So was my .410, but my success rate went up when I switched to a Winchester 12 side by side, and then to 12 autos.
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Upland Bird Hunting
- Thread starter CrabHusker
- Start date
So was my .410, but my success rate went up when I switched to a Winchester 12 side by side, and then to 12 autos.
So if I shoot 4 or 5 times and have 3 roosters, why would it matter which gun? Only hunts I have shot way more than that have been with people who suck and can't hit anything. Usually it is with out of state hunters.
It's really all about the shot pattern (something I was oblivious to years ago when I starting shooting "near" pheasants). If you get the right load, with the right choke, at the right distance, you can get about as many pellets in the kill zone with a 16 or 20 gauge as with a 12 -- under specific circumstances, of course. Apples to apples (same choke, same shell length, same distance), obviously a 12 will give you a denser pattern.
That said, I'll stick with my 12.
Started walking with Dad when I was about 10 chasing pheasants near Dodge, Ne. As I grew up and transitioned from a bolt action 410 to a Browning Auto5 12 gauge I hunted with friends as well as family.
best quail hunting I’ve ever seen was near Manhattan, Kansas in late ‘60’s. My high school buddy was attending KSU. We had two Brittany Spaniels and regularly flushed coveys of 40+ birds.
Currently making one trip a year to So Dakota for pheasant hunts. Long-time buddies, 10 walkers and about 5 blockers with cackling roosters flushing from corn fields all day stirs the soul. An eager retriever dropping a rooster at your feet completes a great Midwest tradition.
best quail hunting I’ve ever seen was near Manhattan, Kansas in late ‘60’s. My high school buddy was attending KSU. We had two Brittany Spaniels and regularly flushed coveys of 40+ birds.
Currently making one trip a year to So Dakota for pheasant hunts. Long-time buddies, 10 walkers and about 5 blockers with cackling roosters flushing from corn fields all day stirs the soul. An eager retriever dropping a rooster at your feet completes a great Midwest tradition.
First post? Welcome!
Me too. Besides, Benelli doesn't make a 21" barrel anymore, in any gauge.
I no longer have to worry about OOSH's anymore. I have a regular crew of 3 other guys (4 some).
PM me if you want to grab a beer or a meal. I'm in the area.
Where do you go in SD?
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I have a lot of mixed feelings on so many levels when it comes to out-of-state hunters. I wish that there was a SD pheasant hunting etiquette class that was mandatory for anybody too stupid to walk in a straight line, shoot only at roosters, etc. Some of the best and worst OoSH that I've known were the same people after you had added alcohol.
Never mixed the two. The beers used to come out when the guns were put in the cases. Don't even do that anymore, but will sometimes have 1 beer when I get home.
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Thanks, will try to do that.
Couldn't agree more. Have met plenty of good ones who were polite and very safe. But also hunted with several who didn't know the first thing about gun safety or shooting lanes or common etiquette. Always the first to shoot, walking ahead of the group, seems to 'hit' every bird that flushes. Gives all out of staters a bad reputation.
Orange clad army is arriving in SD. Saw several today in town and many more tonight. Hotel parking lots with many out of state plates. Expecting to see the town overrun tomorrow. But it will be good for all of the local establishments, both in cities and small towns.
Yep, and so far I'd put the good folks-to-jack@$$ery ratio at about 6-1, which isn't bad. One D-wad threw a a 10 oz. bag of Old Trapper jerky across the counter at a petite cashier when he found out it costs $13 ... which is a very average to decent price anywhere I've been. Another ordered a pizza, but then left without paying for it because he had to prepay for his gas instead of filling his tank first. Others were kind, giddy, and leaving tips. It's a diverse group as far as personalities.
