Glenfield 778.. what the hell do i do with it?

[bkb0000]

I'll start by saying i know next to nothing about shotguns.. i owned a winchester 1300 that i put probably 500 shells through about 5 years ago, but a friend offered me about twice what i paid for it, and i haven't had enough interest to invest in another shotgun since.

I have an opportunity to participate in a 3-gun match next week, which means i'll need a shotgun. i remembered that I was given one a couple years ago, and went and dug it out. i don't think i'll be using it next week.. its a glenfield/marlin 778, it appears to be pretty old, pretty beat up. 28" barrel, wood furniture, barrel and receiver were painted flat black. 5-shell magazine. along with the gun came some information scribbled on a piece of paper- "2 3/4ths or 3. Full choke, so no steel shot or slugs" i don't know what "full choke" means.




i found some weapon schematics that i'll use for strip. i intend to break it all down, replace any parts that look like they need it- although i wouldn't necessarily know what a part in need of replacing looks like with a shotgun. googling didn't provide a whole lot of info.. i found one website with some replacement wood stocks, but nothing close to "tactical." I'd need a longer magazine and shorter barrel to be of any use to me, but i couldn't find much in the way of those. how interchangeable are shotgun parts between manufacturers and models?

haven't fired it, haven't even really touched it. doesn't seem like the kind of shotgun one would tacticalize.. has more of a cowboy feel to it (maybe thats just the wood?) to me. if this thing can be converted into a 3-gun shotty, i'd like to do that. if that's not appropriate for this type of gun, then what is it good for? bird hunting?

[Mark/MO]

A friend of mine bought what looks like yours back in the early 80s. He gave $99 new. It was a fairly decent bird hunting gun as I remember. With a full choke it might be good for turkey hunting. While there are tighter, more specialized chokes (more constriction) a full choke is generally the tightest grouping choke you'll normally encounter. Years ago before the requirements of nontoxic shot I used a full choke on geese and still use one for turkey. The note is right, stay away from steel shot. The "2 3/4 or 3" likely means it has a 3" chamber. It should say on the barrel.

If you want something to setup for 3 gun I think I would look elsewhere. As you're probably discovering I doubt there are many accessories for them. Maybe you can clean it up and use it for a trade on something more useable for your purposes.

[bkb0000]

unfortunately, i don't bird hunt. perhaps its time to get into trap shooting or something...

[Dan Goodwin]

If you're serious, trapshooting is an expensive sport and that gun will require work to get it good to go for trap...far more than it's worth. You get hooked on trap and it instantly becomes an equipment game. You'll be looking at $1,300 Beretta 391 trapguns before you know it.

If you were given this gun and are not intending on becoming a frequent 3-gun competitor, just have it professionally whacked to 18.5-in. put the bead back on and go use it for the occasional match. Load from a dump pouch. Have a near cost-free SG for HD as well.

But chances are, somebody will loan you a gamey shotgun if you are trying out 3-gun for the first time.

[bkb0000]

If you're serious, trapshooting is an expensive sport and that gun will require work to get it good to go for trap...far more than it's worth. You get hooked on trap and it instantly becomes an equipment game. You'll be looking at $1,300 Beretta 391 trapguns before you know it.

If you were given this gun and are not intending on becoming a frequent 3-gun competitor, just have it professionally whacked to 18.5-in. put the bead back on and go use it for the occasional match. Load from a dump pouch. Have a near cost-free SG for HD as well.

But chances are, somebody will loan you a gamey shotgun if you are trying out 3-gun for the first time.

speaking of chopping it down- is a shotgun barrel length measured from the face of the bolt?

[Buckshot TX]

speaking of chopping it down- is a shotgun barrel length measured from the face of the bolt?

Yes, that's the legally prescribed method

[bkb0000]

anything in particular i should be looking for on a detail strip?

what about magazine extensions makes them specific to a particular brand?

brownells lists them for specific brands/models, so i assume that this, for instance, won't work on the gun in question: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/sid=1...70_1100_11_87_

[Buckshot TX]

anything in particular i should be looking for on a detail strip?

Marlin pump guns were pretty well made, so general functioning & condition should tell you if it's safe. A field strip cleaning & inspection oughtta cover it. I wouldn't detail strip it unless you have a manual or a lot of aptitude - there's a lot more flimsy parts that go in just so in the average pump shotgun than say an AR-15. Plus, if you don't know already what to look for, it probably wont help for some stranger on the internet to tell you to look for breech bolt batter, sear engagement strength, depth of locking lug engagement or the condition of the feed latches. No disrespect intended, but it's something that's can be easily shown but hard to explain in words.

what about magazine extensions makes them specific to a particular brand?

Well, the thread pattern & thread length, primarily

brownells lists them for specific brands/models, so i assume that this, for instance, won't work on the gun in question:

Not likely - I don't remember anyone ever offering an extension for the Marlin pump. It was only around a few years & was never marketed as a defensive shotgun, only as a long barreled tweety-popper. I think the Marlin mag tube will hold 5 rounds w/ the plug pulled & that's certainly respectable.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/sid=1...70_1100_11_87_

Hope that helps. It's a decent gun, but if you want to build it up like a tricked out 3 gun shotty, then trade it in on an 870 or an auto & trick it out. You can't get there from here with what you got. Factory replacement parts will be hard to come by & aftermarket stuff never existed for it. If you wanna just cut it down & use it as a good basic house gun, it'll be fine.

[MarshallDodge]

I have a couple shotguns setup that way. They sit in the back of the safe and collect dust but periodically get taken out to lend to a friend when we go shoot trap.

You could use it in 3-gun. You would be limited by the barrel length and short magazine but you would learn how to speed load!

Trap and 3-gun are fun. Would you be out in front if you had the very best equipment in either sport? Probably not. My suggestion would be to go out and see if you like the sport before spending any money on guns or accessories for them.

A few years ago I shot Cowboy Action with some friends. I had most of the equipment except for a period correct shotgun and the magazine on my lever action carbine was two rounds short for a couple of the stages. My friend lent me his shotgun and I was able to use the carbine by reloading a couple rounds at the end of the stage. It put me back a couple seconds but I was having fun so it really didn't matter. I started to get into it and found a deal on an old Remington side-by-side shotgun with a 28" barrel. People got a kick out of me, I was the guy with the shortest rifle and longest shotgun.

[bkb0000]

i dont even know enough about shotguns to know what can be done in the way of trickin' 'em out. at this point, the only three things i'd like to do to it are shorten the barrel, extend the mag, and paint it. i cant imagine wanting to do too much more than that, i'm not really in to unecessary modifications. i need to get some shells through it and probably compete in a match or 3 before i have any clue what, exactly, my needs are, though.

what's a good entry-level 3-gun shotgun? just a basic 870? what about autos? 1100? what are the differences in reliability between pump and auto shotguns? my shotgun needs dont extend beyond 3-gun- homestead defense is covered with weapons i'm experienced and proficient with.