School me!

[RolinThundr]

I am really only familiar with shotguns in their HD role, so help me out a bit and teach me more- I picked up a job at a sporting goods store and anything you can contribute would help me better perform my job.

I know that O/U is popular for trap/clays, but what ammo is best for trap, clays, skeet shooting?

Which ammo & barrel lengths are best for...
Turkey?
Waterfowl?
Deer (I'm guessing Buckshot & Slugs)?

Anything else you think I might need to know please advise.
Thanks.

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Trap 7 1/2 & 8 shot. Skeet #9 shoot.
WaterFowl 30 to 42 inches. I like a long barrel for geese.
Turkey's 28 or 30 inches.
Deer I wouldn't use a shotgun. I would use a rifle 3030 .308 3006

[Fjold]

Barrel lengths are usually dependent upon what you type of shooting that you are doing. Longer barrels give you a longer sighting plane and a little more muzzle weight which gives you a smoother swing and follow through for pass shooting moving targets, like trap, straight flying birds etc. You see a lot of 28" or longer barrels on the trap fields and duck blinds. More important is the choke selection where the longer shots involved with pass shooting takes a full choke to maintain tighter patterns at the longer distances that this type of shooting takes.

Shorter barrels (22-24" or so) are usually used for jump shooting and closer, faster shots such as skeet, quail, pheasent, etc. This requires a faster mounting shotgun of lighter weight and more open chokes (skeet chokes, Improved cylinder up to modified) to give you a larger shot pattern to use on the closer, faster targets.

Turkeys are generally shot from a blind or sitting in camo (ambush type) at a small target (head and neck) where you have time to aim the shotgun. Generally people use an extra-full (Turkey) choke.

Clay targets are usually shot with small shot 7 1/2 or 8 for trap, 8 or 9 for skeet. For live birds the general rule is the bigger the bird and the further the distance the larger the shot size used. Pass shooting waterfowl will generally be shot with 2, T, TT, etc. sized shot (remember that waterfowl in almost all areas require non-lead shot such as steel, Bismuth, etc). Waterfowl shot over decoys (closer range) are shot with 2, 4 6, etc sized shot. Turkey are usually shot with 4-6 sized shot. Deer are usually shot with OOO buck or slugs. Slugs are generally shot through rifled choke tubes or Improved cylinder up to modified chokes. (full chokes usually distort the slugs by compressing them too much and it is much harder on the barrel to shove a slug through full choke.

[RolinThundr]

What are the different chokes and what purpose does each size serve?

[Fjold]

What are the different chokes and what purpose does each size serve?

http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-Shotgun-Shells-and-Chokes