PT7 -- back into shot gunning with a Pump

[PT7]

First Range Report with new Stevens 20ga 320 Pump

After I introduced my gun cabinet residents a while back, a new resident moved in during late March. In past years, I’ve had two Benelli pump shotguns, one in 12ga and the other in 20ga. I very much enjoy shooting a shotgun, particularly with slugs at longer distances. A Stevens 20ga 320 Pump has joined my Henry Small Game Carbine as the 2nd long gun resident!

It's good to be back into shot gunning! The last time I shot my Benelli 20ga Pump was September 19, 2017, so it's been a while. It was surprisingly easy to pick up a s/g again, and I had a good hour-long range visit at an indoor, 25-yard range in KCKS called Frontier Justice (FJ). Here's my first Range Report.

Target
The splash target is an 8" circle showing the vitals of a buck. I have the full photo of a buck (not splash, regular paper target), which I will use when I get to my son’s-in-law outdoor range and can hang it on one of the wooden target frames there. That full deer photo is on a 17-1/2" x 12" sheet. The indoor range target hanger was too small for that sized sheet. These two photos are the same target & results.

This is a close up of the POIs in target.

Sight-In_DSCN2403.jpg (168.02 KiB) Viewed 1957 times

Same target, and this is my “honest reporting.” It shows the two fliers I had when I shot group B.

Sight-In plus fliers_DSCN2404.jpg (167.8 KiB) Viewed 1957 times

Range max yardage
FJ has max range of 25 yards at their KS shop. I thought this would be a reasonable sight in distance. If I were to go to the other FJ shop in Independence, I could shoot up to 50 yards max there.

Ammo
Used two different 3/4oz. 20ga rifled slugs today. For sight-in, shot 5 rounds of Winchester Super-X rated at 1600FPS. For the remaining 7 rounds, off hand shooting, I shot Herters Select Field rated at 1350FPS. The Win slugs are what I could use for a deer-hunting round.

Range Report.
Target story from A-->D

A. Sight-in group off a rifle rest @ 25 yards. 3 rounds, 3/3 POIs in target. I did big time at the first 3 shots I'd taken with this new pump. OK, didn't need to make any rear sight adjusts; it looked pretty good to me for a start point. Windage was accurate, elevation is the usual challenge. Tried a different approach and instead of aiming at dead-on bull, tried a 6 o'clock hold. Worked OK, and I was happy with the first-time results...shall see down-the-road if I remain or change my POA.

B. I absolutely love to shuck that gun rest as soon as I can!!! This group was off hand @ 25 yards. 4 rounds, 2/4 POIs in target. Ugly fliers but can't blame any wind because I was indoors!

C. Off hand and set the target distance @ 20 yards. 2 rounds, 2/2 POIs in target.

D. Off hand and for this final group I set the target distance @ 15 yards. 3 rounds, 3/3 POIs in target.

Total POIs in target were 10/12, or 83%. Good enough!

I do like all the caliber and configurations of the members of my gun cabinet, especially my Henry SGC. But dog-gone-it, this shot gunning is really a blast, and very much fun!

Final comments.
I had some minor difficulty in loading the slugs, and the reason could be it's my first time handling this Stevens pump. Loading the first slug through the ejection port into the open receiver worked fine. But when I loaded subsequent slugs directly into the magazine tube, several of the slugs' edges caught at the end of the magazine tube. The spring-loaded gate at this loading point also seemed to "get in my way." Definitely not as smooth-loading as either of my Benelli shotguns, and I would not fare very well at all during a required re-load in 3-gun competition. Will keep on working with this.

I'm thinking I might put green paint/polish to highlight the ghost ring rear sight. Trying to improve the ease of sight acquisition. For the most part, I'm pretty pleased with the rear ghost ring and front green fiber optic sight configuration. My target was pleased, too. This has really helped me to shoot a shotgun again and “defeat” my cross-eyed dominance issue.

The Pump's sights

Pump barrel stamp_DSCN2409.jpg (161.82 KiB) Viewed 1957 times

Pump fiber optic front sight_DSCN2405.jpg (208.73 KiB) Viewed 1957 times

Pump ghost ring rear sight_DSCN2408.jpg (161 KiB) Viewed 1957 times

I could have easily shot +40 rounds at FS. The recoil was not very noticeable. A 20-gauge s/g works just fine for me. Can't wait until warmer spring weather and the chance to go up north to the outdoor range. My son’s-in-law black steel targets await, and I hope that will be a pleasantly noisy, clanging range time!!
PT7

[CT_Shooter]

Great shooting, PT7, and thanks for your usual detailed range report and photos. Outstanding. If you do get a look at a deer through the sights of that shotgun, it's meat in the freezer.

[North Country Gal]

Fascinating report, PT and great shooting with those slug guns. Been awhile since you posted about your slug shooting, so glad to see you back at it. Really should post more about it, since it's a type of shooting that you rarely read about, these days. Does need to get more exposure. I'll bet there are a lot shotguns, sitting around, collecting dust, being neglected by their owners for lack off opportunity to wing shoot or trap shoot. They could grab some slug loads and head to the nearest range and have fun like you.

Oh, yeah, I still think about giving it a try, sometime. Think I'll stick with a 20, though. Will likely be a pump, too.

[roddy]

Good timing...My wife decided last night that she wants me to move her red dot from the 10/22 to her 20ga pump slug gun. We just got back from picking up a scope rail. Good shooting...

[RanchRoper]

Great shooting, and wow your range reports are so nicely detailed. Great info.