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Just spitballing here:

@OldBroad44 Is there any reason you mentioned steel shot? Do you live next to water? Or is it a general environmental concern?

With lead shot, a full choke would be my choice for nuisance birds. I'm thinking they will be farther away and maybe even not flying at the time of the shot. Maybe sitting on the stalks? In that case, you're going to be aiming the shotgun more like a rifle and have less to learn than hunting that requires the shotgun to swing. Less swing allows you to use a tighter pattern, increasing the capability to shoot farther away.

I still like slug barrels for hunting deer with slugs or buck vs using a standard 28" barrel. The shorter barrel is easier to pack thru the woods, and you usually have a "set" of sights, front and rear like on a rifle, compared to the bead at the end of your standard 28" barrel.
Re steel shot. Mostly I'm leery that lead shot might be outlawed. Am also a little worried about filling fields where we grow most of our food with lead. But also, there are grass seed fields near home that flood and have hundreds of geese on them in winter, and I'll bet owners would be overjoyed with anyone who wanted to shoot the geese. The geese cause a huge amount of damage.

As for the birds in the corn--
I'm a plant breeder. (Geneticist by training. Freelance plant breeder and author by practice.) Mostly corn, beans, and squash. I work in collaboration with local farmers. The farm collaborator is responsible for keeping birds out of the corn. But my main local collaborator certainly wouldn't mind some help. And I'm often over there anyway doing crosses, evaluating stuff, etc. So there's not strictly a need for me to go after the birds in the corn. But there's enough of an excuse, I deem, to justify getting interested in a new (to me) kind of gun. And also, there's that spot close to home that is full of deer but is shotgun only.

The birds are blackbirds. If not at least harassed regularly daily from the milk stage of the corn to harvest, they'll destroy nearly all of it. The corn tassels are about 6 or 7 feet high. The ears are about 3 to 5 feet high. You can't really see the birds that are down on the ears. And even if you could, blowing away the ears or filling them with lead wouldn't be useful. Occasionally my farmer can kill a "sentry" bird that is up on the tassels. But most of the time he shoots over the corn to scare them off. The flock will usually fly off after two or three shots. He also uses a cannon. It takes the combination of the cannon and harassing the birds with a shotgun pretty regularly to get a corn crop. He uses an old 870 with a fixed choke. The occasional sentry bird that is up in the corn tassels is usually at about 50 yards. Its a shot that's difficult with the choke he has, but not impossible. I think you are right that for these shots a full choke would work better, and you're actually using the shotgun more like a rifle.

Crows sometimes go after newly seeded corn as it germinates and pull up the plants by the shoots to get the kernels. They can get nearly every kernel, necessitating replanting. They are usually shot with a shotgun. If you leave the first couple of dead crows in the field, the entire flock will usually abandon that field. Not so with blackbirds.
 
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(I wouldn't want a specialized slug barrel set up with front and back sights like a rifle. My old eyes can't see such a sight configuration well enough any more.)
Since sight is a problem, these are dirt cheap but will clamp onto a round barrel (no vent rib barrel unfortunately - although you may be able to modify it) and comes in green or red.

Gives a very bright dot to use as the front bead.

@Kruel J had one and it was snazzy

TRUGLO TG93A Glo-Dot II 12-20 Gauge Sight, Green Amazon.com : TRUGLO TG93A Glo-Dot II 12-20 Gauge Sight, Green : Sports & Outdoors

I have Firesights on all my bird hunting shotguns. They clamp on the vent rib. They usually come with 4 different light pipes... Orange, red, green, pink Amazon.com: HIVIZ BirdBuster Fiber Optic Shotgun Sight: Gateway

41N2Ea6dljL.jpg
 
Do you have to have a shorter barrel to shoot slugs? I was supposing that you could shoot a rifled slug out of any length of smooth-bore barrel as long as it wasn't choked too tight. ??? (I wouldn't want a specialized slug barrel set up with front and back sights like a rifle. My old eyes can't see such a sight configuration well enough any more.)

You're fine to use whatever length barrel you want. Shorter barrels for buckshot and slugs are usually the norm since they are a bit more maneuverable.
 
The 1100 is a nice gun, but its definitely and older design. Another option to look at is the Weatherby SA08. It is very light, trim, and comes in 20 gauge. Only issue is short barrels are impossible to find for shooting slugs. You'd almost have to buy two guns.


