20 bore for upland

[Boer seun]

Lately I have been having fantasys over a 20g sxs, for upland anyone have a model to suggest ( I am a working man so not much $ to spend after the gov takes it's share keep that in mind) also in your opinion is the 20 powerfull enough for upland?
Thanks

 

[huntinstuff]

Oh yes. nice choice. Great grouse gun.

 

[eltorro]

Absolutely!!
I don't have one because in the sxs they are too expensive for me.
Make sure you get one that is built on a 20 frame, not just another 12 with different gauge.

 

[Boer seun]

I like the look of the one made by cz on the wholsale sport web site, what do you think?

 

[Ceska]

20g will do quite well for chicken and grouse. I was brought up hunting upland birds with a 20g single shot. It did the job and taught me to make my shots count.

 

[straightshooter]

Lately I have been having fantasys over a 20g sxs, for upland anyone have a model to suggest ( I am a working man so not much $ to spend after the gov takes it's share keep that in mind) also in your opinion is the 20 powerfull enough for upland?
Thanks

There's more than enough "power" in a 20 gauge for most upland applications. In reality, though, the shell has more to do with it than the gauge of the gun.

For ruffed, blue, and spruce grouse as well as hungarian partridge, 20 gauge is not only good enough - I would recommend it. You can also hunt pheasant and sharptail grouse with 20 ga using heavy loads. However, heavy loads are adviseable (otherwise you'll spend a lot of time chasing wounded birds) and, when using heavy loads, you'll find the weight of a 12 gauge helps reduce felt recoil.

What do you consider not too much $? That could be anywhere from $200 to $2000, depending on your point of view.

 

[DarrylDB]

Believe it or not, the Biakal upland 20 guage with 24 inch barrels isnt that bad for the money... they can usually be had for a very reasonable price, and works well with its double triggers, and screw in chokes... Definately not a top shelf shotgun, but is an excellent choice for a starter SXS 20.
the 24 inch barrels are functionally short, but swing quite nice, and pack through the #### even better.

I've got a buddy that has one, and loves it for the price.

 

[northwoodslivin]

Question.

Why do you folks prefer a 20/16G over a 12G?

I have wanted to know this for some time now. Also, why do the old timers prefer a sxs or break action shotgun over a pump for upland?

 

[SuperCub]

Why do you folks prefer a 20/16G over a 12G?

A typical 12ga will weight more than a 20, and beside the 12ga was pretty much made for waterfowl and can be a bit overkill for upland.

Also, why do the old timers prefer a sxs or break action shotgun over a pump for upland?

A 26" small bore SxS is the classic upland gun, esp with double triggers and a straight grip stock.

.

 

[northwoodslivin]

A typical 12ga will weight more than a 20, and beside the 12ga was pretty much made for waterfowl and can be a bit overkill for upland.


A 26" small bore SxS is the classic upland gun, esp with double triggers and a straight grip stock.

.

But why a SxS or single shot break? Why not a pump?

Ok, so the 20G is favoured because it is lighter then a 12G? Can't be by that much in weight difference?

I actually see lots of spent .410 shells on my hunting grounds.

 

[Longwalker]

Pumps are efficient, strong, and lighter than autos. But they are not as elegant as doubles, not as well balanced for fast instinctive shooting, and do not give the choice of instant selection of two different chokes ( applies to double trigger guns only) The pump's third shot is very seldom any advantage. When you put two barrels side by side, and grasp the gun around the reciver, 12 ga. is a bit large for most folks. The dimensions most prefer "in hand" come with 16 or 20 ga. tubes. One ounce of shot is adequate for all upland birds but late season pheasant and sharptail, as previously noted. I've used an Ithaca and a Remington 12 ga pump for many upland hunts. Nice guns, but I like my Merkel and Browning 16 ga. , and SKB and Browning 20 ga. doubles more.
The .410 is really a poor choice as a wingshooter's shotgun. the guns are often poorly balanced. The patterns are patchy and uneven. They usually require full choke for any sort of pattern density. It's a fine performer for "ground pounding" grouse, or potting them out of trees, and I've used the 410 to efficiently collect bush meat, but I think that grouse are such a fine game bird, they deserve a flying chance.

 

[Sharptail]

'Tis a thing of balance, sir

But why a SxS or single shot break? Why not a pump?

Grouse are fast, and you need to get your shots off quickly. A grouse gun needs to be reasonably light and very well balanced. Thanks to the work of Don Amos, it is now possible to quantify handling characteristics. Make the required measurements and run them through the formula listed below. You will then see why the pump is not favoured as much as the SxS when it comes to grouse.

The formula is:
0.34*(weight in lbs) + 0.07*(inches from front trigger to balance point) + 0.12*(length of pull) - 0.06*(bore diameter in inches) + 0.04*(barrel length in inches) - 0.03(if it is a sidelock, else 0) + 0.04(if it is a single barrel gun else 0) - 4.05
The article indicates that results in the 1.2 range indicate a lively game gun, a 3 indicates a heavy fowler and results less than 1 are "quite quick".

Results from the measurement of several SxS's are available in this PDF file:

http://www.members.shaw.ca/sharptail/CZReview.pdf

Sharptail

 

[Covey Ridge]

I like the look of the one made by cz on the wholsale sport web site, what do you think?

Really Nice!!

 

[northwoodslivin]

Edit

 

[northwoodslivin]

Edit

 

[northwoodslivin]

Thanks for the input guy's.

Some of you are very smart when it comes to firearms

Thanks

 

[Ahsan Ahmed]

I like the look of the one made by cz on the wholsale sport web site, what do you think?

Perhaps you were looking at the CZ Bobwhite? If so, recommend read up on a very informative review conducted by Sharptail and Straightshooter some months back.

Admittedly, there is a potential that a CZ shotgun (the shotguns are all made in Huglu, Turkey) may reflect quality control issues. However, this is not visible en masse and far less observed as far as the Bobwhite model is concerned. Frankly, this is a no frills, low cost traditional hunting shotgun and not really designed for high volume range use, IMHO. Nevertheless, it does it's job and does it really well.

I like 20ga Bobwhite the best in terms of it's handling qualities. FYI, CZ offers a 5 year warranty on the shotguns.

 

[SuperCub]

Perhaps you were looking at the CZ Bobwhite? If so, recommend read up on a very informative review conducted by Sharptail and Straightshooter some months back.

Admittedly, there is a potential that a CZ shotgun (the shotguns are all made in Huglu, Turkey) may reflect quality control issues. However, this is not visible en masse and far less observed as far as the Bobwhite model is concerned. Frankly, this is a no frills, low cost traditional hunting shotgun and not really designed for high volume range use, IMHO. Nevertheless, it does it's job and does it really well.

I like 20ga Bobwhite the best in terms of it's handling qualities. FYI, CZ offers a 5 year warranty on the shotguns.

Here's mine. I am quite pleased with it. There are nicer SxSs out there, but nothing at this price.

 

[Grouse Man]

A double barrel provides two fast shots in the most compact, lightest package. Remember, upland hunters carry a gun more than they shoot - reverse of waterfowlers - so lightness is very much appreciated.

Here's my Ugartechea.

 

[Grouse Man]

The .410 is really a poor choice as a wingshooter's shotgun. the guns are often poorly balanced. The patterns are patchy and uneven. They usually require full choke for any sort of pattern density. It's a fine performer for "ground pounding" grouse, or potting them out of trees, and I've used the 410 to efficiently collect bush meat, but I think that grouse are such a fine game bird, they deserve a flying chance.

Very well said.