If you could only have one shotgun for bird....

4

410001661

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Location
Burlington, Ontario
First of all I am a shooter....not a hunter.....YET!

I am thinking of writing my hunting course and was wondering if I could only have one shotgun to start hunting ducks/upland bird what would it be. I know it is a silly question...one gun...ya right....but humor me.

Since I don't want to take my Beretta 687 anywhere it might get damaged, I think a new gun is in order (see where I'm going with this). I was looking at the 870 3" Mag. in a 26" bbl. What would I use 3" shells for, and what bbl length would be best for duck/turkey/upland.....26" or 28"

Thanks in advance!
 
I have a Beretta A390. I use this for duck, goose, pheasant, five stand, trap, and sometime skeet ( I mostly use my o/u for skeet ). This gun is a workhorse. I have shot well over 500 round without cleanning. Never had a jam! and the beauty is that it will eject everything from 7/8 oz skeet loads to 3"magnum shells Lead or steel. I'm recoil sensitve and this guns gas system absorbs 90% of the recoil. My vote is for any of the Beretta semi auto's ( the extrema will be my next gas gun What a ###y gun)
 
28" pump is my pick for best all purpose shotgun for hunting birds. 3" is plenty for ducks and geese, especially if you splurge for expen$ive shells like Tungsten or Bismuth. But still over decoys, steel 3" BB, BBB, or T's work well on big geese out to 30 yards or a bit more.

My personal pick is a Browning BPS 3" 12 gauge with a 28" tube (Invector Plus chokes). Tang safety, bottom ejection, and complete Mossy Oak Shadow Grass camo. I love it.

2 3/4" steel in shot sizes of #4 or bigger works for ducks, if they're further out try a 3" #2 or BB hi-vel type of shell.

2 3/4" lead in #6 works good for grouse and I'm sure it would be great on pheasants and such if they're not flushing too far out. If they are then I've heard of guys using 3" #4 steel loads even.



good luck
 
Not that I'm saying "don't buy another gun" - definately buy more guns - but the 687 is an excellent hunting gun. It will do all you ask, with judicious use of chokes. My personal experience is that guns are just as likely to be damaged at the range as they are in the woods. Flying bits of broken targets, substandard gun racks and idiots cause damage equally as well as broken poplar branches and barbed wire fences. You already know how your 687 shoots, and you are likely to shoot it as well on live game as you do on targets. How well will you shoot with a new and unfamiliar gun? As the saying goes, "life is to short to hunt with an ugly gun".

As far as pumps go, they work very well on waterfowl, less so on upland, but they require training. If you were not born and raised with a pump in your hand, you may find that a single shot would work just as well.

Sharptail
 
410001661 said:
I was looking at the 870 3" Mag. in a 26" bbl.
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I have this very gun. If I could only have one, this is the one I would keep.

Buy the 26"/870, use it for everything and get a 20ga upland gun later when the funds permit.

SC................
 
Sharptail said:
My personal experience is that guns are just as likely to be damaged at the range as they are in the woods. Flying bits of broken targets, substandard gun racks and idiots cause damage equally as well as broken poplar branches and barbed wire fences.
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So true, so true and I have the guns that prove it. :cry:

For many years the only gun I had was a Beretta 682. I used it to shoot upland, skeet, trap, sporting clays and waterfowl. Use your 687 for upland and if you are adding a gun buy a Beretta 391 for waterfowl and as a a back up gun for clays.
 
"...What would I use 3" shells for..." Ducks and geese. 26" with Remchokes is a reasonablely decent compromise. Full or modified with steel shot only for ducks and geese. Improved cylinder with 2 3/4" ammo for upland game. You'll have to pattern the shotgun with any ammo.
 
Claybuster said:
Sharptail said:
My personal experience is that guns are just as likely to be damaged at the range as they are in the woods. Flying bits of broken targets, substandard gun racks and idiots cause damage equally as well as broken poplar branches and barbed wire fences.
Click to expand...
So true, so true and I have the guns that prove it. :cry:

For many years the only gun I had was a Beretta 682. I used it to shoot upland, skeet, trap, sporting clays and waterfowl. Use your 687 for upland and if you are adding a gun buy a Beretta 391 for waterfowl and as a a back up gun for clays.
Click to expand...

I still use my 682 for all the above mentioned by Claybuster (and it shows the signs) but it has got as much damage at the range over the last 20 years as it has got in the field.

I do have a Mossberg auto loader that I use for turkey and geese and a 20 ga side by side that I take when I go moose hunting for grouse but the 682 is still the best overall that I use
Going pheasant hunting a couple of time in the next month with it and maybe some ducks as well.
 
I like the 870.We like to jump shoot birds and it does not hurt it to drag it through the mud and water.Creeping up on birds you sometimes get your gun in quite a mess.The fancy guns are fine if you are always shooting from a blind.The 870 seems to still shoot when it is covered with a bit of mud etc.
 
bobbyjack said:
I don't hear anyone saying Reminton 1100,model 11,or A-5's?

Whats up nobody like John Browning?

Bob :)
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I picked up an 1100 this spring and it now is my main gun, but I have not had a whole lot of experience with it just yet. If, as the title states, I could only have one gun I would opt for my 3" 870.

I have had a lot of experience with the 870 and a couple of years ago I was pulling my boat into a sweet spot where the mallards were thick. I was sitting with a few dekes out to watch the flight patterns of the birds and could see them going way back in the marsh where it was quite shallow.

When I was climbing back into the boat some of the muck was flung off of my chest waders and landed smack dab on my receiver (which I had opened when emptying the gun). I pulled the trigger group out, got a rag out of my hunting bag, wiped off the workings and sprayed with a little WD-40 (any yes, I only use it as a temp lube :D) and I was good to go.

In my experience, the 870 is a fine shotgun that stands up well in the field. If I had to choose only one I would choose the 870.
 
I couldn't agree more. 870 3", 26" Remchoke, will do anything you need it to.

But hell, just go shoot that O/U and don't worry about it. Even supermodels get old and ugly. A few scars is nothing but character.

A wise man once said, beware of the one-gun man.



SuperCub said:
410001661 said:
I was looking at the 870 3" Mag. in a 26" bbl.
Click to expand...
I have this very gun. If I could only have one, this is the one I would keep.

Buy the 26"/870, use it for everything and get a 20ga upland gun later when the funds permit.

SC................
Click to expand...
 
bobbyjack said:
I don't hear anyone saying Reminton 1100,model 11,or A-5's?

Whats up nobody like John Browning?

Bob :)
Click to expand...
Well the 1100 wasn't a Browning design. But now that you ask I don't care for John Moses Browning's shotgun designs and especially don't care for the Auto 5 and by extension the Remington Model 11. They were masterpieces a century ago but in today's world there are better options.
 
12 gauge, PUMP, 3.5 inch chamber for versatility, 26 inch barrel as a compromise for all hunting from upland to migratory.

I have had remmington, winchester, mossberg, beretta, browning and finally settled with the benelli nova...

Cheers
Jay
 
870 all the way! But do yourself the favour, If you are going to buy the 870, get the combo with the 26" rem choke barrel AND the 20" fully rifled deer barrel. You mat not be interested in big game hunting now or ever, but if you do decide to give it a try, you get a great deal on the second barrel with the combo than if you were to decide to buy the barrel later on down the road.
One of my hunting companions still kicks himself to this very day for not spending the little extra cash for the combo.

813
 
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