are shotguns getting less popular than ar's and ak's?

[evlblkrfl]

Don't know what you're talking about. I just picked up my 4th 12 gauge. My wife and I shoot 12 gauge all day and don't have any problems. Slugs,buck,trap loads,etc. Different strokes I guess.

[klewan]

This would be one of the problems with shotguns, and it's not the fault of the shotgun... it's operator error, kind of.

If the shotgun does not fit you, it will beat you up.
If you do not mount the shotgun correctly, it will beat you up.

I saw a guy at the range the other day put a 5 round box of slugs through his KSG and he was done. Of course he was also shooting it off of a sandbag on the bench for some insane reason and as a result he probably looked like someone repeatedly hit him in the shoulder with a baseball bat the next day. klewan, you're right about the recoil, but you're missing the point that you can fudge it with a 5.56 rifle, and can even get away with being sloppy with a .30-06, you can't halfass a 12g. Hell, even a bad fit and mount with an autoloader can leave you feeling like your shoulder was just used as a punching bag.

What I see a lot of, is people buying a random shotgun, not putting in any consideration to fit(or understanding what that means) or not knowing how to mount the thing properly, and beating themselves up with it. Yet you have plenty of other people who can shoot 200 rounds out of an O/U in a single day and not have a mark on their shoulder. The difference? Fit and mount. But this is a correctable issue, you just need someone to explain it(and be willing to pay attention). There are norcal and socal skeet clinics posted in the shotgun forum, go to one if you get the chance.

The other issue I've observed with shotguns, is people getting bored with them. There are a lot of people who go buy a shotgun, bolt some crap to it, take it to the local indoor range, turn some paper targets into confetti and that's the end of it. They might try to take it out to shoot some clay sports, but unfortunately some fields will tell them "No, your barrel is too short" because they have a 20" barrel instead of a 28", and since some replacement barrels cost almost as much as the gun... it goes back into the closet. A year or two later they see some new crap they can bolt onto it, shred some paper targets, and then put it back in the closet. Even if the local fields do allow them to use their shorter barreled shotguns, some people simply have no idea where to start and with nothing obvious they just shrug and go back to shooting something else.

12g beats you up. It can do a more effective job if there are any fit problems, but the nature of the beast is it beats you up. Some of you peeps enjoy getting beat up, not me.

All those recoil reducing 12g guns out there, are there for a reason. 12g beats you up. The only time you should be shooting a 12g is when you can target fixate on the clay pigeon or the peep that just broke into your house. Otherwise it's not something you'd look forward to getting beat up by...12g beats you up.

[Merc1138]

12g beats you up. It can do a more effective job if there are any fit problems, but the nature of the beast is it beats you up. Some of you peeps enjoy getting beat up, not me.

All those recoil reducing 12g guns out there, are there for a reason. 12g beats you up. The only time you should be shooting a 12g is when you can target fixate on the clay pigeon or the peep that just broke into your house. Otherwise it's not something you'd look forward to getting beat up by...12g beats you up.

No, it doesn't beat you up when it fits right and when you mount it correctly. Those olympic shooters aren't going home with bruises because their guns fit, not because they have some recoil gimmick built into their $50,000 O/U's.

The fact is that most shotguns on the shelf are made to fit the generic human being, typically a male around 5'10 and 190 pounds. If you don't fit those specifications(or even shape really), then you're going to get beat up.

There was a guy who recently met Kim Rhode. http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1041538

In that thread, he states that Kim claimed to go through $800 worth of shot and clays every day. Do you really think she's beating herself black and blue daily? You mentioned putting a whopping 8 rounds through a shotgun and ending up black and blue, what do you think $800 worth of clays and shells would do to your shoulder on a daily basis, if you didn't mount it correctly and it didn't fit right?

My O/U has nothing more than a crap thin rubber pad, yet doesn't beat me up or leave so much as a mark after a 100 rounds. Because it fits, and I know where to mount it.

You could take a 20g mount it wrong, and get beat up worse than a properly fitting 12g mounted correctly.

