Poll....who is hunting with small gauge for up-land birds?

[James L. Martin]

I love and hunt with all gauges , I never understood why it's more sporting to shoot 7/8 oz in a 20ga than in a 12ga. You can shoot 1oz in a 12ga ,16ga, 20ga and 28ga ,why is one more sporting than another? With that said I do more hunting with a 20ga, because they tend to weigh around 6 to 6 1/2 lbs which works best for me.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Rick Losey

Bert Spiller the poet laureate of upland hunting hunted grouse with a 10 gauge - must have been as good as 2 20's if he used one.

Spiller only used his Dad's 10 until he could buy a gun of his own which was a 12, then later a 16, (*) finally settling on a 20 gauge VHE that was found for him by his grouse hunting crony Gorham L. "Grampa Grouse" Cross.

(*) Spiller actually ordered a very fine 20 or 28 from a very prestigious American maker, though he never said who it was. But did say he ordered it to be extremely light, hence the barrels were very thin. While crossing a stream on an icy morning he slipped and both he and his little gun went ass over teakettle and were both submerged and the barrels of his pride and joy got severely dented.






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[Dean Romig]

I like my 12 gauge DH with 30" barrels and enjoy shooting at trap and occasionally at SC but it weighs 8 lbs and is NOT something I want to take (Eastern) upland shooting.






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[mobirdhunter]

Hey, this is a question about preferences. We all have them. Share and learn.

[Mills]

Been reading some books about hunting in the South before the 20th century and 14 gauges seem to have been popular. That is another gauge I want. Thought that was interesting.

[Battue]

Originally Posted by John Davis

Yes, sub-gauges are fun to shoot and easy to carry. Yes, many of today's put and take quail preserves don't allow anything bigger than a 20 gauge. Why would you when you've either got to literally kick the bird up or send in a flushing dog to get something even close to a covey rise? And yes, sub-gauges seem to be the latest rage among collectors these day's.

But the fact remains that the 12 is and has been for the past 150 years the most popular gauge to shoot. It overtook and supplanted the 10 and it withstood the advent of all other smaller gauges. There is a reason that 99% of all guns used for trap are 12's. If you didn't have sub-gauge events in skeet and sporting clays, the same would be true for those disciplines as well. And with the opening day of dove season just around the corner, a vast majority of the guns you'll see in the field will be 12's.

So to be clear, I love a 16, 20 and 28 gauge as much as anyone. I enjoy shooting them in pursuit of most upland game. But if I'm going to travel a thousand miles to shoot wild birds in South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas or anywhere else, I'm probably going to be shooting a 12 gauge.

Hard to make that argument for skeet when the TOP skeet shooters are averaging .99% plus with the sub gauges....even with the .410..
International Olympic skeet is shot with a 24gram load and the averages didn't change when they dropped down from the 28gram load..

The target distance for skeet more frequently represents chances in the field.
For the most part it is one pointing ability that determines their success and not the gauge...

And, for those that are willing to pay the additional for TSS shot, any advantage the 12 had is gone. With TSS some are stoning Turkey’s at 40 yards with the 410.. it isn’t you Grandad’s uplands any more..

Trap is a different situation in that the distance is further, which gives an edge to the 12..

[John Davis]

In skeet "Twelve gauge events shall be open to all guns of 12 gauge or smaller, using shot loads not exceeding one and one-eighth ounces." Just curious as to how many top shooters choose to shoot a .410 in a 12 gauge event? Payload has a little something to do with it, whether you are on the line or in the field.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Spiller only used his Dad's 10 until he could buy a gun of his own which was a 12, then later a 16, (*) finally settling on a 20 gauge VHE that was found for him by his grouse hunting crony Gorham L. "Grampa Grouse" Cross.

(*) Spiller actually ordered a very fine 20 or 28 from a very prestigious American maker, though he never said who it was. But did say he ordered it to be extremely light, hence the barrels were very thin. While crossing a stream on an icy morning he slipped and both he and his little gun went ass over teakettle and were both submerged and the barrels of his pride and joy got severely dented. .

of course, i've lost count of the number of times I have read his two Grouse Feathers - most recently the first book just a week ago -

but - simply put - what I said was correct - he did hunt with a 10.

as for me - I do not shoot really light guns well.- my grouse guns go about 6 1/2 and tend to be 16s - the Ithaca Flues 20 I refinished goes close to that and might be the first 20 I shoot well

[Battue]

Originally Posted by John Davis

In skeet "Twelve gauge events shall be open to all guns of 12 gauge or smaller, using shot loads not exceeding one and one-eighth ounces." Just curious as to how many top shooters choose to shoot a .410 in a 12 gauge event? Payload has a little something to do with it, whether you are on the line or in the field.

Well none do, and curious or not you knew that, and you would choose the most extremes to make your point.

However, This NSSA Classification chart is reveling with what the great pointers can do with each gauge.

NSSA CLASSIFICATION TABLES
Revised & Effective April 22, 2014
OPEN INDIVIDUAL CLASSES
Class
12
20
28
.410

AAA*
.9850 & Over
.9825 & Over
.9800 & Over
.9650 & Over

So let’s take 12 to 28, and the difference is 0.005 in hit percentage in favor of the 12 between the two gauges in AAA Class. I guess I have to admit you win.

[C.O.B.]

Upland guns are special and there is no perfect gun except the next one or your buddy's gun that you covet.I'm a big fan of 16,20 and 28 and admit to owning more of them than I can shoot. My typical trip to the U.P. consists of 8-10 guns for the 5 weeks I'm there. This year will be different in that I'll be just taking long weekends but will alternate between guns and gauges so most get a turn.
My preferred barrel length is 26 and choked IC/M or SKT/SKT. I recently adopted a VHE 20 skeet with a factory vent rib which will get a work out.
I'll hunt a couple of times with a 12 but in my defense it's a British light game gun and I use RST 2 inch shells with 3/4 oz of 8's. Just like a 28.