hunting because you grow old. You grow old because you stop hunting.
- Gun Nut