Now yes, there are recoil reducing mechanisms, but those do a heck of a lot more work when you're shooting 3.5" 2oz shells, which tend to have a hell of a lot more kick than your typical 2.75" 1-1/8oz loads.

edit: Now there are definitely people who have shoulder problems that recoil could be a problem for. There are also people who weigh 90 pounds soaking wet and could probably use some lighter shells. But those are the exceptions. Most of the time, it's people not mounting it right, or never taking fit into account. If I were a betting man, if you got some proper instruction for mount and adjustments for it, you wouldn't be finding your shoulder black and blue after 8 shells. You'll notice in all of the discussions about the norcal and socal skeet clinics in the shotgun forum "oh man, my shoulder was black and blue" isn't something regularly brought up.

[SloChicken]

They don't enjoy getting plastered by the recoil; typical 12g has 30lbs of recoil energy. A 30-06 has 20, and that is about the practical limit for most peeps to shoot and not develop a major league flinch....I put 8 rounds thru my neighbors 12g over under; next morning I'm standing in front of the bathroom mirror after my shower and have a green, black, blue, purple, bruise on my shoulder the size of a dollar bill. No thanks...

12g beats you up. It can do a more effective job if there are any fit problems, but the nature of the beast is it beats you up. Some of you peeps enjoy getting beat up, not me.

All those recoil reducing 12g guns out there, are there for a reason. 12g beats you up. The only time you should be shooting a 12g is when you can target fixate on the clay pigeon or the peep that just broke into your house. Otherwise it's not something you'd look forward to getting beat up by...12g beats you up.

And so goes the sissification of America ...
Workstations and remote controls ...

I haven't ever even given a second thought to shooting any of my shotguns. As a matter of fact I love going for a good day of slug shooting or skeet/trap.
I think nothing of putting a couple hundred rounds through one.
There are times when I come home and have some striping on my shoulder, but I have never so much as thought of it as a bother. Rather a reminder of a great time.
Much as I end up with a couple of bumps or bruises after a weekend at the desert on my dirt bike. Never problem one with any of this. Some of us like it like that ...

Besides.

[essjay]

I put 8 rounds thru my neighbors 12g over under; next morning I'm standing in front of the bathroom mirror after my shower and have a green, black, blue, purple, bruise on my shoulder the size of a dollar bill. No thanks...

I put 75-100 rounds through my Mossberg 500 in a sitting, and that never happens. You sure you had it shouldered properly?

[Thefeeder]

><

Here are two good reads....it also applies to all shooters of shotguns , and rifles...yes, I said rifles. Recoil is not what matters ..... its felt recoil that matters.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=286474

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/guns/shotguns/shooting-tips/2012/03/how-fix-your-kids-bad-shotgunning-habits

[ramathorn]

I didn't fully appreciate the shotgun until a took a 4-day class. Now i understand what its capable of and am not turned off by the recoil. Its probably one of the most versatile and devastating weapons you can bring to a gun fight. Why aren't they so popular? Like the other guy said, Hollywood and weapons-bans give rifles all of the attention.

[GW]

No, it doesn't beat you up when it fits right and when you mount it correctly. Those olympic shooters aren't going home with bruises because their guns fit, not because they have some recoil gimmick built into their $50,000 O/U's.

The fact is that most shotguns on the shelf are made to fit the generic human being, typically a male around 5'10 and 190 pounds. If you don't fit those specifications(or even shape really), then you're going to get beat up.

There was a guy who recently met Kim Rhode. http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s....php?t=1041538

In that thread, he states that Kim claimed to go through $800 worth of shot and clays every day. Do you really think she's beating herself black and blue daily? You mentioned putting a whopping 8 rounds through a shotgun and ending up black and blue, what do you think $800 worth of clays and shells would do to your shoulder on a daily basis, if you didn't mount it correctly and it didn't fit right?

My O/U has nothing more than a crap thin rubber pad, yet doesn't beat me up or leave so much as a mark after a 100 rounds. Because it fits, and I know where to mount it.

You could take a 20g mount it wrong, and get beat up worse than a properly fitting 12g mounted correctly.

