Go-to gun

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by todd allen

Not to take anything away from the North East grouse hunters running shorter barrels, I totally get it, have done a little of that, but nothing moves on long, complicated targets, like a 32" gun.
Target gets up, flys like the dickens, gun comes to shoulder, comes from behind into the birds, smoothly establishes lead, and BANG! The bird is down.
Very hard to stop, jink or jerk the swing. Pure Cadillac.

I'm not disagreeing with you as I like the long ones as well . But I like the short ones to .
Back when I Grouse hunted a fair amount in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains I generally carried a Browning Upland Special 16 gauge and that bad boy was only 24" . I've got a little GH 1 frame 16 that someone saw fit to remove an inch from the barrels so it's now at the 27" range and FWIW I do very very well with that one on the skeet field or dove field . Now on the other hand "I had" a 20 gauge Sterlingworth 26" that I had to work at to shoot well . I think weight had something to do with that as that little gun was quite easy to stop or whip . But then again I have a little Iver Johnson double 410 that I can generally shoot 90+ on the skeet field and that ones light as well but my natural tendency is to try harder with a 410 I suppose .