Henry Rifle Forums

When I was a young chap, I remember that bolt action shotguns were somewhat common. I can't remember which manufacturers produced them but I do remember one that was described as a "Goose Gun". I recall it had an exceptionally long barrel and some Southern turkey shoots banned them.

I think they were an economical step-up from a single shot.

I don't believe any are in production these many years later.

Marlin produced the Model 55, the Goose gun. It was a 12 Magnum and had an amazing 36" barrel. There was even one produced in 10 gauge. Of all the bolt shotguns, the Marlin was the most famous and it's even a bit collectible, now.

Otherwise, there were a lot of built action shotguns available, back in the day. In fact, my first shotgun was an H&R 16 gauge with a poly choke. Picked it up, used, at a price I could afford when I was in high school. Got my first pheasant with it. You could also get bolt action shotguns from Savage, Stevens and Mossberg and, of course, all these companies made versions for Sears and Wards and so on.

The big plus for these shotguns was affordability and durability. They cost way less than a good pump or auto. The big negative for them, though, was that they were too slow to operate for serious wing shooting. They weren't exactly sleek and fast pointing, either. For me, my H&R was a one shot kind of gun for my pheasant and quail hunting. Got a lot of squirrels and rabbits with it, though. Great memories.

You can still find bolt shotguns around, but the problem now is that a lot of bolt action shotguns used removable magazines and the magazines have been lost over time. Almost impossible to find replacement mags, anymore.

NCG -It sounds like the Marlin Model 55 you described is what I seem to remember. I'm sure the 36" barrel had a super tight full choke.

Yes. In the 50's-60's they were quite common..........One in the barrel and a 2 shot clip.........Never ever heard of one failing to fire or failing to load.
They even mad a 401 with a tubular magazine.
Savage and Browning in recent years made bolt action shotguns with rifled barrels for deer hunting.

My step son has one of the Savage 20 ga rifled barrel shotguns. He's a great shot with it and a scope. It's a very accurate slug gun.

I have a .410 bolt action I bought used. I haven't shot yet. Perhaps this rabbit season.

The Marlin was certainly the most famous of all the bolt shotguns. That 36" barrel was hard to miss in the ads. Marlin did make other versions with standard length barrels, though. In fact, Marlin even made lever action shotguns. Those are very collectible, though.

I wish I would have bough this one. No big deal now as I have two 410 Henrys now.

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As I recall the 10ga was called the Supergoose. Great branding for sure.