How to shoot a Shotgun

Can you use this? Believe it or not, you probably can.

The steps required to become proficient (and safe) with a shotgun are in your hands.

Before you do anything else, remember Rule #1: SAFETY!! Guns (especially shotguns) are powerful and potentially deadly in careless hands; be sure you know how to handle a firearm safely. For beginners, you should have an experienced shooter with you to teach you safety and form.

Steps

Learning to shoot

1. Buy a cheap BB gun. It should have a full-sized stock, a large bb magazine, and a low muzzle velocity. Perhaps the most effective way to teach oneself how to shoot a shotgun is with a BB gun with the sights removed; it allows you to fire thousands of rounds for just a few dollars and doesn't invite the development of flinching (involuntary movement when pulling the trigger that causes you to miss).
2. Find out which one of your eyes is dominant. If it is your right eye, you will be pulling the trigger with your right hand; if it is your left eye, you'll use your left hand.
3. If you had trouble finding a BB gun with a full-sized stock (they do tend to be sized for kids, after all), you can always attach a couple-inch-long spacer so that the gun fits you.
4. File the sights off the BB gun.
5. Spend a few hours, preferably spread over a week or so, shooting at small objects with your new "shotgun training tool." Remember to pull the shotgun surrogate tight into your shoulder when firing - you don't want to learn bad habits with the (extremely forgiving) BB gun.
   • This serves to teach you the basics of 'sight' alignment on a shotgun: placing your eye in the right position over the barrel and training your mind to analyze the situation correctly. Once you have this, everything else is fairly easy. (Fairly...)

Choosing a shotgun action

This section is broken down into a few different categories, and each category has their own benefits and weaknesses.

