Sunday, 4 July 2010

I Want One - A Not So Occasional Series Pt17

Partially in response to Colorado Caster and the mighty Josh of Lands On The Margin commenting on the high-ticket nature of the I Want One series, and partially as I'm hoping to vist New England during shotgun season, abet on a severly restricted budget. I thought it was time to have a look at slug launchers. As luck would have it The Gun Nuts at F&S were doing a round up of possible options. In a land were firearms ownership isn't controlled [much] economies of scale mean some handsome deer-slayers are available from new at prices even I can occasionally afford.
The Harrington and Richardson Ultra Slug Hunter Deluxe

Priced around a feasible $300 and claimed to be a 'true tack-driver', this single shot shotgun has a 24" fully rifled heavyweight barrel. Which if my understanding is correct will offer favorable harmonics and better long-range accuracy.

It's offered with a 'walnut-stained' American hardwood stock in the Monte Carlo style to promote rapid eye-to-gun alignment. 12 and 20 gauge versions available, and even comes with a set of scope mounts.

Interestingly Harrington and Richardson use their own proprietary design of Ultragon™ rifling to guide the plastic 'sabot' or casing that encloses the slug trough the barrel. This is designed to make less impression on the slug than the 'lands' of conventional rifling and should greatly increase accuracy. 

Of course this post wouldn't be part of the I Want One series if we didn't top it off with a Schmidt & Bender Zenith 1.1-4x24 a snip at $1699. Perfection.

Happy 4th of July Folks

SBW

11 comments:

  1. You are the best! 300 clams is a great price for such quality. I don't think anyone could have too many shotguns. Good find.

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  2. Cool! They make that Handi-Rifle I want, too.

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  3. AHHH! I see! Yes, I quite agree, a snip at 1700 sheets. You know of course that my birthday is coming up...

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  4. Colorado Casters

    Thanks man, seems great value, I'll be sure to let you know how it shoots as and when I sort my papers out for the USA.

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  5. Josh

    Lot of heritage too, interesting company.

    SBW

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  6. Baron S

    Hmm think of this as being like a crossword:
    Another word for distance, in three
    Another word for line of waiting people also in three
    Put 'em together and ......

    SBW

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  7. I'm sure you've already looked here:
    http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/hunting/deer/deer_hunting_home.htm

    but I figured the link was worth checking out if you are planning to travel to New England for deer hunting season.
    I'd be happy to hook you up with a close friend that would let you stay at their house on the Vineyard... I hear they are up to their eyeballs in deer there and the "powers that be" routinely extend the season to compensate.
    I'm just about ready to finally try venison, so save me a bite would ya?

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  8. Criminy sakes that's an expensive scope. However, with optics the money spent normally translates very well to satisfaction afterwards.

    But damn.

    Bp

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  9. Bpaul

    It would seem that optics, like most precision tools really are best summed up as 'buy the best and only cry once' purchases.

    I've been deer stalking with Bambi Basher recently and his take was '£50 rifle £750 glass'

    SBW
    PS not that I can afford one LOL

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  10. I've messed around with one of those in 12 gauge and almost bought it ahead of a pig hunt last year. The H&R slug guns are heavy brutes, which of course is exactly what you want for that kind of recoil.

    The 12 gauges are actually bored out of a 10 gauge barrel blank. This makes for a very thick barrel with a lot of heft. You could just as easily cosh the pig over the head with it if need be.

    The promised land for locavore hunters is farther south than Massachusetts, I'm afraid. Down here in Virginia we can generally hunt deer with rifles as God intended. A basic big game license, for $36 USD, includes 6 deer tags, 3 turkey and one black bear per customer. We've also got scads of public land to hunt on.

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  11. Jack

    VA is great i've hunted there before, how near to Lee'sburg/loudon county are you?

    Good to know they'd make an effective club as I've heard Pig hunting summed up as 'the winner eats the loser'
    SBW

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Please feel free to leave comments. I really enjoy hearing what readers think. The rules are the same as round my dinner table:

You're welcome to disagree, life would be way too boring if we all agreed with each other and we'd never learn anything.
I like to think that we're all grown up enough to argue every last point, right down to the bone, without bearing a grudge afterwards.



Come on in the waters lovely
SBW