IAC Hawk 982 Shotgun For A Great Price!

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I received an email notification that “Bud’s Gun Shop” just got in a supply of the IAC Hawk 982 12-gauge shotgun. If you have been reading my blog, you know that I am a fan of the IAC Hawk 982. It is a copy of the popular Remington 870. Many of the stock options will work with the Hawk. And at $185 delivered, it is a high value for a tactical or home defense shotgun. Click here to view and purchase this shotgun.

I have shot just about every type of 12-gauge ammo through this fine firearm and it has performed magnificently. I would use 00-buck shot up to 25-yards and rifled slugs up to 100-yards. Yes, I said 100-yards! Read my previous post to this blog for evidence of its effectiveness at this range.

The Hawk 982 has fantastic ghost ring sights. If you buy a Remington, this is about a $100-150 option! This is standard on the 982. This allows quick target acquisition while still providing precision at range.

Is the Remington 870 a better shogun than the Hawk 982? Probably, yes. But, I must say that I have had 100% reliability with the Hawk! And at half the price, I think it is a winner!

100-Yard Shooting With Rifle And Shotgun.

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I had a great day of target shooting today! I went to the "Gastonia Shotgun, Rifle, and Pistol Range" to sight in a new red/green dot scope and to try long range shooting with the shotgun. I was pleasantly surprised.

I got a new scope for the AK47. I was looking for an inexpensive red dot scope. I simply can't afford $600 or so for an Aimpoint. I settled on the CenterPoint 1x34mm Quick Aim Sight. This scope is a 1X scope which means it does not magnify. My old eyes just don't like iron sights anymore but the red dot scopes work fine for me. The CenterPoint is a little on the heavy side at just over 13-ounces. This doesn't sound like much, but with my AK47, I have to mount it on the rail system just in front of the rear sight. This makes the rifle a little nose heavy, but at under $50 I can learn to live with it.

The first thing I needed to do was to adjust the scope to at least get the rounds hitting the paper. I didn't have a fancy laser bore sighter. Instead, I used a "primitive" method of rough sighting the scope. I set up the rifle on sandbags and aimed the iron sights at a spot 100-yards away. I then lightly mounted the scope and aligned the dot with the point down range. I removed the scope and confirmed the alignment. This worked well because I was just a few inches off when I fired the first shot!

I used 10-rounds to adjust the scope and then fired 5-rounds for effect. The target I was shooting at had a 12" grid printed on a 16" square paper target. I was firing at 100-yards and got all rounds on the paper. The final 5-rounds was pretty much dead on target! Check out the results:

I highlighted all 15-rounds. The yellow ones are the ones used for sighting in the scope. The blue ones are the final 5-rounds. I am very pleased with the rifle/scope setup. I fired from a bench at 100-yards using Winchester 7.62x39mm, 123-grain, FMJ bullets. This is the "white box" ammo.

I then moved on to the shotgun. I have an IAC Hawk 982 pump 12-gauge shotgun. The 982 has a 18-1/2" barrel that has an improved cylinder bore. As you have read before in my blog, I like shooting the Remington Slugger® Rifled Slugs. This a huge lead bullet with the rifling built in. This is great for smooth bore shotguns. It is like shooting a ~.72-caliber bullet at around 1500 feet per second. I shot them at 25-yards with great accuracy, but was unsure how they would perform at 100-yards. I was impressed at the performance of the heavy hitter. I fired 15-rounds at the same 16" square target using the excellent ghost ring sights of the Hawk 982. All but three hit the paper...AT 100 YARDS! This shotgun is just so versatile. The types of ammunition that is available to the 12-gauge shotgun can't be matched by any other firearm. Take a look at the target:

I highlighted the strikes in blue. As you can see it is not as accurate as a dedicated rifle, but for a tactical shotgun at 100-yards, it ain't bad!

I had a fantastic day at the range. It was miserable hot, but well worth it. I want to work on my .22 rifles at the range, but due to the heat, I probably will not return until October. I will have some articles on other topics until then. Thanks for reading!

