Perfect upland game barrel length and gauge?

Claybuster said:
Now that is a cheap shot. But funny. :)

While I can understand that some people might be attracted to the 16 who'd have ever thought we had so many Jerry Lewis fans. :confused:

The next thing we'll find out is their secret love for Calvados. :eek:
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16 gauges are sweet indeed. I wouldn't part with a single one of mine. But, one has to be honest and admit that the shells are harder to find. To someone on a tight budget, this can be an issue. I'm not advocating this for everybody, but my approach is to maintain a complete stock of shells of all kinds that are available for the gauges that I shoot.

A very wise man (okay, it was Sharptail) once told me that "you can't buy/collect everything". I took that one step further and decided that there were certain types of guns that I wouldn't buy/collect, and that I would limit myself to certain gauges and calibers. For shotguns, I decided that I would limit myself to 12, 16, & 20 gauge. This approach has enabled me to buy and maintain a better selection of shells than you'll ever find at any given dealer.

For a gauge that patterns as well as 16 gauge does and has the versatility that 16 gauge has (in a well balanced, well built double-trigger SXS especially) something like shell availability will never stand in the way of someone who fully appreciates it - just as Jerry Lee didn't let anyone stand in the way of his true love. Good example, Claybuster.
 
straightshooter said:
If Calvados is a good as 16 gauges, maybe we should toast a glass to Claybuster!
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Well, I certainly won't hesitate to raise a glass of (non-alcoholic) beverage to CB - he is a true shotgun aficionado and a gentleman.

Still unable to interpret though if Calvados is good or bad relative to the topic of a 16ga :redface:
 
Ahsan Ahmed said:
Well, I certainly won't hesitate to raise a glass of (non-alcoholic) beverage to CB - he is a true shotgun aficionado and a gentleman.

Still unable to interpret though if Calvados is good or bad relative to the topic of a 16ga :redface:
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Both Calvados and 16 gauge are both bad, or not really bad but one goes good with stinky cheese and the other is stinky cheese:evil: and Win/64 prefers blondes, but those who prefer him are blind and we all wish Krazy K luck with his 4000 foot shot:weird:
 
My favourite gauge in the uplands is the 28 gauge.The two 28 gauge shotguns I use the most are my AYA Model 3A with 27 inch barrels and my Franchi 48 AL with 26 inch barrels.Both shotguns are light, 5 1/2 pounds ,which is great for those long carries in the field.They have low recoil but still pack plemty of punch for anything I use them on in the uplands.
 
Covey Ridge said:
Crazy.kayaker said:
There are more choices in quality over/unders than side by sides. I would pick a 20 because there are more selection of guns available and a larger selection of ammo that would suite your purpose. There are bargain priced 20 ammo available, Very seldom in 16, like never! Some may argue, but I think a 20 will do everything a 16 will. As far as choice of barrel length? Most doubles come in 26 or 28. Both are good, but for me it would be 28, but you pick.



There is nothing perfect about compromise!




If you are riding shotgun for a Wells Fardo stage coach and have run out of rifle ammo a coach gun is for you! :D
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Wells Fardo?
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straightshooter said:
There's a couple of points that seem to be missing from this discussion. CrazyK, we need to know what kind of upland game you typically find in your area.
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We have the following:
Snow shoes
Grouse Blue, Ruffed & Spruce
Sharp-Tail Grouse
Ptarmigan
Charkar
Gray partridge
Pheasent
Mourning doves
Band taled pigeons

I'll be hunting the all but the last two as I can't see much point on the last two for eating.
 
Crazy.kayaker said:
We have the following:
Snow shoes
Grouse Blue, Ruffed & Spruce
Sharp-Tail Grouse
Ptarmigan
Charkar
Gray partridge
Pheasent
Mourning doves
Band taled pigeons

I'll be hunting the all but the last two as I can't see much point on the last two for eating.
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27 - 28" barrelled 20 or 28 gauge, either will work great.
I hunt with both and shoot those as well as ducks and geese with my 20 with 27" barrels, but like the 28 as well ( never hunted ducks with the 28)
Cat
 
Crazy.kayaker said:
We have the following:
Snow shoes
Grouse Blue, Ruffed & Spruce
Sharp-Tail Grouse
Ptarmigan
Charkar
Gray partridge
Pheasent
Mourning doves
Band taled pigeons

I'll be hunting the all but the last two as I can't see much point on the last two for eating.
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A 20 gauge 28 or 26 inch should work well for that bunch. I would select the 28 inch. BTW I would do a spell check and edit on that bunch as well because Win/64 will probably want to know what the doves are mourning about, if you are not going to shoot them?:D How did your rabbit hunt go?
 
