Smooth-bore weapons in the hunting supermarket Strelets in Yekaterinburg are represented by the best examples of famous manufacturers. Smoothbore weapons are primarily horizontal and vertical double-barreled shotguns, classic hunting weapons. Shots are usually shot from smooth-bore weapons; the accuracy of shooting is influenced by such parameters as the quality of the weapon itself, the use of choke constrictions and, of course, the skill of the hunter himself.
Read more
A smoothbore weapon is a weapon without a groove in the barrel. Options range from handguns to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Most shotguns are shotguns, so the terms "shotgun" and "smoothbore" can be synonymous.
The history of smoothbore weapons
The earliest mention of smoothbore weapons was around the year 1000 in China.
Such a weapon was called a fire spear. The main parts that make up a smoothbore weapon are the barrel, the charge and the projectile. Also, the weapon must also have some way to ignite the charge.
The earliest guns were made of bamboo, later replaced by metal barrels. The first mass-produced weapons were matchlock guns.
Matchlock gun
The classic European matchlock weapon was a smoothbore weapon. The principle of its operation was as follows. The wick was secured in a special clamp at the end of a small curved lever. When the lever (or in later models, the trigger) was pulled, it lowered a smoldering fuse that ignited the gunpowder. The flash from the primer passed through the hole, igniting the main fuel charge in the barrel.
One of the problems was that the wick had to be constantly burning. The wick was impregnated with potassium nitrate to burn as long as possible. If the wick was not lit at the time the shot was fired, the mechanism was useless. This was a real problem in wet weather.
Another drawback was the burning wick itself. At night, it glowed in the dark, revealing the location of the weapon's owner, and the smell of a burning cord made the problem worse. The main advantage of the fuse was that it allowed the shooter to hold the weapon at eye level for better aim.
About 200 years later, the next major development was the flintlock, which used a flint strike mechanism. When the trigger was pulled, the mechanism created a spark that ignited the gunpowder.
After numerous other transformations, the era of modern smoothbore weapons has arrived, which are widely used today both for hunting and for other purposes.
Today you can purchase a semi-automatic shotgun (buy at a hunting store), or choose a bolt-action shotgun.
Smoothbore vs. rifled guns: which is better?
In order to answer this question, first of all, it is important to know the main differences. A rifled barrel has special grooves inside the barrel that cause the projectile to rotate when fired. A smooth barrel does not have any notches and does not cause the bullet to spin like a rifled barrel.
When to use rifled barrels
Most often, rifled weapons are used for shooting over long distances. If you plan to take shots beyond 90 meters, a rifled barrel is a good option to consider. The reason for this is that when the projectile is spinning, it flies further and the flight path is straighter.
When to use shotguns
Many shotguns come standard with a smooth barrel - these are used for bird hunting and the like. The projectile loses its flight energy faster than a rifled barrel because it does not rotate. However, if you plan on making close-range shots with a shotgun, you probably don't need to invest in a rifled barrel because the shot will be about as accurate.
Advantages of smoothbore weapons for hunting
It is believed that the use of shotguns by hunters encourages them to develop significantly more effective hunting skills and techniques than those hunters who can retreat much further and shoot from distances of up to several hundred meters. Good hunters must be able to hunt tightly, carefully, close.
What to look for when choosing a weapon for hunting
The hunting season encourages hundreds of thousands of hunters of all ages and experience to leave the comfort of their homes and go after their prey. When the vast majority of people think of hunting, the first thing that comes to mind is a lethal firearm. Not everyone can boast of the heroic abilities and remarkable courage to go after a bear with a knife, so the best choice for a modern hunter is a smooth-bore firearm.
The evolution of technology provides a range of weapon options. The question is how to choose between a rifle and a shotgun? Is it enough to buy a semi-automatic shotgun, or should you think about another option?
There are many factors that influence the choice of weapon. First and foremost, the hunting regulations in your area will determine your choice of firearm. Some countries are specific about what type of gun you are allowed to use during hunting season. Depending on this, you must decide whether a semi-automatic gun is better, which you can even buy on the Internet, or think about another option.
You should also check specific hunting season dates. There are times when only certain firearms can be used depending on the date or time of year. For these reasons, hunting regulations are the most important (and limiting) factor when choosing between a rifle, shotgun, or semi-automatic shotgun, which can be purchased at a hunting store.
