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Can a shotgun be too light ?

Sure, light guns are great to tote in the field, but most shoot better with a little weight in their hands. Light guns tend to handle “whippy” and can be moved too fast or on the other extreme, they are easier to stop one’s swing and follow through the shot. But shotgunning is much about feel, so what doesn’t work for one might be just the thing for another. If you find one that works for you, hold on to it regardless of weight!

YES! As Chocolatepossum said. Also recoil and getting on second targets. You will shoot a heavier gun better, but what that heavier gun is may not be the same for you and I.

Shotgun weight is a personal thing. On Game I shoot a light gun very well. Most of my hunting is over pointers so most of the action is in close plus I believe my light gun gives me a 5-10 yard advantage over a person shooting a heavier gun. I did spend a lot of time shooting low gun int. skeet which speeds me up a little.

5 lb 15 oz 12ga sxs that is lightning fast, 1 oz of 6's is perfect.


My clays guns I like a little heavier just for the recoil aspect of shooting long strings 50-200 birds at a day on the range.

That looks a lot like a Model 23 Winchester I have...

90% of my shotgunning is/was at clays.

I never really weighed the shotgun or compared weights - but I definitely prefer more weight in the forward hand.

Could be, but I know some who shoot light upland guns better than good. I have a Ithaca 37 28gauge that goes around 5.5. For point and shoot upland game…Grouse, Woodcock and Pheasants….it isn’t a handicap. It has a slight forward balance.

A Model 59 12 gauge at 6 pounds and a little butt heavy also isn’t a handicap in the uplands. Far from it.

What’s being shot at often has much to do with an ideal weight.

Have recently purchased a TriStar Viper G2 bronze select 28 gauge. Brought it home on a patterning board. Shimmed the stock to liken . Last weekend shot it on the skeet field for the first time also shot the highest ski scores I ever have in my life. It is also the lightest gun I have ever shot.

so back to the op's question, can it be (too) light.
yes.
many makers push the envelope to achieve a light gun to appeal to a consumer. the issue is, how many of those light guns will fail if the owners exceed their limits by using over charged loads in one? remember the armalite shotgun at 5lbs back in the day? it was a crack-a-holic.
bad designs to guns yet to be proven over time, can surface.
sure...a gun can be too light. and time will answer the question.
I just dont get this recent trend towards lightening shotguns. most owners I know add weight to shotguns. and most hunters buy light guns to tote around all day to shoot maybe 2 or 3 shots and be done. (which is why no one can convince me hunting is fun) if I want to walk around in a field, ill go back into the army. at least id get paid for it.

What you don’t understand is that those who have the hunters heart get paid almost every time they go out. And the pay is more than worth the time and effort.

Nor do we have much desire to convince you. You either get it or you don’t. You don’t…..

good.
id rather not hang with people who smear deer urine all over themselves and make youngsters cut gonads off and hold up hearts as a right of passage either.....in a fenced club where they cant escape....while putting bengay on my shoulder after my light gun kicked the bazooka out of me. ;>

Given enough time, the truth and reality of ones place...and knowledge....usually shows itself.. Yours just did.

You really should stick with the skeet forums where you belong...Maybe????

Here...for the anti-hunting posters.

5.5 pounds..the only shot I may have fired that day..it didn’t come from a place they couldn’t escape...have yet to shoot any upland Bird that I made a youngster cut it’s nuts off. We were discussing shotguns, if only for keeping it relevant.

The payback of watching the Dog, having the freedom to hunt and being with friends was huge. Most certainly more than the real cost of the hunt. However, the Dog may have gotten to eat some raw heart.👍 Little heathen he is. And you can shoot that 28 gauge almost all day without recoil being a problem.

Great photo!!!

Thanks to one who gets it👍

And another....A Pup and a LW 12’s both first Birds. What effort, what recoil....how much is the memory worth? One either gets it or they don’t..

If I'm going to spend the morning shooting a hundred rounds at clays I'm happy to have my guns that weigh a bit more but I do happen to enjoy time afield with the pup (or did until the next one comes along here before too long) and carrying a lighter gun certainly is more enjoyable as I don't judge a day afield by the number of shots taken.

I'm surprised at your comments on hunting. Folks here usually have done enough of it with people of some modicum of class to realize that your stereotypes belong on other types of message boards.

Surprised myself, however those comments came right out of the anti-hunting playbook...

In addition...What does one who doesn't carry a shotgun around all day hunting, know anything about the advantage of using one for that purpose? Other than he thinks they are all going to fall to pieces due to being light....Amazing the Brits, how about driven Pheasants, and the Germans have made more than a few that have been around for over 100 years.

Great photos and posts Battue!

Dogs, birds and shotguns are a great way to spend anywhere from a few hours to an entire two-week vacation with. And the good tired feeling earned after an all day hunt, whether for Huns, roosters, quail or grouse for the dog and the hunter is fabulous in my experience!

Duplicate

Battue I have to disagree with you to an extent! I know without a doubt you can not shoot those light guns as well as your target guns. With that said of course light guns have a place in the woods, fields, and mountains without a doubt. Would you choose a 5.5lb gun on a high volume Dove hunt? I know I dam surely would not. But a 5.5lb gun on a Snow Cock or Chukar hunt would probably be ideal! If we truly could shoot light guns as well as heavy guns everyone would be doing it in competition. Again light is relative to the shooter in question. Light for me is more then likely just right or heavy for you.

We agree on all points you have mentioned. However, with the exception of Waterfowl, I don’t have one 12 gauge that I carry in the Uplands. All are a sub-gauge. A couple will make the 7 pound plus a little, but most wouldn’t consider that extremely lightweight. In the course of a long day, I don’t think I do any better with them than the ones that go around 6 pounds or a little less, on fleeting opportunities..

Doves? High volume in the States is 12 or 15 Birds, and If the Birds are many, I’ve used everything from an 8.5 pound sporter to the 5.5 pound 28 gauge. Neither beats me up, trying for a limit, when there are a lot of Birds. However, with the LW definitely my success would be lower on the longer crossing chances.

Argentina high volume? Most definitely the heavier would be the preference.

Correction: I do have a 12 I carry in the uplands. It would be the Winchester Model 59. Doesn’t look like much, but it is an easy carry that works as well as anything else I have for Grouse and Pheasants.

I am a hard core target shooter and instructor, and have been a hard core bird hunter for over 40 years. The answer to the question is absolutely, a shotgun can be too light.

For me, my shooting dramatically falls off as gun weight drops below six pounds. I have also found that as gun weight drops, usually with smaller gauge guns, it is very helpful if the guns have a bit more length of barrels such that my swing becomes a bit smoother. A pet 28 gauge over/under of mine, one I had built to my specs, weighs six pounds on the button with its 30” fixed choke barrels. I wanted a slight forward weight bias, with a balance point about 3/4” in front of the hinge pins, and this has worked out well. Short, light guns are a demanding mistress, and I don’t shoot them well. There are those who shoot sub-six pound guns well. I’d like to be one of them, but I’m not.

In target shooting, a light gun has even more gremlins. Recoil, usually not a much of a factor in bird hunting, is a major reason to add gun weight. Right up there with recoil is addition weight “between the hands” adding smoothness to the swing. I don’t want a 12 gauge sporting clays gun to weigh less than 8 1/4#, and 8 1/2# is even better. And keep the barrels light and long.

Back in the day men were men and guns were guns men didn't worry about 1 or 2 lbs of weight on a hunting gun.....they just sucked it in and did what men do.

Then along comes a pencil pushing out'e door writer chanting "my gun is too heavy" and now we have a bunch of whiney bOys fretting over a 1/2 lb of weight.

You light weights every think about getting your old lady to tote your gun for you ?

Just my observations....

And the Military gave up the M1 and the .30-06 for the AR and the 5.56…

Just my observation….

Back when men were men they could build light fast handling ALL steel and walnut shotguns. My 150yr old 10ga sxs upland gun is 7 3/4 lbs. My 100yr old 12ga sxs with 29 1/2" barrels is 6 3/4 lbs. They only needed a once of shot in the 12ga and 1 1/8 oz in the 10ga to kill upland birds. 7/8 or 1 once of shot is still plenty to kill even armor plated wild pheasants.

One of the attractions of the smaller than 12 Gauges is a shotgun that is trimmer and lighter. Been going on for over a hundred years. Which definitely qualifies for "back in the day". Wonder who the gun writer was back then, who wrote the first article because he had to have his old lady carry his gun around.

Too light? could be in certain situations..Then again, I have heard of those who would x out a skeet card with a Model 42 Winchester...

Great post...informative...

And now that people are hammering Turkeys at 40 yards with .410’s and TSS shot....i’m feeling this itch for a 42..😀

There is light and then there is really light. I looked seriously at a Baby Bretton(12ga 4.8 lbs) 50 yrs ago and thought it might be too light and I like light 12's in the field, to me a light 12 is just a nicer gun than a light 20 ga. I have sold off all my 20's except a steel capable sxs as none of my other sxs's are steel safe.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...IGRE&first=1&tsc=ImageBasicHover

The military went from the 30.06 to the .308 then to the .223 because of ammo weight and magazine capacity same reason they went from .45 acp to 9mm

Only 10 gauges that have crossed my path under 9 lbs were English muzzle loaders. I had one 9 gauge that went about 8 lbs....I've owned and hunted 3 English10ga. cartridge hammer guns one a 32" barreled Premier grade Scott it weighed close to 11 lbs....I had a lower grade 30" Scott 10 ga. that weighed in just under 10 lbs...my 30" Purdery 10 ga. weighed in just over 10lbs.
I had several light English 2.5" 12s that were 6 to 7 lbs....the 2.5" 12 guage was popular because of the theory of the square load that went back to the muzzle loading era.
I hunted a lot with a1925 2&3/4" Scott pigeon gun that went about 7.5 lbs.
To them it was more about barrel weight and balance than it was about how light they could make them.

