Old shotguns

Shotguns with any pitting of the barrel should not be fired. Modern ammunition must not be used in old shotguns. The barrels may not be strong enough for the high pressure of modern ammunition.

Get a gunsmith to check your old gunshot before you use it.

Firearm magazines

All repeating and firearm actions have a magazine where the ammunition is held before being fed into the chamber. Most bolt action rifles have box-type magazines with the cartridges placed one on top of the other. Many lever action and pump action firearms, and some self loading, have a tubular magazine where the cartridges are placed endon, one behind the other.

A tubular magazine can be dangerous. If the tube has been dented, the cartridge can stick temporarily. If it later becomes free it can be fed into the action without you even knowing about it.

To obey Basic Rule 2 – always point firearms in a safe direction – and Basic Rule 5 – check your firing zone – you need to know about Patterning and Sighting In.

Patterning

Before you use a shotgun for hunting you need to see what sort of pattern it fires with the cartridge and choke combination you intend to use. Patterning is a practical exercise that involves shooting a specific barrel, choke and shotshell combination onto a flat (vertical) recordable surface (sheet of paper). For more information refer to the Shotgunning Education Handbook at www.gma.vic.gov.au.

Sighting In

‘Sighting in’ with a rifle is even more important. If your rifle has a telescopic sight a dealer or gunsmith can check that the sight is correctly set according to a collimator. However, it will still require checking with the ammunition you intend to use. Do this on a range or suitable rural area.