Can you suggest me a 20ga O/U for upland birds, geese and ducks.

I have had a few 20 ga. pumps over the years, model 12's actually of the Japanese persuasion and they were awesome waterfowl and upland guns. It was no problem killing ducks clean out to 35 yards with 2 3/4" loads. On geese I limited myself to tight over the decoys. I tried to keep my shots at geese to 25 yards but stretched the odd one to 30.
 
Londonshooter said:
No, that can't be right because he was manager of Ellwood Epps, North Bay. And they closed in '77 same year as I was shooting mallards over my own decoys on Wasi lake. How can a 68+ y.o. with 4 guns be living in mom's basement? Doesn't make sense.
Click to expand...

Epps in North Bay they didn't close in '77?! I worked there in '83 and it didnt close for at least a couple years after I had worked there. The fellow who managed it then had been with them a number of years, I won't mention names but if he is still kicking he is well into his 80's by now.
 
hoytcanon said:
A good pump or semi-auto is the "bees knees" for waterfowl... look at an 870 Wingmaster or Browning Silver or Winchester Super X2.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. I came to that conclusion the hard way. Have an old Citori field with 30 inch pipes. Reloading this gun in the tight confines of a goose blind in a pea field in Alberta made me wish I had brought my 870 Wingmaster on the hunt. For me at least, the break action is just plain awkward in tight spaces.
 
heliace said:
Get a 12 gauge. Use cheap light loads and head shots for grouse and heavy loads for ducks and geese. Simple. 410 and 20 gauge are for girls or handicapped. I own a 410 ,but, I use it to introduce my wife, daughter and virgins to shooting shotgun.
Click to expand...

LOLOLOL Hilarious!!!!!!!!!!! Clearly just trolling for a laugh here guys. I spit coffee out all over the island here in the kitchen.
 
Thanks for correcting my nonfactual info on EE NB closing, Spank. Could not remember so had googled it and the internet lied. No more flaming for me - was somehow irked enough to look through a poster's previous threads.

OP, more guns are better.
 
heliace said:
Haaa! A little bit of both, I guess. I honestly feel that grown men shoot a 12 gauge and adjust the load and aim for the need. Why spend more money for less powder and shot. I started on a .410 at 8 years old and a 20 Winchester 1200 at 12. When I was 13, I started shooting 12 gauge and have never felt the need to go smaller since. Maybe when I walk with a cane and need depends. haaa.
Click to expand...

Grown men only shoot 12's?

That's so silly you should be ridiculed for typing the words.
 
Brno8x57 said:
Agree 100%. I came to that conclusion the hard way. Have an old Citori field with 30 inch pipes. Reloading this gun in the tight confines of a goose blind in a pea field in Alberta made me wish I had brought my 870 Wingmaster on the hunt. For me at least, the break action is just plain awkward in tight spaces.
Click to expand...

Now that right there is good info. I hadn't considered the fact that I'd probably be using layout blinds or the such. When I was a younger man hunting fields we usually just dug holes to sit in, but sitting in a blind trying to man handle a break action I can see being a PITA.
 
heliace said:
Pretty easy to get under your feathers!!! Unlike a shot from a 20 gauge!!! Be a man and use a 12....EE in North Bay closed in 1989, if memory serves.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you got me going pretty good. But I'm a new man today.
I shoot 12 ga. a fair bit, nowhere near as much as many on here but easily > 2000 rds/year. For upland prefer 20ga using 2 3/4 for pheasants, grouse. Faster to get on flushing birds than a heavier gun, killing power never a problem. Little sucker has more felt recoil than the 12 so that does not enter into equation of which gun is more manly.
 
heliace said:
Pretty easy to get under your feathers!!! Unlike a shot from a 20 gauge!!! Be a man and use a 12....EE in North Bay closed in 1989, if memory serves.
Click to expand...

Overcompensating for something?......

Myself and many other members who collectively have tens of thousands of upland miles on our boots know better...... Some of us even hunt with 28 gauge..... But I guess that means we aren't men because we didn't always use the 12 gauge "man's gun"......

Here is a fall hen I took, she was about 16 - 18 pounds....... 20 gauge 3"......

fallturkey.jpg


Do you think a 12 would have done a better job?.....
 
IronCanadian said:
Now that right there is good info. I hadn't considered the fact that I'd probably be using layout blinds or the such. When I was a younger man hunting fields we usually just dug holes to sit in, but sitting in a blind trying to man handle a break action I can see being a PITA.
Click to expand...

I do 99% of my waterfowling from a layout blind and 99% of that is with an over/under. I do not find it a PITA at all. In fact I much prefer it over other actions as its easier to unload before exiting the blind and everyone hunting with me can see by the opened barrels it is in a non-firing mode.

 
Last edited:
Superbrad said:
Overcompensating for something?......

Myself and many other members who collectively have tens of thousands of upland miles on our boots know better...... Some of us even hunt with 28 gauge..... But I guess that means we aren't men because we didn't always use the 12 gauge "man's gun"......