1. • Single shot shotguns are generally the least expensive; their downfall is that they only hold one shell at a time. To fire again, you have to open the breech and insert a new shell — a rather time-consuming activity that can really eat into your fun over the course of an afternoon. Still, they are a functional tool for many tasks.
   • Pump-action shotguns are the most common kind. They are known for their cheapness (though some models can still get startlingly expensive, they are some of the cheapest common shotguns), and reliability. After every shot you must pump the forend of the gun to eject the spent shell and load another from the magazine tube into the chamber.
   • Auto-loader shotguns (also known as "semi-automatic") use a few different types of gas operated or recoil operated systems, and the rounds are loaded automatically every time the gun is fired. Reliability issues are pretty much a thing the past nowadays, as modern designs are extremely reliable if cleaned every 300 to 500 rounds. Some will even fire several thousand rounds between cleanings, but this is not recommended for any firearm. All guns should be cleaned after every outing. Semi-automatics can range from $300 to $5000 and even higher.
   • Double barrel shotguns come in two varieties: over-unders (O/U) with one barrel above another, and side-by-sides (SBS, SxS), in which the barrels are arranged horizontally. Some people prefer one style, some the other; neither is ultimately better (please don't flame me), and both styles are expensive. Some custom guns will run over $10,000
   • For a beginner, a pump action is probably a good place to start since it is very common, inexpensive, and reliable.
2. Once you've decided on an action-type the actual shotgun needs to fit your specific needs.
   • It must fit your size (there are many stocks and grips which can be placed on most shotguns to easily fix this), but it must also fit your purpose. For a skeet, target, or hunting shotgun, a long barrel with a choke on it is probably preferred, whereas for home/personal defense, a shotgun should probably have a short barrel with little or no choke.
   • Bore size is also a big consideration as the the heavy 12-, or even 10-, gauge shotguns can be painful to shoot for a weak (no offense intended), small, or untrained user. 16- or 20-gauge shotguns are available which have much less kick and thus are easier to handle for a wider range of users.
3. Learn the basics of the shotgun. Whether it is from the manual or (preferably) an experienced shotgunner, the use of the safety (if available), how to load and unload the shotgun should all quickly become second nature. Practice, practice, practice.
   • Purchase some snap caps (plastic, fake, shells) to practice loading and unloading your shotgun. This is a safe way to familiarize yourself with your shotgun while in the comfort of your home.
4. Barrel length and choke selection affects your shot spread and pattern and requires some deliberation.
   • Long barrels allow more of the powder's pressure to accelerate the shot which in turn means higher muzzle velocities and because the pellets have more time to move in a straight path they spread out less. It also makes the shotgun heavier and more difficult (or at least slower) to swing around to aim at fast moving objects. Short barrels are great for close quarters and other situations when pellet spread means less.
   • A choke is a section at the end of the barrel which slightly constricts the diameter of the muzzle. For shot, it makes the pattern tighter, and travel further while maintaining a dense enough pattern to kill/destroy your target. There are many sizes of chokes, and a couple types of chokes which may be in a barrel.
     • The size of the choke changes how wide the spread of the pellets will be. The tighter the choke the tighter the pattern. Loose patterns allow for greater accuracy error, but it also means that at a longer distance your pellets may no longer be as affective against your target.
     • The two types of chokes are fixed chokes and screw-in chokes. Fixed chokes are part of the barrel design and cannot be changed or removed without major work. The screw-in choke means the end of the barrel is threaded (inside the bore) to allow many different sizes of chokes to be easily replaced.
     • Any type of fixed or screw-in chokes are safe to fire Foster type slugs through. However more open sized chokes can be more accurate. Fully rifled shotgun barrels or rifled choke tubes are only intended for modern saboted slugs.
5. Ammunition selection is a complex issue with shotguns. As this firearm is one of the most versatile in existence, the ammunition must fit your specific purpose of use. (see also: How to: Choose shotgun shells and chokes)
   • For sport shooting, which usually included some type of bird, such as a dove or a clay pigeon (skeet), the shot-type creatively named "birdshot" is usually best. This uses small pellets poured into a plastic wadding.
     • There are options when choosing bird shot. High-base (AKA high-brass) or low-base (AKA low-brass). High-base (compared to low-base) does not necessarily mean more powder. This is the type of shot you would use against small living creatures such as dove or little varmints, where low-base you can use against clays.
     • The shot-size (also known simply as "shot") is the size of the pellets. Just as a 12-gauge is larger than a 20-gauge, #6-shot uses larger pellets than #8-shot. For clays a higher shot number (#7-1/2 to #9 shot) is usually preferred as the dense spread of the pellets is more important than the weight (and penetration) of individual pellets. The larger, heavier pellets (#4-#6 shot) are usually reserved for birds and varmints, as fur and feathers are harder to penetrate than brittle ceramic.
   • For personal/home defense or for large game hunting, another type of shot is preferred. This type uses larger pellets (up to 0.38-inches) seated into plastic wadding. This type is known as "buckshot".
     • The powder is not determined by base-size, but by shell size. There are three shell sizes. 2-3/4-inch (standard), 3-inch (magnum), and 3-1/2-inch (super-magnum). Most common shotguns support up to 3-inch (shotguns can always shoot smaller shells, but not necessarily larger), but some shoot the 3-1/2-inch which contain much more powder than standard loads and can carry more pellets.
     • Buck shot size is rated in the same fashion as bird shot. You can get shot number, but the most common type of buck shot is 00 (pronounced "double-aught"). 000-buck (triple-aught) is even larger pellets, 0-buck (single-aught) is smaller, the next set of smaller pellets would be #1 buck, then #2 and so on.
   • The third type of ammunition is the slug. Slugs are essentially what most think of when they think of a bullet. It's a large piece of lead propelled by powder.
     • Slug power is determined in the same way as buck shot, with standard, magnum, and super-magnum loadings. With magnum and super-magnum you also have the option of getting a heavier (heavier than 1oz.) slug.
     • There are two common types of slugs. First is the rifled slug, and is used in most shotguns that have a smooth-bore. The term ‘rifled’, however, is deceiving. Normal firearms have rifling in the bore, which impart a spin to the bullet during its passage through the barrel, and this spin stabilizes the bullet while it is in the air and allows it to fly accurately. The groves on a slug (that are called the rifling) actually cause very little or no spin to the slug. Instead these groves reduce the amount of contact area between the slug and the bore of the gun, allowing the slug to go faster, and the groves also allow the slug to compress easier if it has to pass through a choke a the end of the barrel. It is the design of the slug itself (made so it is heavier at the tip of the slug) that makes it fly straight. The second type of slug is for rifled shotgun barrels and is known as a sabot slug. A sabot is a covering for an object which is smaller than the bore of which it travels through. Sabot slugs are generally more accurate and higher velocity than rifled slugs, but they require a rifled barrel to be fired accurately (which isn't common, but is purchasable).
   • Note that generally buck shot and slugs in the same size as bird shot will have much more recoil than bird shot. So, the first time firing slugs or buck shot, be prepared for extra kick (if you use magnums or super-magnums, be prepared for a lot of extra kick).
6. The sport of shotgunning usually includes the same basics of any weapon-shooting: aim and hit your intended target, when you are supposed to hit it. And just as with any other firearm your shot will go where your muzzle is pointed. But unlike other weapons, the shot (excluding slugs) from a shotgun will spread out more as the shot gets further from the muzzle. This allows for some error in your aiming, it also means that you are likely shooting something that normally would not be shootable with other types of firearms.

Actually Shooting a Shotgun

1. Go to a place where you can safely shoot the shotgun. Remember that shot goes for a couple hundred yards, and slugs even farther.
2. Load the shotgun.
   • For most semi-autos and pumps, take a shell, orient it so that the brass part is facing the rear of the shotgun, cup it in your hand, and lift it up into the loading port, usually located directly ahead of the trigger. Rack the shotgun and you have loaded the gun.
   • For double-barrel or single-shot guns, actuate the lever which opens the breach, remove the spent shell (if any) and insert the new one. Close the action and you have a loaded gun.
3. Hold the shotgun with one hand on the forearm and one on the grip behind the trigger.
4. Assume a stance angled roughly 40 degrees to the right (left) of your target.
5. Push the shotgun slightly away from you.
6. Move the shotgun's butt (part that touches your shoulder) in a subtle arc to your shoulder. Make sure it makes proper contact with your cheek - this is essential to ensure proper eye alignment.
7. Pull the gun tight into the shoulder. (Seriously, we can't stress this one enough)
8. Click the safety off, point your shotgun at the target, and pull the trigger. (This is all on one line because it should happen smoothly and automatically now, after thousands of rounds of practice. Right?)
   • When shooting slugs, you may wish to use a shotgun with iron sights or even a scope. In this case, use the gun in pretty much the same way you would shoot a rifle.

Tips

• While shooting a moving target at long range with bird shot you will find that leading the target is essential. Because the pellets are round and relatively light (compared to bullets) the velocity of the pellets decrease dramatically over a short distance (this is one thing that makes a shotgun safe in the open, so the shot doesn't travel for miles and potentially injure someone). The distance you need to lead will depend on the spread of the pellets and the range and speed of the target.
• When shooting, shoot with the support foot slightly forward of the firing-side foot. Place the butt of the shotgun tightly (still can't stress that enough) on the inside of the pocket of your shoulder (slightly on your pectoral muscle). Try putting your firing elbow straight out and flexing your pectoral muscle if it hurts or you are bruising when you fire. Lean forward into the gun slightly to compensate for the kick.
• At longer ranges, you may find you miss your target a lot at first. Try increasing your lead on the target or the problem might be the shot spread. Try purchasing a longer barrel or a tighter choke (if you have a screw-in choke).
• If you have difficulty calculating the correct lead for a given target try this: Simply allow the target to pass your muzzle(s) before you mount the gun onto the line of the target, just behind the target. Then, swing the gun along the line of the target. Get to the front edge of the target, and start to squeeze the trigger. Keep swinging and the gun will go off ahead of the target. Remember you are shooting ahead of the target, not at it. The only variable is the speed of swing. Focus on the target, and keep the gun moving after the trigger is pulled. The whole process is kind of similar to hitting a golf ball: eye on the ball, a good swing, and follow through.
• Always clean and properly take care of the gun when you are finished shooting.
• Before shooting, be sure that the gun is properly loaded, and that the shotgun is completely free of any barrel cracks, or else it may just explode, or the gun may backfire, causing extensive damage.

Warnings

• Firearms can be dangerous and easily lethal, particularly if they are mishandled. They should only be used by competent users or under the direct supervision of an experienced firearm user/instructor.
• Most pellets contain lead, a toxic heavy metal. Every time you shoot, a cloud of lead dust goes into the air. Do not over-handle pellets/bullets and make a habit of washing your hands after you are done shooting — this is extra important if you happen to be a lady with a bun in the oven. Indoor and outdoor shooting ranges also contain higher than normal levels of lead in the air if not properly ventilated. Shot that does not contain lead (steel shot) is available, but may reduce the lethality of the shot if hunting.
• Be sure to follow all state and local laws while shooting. Note that many laws on firearms change drastically from state to state and can even change between counties, or even municipalities.
• Reading the manual on the specific firearm you are going to use before ever picking it up is always a good idea.
• Guns, especially shotguns, are not toys. Treat them with the respect they deserve.
• Don't forget proper eye and ear protection as well!
• Even if a gun is unloaded, always treat it as a loaded gun! Remember: There's no such thing as an unloaded gun.

See also

• How to handle a firearm safely
• how to aim and fire a rifle
• How to clear a building with a firearm