Who says Shockwave-style "firearms" are useless?

[Sandcut]

I picked up a Charles Daly Honcho (shockwave-style "shotgun") last winter because it filled a niche that needed filling in my " arsenal". Most of what I read on the internet is "Those things are range toys only. Not worth a crap".

I beg to differ.

I took mine squirrel hunting today. Using low brass #6 shot, I took three squirrel out of six shots. I should have had four, but the one was only wounded in the butt, and when the dog found him for me, it took off with the dog close behind. I couldn't get a follow up shot to kill it with the dog so close. The squirrel ditched into a big hole in the rocks on the ridge. It wasn't coming out and we couldn't get in after it.

The remaining two shots were legitimate misses from shooting too high. Without the ability to get a cheek weld on a stock, there is a good probability of aiming too high. But, with a little practice, I was reaching out to 20+ yards accurately enough to get solid kills. Is it as good as a stocked shotgun? No. But, it is FAR from being useless.