Bird & bunny Hunters, what shotgun will you be using this season, and what will you be hunting?

I'm a grouse and Pheasant guy, and on occasion, I get to do a bit of Chuckar hunting.
Sometimes, if luck is with me, I'll roust a rabbit on the run too.

My shotgun choice is usually an over/under, in 12 or 20, or if chasing grouse, a SxS 16ga. If the weather is nasty, I'll choose the 1100, and keep the fancies warm and dry on the safe.
For Grouse and the 16 gauge, I choose a 6 or 7, depending on the thickness of the cover. For the Pheasants, whether 12 or 20, if heavily wooded I shoot 5's or 6's, if open fields, 6's or 7's, and NEVER mags.

If just out chasing bunnies, a light 20 gauge O/U filled with 7's always does the job.

My shotgun Choices are of these:

A Franchi Alcione U/O in 12 ga.
A Charles Daly 106 U/O in 20 ga.
My trusty lightweight Stevens 530a [1947] in 16ga.
and my workhorse, do-all 1100, skeet choked 12 ga.

So what are you chasing this fall, and what is your gun of choice?

should be fun to hear all the replies.:D

Chris~

A 311 :D

But you knew that!

Trusty 1100 may go, as well.

how'd that 311 fare against the killer doves there in TX????

:D

My preferences in shotguns are all over the place and as a result have way too many scatterguns. I have taken more pheasants with a Winchester Model 96 20 gauge O/U (it is a plain Model 101) and #6 shot target loads. Now I mostly shoot a Remington 11-48 16 gauge and low brass #6 shot for birds and #5 shot in the tall timber for squirrels. That may change because I just bought a used Franchi 12 gauge Field O/U because I liked it. Then I went back and bought a used Browning Citori 12 gauge 26" that fits like a glove. In my 12 gauge guns I shoot #5, #6 and 7 1/2 low brass loads. It helps that the mortgage is finally paid off and I can dabble a bit in in used guns.

I reload a lot and have never loaded a 3-inch round for my shotguns. Seems we did just fine for many years with 2 3/4-inch loads and never knew we were undergunned. All the best...
Gil

Gil;
Does your Franchi fit you?

I bought it last Christmas, on a whim cause it was just so handsome, but the gun does not feel "right" when shouldered!
Alot of scratch for it to not be right.......

Yep, small game/big game open here too as of this weekend. I suspect that as usual my Savage 24V in 30-30/20ga will see most of the action this year... it always does. Can't say that I've ever harvested an Idaho turkey with anything else than one of my Savage 24's in 20 ga, and with bear season open now as well, it's a nice option to have the rifle barrel... seems our bears and turkeys eat at the same buffet this time of year, seeing one is about as likely as the other.

I went on a dove shoot with a couple of friends once and they both had Mossberg pump shotguns. These were quite used and showed every sign of it. I also new most of the fellows that showed up and they each had an assortment of very expensive guns. The Mossbergs quckly filled their limit with some great shots being made. The others with the exception of one just didn't cut it. Not the guns fault of course but it was a lesson of shooting pool against a man with a broom handle that can play the game! Oh my performance? Well I will just keep practicing...I also have the Mossberg.

Gil;
Does your Franchi fit you?

I bought it last Christmas, on a whim cause it was just so handsome, but the gun does not feel "right" when shouldered!
Alot of scratch for it to not be right.......

m141a,
The Franchi has a different feel with a low rib and when I tried it on claybirds, it was awesome. The Browning is an earlier Japanese gun with a higher rib and I like that. I may ask the local gunsmith if he can put a higher rib on the Franchi. Both these guns came off the used gun rack and were not that expensive. All the best...
Gil

Gil;

perhaps that is it, as my experience is the same:
I crushes clays, but when shouldered against game, "feels" different than the shotguns I usually hunt. Perhaps it is the sight picture after all.....or rather sight alignment/gun position.

I'll have to get out and try it next weekend, and see if that's it...

The length of the stock could be about an inch shorter for my tastes tho...

Fun thread to read this far m141A. The only small game that I hunt with a scattergun anymore is pheasant. I used a Stevens side by side in 16 gauge until the mid-seventies. I went looking for a good “vertical” side by side and could not afford one that I liked. Ran into a Super-X model #1 that fit me good. Price was right.
30” full choke.
I found out soon enough that when mi’amigos got done blasting at a rooster, I could put my sandwich down and finish the job.

I still have the Stevens. Also have a Remington 1100 that my family got me for Christmas one year (so I could retire the Winchester). I can’t make myself do it. The Winchester always goes out the door when pheasant is on the menu. Rimfires are used for the rest of my small game harvest. I prefer a “sneak attack”.

Cheezywan

I'm going to be using my old Stevens 5100 16 gauge sxs for grouse in the next few weeks if I can make the run and canoe trip to the "berry patch". Probably use #6's.

I'm looking forward to that trip.

I knew that there was another 16 fan out there!!!
:D

I'm a big fan of the 16...