So, the basic rules:
1. Hunting rules. Check local regulations regarding what type of guns can be used and when gun season is in effect.
2. Qualification. Ability to handle a firearm plays a big role in choosing a weapon. You must be familiar with all aspects of a particular firearm, including shooting, loading, cleaning and carrying it. Also, before buying a semi-automatic shotgun or other smooth-bore weapon, take care of the appropriate permission to store and carry it.
3. Expected shooting distance. What is the expected shot? Will you be hunting in wide open agricultural fields with shots over 600 feet, or will you be hunting in dense brush that requires close shots?
The rifle, depending on the caliber, will give you a fairly uniform shot (minimum drop to at least a few hundred meters). However, most game guns have significant bullet drop after about 90 meters. Each of these situations and more will dictate your firearm choice.
4. Places for hunting. Terrain makes a huge difference when choosing a weapon. Open, flat terrain is suitable for the caliber of a rifle or a purchased semi-automatic shotgun, while in dense cover you will need something like a pistol.
5. Repeated shots. An experienced hunter can make a quality shot on the first try. But not everyone is lucky the first time. A semi-automatic shotgun, which you can buy in a store, will allow you to quickly fire the next shot by automatically adding the next cartridge to the chamber.
6. Hunter type. The 12 gauge pistol is heavy and produces serious recoil compared to a rifle. For a younger, more inexperienced hunter, it can be quite difficult to shoot a shotgun with precision, while a smaller caliber rifle or semi-automatic shotgun, which can be purchased in a couple of clicks, is a better option.
Manufacturers
Andrey Smirnov:
We place orders from those manufacturers in whom we are as confident as ourselves. So that when I go hunting with a client, I don’t hear: “And this is what I got as a result of months of waiting?!” I think many people turn to Okhotnik precisely because we try to control the entire production process and are fully responsible for the result to the client.
For example, our beloved one makes weapons that I can completely calmly recommend to a client. If they turn to me: “I want a good weapon,” I say: “Then it will be a Hauptmann.” The way we work with Hauptmann, in a constant calling mode - 2-3 calls a day, probably no one among the gunsmiths works with anyone. And we don’t work so closely with other companies. Therefore, to take into account all the nuances of production, as we can do with Hauptmann, we cannot do more with one manufacturer, and I am sure that no one can do more. I am sure that in terms of workmanship and many other factors, Hauptmann is now No. 1. Although, if the client wishes, we can make a choice from several companies.
Nowadays there is an intensive growth in demand for custom weapons. And, to be honest, not all companies approach this demand with full responsibility. For some, roughly speaking, the thirst for money begins to prevail. Even reputable companies allow themselves to make low-quality things. Here's a real-life incident. They send us a finished gun. Naturally, we test it immediately before giving it to the client. And it turns out that the gun does not fire. To our question. Since weapons legislation in Russia is quite complex, and sending it back for repairs is an almost unthinkable process at other times, our service center eliminates the problem that has arisen.
We have the only service center in all of Russia that can carry out such work - I am 100% sure of this, because similar weapons are brought to us from all over the country, on Golovinskoe Highway. We are talking about complex problems, unsolvable problems, and the replacement of various parts, springs, and so on. We have a spare parts resource and have very qualified employees. In fact, all of our craftsmen either trained at foreign weapons factories or became acquainted with important assembly features there. Of course, there are things that our craftsmen cannot do, then we find ourselves forced to send some parts of the weapon abroad for repair, but this is an extremely rare situation.
Standard firearms
The standard classic firearm is the most popular tool for hunters around the world. Gun hunting season is the most popular.
Centerfire rifles are used for long range hunting and come in a wide variety of types including single shot, lever action, etc. They also come in calibers suitable for animals such as coyotes, as well as shots powerful enough to kill an elephant.
There are smoothbore weapons designed for hunting small game, suitable for animals the size of a squirrel.
A shotgun is a smooth-bore weapon designed for close-range shooting. Incredibly versatile weapon, can be used to hunt deer, birds, turkeys, rabbits, squirrels, etc.
Shotguns come in a wide variety of calibers and ranges. Pump action is the most common, however bolt action shotguns, double barrels and semi-automatic weapons are also common.
