Recent content by duppy

A good reason few deformed are found in birds is the are going to spin more and leave the main pattern, making it unlikely to hit a bird with one. I do find some deformed pellets in birds but they have likely hit bone.

I use two 20's, a 40 year old SKB side by side (cyl, imp cly) and a Beretta Urika auto with 24" barrel. I use 3" shells with 1 1/4 oz of # 6. I am and old grouse hunter and shoot very quick so most shots are under 30 yds, but both will kill out to 40 yds. with Imp cyl.

Which birds do you find hardest to hit? Here is my list from hard to easy. 1 Ruffed Grouse ( because of cover) 2 Dove 3 Quail 4 Pheasant 5 Woodcock (they just fly so slow I don't have a problem with them) 6 Can. Goose I haven't shot enough ducks to make a judgement on them.

Is there any other way to shoot pheasants. That's been my method forever.

That 16 sounds like a winner to me.

grouse gun Any short, light gun that points instinctively will work fine. I have used a sxs 20Ga SKB bored Cyl/Imp with 1oz of 7 1/2 for 30 years with good success. Make sure the fit of the gun is perfect for you, as you will be shooting as soon as the butt of the gun hits your shoulder. It is...

As good as any In my 20 ga. Baretta with I.C. they pattern better than any other shell I have used. I shoot 3", 1 1/4 oz of 6's and kill cleanly out to about 40yds. I also like the Winchester Pheasant load and have about the same results with it.

I have had a 20ga. SXS for 40 yrs and it is a fine, high quality gun. I have shot 1000's of birds, (grouse and pheasants) with it without a hitch. If you can shoot a SXS you should love it.

I see more Federals than anything else. My favorite is Fiocchi 3" #6. It produces a very good pattern in my gun with IC.

Do you like fast pointing and swinging guns? If you do go for it. The sighting plane on that 870 is about the same as a double with 28" barrels, so as i see it sighting plane is a non issue. It really comes down to how it feels to YOU when you mount and swing the gun. When I buy a gun I am...

I have found that removing the beads from my shotguns has improved my shooting by a significant percentage. I haven't had a bead on a gun for more than 30yrs. I did it because I bought a new gun that had a large blaze orange bead on it and I couldn't hit a thing with it. I assumed that the...

go to gun Mine will be a bit unusual, it's a youth model Beretta Urika 20ga. It's short, fast pointing, weighs just under 6#, and with 1 1/4 oz of 6's from Fiocchi it really does the job. Not the gun for everyone but at 5'8" with short arms its fits me perfectly.

Which is more important to you, shooting the pheasant or the work the dog does? I know for me it's not even close, the shot is a very distant second. In my 50+ years of hunting I have never shot a bird that my dog has not worked. I've received some very strange looks when I have passed up...

shot size I would go with a heavy load of #6. The heavy load would give you more pellets for a denser pattern and the size is big enough for longer shots at pheasants. If you are willing to pass up pheasants at longer ranges any load with at least 1oz of 7 1/2 would do.

short barrels Barrel length is more dependent on the type of shooter you are than any other factor. I you are a methodical shooter longer barrels may give you a smoother more controllable swing. If you are a quick instinctive shooter you will do fine with short barrels. I hunted grouse with...