One thing I'm in 100% agreement with the English about is they considered the guages smaller than the 12 ga. suitable for women and children.

Back in the day did the English get their wives to tote their guns...

Most could afford gun bearers and loaders while the beaters flushed their pen raised birds towards them.

And those that had to carry around the lighter weapon found it a better option. Not much different, than let’s say a new light weight Beretta A400 20 gauge with the plug removed. Once most carry a LW shotgun around all day, they have little inclination to going back to the likes of a Rem 1100 12 gauge. Can they shoot it better? My thoughts are most “shooters” will figure it out for an upland shotgun. Agree on weight being an advantage for a clays only shotgun.

I’ve seen the light turn on with a couple older upland hunters. The 1100’s and similar went to the closet or became trade bait.

“Rough” shooting was always popular for those Brits that couldn’t afford the driven shoots. They carried their own and walked behind the Springers and Labs.

Addition: Handled a Scottsmans....Larry McQueen...and a Brits...Ken Roebuck...rough shooting shotguns. Two fine Springer men. They were 12’s, but they were light and quick.

Some light, some heavy. Have wonderful memories with all.

The End

Well done!!!!!

Couldn't say I never owned a Remington 1100.

fyi, they reduced ammo weight because women were allowed in combat. choice....carry heavy guns and ammo with one shot one kill or the current mindset of lighten everything and fire thousands of rounds to hit what one could do with a marksman. tax money wasted. but thats another poker in the fire.


all my shotguns were weighed up to around 9lbs when I was young. but as I now age, ive been pulling it off 8 oz at a time. soon ill be back to what it was when I bought them. somewhere around 7.5lbs.

You sure you got the dates right bObski ?


I thought the M16 went into Combat before the womens did.

Be them light or heavy proper fit is everything. Nothing wrong with either if you can shoot em. I see too many hunters show up at my club in the fall with the 5.5 lb 12 bore that they gave zero though to fit and wonder why they beat them to death. Course a 10 pounder will pound w/o correct fit too.

So light or heavy is all good as long as the fit is correct.
They need to shoot where you look and the stocks need to fit the shooter. That IMO trumps weight

7 3/4# English 10ga above Hungarian 12ga below



My favorite waterfowl shotgun Husqvarna 51 29 1/2" barrels at 6 3/4# 7/8oz of ITX 6's works fine.

Where does one find a 5.5lb 12 bore ?

Both my Bernardelli Elio and Darne come in at under 6# but just barely. Like I mentioned earlier the Baby Bretton 12ga is under 5#.

Nowadays, I shoot my 28 ga. Benelli Legacy for most of my bird hunting- at 5 lbs., it is a real pleasure to carry and shoot. Very light shotguns are not a tool for beginners- I have shot competitive trap and sporting clays for many years, with 12 ga. guns. Technique eventually becomes muscle memory, and coupled with a well-balanced and fitting firearm, hitting moving targets is no chore, regardless of gauge or weight IMO.

I own an A. Hollis 10 gauge hammer gun that goes 8-1/4 pounds (19th century gun with thick walled Damascus barrels and 2-7/8 inch chambers) and a Darne 10 gauge (very rare) that goes 7 pounds 3 ounces, also with 2-7/8 inch chambers. I shoot RST 1-1/8 ounce loads in both without issue. You can find lightweight 10 gauge guns, but they aren't for 2 ounce Roman candle loads.

Personally I like light guns. For upland hunting, the lighter the better.
Even for Waterfowl, I would rather have lighter gun and deal with the recoil than have a boot anchor in my hands.

heavy guns....that's what slings are for.

IIRC the 5.56 was adopted as a standard round in the mid-50s. Long time before the ill-advised introduction of woman in combat.

One of the joys of being free to buy what we want is we can have a selection of stuff for all uses. For me the 6 lbs 2 oz of my Parker repro 28 gauge is perfect for quail and preserve pheasants but for a day shooting clays the Caesar Guerini Magnus at 8lbs gets the nod.

We're heading to SD for the pheasant opener this year. I'd take the 16 gauge Parker repro but with commercial air travel (yuck) weight limitations I don't want to haul 3 days worth of shells and I'm a bit concerned about finding 16 gauge ammo on arrival. This is a great opportunity to buy a new field 12 gauge. We headed out yesterday am with checkbook in hand to purchase an AyA and called the shop to let them know we were on our way and they had sold it the day before. Oh well, the hunt for the guns can be almost as much fun as the time afield.

Slings?

Hunters are discussing the pros and cons of shooting LW shotguns.

Light or heavy...I prefer in the middle...sling swvel studs are on both my shotguns. Makes the walk back to the pickup way better

This, plus proper balance. A little weight forward (for me) makes even a heavy-ish gun, like say a Fox Sterlingworth, feel lighter than it is.