after getting the shotgun mucked up in december i cleaned that thing to a shine and reassembled... but missed a key piece.


my plug.


after shooting at about 3 birds saturday i realized what i had done and tried to find something to stick in there, but couldn't get anything that would work. i didn't shoot one time afterwards. but as we were picking up i saw what i knew was coming.

Game Warden truck. told him before he picked up the gun, but to no avail. Nice guy and he said he would put my cooperation in his notes, but still got the ticket (no complaining about that.) I've never forgotten my plug one time that i know of, and of course the one time i did i pay for it.

How much am i out?

did the plug have to be removed to clean the gun?

i pulled out the barrel and the pump handle because i had gotten mud in the chamber.

I know it's too late now, but maybe to help the next guy...you could have used a couple of spent shells. Just put them "above" the spring so they won't try to feed.

David

good call for next time.

Go the same ticket 6 years ago up in Jack county while dove hunting. Bone headed on my account too...

NO! Horrible idea and still not legal. Magazine has to be plugged with a one-piece filler that restricts the magazine to a capacity of no more than two shells.

how much did it run?

i wonder if a 3 in shell with the top blown out would limit me to 2 in the mag?

Because the GW will feild stripe everyones shotgun instead of trying to put more then two shells in

Cut a thick piece of cane or a stick. Had a buddy that used an old dowel rod and it worked well. Next time maybe try hard to find something to use while out in the field just in case. Good luck hopefully they won't charge ya too much.

depends on your magazine size... you'd have to measure the length of the shell vs. the length needed to cut off the extra rounds in the tube- but still a terrible idea because there is still a chance that shell could pop through the spring and try to feed. Here's a few cheap ways to remedy the situation:

1/4" wooden dowels with a rubber band or two cut to proper length

old Carbon Arrow Shafts that are cut to plug-length (I personally have at least three of these rolling around my floor boards now)

Both of these use items that are either in your household, or easily and cheaply available. Carry backups in your bag, coat, decoy bag, etc.

Not trying to be an internet GW- just offering pearls of wisdom from someone who has forgotten shotgun plugs more than twice. Now I have a Maxus, and I need a key to get that thing out... no more issues.

Uh, they could if they wanted to... and usually will if they are any decent kind of GW- not worth the risk. GW's rarely want to personally load two live shells in a shotgun- or even handle someone's gun. In fact I've had more than one meeting with one who actually instructed us to kindly unload and pull out or plugs while he contacted us (big group of people standing around). Trust me, they check for plugs when working on hunters of migratory birds and waterfowl- why else would the regulation be worded like it is??? One-piece, cannot be removed without disassembly of the gun, limits magazine capacity to no more than two rounds. How else can you check the "plug removal" portion of the law for compliance without actually "FIELD STRIPPING" the shotgun??? GW's and LEO's in general are trained to investigate compliance thoroughly...

The GW's Ive encountered dove hunting have some sort of platic tubing they stick in the mag with marks on it to tell how many shells can fit. I would hope that if you made some sort of effort in a bind, that they would give you a pass around the "one piece" wording.

Just a side note for any of you guys that buy guns from pawn shops. Me and my dad bought two guns from different pawn shops this year and neither of them came with a plug. I dont know if they pull them out for a reason, but I cant see two hunting shotguns not having plugs.

He just went and picked up the gun with no other questions??? I wonder what method he would have used to check for a plug? I think I've met that particular GW a few times, always a nice meeting out there at that spot- and of course always nice to actually see them out there!

They have a rod that they shove into the magazine that is marked that shows them if more than two shells can be placed in there.

$200 - $500 depends on what they usually fine for that violation.

X 2 on having a hose like thing with a mark on it. On the other end of the hose is a magnet that will stick to lead but not steel, at least thats what I have seen.

2 yrs ago we were hunting on Vernon's place and had a GW check us. We had rigged a plug up for a buddies gun who had never done any hunting the night before out of a pencil. I guess when he shot the pencil broke or something. The GW tried his little hose trick and ended up taking his gun and writing him a ticket. His gun eventually got shipped to Austin until the ticket was paid. They dont play around up there!

O and X 2 on the pawn shop shotguns not having plugs

no, we talked for a bit beforehand. mainly about the fishing tournament that they decided to have that morning and the 5 bass boats that decided to infiltrate the wma.

he asked to see the gun and i told him i forgot the plug before i handed it to him and said i didn't fire after i figured out. i handed 4 shells because I knew that's what he wanted and he loaded all 4. he was a nice guy for sure even said he was sorry he had to do it. killed me that he checked my license, tags, hunter's ed, steel shot and i told him about the mistake beforehand and he still wrote it, but can't fault the guy for doing his job. He did add that he would put a note on it that i was very cooperative and informed him beforehand. that and a dollar will buy me a coke though i imagine.

Ive had to put loaded shells up in front of the spring in the magazine to make it only hold 2 shells. Its nearly impossible to get the second one in but it works...

Had them do that and put try to put three shells in my gun...never have I had on dissemble my gun

It happened to me last year and the ticket cost me $200.00
Denton county.

I get my gun checked ALL the time. Been stopped MANY times for shooting 4 shots per flock of Birds. Every GW had the same funny look on His face when I pull out the Cynergy O/U.

Yeah I have had that note on a ticket from the GW before. Your exactly right on what it is worth.

Never seen the plastic measuring device before- seen the magnetic shot checker, but they still made us disassemble and show the solid plug. It was NY, so that may explain things... other one was a USFWS