Ideal upland bird gun?

[one-shot-wonder]

I own a 22 for sluicing grouse (rabbits). Have a 12 Gauge that collects nothing but dust.....and the odd clay pigeon.

Looking to get into an ideal grouse & pheasant gun for shooting on the birds on the wing.

28 gauge too light? 20 ga just right? SxS, Autoloader, pump, O/U? Lets hear it..........

[hoochie]

I only use a 12g. 2 weeks ago I tried 2 3/4 #3 steel, #4 lead and #6 steel. all shot in the head. doesn't damage the meat if you aim at the head. Hit them in the chest, and its just a mess.
11 birds so far this year and only 2 or 3 breasts show any sign of pellet penetration.
I think I prefer the #6.
I have only ever shot one Hare, but lots of grouse over the years. We don't have all the game some places have. But I seriously wouldn't change my rig for anything. I say 12g.

[xtrail]

Out of 10 grouse, 2 or 3 would be damaged in the breast with my 12 ga, I picked up a 20 ga to hopefully reduce that number.

[Steelpulse]

12 for alll around upland gun, 20 for a little more sport, and 28 for some fun, we have shot over 50 rabbits and around 20 grouse this season, the 12 doesn't hurt on grouse with 7 1/2 shot, rarely do you find pellets in the bird, or make the habit or flushing them first then shooting, can make for some wild shots, 28 gauge is really fun for rabbits and birds #6 really does the trick out to 25-30 yards and is light as a feather to carry

[B-rad]

I use a 12 gauge myself,,,,,,I screw in the full choke accu choke,,,,then I can reach out to 40-50 yards on those long straight stretch roads,,,and if a birds 10-15 yards,,,it just takes the head off,,,,,,trick is to put the bead of ur shotgun barrel right on the top of the head of the bird(above the eye) so it doesn't matter distance,,,,I'm still putting most of my pattern on target,,,,,,,I use the cheap Winchester shells from Walmart,,,,,2 3/4"----#6

[250 sav]

look at a browning bps uplands 20 gauge a quality little pump

[Gone_Fishin_]

No one use a .410?

I personally use my H&R Tamer .410 for grouse on the wing and ground. Doesn't quite get deep enough to damage much and works great on head shots. Does limit your distance however.

I also carry my old Winchester .22 long single for those far off road shots but i perfer to wing them and try on the fly. So much fun chasing them into the bush off the road with only a little single .410 . Usually come out laughing and smiling with one or two if i can re-load fast enough. Only downside is the little buggers sure do cost more then 20 gauge.

My next purchase will likely be a .410/.22 o/u. Would be nice to only have to carry one gun. A friend of mine recently picked up a nice old 20 gauge/.22 o/u which would be the hot damn out in the field IMO.

Right now the shotgun sits in the truck for the time being... new German Shorthaired puppy im slowing working up with my .22 before moving onto something with more bang.

[Foxton Gundogs]

The ideal upland tool is a dog. I shoot a pile of grouse and other upland birds every year with both 12 and 20 ga as do 1000s of other wing shooters, Idon't remember the last time I had one ruined. A shotgun is a wing shooters tool it works even better when shooting over a dog when the bird is flushed look at it say "what a nice bird" in your mind THEN shoot You will be surprised how little damage is done . If you want to ground shoot them use a 22 etc.

[adriaticum]

When you say upland bird do you mean all upland game birds or just grouse and rabbits?
I would think the most complete upland gun is a 12g when you consider the range of possibilities.
Chances are you will have to shoot birds in flight in many instances.
Also you can shoot rabbits while they are running if you are hunting them in the bush rather than on the road.
If you ever work with a dog that flushes birds you will probably want a 12g.
I have a Chiappa double badger 22 over .410 and honestly I don't even use the .22
The sight is not all that good and one has to always make sure that the gun shoots straight if you use 22.
.410 seems to be great for grouse and rabbits on the roads and I don't have to worry if the sight moved or what not.
I was quite pleasantly surprised how good .410 shoots and even at 30 yards.
I took 2 grouse, 2 rabbits and I didn't bite into any pellets.

[835]

The ideal upland tool is a dog. I shoot a pile of grouse and other upland birds every year with both 12 and 20 ga as do 1000s of other wing shooters, Idon't remember the last time I had one ruined. A shotgun is a wing shooters tool it works even better when shooting over a dog when the bird is flushed look at it say "what a nice bird" in your mind THEN shoot You will be surprised how little damage is done . If you want to ground shoot them use a 22 etc.

x2
i never thought of it that way Jim, that is a great answer to this old question!
A shotgun is a wing shooters tool.... if you shoot the birds in the air and let them get out ( what a nice bird ) it doesnt matter much abotu Gauge. And that the biggest upland tool is a dog... without that you are dead in the water....

PS. 20Ga for upland!