r/canadaguns • u/FrozenReesesPieces • Mar 25 '26
Application / Regulation advice Maverick 88 security hunting
So im new to firearms (like brand new) and I was gifted a mavy 88 security model, fixed smooth barrel 12 gauge (what i was told) and im on a budget, but plan on taking my hunting course for this year's seasons. Just wondering what could I humanely go for with this shotgun? What kind of game would work out?
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u/kestik Mar 25 '26
With a 12 gauge shotgun, your options are fairly wide open. The shorter barrel and potentially no choke options put you at a disadvantage over other firearms, but you can go for pretty much any game bird by choosing the appropriate shells. Do some research on 12 gauge hunting and you'll see you have quite a range of options; 12 gauge is essentially a do-it-all firearm.
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u/unreadable_letters Mar 25 '26
As others have said, a 12 gauge shotgun is very versatile. That being said it would not be my gun of choice for deer hunting. With slugs and a shotgun your range is quite limited. A rifle is more accurate and has a much longer effective range. With a shotgun you're looking at a range of dozens of yards, with a rifle you have hundreds.
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u/draftstone Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
A 12 gauge shotgun, you can hunt anything. It has a smooth bore, so you can take rifled slugs and hunt any big game (moose, bear). For deer, rifled slug or buck shots will do. For any birds/small game, depending on the type of birds, there is some shots of the proper size.
I would assume your shotgun is a 3'' chamber, so you can take anything in 3'' or 2.75'' (google tells me maverick 88 are 3'', but it should be written on your action/barrel)
Also, you have interchangeable chokes, look those up, for turkey for instance, you want an extra full choke, for rifled slug, cylindrical would be best!
The hunting course will tell you all that, but a 12 gauge shotgun is probably the most versatile gun there is! There is nothing in Canada you can't hunt with a 12 gauge shotgun. You won't take 400 yards with a shotgun, it is not made to hunt at a long distance, but it can humanely kill any size game as long as you are within proper range.
Edit: I had missed the "security" model part. So forget the interchangeable chokes, you have a fixed cylindrical choke. You can still hunt with shots with a choke that is too open, just have to reduce the ranges. For rifled slug, it is perfect. But you can buy a separate barrel that will have interchangeable chokes for way cheaper than buying another shotgun or a rifle. Barrels are very easy to swap on pump shotguns.
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u/Sco0basTeVen Mar 25 '26
Depends where you are. You can’t take moose with a shotgun in BC. OP should check their local regs before they go out and blast a moose with a security shotgun like you suggest.
And with your regards to “there’s nothing in Canada you can’t hunt with a shotgun” is also false. You cannot shoot Bison, Caribou, Elk, mountain goat or mountain sheep with a shotgun in BC. Cmon now.
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u/swift_gilford Mar 25 '26
What kind of game would work out?
Anything really. Thats kind of the glory of a shotgun, your ammo determines what you can hunt ethically. After you select your load, effective ranges are the only other factor tbh.
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u/prosper_0 Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
go blast some clays, and get a feel for what you can accomplish. I have an '88 with the 20" cylinder bore, and a 28" modified choke. The difference in reach is readily apparent.
I would really only hunt birds with a shotgun. Maybe bunnies too. And I've definitely blasted ground squirrels with it, though that's not 'hunting' per se.
For big game, a rifle's a whole other level compared to a 12ga. Even with slugs, a shotgun's just not even comparable to a boring old 303, 308, 30-06, etc. Much MUCH longer ranges, and better accuracy permits ethical shot placement where 'aiming' a shotgun is really more of a suggestion. And I know, everyone looks at a slug and things 'whoa, big!' - but in reality, a decent hunting rifle round does a much better job. In a lot of places, slugs are only legal for the smallest of big game, and are not recommended (or permitted) for elk, bison, etc. They're just not the uber-lethal killers that they're perceived to be. Unless you're at bow hunting range, of course.
Unless I was starving and only had access to a 12g, I'd take a rifle every single time for big game.
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u/FrozenReesesPieces Mar 27 '26
Thabsk for the advice, I saw cabelas had a sale for multiple different chambers of the savage xp 2 fde for 499 today, thought about hopping on that but im super budgety
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u/JaxIsLoud Mar 27 '26
Upland hunting. Grouse hunting rabbits. Close range stuff. I have a Mossberg 500 with 18" cyl bore. Took plenty of grouse with it. You ain't going duck hunting with it. But for trail birds you'll be fine
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u/Haunting-Pool708 Mar 25 '26
Deer with smooth bore slugs within 40 yards would be fine. You’re gonna want a longer barrel with chokes for anything else. Look around for a 28” barrel for the 88