That third shot with a semi or pump is often a wasted shot,,,,,birds are usually too far away at the time of firing it. Having one rarely gets you more birds. When you know you've only got two shells to work with (O/U) you tend to make them count. That being said, I use a semi for waterfowl since my 'go to' O/U is only a 20 ga. which I've been using for upland bird hunting since 1980. I think I'll get buried with that gun!
That third shot with a semi or pump is often a wasted shot,,,,,birds are usually too far away at the time of firing it. Having one rarely gets you more birds. When you know you've only got two shells to work with (O/U) you tend to make them count. That being said, I use a semi for waterfowl since my 'go to' O/U is only a 20 ga. which I've been using for upland bird hunting since 1980. I think I'll get buried with that gun!
The trick for using the third shot effectively is to make sure you miss with the first two really quickly.
I hunt with the cynergy wicked wings o/u. Shot show special this year.
love it! But it stays home for goose hunts where I want the 3rd shot
I use the same gun as well bought it for my Xmas present and can shoot 3.5" if I want.Had an early cynergy before didn't like it much but this one is pretty nice.Use a Benelli 828 on pheasants as well as it is lighter and I don't shoot heavy loads through it .Like the o/u as I grow older don't feel the need to build a big pile anymore ,
Ive also been looking at o/u's for waterfowl. But I need to improve my shooting technique and want to get a little more consistent with my BPS before I get serious about looking at another toy.
I rarely take 3 shots with my pump. I do most of my hunting in the salt marsh so I was looking at some of the lower end guns. But I have yet to get my hands on one that seems to mount well "for me". Havent tried the stoeger, but looked at a tristar " just felt cheap snd junky", a lower end franchi " didnt fit me at all", and a savage " didnt fit me and seemed very cheaply made".
I had the chance to fire a citori last month and have since had my hands on several and they just seem to feel right. I am going to keep my eyes open for a used one on CGN and may pick one up during the off season.
A buddy of mine who shoots literally hundreds of ducks a year only hunts with o/u. I went hunting with him and was scared to carry the Citori he handed me. All fancy gold filigree and such. But his comment was 'it's not doing any good in the safe'. I couldn't miss with that gun!
I pack a 20 gauge synergy. I got a smoking deal on a used one. I haven't shot ducks with it yet but it's a really nice o/u that didn't break the bank.