We all have a few gun stuck in the safe or in the closet. We like them all, don't we? However, there is one gun that seems to get more use, especially when hunting upland game like quail, rabbits, squirrels, etc. Personally, I like the Franchi 48 20 gauge more than any gun I own. However, I almost always grab my little Stevens 311 20 gauge to hunt the uplands. I reserve the 48 for doves, where the shooting is hot and heavy.

Tell me about your "go to gun"! OK?

Squirrels and rabbits will get a final look at my old Mossberg 500 12ga. I had it since back in the mid eighties. For birds, upland, I get out my Eyetalian O/U 12 ga. If I just want a gun along while cruising the woods and looking around for new deer trails in the early fall, I pull out Grandaddy's ole 410 J.C. Higgins single barrel.


HWD

For upland hunting it is the Ithaca 37 20ga. It practically feels like an extension of myself.

right now it's a cz-712... And I do have the money for a $2000 gun... This gun for some reason fits me well...

Either my 28 gauge AYA Model 3A or my 28 gauge Franchi 48 AL.These two are my go to guns.

Squirrels Antonio Zoli Delfino.
Pheasants Browning Citori.
Quail Remington Peerless
Ducks Remington 1100 mag.

Big stuff Mossberg 935, small stuff Beretta 390.
The real fancy guns stay at home now days.

FWIW, I like light guns for small game. I have recoil pads on them for bigger game.

Why do some of you members carry heavy guns? Really! I have a reason for asking. I'm not being sarcastic. I just want your reasoning. It may convert me.

I've carried a 12ga, of some sort, since I was about 16. Back then, weight didn't bother me as much as it does now. I do have a 20 pump that don't weigh too much, but I always reach for one of the 12s. Being able to reload my own shells is a plus too.


HWD

Because my ol' heavy cannon is all I can afford . I don't have a problem with the weight. I'm sure it will change when I get a bit older though .

I narrowed my "go to" gun thing down pretty well the last time I thinned out my cabinet. I've got one rifle, two shotguns, and a brace of revolvers. That doesn't leave me a lot of choice when I open the cabinet, so I grab what the situation calls for. The second shotgun really was a luxury item for me. The gun I grab (or at least the one I grabbed the most before I bought the new one) was my 20ga Silver Pigeon II. It's lightweight and fits me very well, so it's a joy to haul long distances and really feels like a part of me. We'll just have to see if my new Merkel changes that...

I know a lot of folks that love their Franchi 48's. Sweet little guns, for sure.

I don't really have one go to gun but go with the following for various uses:
Sporting Clays/Skeet - Browning Citori
Grouse Hunting - Ruger Red Label 28 gauge
Pheasant Hunting - Beretta 686 o/u 20 gauge
Duck/Goose Hunting - Browning BPS
Before the start of each of the hunting seasons I'll shoot a round or two of the gun I'm going to be using to get back comfortable with it.

Tough to narrow it down to one. I usually take a couple of guns on each trip.

Quail Uggie "Bill Hanus" 28 gauge
Upland Ruger Gold Label and K32 Field 12 gauge
Turkeys Gold Label and Beretta 391 Urika 12 gauge
Ducks Beratta 391 Urika 12 gauge

I wish I had the Cruiser loaded up with all of the above guns, headed for a month of fun.

Goldhky

I use an old SKB XL900 12 gauge for about everything upland...Quail, pheasants, rabbits, and grouse. I use it for most of my duck hunting and it has taken a few whitetail deer with rifled slugs. It also takes turns in the dove field with my browning gold hunter 20 gauge. For the SKB, I have both a 28" modified and a 26" improved cylinder barrel that i pick from based on the situation.

For squirrels i use a full choked winchester model 12 16 gauge. My turkey gun is a camo mossberg 835 with 20" barrel.
For long range ducks and Geese, my benelli super black eagle loves the 3 1/2 BBB's.

Maverick 88
No question.

M.S.

I have 4 go to guns.

Remington 870 1975 gun 12ga 3" 28 in Barrel screw in choke tubes

Ithaca M37 VR DELUXE 12 ga 2 3/4" 27" barrel screw in choke tubes

Browning A500R 12ga 3" 26" barrel Invector choke tubes

Savage Model 77H 12 ga 3" 30" barrel screw in choke tubes.

Depending on what i am going hunting for,determines which gun i will carry. Any one would probably work most of the time,but i have no gun safe queens,they all get used at one time or an other.

Ron

For upland birds and small game, it's my 16 gauge Nitro Special which my dad gave me when I was 12. At 6.5 lbs I can carry it all day and not get tired.

For clay games it's my Benelli Montefeltro 12 gauge or my Beretta 686 12 gauge.

For Turkeys or deer it's my Remmy 870 with the 28 inch barrel and a turkey choke or the cantilevered rifled barrel with a scope.

I need the right tool for the right purpose.

Jim

I'm still searching for the go to gun.

I mostly carry my 870 express 12 gauge cuz it was my first and only shotgun till just a few months ago. I shoot it pretty well its just super heavy and slow to point at a darting bunny.

got the ithaca 37 20 for a rabbit gun but it doesn't fit me so the search continues......

Next up cz sxs bobwhite 20 gauge 26" barrel.I'll have it any day now. believe me I wish i could afford an AyA or something but this will have to do.

the key is lightweight and something that you shoot very well.

I like SxS's. My favorite is my Beretta Silverhawk in 20g, 26" barrels. It's nice and light for a long carry in the field and is great for those quick snap shots on things like bunnies.

If the weather is decent I'll take it out for waterfowl too. I don't have any problems knocking down ducks or geese within a reasonable distance shooting HD loads.

If the weather starts to look like it's going to be wet out, I switch to a 12g CZ Bobwhite.

In my old age, I have taken to SXS more. Though my favorite is still the Franchi 48, I take my Uplander and Stevens 311 out for a walk occasionally.