Whats a good gun for partridge?

[blargon]

Well I will try out my 22 and my 12 gauge. If everything is good, then I will just keep it. If I think I need a better gun, then I will buy one

No need for a "better" gun, the 12ga will work fine. Just pattern it with different chokes and some target loads to see what your hitting at 20-40 yds. I've shot hundreds of grouse with 12 ga and 20ga. The main diff is the 20ga is lighter to carry all day.

Now, don't let me talk you out of buying a new gun, we all love to do it but don't feel you have to either,

Northern Ontario grouse are definetly more tame then southern grouse, probably to do with the fact they never or rarely see people.

 

[Win94]

....................just like a few here think a .223 is fine for deer, I would feel way overgunned with anything more than popcorn seeds and a straw from a super sized coke for Partridge.

 

[mommabear]

The tame partridge were inbetween North Bay and Sudbury, also near my house near Lake Simcoe, they are tame

I hear ya Cereal, I grew up in Jackson's Point, they were all over the place!

 

[cereal83]

Yes there are alot around here and I can't wait to go out there and see what I can do to them. Only a few more months

 

[bobbyjack]

A 1890 in .22WRF is all you need,they don't fly unless you drive them!

Actually any .22 lrf or short .410 will work!

Bob

 

[Hornhunter]

The perfect gun for this job is my Savage 22mag/20ga.

Just my $0.02

 

[Doug]

I am pretty sure that you want to shoot ruffed grouse. A lot of our Ontario folks call them partridge, which they are not, of course. I have shot grouse with a .22 on the low end, seveeral shotgun gauges, and a .30-06 at the high end. If it was illegal to shoot them with a .30-06 then I was probably dreaming...............

If Iwas just starting out for grouse, I would most certainly use a shotgun. Your 12 ga will do just fine, but you may have to dig a few more pellets out of the bird. I would NOT use a .410 in southern Ontario, it is kind of like masturbation. It might feel good, but not much happens as a result. Our shots are typically longer than the shots in Northern Ontario and your shotgun choice should probably be a 28 ga. Next choice a 20, then a 16, then the 12.

But by golly, the best grouse gun is the one you already own. If you use the 12, I would suggest 7 1/2 shot. If you move up to the 28, I think #6s are better. JMOYMV.

Doug

 

[Ltbull01]

30-06...just make sure you take off the head, or get used to eatin' feathers!

 

[haggisbasher]

Actually for the really tame ones, we just put a snare on the end of a stick and then loop it over their heads. Works really well.

You think like me
I was about to suggest, that, if the birds are that tame, just take your trout landing net and scoop them up
Why take out a gun and spend money on useless ammo
Better still, use a sling shot, as that will make you feel more like a hunter, (shooting at game) but not actually useing a gun and wasteing good ammo

 

[Chopperhead]

I use a .410 and a .22lr. i usually stick to the .22 and my father takes the .410. dont really need anything more then that. Ive never been hunting in S.Ontario so I cant say but in N.Ont they hardley ever fly and when they do the bush is so thick that you dont have a chance in hell of shooting them out of the air. they are alot more jumpy near the end of the season but in the begining and middle of the season you can walk up to them and wack em on the head. (done it).

and they are everywhere to. one year we got our daily limit just on the drive to the place we were going to hunt lol. we usually get one or 2 on the way out to hunt.

so where abouts are you going partridge huntin Cereal?

 

[Grouse Man]

If you are going to be shooting birds on the ground (shudder) use a .410 or .22. When you get tired of shooting fish in a barrel, use a shotgun with very open choking and shoot them in the air. Light loads from a 12 is fine. But first you'll need to actually develop your wingshooting skills on the skeet range or gravel pit (if you haven't already). If there's heavy cover in your area, you'll just have to wait for the leaves to drop to get a good shot at flying birds. That's the name of the game.

I hope I don't sound snippy, but this is one of my pet peeves. Shooting grouse on the ground is about as sporting as night-lighting for deer.

 

[Claybuster]

Shooting grouse on the ground is about as sporting as night-lighting for deer.

I agree. There isn't much sport in popping a ruffed grouse sitting on the ground.

Grouse aren't the same bird across the country or even in one province. Northern Ontario ruffed grouse face heavier predation from the air particularly from goshawks. Natural selection means the ones that stick to the ground survive and those characteristics spread within the population.

Further south predation from the ground increases and the survivors are the skittish birds that flush hard. Unlike Northern Ontario it's damn rare to see a grouse on the ground in the South and when you do you don't see it there for long.

It's not unlike the differences between wild and pen raised pheasants. The former flush hard and far while the pen raised birds flush close or run along the ground in response to a threat.

 

[Boer seun]

Was it Capstick who wrote: "Everything the 20g can do the 12guage can do better"?

 

[Doug]

......"the 12 gauge can do better"..........including putting more pellets into the breast meat..........

I actually find that a 28 gauge does just about the same as a 20, and is a joy to carry and shoot - which is why I suggested a 28 gauge if somebody were going to get a NEW gun for this type of hunting. But since he already has a 12, it will be just fine.

Doug

 

[Sam Steele]

I'm a fan of the Savage Model 24 .22/20 Gauge for this type of hunting. Use the .22 with shorts for shots on the ground and the 20 gauge for when they take off.


SS

 

[agilent_one]

I've managed to take a few out of the air with my .410. Seems to work well enough.

 

[PeakXV]

I use a winchester 2200 12 gauge early in the season when the foliage is thick and drop down to winchester 24 16 gauge s/s after the leafs fall a bit.

 

[mdbuckle]

I agree. There isn't much sport in popping a ruffed grouse sitting on the ground.

Grouse aren't the same bird across the country or even in one province. Northern Ontario ruffed grouse face heavier predation from the air particularly from goshawks. Natural selection means the ones that stick to the ground survive and those characteristics spread within the population.

Further south predation from the ground increases and the survivors are the skittish birds that flush hard. Unlike Northern Ontario it's damn rare to see a grouse on the ground in the South and when you do you don't see it there for long.

It's not unlike the differences between wild and pen raised pheasants. The former flush hard and far while the pen raised birds flush close or run along the ground in response to a threat.

Ruffed grouse around here in NL don't like to fly, Instead they run. And can they ever run. They would be easier to kill if they flew up cause picking off a running bird on the ground of a dense forest is very very hard to do.

I do agree there is nothing sporting about picking off a sitting bird, but not all birds like to fly. Sometimes you must do what you must to bring home the meat.

 

[icedog]

In central B.C. we have ruffies, spruce grouse, sharp tails (in some areas), and some blue grouse and ptarmigan at higher elevations. In my experience, most of the ruffies and spruce grouse are taken on the ground, either with a .22, or a small shotgun....410 or 20 g. I would also guess that most grouse are "bonus" incidental takes for big game hunters, rather than primary targets for dedicated upland bird hunters. Opportunities for sharptails and blue grouse are more limited...fewer areas with open seasons. Sharptails are usually found in more open terrain, often make their presence known by bursting suddenly and noisily into the air, and present challenging targets for any shotgunner.