Here is a fall hen I took, she was about 16 - 18 pounds....... 20 gauge 3"......

fallturkey.jpg


Do you think a 12 would have done a better job?.....
Click to expand...

Ok Brad not to ruffle your feathers buddy but realistically a 3" 20 gauge load is generally the same load as what is considered a heavy field load in a 12ga. (Max dr eq, 1 1/4oz). Thats larger than just a standard 12 field load of 3 1/4 dr 1 1/8oz!!
Nice turkey too!! Camp dinner in deer season?
 
the spank said:
Ok Brad not to ruffle your feathers buddy but realistically a 3" 20 gauge load is generally the same load as what is considered a heavy field load in a 12ga. (Max dr eq, 1 1/4oz). Thats larger than just a standard 12 field load of 3 1/4 dr 1 1/8oz!!
Nice turkey too!! Camp dinner in deer season?
Click to expand...

I'm no expert on shotgun loads, but this one was a turkey load...... I mean it must have been..... It came in a half size bix and was twice as expensive and had a turkey pic on the box...... Lol......

Unfortunately, turkey and deer rifle season in the fall do not overlap...... But fortunately, the boys and I got that one all to ourselves for deep fried turkey strips in fish crisp......

If I had known shooting it with a 20 instead of my usual 12 made me less of a man, I may have eaten the liver raw and painted my face with its blood or something...... Lol

odd place this forum...... To be manly in the rifle section you have to shoot the biggest animal possible with the smallest cartridge possible....... If you use a shotgun, apparently the objective is to shoot the smallest animal possible with the biggest gauge possible..... So confused (no I'm not..... Just going to keep on keeping on).....
 
Superbrad said:
I'm no expert on shotgun loads, but this one was a turkey load...... I mean it must have been..... It came in a half size bix and was twice as expensive and had a turkey pic on the box...... Lol......

Unfortunately, turkey and deer rifle season in the fall do not overlap...... But fortunately, the boys and I got that one all to ourselves for deep fried turkey strips in fish crisp......

If I had known shooting it with a 20 instead of my usual 12 made me less of a man, I may have eaten the liver raw and painted my face with its blood or something...... Lol

odd place this forum...... To be manly in the rifle section you have to shoot the biggest animal possible with the smallest cartridge possible....... If you use a shotgun, apparently the objective is to shoot the smallest animal possible with the biggest gauge possible..... So confused (no I'm not..... Just going to keep on keeping on).....
Click to expand...

Go big or go home Brad!! That's why I sometimes shoot a 10ga 3.5" autoloader. It's treatment for when my testosterone levels drop slightly!! Picks me right up to being a MANLY man. I put on my old spice, load up with 3-2 1/4 oz loads of #4 and hammer Huns and house sparrows!! ;)
 
Now were talkin'!!! Anybody who calls himself "Super" must be trying to "compensate" for something himself. I won't even go in to the name "Brad".
I would even wager that my boots have more miles on em' after my 43 years of hunting and putting meat into the family freezer...
Anyway, did not mean to ruffle so many feathers...I was mostly joking, but, I have seen a few guys wound many ducks while shooting a 20 gauge with 'hot' loads when I was pretty sure a 12 gauge would have meant a clean kill.
 
heliace said:
Now were talkin'!!! Anybody who calls himself "Super" must be trying to "compensate" for something himself. I won't even go in to the name "Brad".
I would even wager that my boots have more miles on em' after my 43 years of hunting and putting meat into the family freezer...
Anyway, did not mean to ruffle so many feathers...I was mostly joking, but, I have seen a few guys wound many ducks while shooting a 20 gauge with 'hot' loads when I was pretty sure a 12 gauge would have meant a clean kill.
Click to expand...

Your "few guys" experience is awesome...... Pales in the experience I have seen with wounded birds shot with a 12.... During the st lawrence waterfowl season.... ... Keep going..... You are doing terrific.......

As for my username, meh.... There is a story behind it...... But that would fall on deaf ears with someone as manly as you......
 
heliace said:
I am doing terrific. I sure don't need a "super guy" like you to tell me so. If you think you are more likely to wound a bird with a 12 compared to a 20, your "experience" sucks.
Click to expand...

What is your experience with a 20?..... You have offered nothing but criticism.....

Obviously you have pics and experiences you can relate where a 12 gauge made the difference versus a 20, since you have such a strong opinion......
 
Ballistics don't lie! Picures? You must be mentally "special". Why would police use a 12 instead of a 20? Stopping power. What are we arguing here? For grouse fine, but, the op was writing about ducks and geese. A 20 gauge sucks azz compared to a 12 gauge on that type of game.
 
A 3" 20 ga with lead kills as good as a 2 3/4" 12 ga with lead ,geese over decoys no problem..steel is not so simple..most shotguns run at the same velocity with lead so the only difference is how much they throw and the increased hit probability with more.....I love the med to small bore shotguns,,,,,,,,I recently came into a 28ga Cooey and love it for upland under 40 yards. Never needed a 3" 12 ga for anything until they brought in mandatory steel shot on migratory birds. JMO.......Harold
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom