12ga for partridge?
- Thread starter TheCanuck
- Start date
they work great, UNLESS of course you shoot from point blank range +/- 5 feet. Then your gonna see a big puff of feathers. I sort of vaporized one 2 years ago when I walked right past him and when he moved he startled me, I pointed and fired........ needless to say, not much left to put in the stew.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
12 guage will do it all from the same gun, chokes and shot size
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I have shot game birds, with a 12 gauge when I've used a shotgun. My preference is a short barrel open choke gun and I prefer target or upland loads with #4's. The larger pellet reduces the pellet count, and the birds are not shot up quite so badly.
Assuming the same shot size, an ounce of shot puts up the same number of pellets so it doesn't matter whether one uses a 12 or a 20.
What does matter if you don't want to chew up a bird is total shot weight, choke and distance.
What does matter if you don't want to chew up a bird is total shot weight, choke and distance.
Why a short barreled gun Boomer??? I appreciate the compact nature of a short barrelled shotgun but find that I don't swing it very well, quite possibly due to the fact that I'm fairly tall and have longer arms I guess. Truthfully, I haven't seen many people swing a barrel shorter than 26" all that well and as we are talking flying birds here, swing would seem to be a critical component. Just curious................
- Location
- Back in the Peace Country
12 gauge is fine, though I use 16.
7.5 or 8's
28 or 30 inch barrel
Modified, Improved Modified, or full depending on your shooting style.
Over my dogs I always shot modified, and without the dogs, full choke.
Full choke is gonna do a bird in at close ranges
With my semi I load two 7.5's in an upland shell, with my third shot a half brass imperial number 6.
In my 16 I use #6 and barreled modified and full.
Short barrels are less than ideal unless your talking runners (grouse) on the bunny trails or close quarters paths and bush.
7.5 or 8's
28 or 30 inch barrel
Modified, Improved Modified, or full depending on your shooting style.
Over my dogs I always shot modified, and without the dogs, full choke.
Full choke is gonna do a bird in at close ranges
With my semi I load two 7.5's in an upland shell, with my third shot a half brass imperial number 6.
In my 16 I use #6 and barreled modified and full.
Short barrels are less than ideal unless your talking runners (grouse) on the bunny trails or close quarters paths and bush.
I found that with Grey Partridge, or Hungarians, as they are also called, they run on the ground before they fly and that my 20 ga did not have enough umph at longer ranges, even with 3" loaded with "6. I switched to my Winchester semi-auto 12ga with #7.5 Light Magnum's (needed to cycle the shotgun properly, target shells would not) and had no issues knocking the birds out of the sky. There was not a great deal of damage at all due to the longer ranges.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Around here the birds most often taken are spruce hens and ptarmigan. The range is short, and, at the risk of offending the purists, more often then not I shoot them on the ground or out of a tree. Until your post I had actually forgotten that folks enjoy shooting them on the wing, in which case you are certainly correct that a longer barrel handles nicer. But me, I only shoot them for lunch anyway.
I use my 14" fabarm with #4 shot. The pattern of short shotguns works wonders.
I track down grouse and shoot them as they're having lunch with their family.
I track down grouse and shoot them as they're having lunch with their family.
As the original poster is from Quebec, I suspect he is refering to ruffed grouse and shooting one on the ground just wouldn't seem right. Spruce grouse on the other hand, good luck getting them to fly. Interstingly though, ptarmigan can provide some great wing shooting and is a growing sport in places like Alaska where bird hunters are travelling thousands of miles and spending thousand of dollars to shoot them on the wing. It seems a shame all the ones I've killed with a stick and a rock.........
I've tried wing shooting ptarmigan a few times with my riot-style shotgun and have missed enough times to know I prefer a well-balanced over and under. It does in a pinch for getting a few for the pot but it sure wouldn't be my choice for a day of ruffed grouse shooting.
I've tried wing shooting ptarmigan a few times with my riot-style shotgun and have missed enough times to know I prefer a well-balanced over and under. It does in a pinch for getting a few for the pot but it sure wouldn't be my choice for a day of ruffed grouse shooting.
Last edited:
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
At close range, a 12 guage will vaporize a partridge. To the point where my retriever, would NOT pick up what was left of the bird! It did sort of look like it went thru the meat grinder.lol
I then purchased a 20 guage pump and kept the same dog. My dog retrieves birds that don't resemble road kill.
I then purchased a 20 guage pump and kept the same dog. My dog retrieves birds that don't resemble road kill.
As someone stated earlier, shoot the same load at the same velocity out of a 12 gauge or 20 gauge and it doesn't matter, it's the same load. Certainly there are all kinds of lighter loads well suited to upland hunting for the 12 guage just as there are some mighty heavy waterfowl loads for the 20 gauge. The size of the hole in the barrel is irrelevant!