Shooting The Hawk 982 Shotgun = FUN!

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I was concerned with the shooting performance when shooting a silouette target at 25-yards with my IAC Hawk 982 shotgun. The earlier post in the blog had all shots inside a respectable area, but the grouping was rather large. I felt that the shotgun was capable of better performance.

I think I was a little intimidated by the power in my first shooting session with the Remington 12-gauge rifled slugs. I fired five rounds from the standing position into a silhouette target at 25-yards. All five was in the desired locations, but the grouping was rather large.

I finally made it to the range again to see just how good the shotgun was. I wanted to eliminate as many variables as possible. I shot from a seated position while resting the shotgun on a sandbag. This will let me see just what my shotgun was capable of without many of my flaws. Here are the results:


I highlighted the holes in red. As you can see, my grouping has decreased significantly! The ghost ring/front post sight system gives you a very good sight picture and helps you concentrate on the front sight. My group is ~3-1/4", center-to-center. Not bad at 25-yards. I estimate that the ~.72-caliber 1-oz. slug is traveling around 1,500 fps (feet per second) and striking with 2,187 foot pounds of energy. This is just devastating.

I think the 12-gauge shotgun is the most versatile of all tactical weapons within 50-yards. The ammunition options are almost unlimited. You can shoot everything from regular bird shot to rifled slugs. The best two options are 00-buck for close in shots and rifled slugs out to 100-yards.

One advantage in these times when ammunition is difficult to find is 12-gauge stuff is readily available. The price is pretty good, too! I purchased a 15-round box of Remington 12-gauge lead rifled slugs for under $9.00. The way things are now with the shortage of ammunition you "buy it when you see it" because you don't know when things will return to normal. I usually buy a couple boxes of the rifled slugs when I stop by Wally World. Hard to beat the fun it gives you. See you at the range!

Having fun making BIG holes!

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I have an IAC Hawk 982 pump shotgun and have shot some 00-buck and really liked the results, but beyond 25-yards, the pattern really spreads. I was looking for something that would go a little further downrange and be effective.

I was in the "mart" store and they had a great deal on some Remington 12-gauge rifled slugs. Now we're talking! A one-ounce 12-gauge bullet traveling 1560 FPS (feet per second) at the muzzle. A rifled slug is a huge, lead bullet with rifling built into the slug. This is best shot through a smooth bore shotgun. What you get is the equalivant to a rifle shooting a really big bullet with an effective range to around 75 to 100 yards. I have to try these!

I made arrangements with my shooting buddy, Warren, to meet me at the Springs Road Gun Club in Hickory, NC. They have an indoor range. You can't shoot high power rifles, but you can shoot just about any handgun, rimfire rifles, and SHOTGUNS! The maximum distance is 25-yards. Just right for my purposes.

I asked the range officer if it would be alright to shoot the slugs. He said, "Sure, just use the lane on the very end." I guess he wanted to be as far away from this shoulder howitzer as possible!

I went to lane one and mounted my target. I was using the full size silhouette target for this session. I taped it to the cardboard and ran it back to 25-yards. I loaded five shells and prepared for the worst. I fired five rounds and put my shotgun down. Man these babies kick! I noticed it was real quite. I looked up the range and everyone was looking my way. The shooter next to me said, "Man that makes me feel inadequate." His .40-caliber was the big dog just moments before. Now it sounded like a pop-gun.

I pressed the button to return the target. WOW! Those are some BIG holes! All five shots well within the lethal zone. You should have seen the eyes of the shooter next to me when he saw the size of the holes. The last time he saw a hold that big, he put a golf ball in it!

I really enjoy the versatility of my pump 12-gauge. There's a shotgun shell for just about any purpose. To see some of the exotic ammo available, click here! There is everything from armor piercing to tear gas shells.

Get out there and poke some holes! Let me know what you enjoy in target shooting. You can comment on any post.