Sould it be illegal to hunt with 8 gauge?

[J.B. Books]

The thought crossed my mind that currently many of the waterfowl restrictions for firearms have been relaxed for spring snow geese seasons; unplugged guns, use of electronic callers, no bag limits etc. Perhaps a petition could be made to USFWS to lift the gauge restriction as well.

[Ray Masciarella]

Pete, great idea! Isn't it ironic that the gun was outlawed for killing too much waterfowl and now the feds want us to kill every darn snow goose we see? Times have changed.

[Old and Reliable]

Tomorrow, 26th August, besides being one of my beloved daughter's birthday, is also the 90th. anniversary of the Right to Vote issue- More mis-information about duck hunting, a man's right to have a drink after a hard 8 hrs. at Bethlehem Steel or Russell, Birdsell & Ward, and the general anti-hunting anti-whatever they don't understand movements have come from that, IMO.

I shot a Churchill 8 ga. with 34" barrels once, belongs to a brother PGCA member, and after that a 12 HE Super Fox feels light. If a man wants to use that two shot cannon and pay the price for non-toxic shot loads (a Fed reg that ain't ever gonna change, face it) and hire a small lad with a wheelbarrow to tote it for him, I say- Hell yes. If he wants to use a .410 for Turkeys or Geese, then as Col. Askins said, "better he should take up ping-pong"--

Two years ago this coming Winter- in our 30 day late Goose season, where we are allowed 5/day- a friend and I took our Mossenburghers- 835 Ulti-Mag pumps that take 3 and 3 & 1/2" shot, bought a box each of Federal BB steel- one box 3" the other 3 & 1/2" and flipped a coin, I lucked out and drew the 3" loads- we only took paired up shots at incoming birds at tree-top heights- we killed 7 birds, five stone cold dead in the air, two requiring a finishing shot or two- no difference we could see or advantage in using the 3 & 1/2" (ten ga. equiv) loads- dead is dead.

Sportsmanship afield and clean killing shots are not 100% dependent on gauge, it is the skill and experience level of the man behind the gun- I have no quarrel with the dove, quail and skeetists who love the .410, but like my mentor the late T. Nash Buckingham, believe it has no place in the realm of waterfowling.

I also agree with the analysis of the growing bunch of "antis"- they view ALL guns as being evil, and wouldn't know an 8 gauge if it bit them on the ying-yang!

[Dean Romig]

What about the 165,000 Canada Geese the state of New York plans to "euthanize"? Wouldn't "Death by 8-Gauge" be far more merciful and dignified for such a worthy target and table fare?

[Ray Masciarella]

Gentlemen, we just might be starting a movement here. I like Dean's idea! And we could give whatever we can't eat to those who are needy. Win-win for all.

[Paul Harm]

I think [ and could be wrong ] it's Federal law about migratory game birds. As far as hunting anything else with a shotgun in Michigan there is no law about gauge size. Probably the same for any other state - their own rules apply. Paul

[charlie cleveland]

the 8 gauge is legal to hunt with in mississippi... except migortory birds....its a great turkey gun also does well on deer with buckshot.... also a good long range gun on those peskey crows.....charlie

[Milton Starr]

Now i havnt read all the pages of this thread but this what i think

The 8 ga was outlawed because wtih LEAD shot and a open choke like a modified and large 3 oz loads killed many many ducks so they made them laws of 1918 around lead shot basically .butr since lead has been outlawed the 8 ga shoul be reinstated it's only fair .Because a 8 ga with steel shot will not o what them old lead shot loads from 70 years back wold do .And in most states you can unt turkey or other game with a 8ga, im from Ga and we dont have a maximum gauge we have a minimal gauge 20 ga for big game deer,turkey,bear etc .

[Old and Reliable]

Brother Paul Harm is right as far as Michigan regs are concerned- it is the Federal reg. that outlawed the 8 gauge gun. Apples to eggplants here- but you can legally use the big "Super-8" on any legal non-migratory game bird in proper season here, you can also use a scoped .300 Win. Magnum rifle for squirrels and rabbits or varmints and vermin, even in the "shotgun only" deer hunting area known as Zone Three by our DNR.

I think an element of practicality might enter the picture. There may have been a few 10 ga. repeaters (the Winchester lever action shotguns) back around 1895-1920, but the 8 gauge shotguns were basically either a single or a double barrel gun- so let's say, for the sake of spirited discussion, a Chesapeake Bay market hunter who added to his income during the waterfowling season used an 8- open choked and with "St. Ouis 3's" lead shot-not cheap to shoot, even reloading- he guides a client who has a Win. M1897 pump- 6-7 shots, shells way cheaper than his 8 ga., easier gun to handle--durable, good pointing for that style of shooting-

What was the national waterfowling picture in 1912-13 when the Weeks Mclean bill passed and the 8 gauge was banned? By then the M 1897, the Browning A-5, some with ten shot extensions, were in usage by market hunters, and the Model 12 was right around the corner- From reading Nash Buckingham's write-up, I guess many of the 8 and 10 bores were used by sportsmen, some of whom (possibly like Nash and his friend Eltinge Warner) wanted to see repeaters banned for waterfowling)--

Today with the National situation as I surmise it: Iraq, Afghanistan, ?? about the economy, the BP Gulf disaster, and the list goes on- to correct a possible error made back in 1912 to allow a small % of the duck hunting fraternity free choice in the gauge and type of weapon they might wish to use- sorry Boys, I am all for the 8 gauge for those who own them and want to use them, any more than a fine Hammer Parker 10 bore or any other vintage firearm that recalls the "good old days" to some of us- But I just don't see it happening.

But rest assured- if I should come across a brother waterfowler in some secluded spot using a 8 ga., even with lead loads- his secret will be safe with me- Maybe he'll have the good taste to be using a Parker!!

[Milton Starr]

could get rocky mountain to headstamp 8 ga hulls with 10 ga . since most people havnt seen a 10 ga even modern they (game warden) we say okay your free . it's no worse than people using a 12 ga and taking 3-5 shots to kill a bird