Upland shotgun choice.

I like SxS and O/U guns, 28" IC / Mod or less choke, in 16 ga. as first choice. an ounce of sixes is very a versatile load. Many other guns will work, depending on your preferences and the birds and habitats you hunt. Upland hunting varies quite a bit. Late season sharptails and hard hunted prairie pheasants are very different birds compared to wilderness ruffed grouse or spruce grouse that live in thick bush, and are best hunted with different guns and loads. Hunting without a dog vs flushers vs pointers also affects the equation. Shooting sitting birds vs only wing shooting, etc.
 
hoytcanon said:
I like a 20 gauge most of the time... I have a Browning Citori O/U and a BSS Sporter... about 90% of the time I carry the BSS... great little grouse gun for wingshooting.
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I was looking at the BSS as well. Very nice. The CZ sharpe tail is similar but little more budget friendly
 
Suka said:
Most of my life used a wingmaster. I now use a sxs. Nice, light. Had a (perhaps stoeger??) o/u for awhile, it was just too heavy.

I love my sxs. Lighter than a wingmaster to carry and just feels right somehow.

edit: for calibre as others have said, 12 ga. Started son on a 20 ga browning youth, beautiful gun, started daughter on a .410 mossberg. Real nice gun. Very expensive to shoot. Just for simple price I'd suggest 12 ga, unless you just want something different.
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I went with a cheap 20g because 410 was hard to get.
I have a 12g 870. 21” vent rib. Tons of ammo. But I just don’t really care for the gun to be honest
Handels like a club.
 
sillymike said:
What I like
- SxS, double triggers, english stock.
- Barrel. +/- 26", choke Mod/IC
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I have only used a double trigger gun a couple times. I kept smacking my finger on the front trigger. Lol

English stock looks classy. But I would have to try it in my hands first
 
As far as upland goes, most of my adult life was spent chasing ruffies and woodcock with a Browning BSS side by side but now it's a Beretta 687 EELL Diamond Pigeon in 12 G. I could only love it more if it too was a side by side. I've always been a 12 gauge shooter for the sake of availability of a maximum range of shell choices, although actually I concentrate on low brass 7.5 lead shot.
 
regulate34 said:
I have only used a double trigger gun a couple times. I kept smacking my finger on the front trigger. Lol

English stock looks classy. But I would have to try it in my hands first
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They're supposed to be hinged.

English stocks make sense with a double trigger but they're a bit harder to carry for hour after hour.
 
regulate34 said:
I was looking at the BSS as well. Very nice. The CZ sharpe tail is similar but little more budget friendly
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My son has the CZ Sharptail in 20 gauge, it is a nice inexpensive gun.

I like the heft and feel of the straight English stocked BSS Sporter, I find the pistol grip models very "chunky."
 

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hoytcanon said:
My son has the CZ Sharptail in 20 gauge, it is a nice inexpensive gun.

I like the heft and feel of the straight English stocked BSS Sporter, I find the pistol grip models very "chunky."
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Me too, but I find that with the amount of walking involved here, being able to 'hang' a gun a bit using the swell on the stock means it doesn't have to be gripped so tightly as with a straight stock and reduces some of the fatigue. The English of course are better known for standing and shooting and not for searching their game out, which they call 'rough shooting.' Which is of course a lot of the fun.
 
Big Bad said:
They're supposed to be hinged.

English stocks make sense with a double trigger but they're a bit harder to carry for hour after hour.
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Never really smacked my trigger finger... then again, I probably (unconsciously) got a good grip on the stock when pressing the trigger. And the gun is well pressed into my shoulder.
As far as double trigger VS single trigger, I guess it depends what you're used to (and your fine motor skills).
- To me, front-trigger = open choke, rear-trigger = tighter choke is easy to remember... and the shooting sequence is the same regardless of the gun I pick up (push safety off, while shouldering the gun decide if it's open/closed choke bird, aim and fire)

I tried hard to get used to the selector on the Beretta. (easy to shoulder and pointed well). Seemingly easy enough to operate... but my bird-brain would find a way to forget (and the less opportune time) which side was which barrel :onCrack:.. add some leather gloves on, and selecting was a lost cause...

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As far as grip style, once shouldered, I find a pistol grip more comfortable. But the straight stock is easier to carry...
 
regulate34 said:
How do you find it for wing shooting?
My 410 has a 20” bbl, I find it doesn’t swing that great.
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Never been a problem to shoulder it in a hurry. I use the full stock with it, not the birdhead grip you see them come with.

Biggest limiting factor is it's not threaded for chokes. I try and keep in under 40y and when i'm in the bush, you're often not getting longer then 20y shots anyways.
 
regulate34 said:
How do you find the 20g. Ever find it lacking?
I’m new to 20g. Been very happy with the 7/8oz #6

Have used 1oz #5 steel too and it was folding birds well at 30yrds
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I have used 20 gauge SxS and O/U guns for many years on everything from wild pheasants and sharptails to geese and ducks, over decoys, pass and jump shooting , flushing dogs and pointers.
It's a fine gauge when it is chambered in a properly scaled frame, or in the case of a few of my vintage guns, a lightweight 12 with inserts:cool:
Cat
 
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While I'm a fan of the 12g (That's pretty much all I've been using for the last 40 some years, and I've got plenty on hand)

If I was starting afresh today, with what I know, and I'd be looking for a bird gun. I'm pretty sure I'd be getting a double in 12g, 2.5"

- There is a plethora of older British double available these days, going for very reasonable $. There build quality is most likely well above anything coming out of Turkey.

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- Ammo availability is kind of a moot point (with a bit of planning). Chasing grouse, on any given year, I doubt I'll go through more than 2 boxes... add another box (or two) in the summer to bust some clays to get back in the swing of things.
- Looking at the specs for 2.5" VS 2.75", I doubt the birds will notice any difference
 
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