Now yes, there are recoil reducing mechanisms, but those do a heck of a lot more work when you're shooting 3.5" 2oz shells, which tend to have a hell of a lot more kick than your typical 2.75" 1-1/8oz loads.

edit: Now there are definitely people who have shoulder problems that recoil could be a problem for. There are also people who weigh 90 pounds soaking wet and could probably use some lighter shells. But those are the exceptions. Most of the time, it's people not mounting it right, or never taking fit into account. If I were a betting man, if you got some proper instruction for mount and adjustments for it, you wouldn't be finding your shoulder black and blue after 8 shells. You'll notice in all of the discussions about the norcal and socal skeet clinics in the shotgun forum "oh man, my shoulder was black and blue" isn't something regularly brought up.

Well said, sir!

[FourTenJaeger]

Agreed.

Check out my new shotgun! (Insert stock photo here)

Kind of how I feel about AR threads.

[The Gleam]

I see two different purposes, though each can rise to the occasion of need that the other can do, when called upon.

This is like asking if sports-cars and motorcycles are becoming more popular than pick-up trucks and SUVs.

[CJJohn]

Another vote for fit and mount. When I take out the shotguns I tend to shoot a lot. AT least a couple of hundred rounds. I love my shotguns. I have semi's (Weatherby, Saiga) pumps (870, Mossberg 500) and even an old bolt action (OK... it hurts after a few). Growing up in Ohio I learned to hunt EVERYTHING with a shotgun. Deer were hunted with slugs, rabbits, squirrels, varmints, etc... all with shot shells. On the way out the door in a SHTF scenario you can bet there will be a shotgun with me.

[SuperSet]

http://www.statisticbrain.com/firearm-industry-statistics/

Average Annual Firearm Production (U.S.)
Weapon Production
*Number is the average produced yearly over the past 8 years
Rifle 1,425,500
Shotgun 777,125
Revolver 352,625
Pistol 889,125
Total Average Yearly Production 3,444,375

[Merc1138]

http://www.statisticbrain.com/firear...ry-statistics/

Average Annual Firearm Production (U.S.)
Weapon Production
*Number is the average produced yearly over the past 8 years
Rifle 1,425,500
Shotgun 777,125
Revolver 352,625
Pistol 889,125
Total Average Yearly Production 3,444,375

Umm, those numbers are way off. From 2013:
Pistols: 4,441,726
Revolvers: 725,282
Rifles: 3,979,570
Shotguns: 1,203,072
Misc: 495,142

https://www.atf.gov/sites/default/files/assets/statistics/AFMER/afmer_2013_final_web_report.pdf

That's just for firearms manufactured in the US. Unfortunately I can't find a more recent set of import statistics than 2011, but here are those
Shotguns: 529,056
Rifles: 998,072
Handguns: 1,725,276

https://www.atf.gov/files/publications/firearms/050412-firearms-commerce-in-the-us-annual-statistical-update-2012.pdf

The numbers you dug up on that website are so out of whack, they barely compare to the imports.

edit: Wait, found 2013 import numbers
Shotguns: 936,235
Rifles: 1,507,776
Handguns: 3,095,528

https://data.atf.gov/Commerce/Exhibit-3-Firearms-Imports-1986-2013-/64pa-cmxd

I know the statisticbrain page claims that's the average for the past 8 years, but the reality is that the averages for the past 2-3 years have been so high that looking at an 8 year average is meaningless.

[walterSOBCHAK]

I own one AR, several AKs, and multiple shotguns. The excitement wore off faster for me with the AR than all my other guns. I mean it's great for what it is. Shooting itty-bitty bullets accurately to moderate distances. Its more fun to shoot great big bullets in closer and do massive damage to inanimate objects.

I get bored with paper targets quickly unless it's defensive pistol practice. On the rare occasion I take the AR out, I gotta swing by the dollar tree and buy some melons and 2 liter soda bottles. Its honestly not worth shooting to me anymore, then I gotta clean it.

I never go out without taking a shotgun. I'm a recoil junky, I actually enjoy the battering. Maybe that's why the AR is dull to me. Just feels like a tiny pew-pew gun. Never shoot my 22s either, got like 2000 rounds getting dusty in the closet.

[far from tactical]

I would like to add another shotgun to my collection .. I have a 930 spx and a 500 Blackwater edition would like to get a 870 or another mossberg but just don't want to deal with the fsc. I still got 2 more yrs on my hsc I guess I will Waite till that expires before buying a another rifle. Or shotgun