Go-to gun

[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.

[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 .

[Randy Roberts]

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 totally agree with that Todd. Pheasant hunted with a 32" VHE 20 ga this year and it worked great.It's choked pretty tight and I had no issues killing birds. I have recently learned that there is something out there I may like even better than 32" barrels and that would be 34" barrels, at least for targets.

[Tom Flanigan]

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.

Todd....even thought grouse in thick cover is instinctual shooting, I never understoof the popularity of short barrels. I used mostly 28" guns in grouse cover but wouldn't feel handicapped with 32" barrels if it was a light gun.
They feel better and point better, even in close cover.

Some talk about short barrels needed in tight cover but I never understood the logic of that. I've never had the swing of a gun barrel stopped by brush. It just doesn't happen.

I owned a 34" DHE that was my favorite pass shooting gun in Sasketechewan. Those long barrels sure helped. I loved the feel of that gun.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

Some talk about short barrels needed in tight cover but I never understood the logic of that. I've never had the swing of a gun barrel stopped by brush. It just doesn't happen.

It is 99.9% psychological... and That in itself is always enough to miss a bird.






.

[Tom Flanigan]

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 a grouse hunter but I can see the advantages of long barrels even when snap shooting at short range. I use 28" barrels on my grouse guns but wouldn't mind if they were longer. The problem is finding a light small bore gun with longer barrels and open chokes. I've never seen one. And I would never alter the original chokes of a Parker. Many folks do, but not me. I'll shoot the shorter barrels and leave Parker molestation to others.