Equipment Review: Mossberg 500 Field/Deer Combo Shotgun

This weekend I tried out the Mossberg 500 shotgun. Connecticut only allows shotgun hunting on state land, so I wanted a slug gun to be able to hunt deer on Connecticut state land later in November. I hunt mostly on private land, so my state land deer hunting would be only to supplement my regular private land hunting. Therefore, I was not looking for a high end gun. Price and value were more critical to me than features and appearance. The Mossberg 500 Field/Deer Combo 12 gauge fit the bill perfectly.

The Mossberg 500 will not win an beauty contests. It's a gun that's meant to be used, not to be polished and displayed. The combo pack comes with two barrels. One is a standard field barrel. The second barrel is a rifled slug barrel. The gun comes with a scope, 3 chokes, and 2 cheek plates. It's a pump action that can hold up to five 2 3/4 inch shells. The gun weighs 7.5 pounds. At about $265 it was a great value at Dick's Sporting Goods.

I tried out the gun with the field barrel this weekend while pheasant hunting. I missed on the only shot I had, but that was more than likely user error rather than equipment error. The gun did well in the field. It felt light and maneuverable. I have not yet tried out the slug barrel, but based on everything I've seen so far from the gun, I'm not expecting any issues.

It's early (I've only used it once), but so far I would recommend the Mossberg 500 for anyone looking for a solid working shot gun at a reasonable price.

Best of all: It's made in the USA.

New Lessons Learned from Day 1 of 2008 Pheasant Hunting

After much anticipation, the 2008 pheasant hunting season finally arrived in Connecticut. My group was out there first thing Saturday morning. The season started off well with many birds flushed and taken. There were many shots heard throughout the area, so one can assume that others were also having success.

While shaking off the rust, I made two observations that may be useful on the next pheasant hunt.

1) Consider using different shot gun loads depending on whether you are hunting with the assistance of a dog.

Without a dog I typically use a #7.5 as my first load and a #6 as my second load. I hunt with a double-barrel over-under, so I put the #7.5 in the top barrel and the #6 in the bottom barrel. My thinking is that when a bird first flushes the #7.5 is good for a close shot, but for the second shot the bird will be farther away so you need something with some extra distance, hence the #6 shot. This strategy is ok when working without a dog. Without a dog, you need to do the work of flushing, so you generally need to be relatively close to the bird to kick it up. In that instance, the #7.5 is fine.

However, I have found that #7.5 is not the best pheasant load when working with a dog. Yesterday was the first time I have ever hunted with a dog. I observed that since the dog tends to work out in front of the hunter, the bird is generally flushed at a distance a little farther away than it would be flushed out by a hunter without a dog. Therefore, you need a load with a little more distance. I would consider hunting with two #6 loads, or perhaps a #6 for the first shot and maybe even a #4 for the second shot.

2) Be prepared for a bird at all times. This seems obvious, but it is something that has cost me a bird more than once. It cost me one again yesterday. It was mid-day, and I was hunting alone without a dog. I had been walking around for a couple of hours unsuccessfully looking for birds. I had not heard any shots from other hunters. I came to a river. As I was walking the edge of the river trying to find a decent place to cross, a bird flushed right in front of me. However, I was paying more attention to the river. By the time I got my body and gun in position, the bird was too far away for a high percentage shot.

The whole reason for being out there is to hunt birds, so it did not make much sense for me to be concentrating on something else. This lapse definitely cost me a bird.

One final note: Even if you are unsure about whether or not you will go pheasant hunting this year, if there is even a slight chance you might go, please go to the town hall (or on-line) and buy your pheasant tags. Even if you do not end up going, buying your tags helps make for robust pheasant hunting because the number of birds bought is dependant on the number of tags sold in the previous year. The tags are only $10. To me, it's worth the $10 to keep the pheasant hunting opportunities strong for the following year.

Surviving Hurricane Omar in Puerto Rico

Hurricane Omar passed Puerto Rico last night. The island was shut down in anticipation of the storm. The storm ended up being a dud, as far as Puerto Rico was concerned. Just the very edge of the hurricane brushed the eastern end of the island. I was staying in San Juan, so I got a first hand view of the events.
Although I would not wish for a destructive storm, I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Based on the storm preparation here (for example, distributing a flashlight to each hotel room in my hotel, dismissing schools and government jobs, closing roads), I was expecting something big. Instead of swaying palm trees, sideways rain, and wobbling road signs, there was just a bit of wind, and well less than 1 inch of rain. Better safe than sorry I guess.
The biggest impact was on the traffic. A main artery from the south of the island to San Juan was closed, so all traffic had to go around the entire perimeter of the island on city roads (with stop lights) to get back to San Juan. It took me 3 and 1/2 hours to get from San German to San Juan.
So, in conclusion, we were fortunate to avoid the storm, even if it meant less excitement.

Fall Hunting Season Arrives

The fall 2008 hunting season has already started for some, but it starts for me next week when pheasant season opens. Posts have been slow on Connecticut Outdoors lately because we are in that limbo period where it is too cool for many summer activities, but not yet into the fall season. That changes next week. In addition to posts regarding the hunting season, expect reviews of new equipment including new boots, jacket, and rain gear that I plan to try out this year.