what do you use for grouse partridge and why?

I use a Remington 870 Special Field, 20 ga. It is light weight 5-1/2 lbs with a 21" barrel which makes for a sweet grouse gun in the brambles & thickets. It's chokes can also be changed if needed, but have found the modified one best for my shooting ranges. My choice of ammo is 2-3/4" shells with 7/8 oz. lead shotload of #7-1/2's. Grouse tend to
run or fly from this stuff,.... if I miss!:redface:

Can hardly wait for chasin grouse next autumn....:ar15:
 
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Since 1967ish, when I bought it, my Savage 24H-DL .22/20ga. has been with me most times when hunting bush partridge or Prairie Chicken. I have used my old Dad's Tobin double 12 fairly often, and I remember shooting one with a .410 single shot. I have a supply of the original Imperial long rifle solid .22 and some 20 ga. ? in various shot that I keep in an old candy tin that goes with me in the truck when hunting birds.

My main pleasure is simply in getting out on a crisp sunny Fall day, an apple and a bottle of water in my pocket. Whether I do actually fire a shot is secondary. My Dad taught me a few tricks for bird hunting, and I still use them to this day. I go to the same areas to hunt that he took me to 60 years ago. You might say that nostalgia plays an important part in my hunt activities.
 
I like using a double barrel shotgun in 20 or 28ga with 7.5 shot. Cylinder by ic chokes in the beginning of the season, but once the leaves fall off the trees I switch to ic by mod chokes. Now this is for shooting ruffed grouse on the wing, if where talking ground swatting partridge up north on side roads then any shotgun with a tight choke or a 22 will do. Head shots of course.
 
Brutus said:
^Never felt the need for special spreader loads here. I/C and 7.5 filled that gap just fine for myself, here in the northern boreal forest of NE Alberta.
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If you have the option for an I/C choke you wont need it. It's mostly for guys with guns which have fixed F/M chokes.
 
Brutus said:
Ok.....maybe Snowy Owl can speak for himself instead?
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Yes, Snowy Owl will speak for himself.

In my neck of the woods, a 25 yards shot on ruffed grouse is a LONG shot. Most of the time, the shots will be between 15-20 yards and, believe it or not, even less occasionnaly. Let's say 15% under 15 yards, 80% between 15-20 yards and 5% over 20 yards. I hunt alone without dogs and I always shoot birds ONLY on the wing. I never - EVER - shoot birds walking on the ground or perched in a tree. To each his own but I much prefer to come home empty handed than to shoot stationary grouses.

Do I miss often ? You bet I miss often !

So, I will take any little technical trick to get even with my arch ennemies, the ruffed grouses : open chokes (cylinder, skeet, improved cylinder but if at all possible no modified choke) and Spreader Loads with size shot #8. And lots of pattern to make sure my shotguns are throwing their loads where the bead is looking and with as many shots as possible in the outer circle - at 5 yards intervals or, if need be, less.

Even at that, the grouses win more often than I would like to but I have been hunting for only 55 years now. I will get better as time passes by ...
 
I really like an over/under in 28 gauge that is properly sized for the gauge. They are generally slim and light and point like lightening, and kill game very effectively. My current O/U 28 is a Savage Milano, these are now discontinued but they do come up on the EE once in a while. For about a $1000 they are hard to beat!
 
I use my 458 lott. Many times i am on foot Bison hunting, down a path, or through the bushes and come across grouse or ptarmigon. In the mag i have 4-500 grain factory loads for the bison and when confronted with the mighty grouse i insert a 123 grain round ball over 8 grains of unique in the standard 458 lott case on top of the other 4. Slide the bolt, picking up the grouse load. This harvested a grouse and a rabbit in one walk.
 
Nickhoffmeier said:
A 22 is a lot of fun. Also less chance of meat. I also use an over under 12ga.
I made the mistake of using my Ruger SR-22 for grouse this year. Fish and game came up to me with weapons drawn because they thought I was hunting with an AR-15. I'll be getting one of those nice magpul stocks for my 10/22 now.

20ga over under is nice. Mossberg makes a Silver reserve II that is worth looking at. Also if you can find a Canuck dealer, they make an over under too.
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Fixed.

Hence, I use a 12 gauge. 6 or 7.5 shot.
 
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