It'll be another month+ here in PA until I get started, but I typically go for squirrels, but will take other small game if I come upon it (rabbits, grouse, pheasants). When I'm not carrying my old .22 or my .17, my two scatterguns of choice are my Model 42 Winchester or my Model 59 Winchester.

If I figure I may try to get into some birds, I usually grab the 59, but if I know I'll stick to the squirrel country, it'll be the 42. Granted, as I have shot many rounds of trap with the 42 (that usually attracts some stares), I have full faith that I could probably take a bird, within reason, with it as well.

Dan

BTO;

do you know of this place?

http://www.warriorsmark.com/

I have been here several times, and the hunt is excellent!

chris~

Normally for birds I prefer my 16ga Winchester SXS with 7/8oz loads. Choked IC/Mod it has always been great for quail and pheasant. Nothing like hunting birds with a classic SXS!

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4158/winchesterkv1.th.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/my.php?image=winchesterkv1.jpg)

Chris-
No, I hadn't ever heard of that one. It looks very nice though, I may have to look into it more. I'd probably see more pheasants in a day there than I've seen in the past 5 hunting seasons.

Dan

I keep getting shotguns but when it's hunting time I'm out the door with the same 870 Wingmaster I've had since 1968.

DC

Almost forgot...do crows count as small game...lol. I did do ok during the early crow season with my Remington 1100...

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1903/1100po3.th.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1100po3.jpg)

I keep getting shotguns but when it's hunting time I'm out the door with the same 870 Wingmaster I've had since 1968.

DC

Isn't funny that no matter how many shotguns you own, there is a particular job for each, and always one favorite!

If I had to choose 1 shotgun that would do it all, it would be a pump also. My nasty weather, heavy "scratch your stock" brush, and "not worry about it gun" is a Mossberg 500 [now put your pinky in the air] ahem...Country Squire! [=semi fancy rolled engravings of a pheasant and a duck]
It's mod choked, 28", and just a workhorse of a gun! She'll shoot mags, standard and those minis.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1600/682422/9010514/276773556.jpg

I'm an avid rabbit hunter with hounds and my choice is the Mossberg Silver Reserve in .410. I use a short #6 for the open barrel and a long #6 in the other.
For doves or quail I use a Ruger Red Label in 20 and #8 or 7 1/2 shot.
We don't have chucker or pheasant here, except in pens, and I havn't hunted them in years. When I did, I used a 311 Savage in 12 ga and #6 Express loads. My pheasant hunts were with dogs or tight drives. If I did it today I'd take the Ruger and both long and short shells in #6 or bigger.

for most my upland game my Verona 502 (bottom gun)
http://www.missouri-whitetails.com/data/500/74jim_bob_pheasant-1-med.JPG

for turkeys though it's my winchester 1300 (actualy a ted williams 300)
http://www.missouri-whitetails.com/data/500/7405-turkey1_2_-med.jpg

If I could walk enough to get out hunting, I'd be putting another .62 or .66 flintlock fowler together to use.

The black powder front stuffing shotguns are great fun, in 1997 I won the Indiana State Black Powder Skeet Championship with a borrowed percussion 12 ga SXS. Picking up the second bird on the stations with doubles was fun in the smoke.

One thing I really used to like doing was going out on the hunter's clays range keeping my ammo hidden - got enough sneers & snickers showing up with my plain barrel 1937 20ga model 12 or my 1903 Eibar double 12ga. First round would get their attention with the smoke and wads flying but when they saw the all brass hulls coming out and the smoke plume on a double target, that was an attention getter.

I had a percussion double for a while, didn't last long, just wasn't the same as a flintlock. Someday, a SxS flintlock, I sure hope so!

Now a day I'm strickly and A5 Browning guy "Sweet Sixteen" Inherrited from Dad, 12 Ga Mag for Pheasants and when the weathers bad as I don't want to get the 16 ga rusty! And if the wife isn't using it I'll steal her 20 O/U Stoeger for chassing Chukar/Huns

Bird & bunny Hunters, what shotgun will you be using this season, and what will you be hunting?


So what are you chasing this fall, and what is your gun of choice?

should be fun to hear all the replies.:D

Chris~
Went for doves on a lark, having never hunted them before. Stepped into the field and flushed one immediately. It came down with a shot from my Belgum made twist steel 16 ga sxs. I proofed it with a double load of 777. Also had to ream the chambers for 2 3/4 " shells. I reload with 55 gr of 777 and a light load of #7 lead. Old hammers on a nice double look so good.

My standard for pheasant and rabbit is an old Western Field 12 ga sxs.... not much to look at but shoots real well. I babysat a Shorthair Pointer last week and took her out to find some pheasants. I knocked one down in some green briars, but the dog wouldn't go in after it. I can't walk real well so crawled around in those stickers for 45 minutes, and that dog was too smart to come in with me. I just didn't have the nose to find that bird. Felt bad about giving up on a wounded bird, but had little recourse. Had to eat pen raised turkey for Thanksgiving. :(