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Covey Ridge said:
A 20 gauge 28 or 26 inch should work well for that bunch. I would select the 28 inch. BTW I would do a spell check and edit on that bunch as well because Win/64 will probably want to know what the doves are mourning about, if you are not going to shoot them?:D How did your rabbit hunt go?
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CR the 28 might not have work that well in the bush I was in. My 30" Shotgun was way to long always getting hung up and a 26" would probably have been perfect. My .22 has a short 18.5" barrel and was great to handle in the trees. What type of difference would 2" or 4" difference make in light underbrush? I know what 11.5" difference makes.

I think a 20 gauge with a 26" bbl might be what I want. I can always get a smith to shorten the barrel or buy one if I need it.

My synopsis calls them Mourning Doves Win/64 can Mourn with them if he wants his nose put out over it ;)

As for my hunt, it was quite interesting. On the way up I saw a doe and a yearling grazing off the side of the road near where I usually pull off but went further up. I treed a rabbit and gave up after 15 minutes, I saw the rabbit go under the tree but no tracks out. Saw lots of rabbit paths in the snow I'd say at least 4 or 5 rabbits in the immediate area. Later I saw a wolf about 60 feet away and used my .22 to scare it away after yelling didn't work and found tracks of another one that had been following my tracks not that far back. The wolf was about 3 feet at the shoulder biggest one I've seen to date. I had the wrong loads for shooting a wolf that size but after that I changed my shotguns load from #8 Lead Pellets to 1 ounce Rifled Slug just in case they came back. I do wonder if it is the same pack that dens above my place in the hills. Anyone here know how large an area a pack of 3-5 claims? All in all I'd say the hunt was great despite having to eat a beef stew (wanted a rabbit stew) for dinner.

C.K
 
CK, you are correct in that they are mourning doves because they make a weird crying sound.

A couple inches of barrel do not make a difference. As I said, either or, but my preference would be 28 inches. When bird hunting, I do not plan to do any swinging or shooting when the bush is that thick. As far as wolves go, I do not have any in my area, but I would still feel O.K. with bird shot. I once took out a really big tom cat with a 20 gauge mod. and 7 1/2 shot at close range and know it would sure piss of a wolfe at close range. If I was going to carry back up wolfe loads, I would go to #4 buck or BBs instead of a slug.
 
Covey Ridge said:
CK, you are correct in that they are mourning doves because they make a weird crying sound.

A couple inches of barrel do not make a difference. As I said, either or, but my preference would be 28 inches. When bird hunting, I do not plan to do any swinging or shooting when the bush is that thick. As far as wolves go, I do not have any in my area, but I would still feel O.K. with bird shot. I once took out a really big tom cat with a 20 gauge mod. and 7 1/2 shot at close range and know it would sure piss of a wolfe at close range. If I was going to carry back up wolfe loads, I would go to #4 buck or BBs instead of a slug.
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I forgot my 00 and 000 Buck at home so I made due with what I had (3, 1 ounce slugs) I guess to find out if I likae a 26" barrel I'll have to see how I like my pumps 26" in the brush. As for the brush it was the willow trees you see lining the side of roads that my shotgun kept getting caught up in as I was following a rabbits tracks. I was in a seasonal marsh.
 
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I prefer a 20 gauge,and I choose the barrel length depending on how the particular gun balances and feels.I like my 20 gauge Browning gold Euro with a 28" barrel.
 
CK.....it seems to me you are trying to talk yourself into a short-barrelled shotgun so why not just get one. The difference between a 26" and 30" is 4" and it's not going to help you swing any better in heavy bush. It may help you swing better as a shooter or it may not but that 4" isn't going to make one a better heavy brush gun than the other. I think you are asking way too much of one gun. If you want something to shoot rabbits and spruce grouse in the heavy brush with you should likely go to something short barrelled because truthfully, if the brush is that heavy you aren't going to be swinging on shots anyhow but rather pointing a shooting and in that case, barrel length really doesn't matter. Sometimes you just can't have it all from one gun.
 
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