I LOVE LOVE LOVE my SA-08!! I have taken scores of ducks with it... too bad I don't care for the taste of wild duck, but lucky for my buds that do!

:s0073:

D80714A4-E636-4FC9-A85A-5A1B9829298B.jpeg
 
If short barrel isnt needed, I wouldn't be ashamed of this at all:

 
Are the Mossberg 930 barrels all ported?

I detest ported barrels on revolvers. I ruined a good Colt Anaconda 6-inch by having it ported when I sent it back to the factory to have a firing pin replaced under warranty. Perhaps the recoil after was less. What mattered more was the gun was way louder. I also didnt much like cleaning the ported barrel, either.
 
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my SA-08!! I have taken scores of ducks with it... too bad I don't care for the taste of wild duck, but lucky for my buds that do!

:s0073:

View attachment 602368
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
Just beautiful.

My dad used to praise the he11 out of my mom's ability to make all the birds he shot taste great. She had a secret recipe, as far as I know, conveyed only to me. I will now share with you, my NWFA buds.

"Carol," she said. "Game birds are nearly all tough and rank. I do the same thing with all of them. Soak in several changes of water with baking soda in it, at least overnight. This removes a lot of the excess gamey flavor and brings it down to a pleasant level. Then rinse and boil it till it's tender. Then remove from water, pat some seasonings and salt and pepper on surface, and bake on a rack in a roasting pan for long enough so excess water evaporates and skin crisps."
 
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
Just beautiful.

My dad used to praise the he11 out of my mom's ability to make all the birds he shot taste great. She had a secret recipe, as far as I know, conveyed only to me. I will now share with you, my NWFA buds.

"Carol," she said. "Game birds are nearly all tough and rank. I do the same thing with all of them. Soak in several changes of water with baking soda in it, at least overnight. This removes a lot of the excess gamey flavor and brings it down to a pleasant level. Then rinse and boil it till it's tender. Then remove from water, pat some seasonings and salt and pepper on surface, and bake on a rack in a roasting pan for long enough so excess water evaporates and skin crisps."

I'm saving that for the next bird I get.
:cool:
 
There are 870's and Wingmasters, and then there are T.C's the true King of the 870!
( Not Mine) Mine is identical to this one, and has won so many Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays matches I lost count after the first year I had it!
This gun simple doesn't ever miss, and It's been used for over 25 years for upland game birds all over the country! They just don't get better! a when Remington made real Shotguns!

602439
 
Are the Mossberg 930 barrels all ported?

I detest ported barrels on revolvers. I ruined a good Colt Anaconda 6-inch by having it ported when I sent it back to the factory to have a firing pin replaced under warranty. Perhaps the recoil after was less. What mattered more was the gun was way louder. I also didnt much like cleaning the ported barrel, either.

Nope.
 
Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!
Just beautiful.

My dad used to praise the he11 out of my mom's ability to make all the birds he shot taste great. She had a secret recipe, as far as I know, conveyed only to me. I will now share with you, my NWFA buds.

"Carol," she said. "Game birds are nearly all tough and rank. I do the same thing with all of them. Soak in several changes of water with baking soda in it, at least overnight. This removes a lot of the excess gamey flavor and brings it down to a pleasant level. Then rinse and boil it till it's tender. Then remove from water, pat some seasonings and salt and pepper on surface, and bake on a rack in a roasting pan for long enough so excess water evaporates and skin crisps."
I like that camo on that Weatherby. Looks nice.


I'm also going to save that recipe!

BTW- my SA-08 was bought NIB from BiMart for under $400 4-5 years ago, it has a 26" ribbed barrel with three different chokes, it was all black with synthetic furniture and I did the camo-job myself. It really is a great shotgun, but the only thing is that there's one piston for heavy loads and one for light trap/skeet loads that you have to remember to changeout and use for the ammo you're shooting... which isn't a problem for me because I only ever run hot hi-base rounds through this one.
 
There are 870's and Wingmasters, and then there are T.C's the true King of the 870!
( Not Mine) Mine is identical to this one, and has won so many Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays matches I lost count after the first year I had it!
This gun simple doesn't ever miss, and It's been used for over 25 years for upland game birds all over the country! They just don't get better! a when Remington made real Shotguns!

View attachment 602439
It sounds like the shooter must be pretty good to win all those matches with any gun.
 

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