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Will Beararms

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Everything posted by Will Beararms

  1. I’ve always hunted the usual Public Arkansas Flooded Timber spots but they are now so crowded it’s not worth the time and money. I have identified (10) other WMA’s that are either lakes or sloughs or moist soil units I plan to try this year. The list started at 21 but I narrowed it down based on location and whether or not it required a $40 leased land permit. The Public Hunting has gotten so bad in AR due to years of unjustified 60 Day and 6 Duck seasons, little or no cold weather and too much pressure that it’s not worth waisting a lot of money on. I may not be able the enjoy the beauty of venues like Bayou Meto, the White River Refuge or Felsenthal but I hope to escape the crowds and rude behavior. If you are coming to AR to hunt, come on but spend the money to hunt private or you will be disappointed. Good hunting this year.
  2. You can find M2 Americans for around that sum. They are made in Italy but don’t have comfort tech and only come with one factory Modified Choke——they are 28” barrels with a MOBL finish. I don’t care for Comfort Tech as I am rough on a shotgun so it works well for me. I prefer Black shotguns since painted guns’ finishes don’t age as well with proper care but they are a great deal.
  3. I edited this and it would let me change the original reply so here is the edited reply. I would start with the factory flush modified or improved cylinder. Benelli barrels are not oversized. A very tight choke can distort the steel shot patterns. .702 from a Kicks HF Full in my Crio M2 is way too much choke for steel shot in my experience. After 20 yards, my patterns go haywire and in my experience, the Kicks HF F prints way high. I am getting 87%-90% patterns at 35 yards with a Carlson’s Cremator Non-Ported Mid Range (.707) with Winchester XPert Lr now Super X 1-1/4 #2’s and Hevi-Steel 1-1/4 # 4’s. I am clumsy and use an extended choke to protect the muzzle and that’s the only reason. In some cases, aftermarket chokes have been known to be off center or cocked thus distorting the point of aim. Be aware this can happen. With a Carlson’s or Trulock, you’re not going to break the bank of the choke doesn’t work out for you. Also, my experience with Benelli’s is that they handle like upland flushing shotguns with 60% of the pattern being above the line of sight and 40% being below. Keep that in mind on Duck’s coming in. You need to be sure and shoot where they are going to be. With the Benelli, you can place the barrel a little under the Duck and still be on. But, don’t look at the front bead, just look a little under the Duck. On the rise, Ducks will be easier to hit. If you hunt flooded timber like I do, as in real flooded timber in AR, when a Duck is coming in, be careful. Often, when they appear to be dropping straight down, they are drifting slightly to your left or right. Enjoy the process.
  4. I would start with the factory flush modified or improved cylinder. Benelli barrels are not oversized and in some cases, aftermarket chokes have been known to be off center or cocked thus distorting the point of aim. Or you can do like I did and waist money on an aftermarket choke for my M2, two of them to be exact.
  5. May you and your shotgun enjoy many Water Fowl and upland bird seasons. May the ding, in time, become nothing more than a part of the patina of years afield with a faithful companion. Or as my late Father was fond of saying: “ You dinged your gun? Good, now you can prove it’s yours. “
  6. I hunt Arkansas Flooded Timber exclusively. Losing a bolt charging handle in knee deep water is not a good deal in that venue. Today, I lost my charging handle at the gun range. The good news is I found finally found the Flooded Timber Load-Choke Combinations for 25-35 yard shots and it is 3” 1-1/4 oz. #2 Steel Shot with a Carlson’s Cremator Mid Range Non-Ported Tube (.707”). With Winchester Xpert 3” 1-1/4 oz. #2’s, the average shot count is around 150. I am putting 135 shot in a 30” circle at 25 yards (90%) and 130 shot in a 30” circle at 30 yards (87%). I’ll take that. I will add that today I was taking single shots doing the pattern work and the bolt would come all the way back but the hull would hang up almost as if the hull swelled up too much. This occurred about three times so I loaded three in the shotgun and it happened again causing a jam. So out of the box of 25 I shot, 4 or 5 shells hung up. I had this happen the first time I shot this M2 American with the new style Federal Black Cloud #2, 5 to 7 of the initial 25 shells hung up. The other thing that happened today is after the first 10 shells or so, the, bolt charging handle fell out. I am not sure if the hulls hanging up is related or not. I am also suspect of the Winchester XPert and want to try Kent Fasteel 2.0 and Winchester DryLok. I have never had issues with DryLok. When I got home, I field stripped the shotgun, cleaned it and checked the extractor for chips or debris in the bolt and saw none. I will add I run a bore snake and do a cursory light oil wipe down after every firing and for the record, grease the choke after every third hunt so I maintain my equipment. I have concerns. This past season was the third Duck Season with this M2 and during the last one, I didn’t fire over a box of shells due to terrible Duck numbers on Arkansas WMA’s. It has been babied. I did notice the interior of the chamber was bone dry. I may need to make sure there is a light film of oil between the mating surfaces of the bolt and chamber. Any help or insight into the stuck hulls and the charging handle that flew out is greatly appreciated. I am hoping I don’t hear 1400 FPS or below is not optimal for this platform. Anything above 1400 FPS with this particular shotgun in multiple choke and steel shot load combinations does not pattern well.
  7. I can only speak to my experiences. I hunt flooded timber in Arkansas exclusively. I shoot a Benelli American M2 with Winchester Dry Lok #2 steel shot. The Kicks High Flyer full choke allows me to take the close in 20-30 yard shots or clean up on the 50 yard cripple shots.
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