Go-to gun

[Dean Romig]

I shoot 24", 25", 26", 27", and 28" for grouse and woodcock and don't think I'd be comfortable shooting longer barrels for these birds... and it's got nothing to do with being in close cover and being afraid that the close growing saplings would hinder my swing... and open chokes are often overrated in my opinion. I just found out a few weeks ago that I do very well with ultra-full chokes at all sorts of SC targets. I'm beginning to wonder if many of my previous misses with open chokes may have been because of a lack of density in my patterns.






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[Harold Pickens]

I love to hunt grouse with my J Manton 20 ga hammer gun. It has 30" barrels and
cyl/cyl chokes. I shot this 5 bird limit this fall with it. 4 shots, 4 birds, and then the right hammer spring broke on the 5th. Spent the rest of the day with a functional left barrel only and misssed 3 in a row before getting the next. Thats Betty and Fancy in the pic

[C.O.B.]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

I'm beginning to wonder if many of my previous misses with open chokes may have been because of a lack of density in my patterns.






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I doubt it. Most grouse shots are rather close inside 25 yards and thats a long shot where I hunt. Sometimes even 28 inch barrels are to long and I gave up on some nice 30 inch guns a while ago. A choke combination I have begun to appreciate is IC/F in either 26 or 28 inch guns. Foolishly I let a nice DH O frame 16 go that was so choked with 26 inch tubes. That still bothers me

[Double Lab]

I think you've finally figured it out Dean. I've found that 7 1/2's in a modified to full choke will kill any upland bird that I care to hunt.