Pistols are difficult weapons for hunting. More powerful than standard self-defense pistols, hunting pistols are most often large revolvers or single-shot pistols in rifle calibers.
Buying a Semi-Automatic Rifle or a Bolt Gun: Which is Better?
Today, there are primarily two main types of guns that hunters use for the game: traditional bolt-action guns and the more modern semi-automatic guns purchased from hunting stores.
Both bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles have one thing in common: they were originally used as weapons for military infantry. After being refined for use on the battlefield, they were adapted for sporting and hunting use by civilians.
Between these two options, the bolt-action design is older and more traditional. However, there is no denying that buying a semi-automatic shotgun has become more and more popular over the years for hunting purposes, especially for big game hunting.
Ultimately, it mostly comes down to the shooter's personal preference, but if you find yourself at a crossroads of choice, it's important to know the pros and cons of each option.
Advantages of bolt smoothbore weapons
Most bolt action weapons have a greater variety of configurations. A number of new composite designs have become more popular and cheaper.
Bolted connections are also very reliable. The bolt simply turns and pulls back to remove and add a cartridge. However, the downside is the slow rate of fire; if a deer or elk jumps out from behind a bush and you have to shoot quickly, it will put you at a disadvantage.
At the same time, it is very rare that a bolt gun will let you down. Even if dust or dirt gets into the mechanism, or if the cartridge is dented, most bolt operations will continue to function normally. A purchased semi-automatic shotgun will require a little more attention in this situation.
The triggers on most bolt-action designs also tend to be crisper and smoother than semi-automatics.
There are also reasons why most long-range shooters still prefer bolt-action options over semi-automatics.
The range of calibers for bolt-on designs is larger than for semi-automatic ones. A bolt-on rifle is designed to accommodate almost every cartridge.
Advantages of buying a semi-automatic shotgun
However, there are still a number of advantages to a semi-automatic shotgun that are not present with a bolt action shotgun simply due to differences in design.
As mentioned above, a semi-automatic shotgun, which is not difficult to buy today, shoots faster, which means faster repeat shots. Obviously, one of the reasons semi-autos shoot faster is because all you have to do is pull the trigger rather than reloading the gun. But the second reason semi-automatics fire faster is that they tend to have less recoil.
Regardless of what you decide to purchase - a bolt gun or a semi-automatic gun, you can buy these types of smoothbore weapons in our store by contacting the contacts listed on the website.
People and machines
Stepan Bobrov:
Piece weapons are pieced because the number of barrels produced per year is small. This is a necessary condition for compliance with all technological subtleties, to ensure quality standards that allow weapons to properly serve generations of hunters. But production, the volume of which is 100 products per year, contradicts the trends of our time. We live in an age of globalization.
There are fewer and fewer people in the world who know how and want to do anything with their hands. Their labor becomes more expensive. Workers are being replaced by machines. Machine tools are also not cheap, but their productivity and accuracy are much higher than human capabilities; machines do not go on strike. It would seem that everything is fine: it is enough to modernize production in accordance with the latest advances in mechanical engineering, and products will automatically improve and profits will grow. But machine production has its own logic. The simpler each detail is, the fewer technological operations are needed to manufacture the thing as a whole, the more profitable it is to produce this thing. Based on the logic of machine production, changes are made to the design. It seems like minor changes: today one little thing, tomorrow another, the day after tomorrow another. But the result is a completely different product - simplified, less aesthetically pleasing, less comfortable, because production is focused on the machine, and not on the consumer. And of course, there can be no talk of any individuality, of any soul invested in a thing! Machine production pays off only in the case of a large number of products produced.
The weapons market is no exception to the general rule. All large arms factories are moving towards modernizing their machine tool fleet and increasing machine production.
Not a single craftsman today also grinds barrels or blocks by hand; he orders them from a large machine production facility. But all parts of the mechanisms, their precision adjustment is done directly by a person who, due to his understanding of the weapon, due to his love for this weapon and its future owner, can make a complex, but convenient, functional and, most importantly, durable product. This is the conceptual, philosophical difference between piece production and machine production. Of course, the cost of custom weapons ends up being higher. And, as a result, piece production of weapons is becoming increasingly unprofitable. Therefore, all existing piece workshops today are, in most cases, family firms with a small turnover. I am afraid that in the future they are doomed to ruin or to a huge increase in the cost of their products, which is still quite high.
