So why do *you* enjoy smoothbore shooting?

[dogfood]

Curious to see what people have to say. Maybe it's a simple question, or perhaps not so much. What is it about smoothbores that appeal to you (most)?
And how do they compare for you versus rifles?
For me, I like short range shooting and there's just something appealing about not having spin on a ball to aid it in getting it to the target.
I appreciate the input.
Cheers,
dgfd

 

[mushka]

I just like shooting the big .62 caliber ball, or shot out of the same gun. Just an enjoyable experience.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Shoot one, and the question will answer itself.

 

[Timber Wolf]

Because they are easier to clean.................. And it is a gas to see the accuracy you can get out of an unrifled bore.

 

[appalichian hunter]

The ability to shoot shot or ball out of the same gun. And as mentioned the big bore. Just something satisfying about sending a chunk of lead the size of a apple down range.

 

[smo]

Versatility...

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Same as above. I like being able to take it into the woods or field after small game, work up a load for spring gobbler and have a load for round ball for large game. Fear the man with one gun...or so the saying goes.

 

[tenngun]

The historic aspect is appealing. I like to play cowboys and Indians, dress up in funny clothes and pretend it’s an earlier time.
ive read the first known rifle builder in America was 1711 per tax records. So for about a century few if any american carried guns that were rifles. Until the F&I few rifles got out of Pennsylvania, Maryland and north Virginia.
Rifles boomed after that but( pun intended) but still smoothies stayed in style. Even through the MM period smoothies outnumber rifles in the guns sent west. Later on the Oregon trail you would have been hard pressed to find a wagon with out a smoothie.
And good lord but they be fun to shoot.
Plus when you hit you can tell your “ to shoot a smoothie you really have to get to know your gun and all the arcane knowledge that goes along with shooting them, any one can shoot a rifle but it takes dedication to shoot a smoothie” speech.
When you miss you get to say “what did you expect? It’s a smoothie after all, your lucky to hit a bar side from the inside” speech.
Best of both worlds

 

[oldwood]

I've never built a smooth "rifle". Have used and shot .72 ,.75's , .69's , smooth bore muskets , all big calibers. Guess it's mostly a bucket list item for me to experience a smooth long rifle. Most of the deer I shoot now a days are w/in 30 yds. , well in the effective distance of a smaller cal. smooth bore longrifle. Had I not come into the ownership of a supposedly useless " bent" .54 cal. smooth bore barrel , the project might not happened. The barrel was sitting in a dusty corner of a friends shop for years unnoticed 'til retirement from the stock shaping business prompted a cleanup. Took it home , determined the last 5" muzzle end of the 44" tube , were at fault. Amputated the miscreant metal , screwed in a breech plug , all looks like a go. Dug an incredible piece of crotch grain walnut , early Lancaster precarved , but lacking enough wood to make a full length 39" forearm due to a terminal knot located at the r/r hole entrance . Found a precarved walnut forearm long enough to splice onto the rest of the project. This pile of pieces will make into a usable .54 cal. smooth "rifle" . Couple months of spare time , and to the range. ..........oldwood

 

[Wheat17]

I enjoy the utility of smoothbore.

 

[B P Maniac Shooter]

What is it about smoothbores that appeal to you (most)?

Shooting almost anything out of it:

 

[user 49399]

What all them good folks done said

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I love to shoot my smoothbore because it is an accurate rendition of an English fowler so it handles and shoots extremely well. The 20 gauge barrel is light and I balanced the gun well so it feels lively in my hands and weighs only 6.5 lbs. It fits me perfectly so when my cheek rests on the stock, my eyes are instantly lined up with the wide sighting groove on the humped standing breech and the front sight. Out to 65 yards, it hits what I aim at with a patched round ball and is good to 35 yards or so with shot for birds. The lock always flashes the powder and ignition is very fast. When I switch to shooting one of my rifles, they always seem heavy and much less lively in comparison.

dave

 

[Art Caputo]

I really enjoy shotgunning for small game with a smooth-bore, and consider shooting a LRB in the same fowler a matter of versatility/convenience if conditions require it. . Given the choice I will always pick a rifle for shooting solid projectiles. Primarily due to accuracy and a preference for rifle design.

 

[stank]

I’m mainly a hunter. A smooth bore is a bit more primitive and I like the challenge. I also shoot all wood self bows and hunt with flint heads. I just like the challenge

 

[Feltwad]

Here in the UK things are total different to those in the States where the muzzle loading smoothbore shotgun in flint and percussion is the most used . This type covers a larger field such has wildfowling , game shooting , Pest control and clay shooting where has the rifle is mainly restricted to the range it also includes the shooting of Deer and others with a rifle or a single round ball from a shotgun is not allowed.
Feltwad

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

What is it about smoothbores that appeal to you (most)?

The same reason I shoot flintlocks exclusively, the historical challenge and skill required to be proficient with my smoothie of choice, NWTG.

If it was easy, everybody would be doin it.

 

[Maven]

What apprentice build said + my NWTG was truly a challenge to "accurate" shooting and still is, especially out to 50 yd. Moreover, the gun needed some TLC when I got it (reducing trigger pull, squaring the muzzle/removing minor dings to the crown), but it is one of my favorites to shoot. Btw, the lack of a rear sight has never bothered me and only adds to the challenge of shooting for accuracy.

 

[dogfood]

Here in the UK things are total different to those in the States where the muzzle loading smoothbore shotgun in flint and percussion is the most used . This type covers a larger field such has wildfowling , game shooting , Pest control and clay shooting where has the rifle is mainly restricted to the range it also includes the shooting of Deer and others with a rifle or a single round ball from a shotgun is not allowed.
Feltwad

Yank question for you, if you don't mind:
Is shooting a single projectile out of a smoothbore *always* illegal, or would it be permissable to dedicate a smoothbore to single projectile shooting and register it as a rifle?
Having lived in Canada, where gun laws are somewhere between the UK and the US, seeing how/why a country implements what restrictions is always interesting to me.
Thanks,
dgfd

 

[Billy Boy]

I just like shooting the big .62 caliber ball, or shot out of the same gun. Just an enjoyable experience.

When I was a baby my grandpa dropped a tennis ball on my foot then grandma’s 16# green and black Brunswick bowling ball on the other. He asked me which hurt worse. I have been a large bore fan ever since..