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Bird guns?

53K views 189 replies 82 participants last post by  Pine Creek/Dave 
#1 ·
What's your favorite bird gun and what kind of hunting do you do with it?
 
#152 ·
I guess I might as well add my 2 cents. The best bird gun in my opinion is the one you shoot the best. The one I shoot the best somewhat depends on what I am hunting. I do best with Pop's old bird gun, a 26" Feather weight (I think that is what it is called) LC Smith but it is not a duck gun. Pop was a dynamite shot with anything but that isn't me. Mom bought him an A5 Browning one Xmas. Pop could make it rain bobwhite quail with it but I don't think I could stand in a barn & shoot it out the door. My favorite of all is my 20 ga. Elsie Pop bought for me around 1962 but for doves & quail, I do better with the 12. I am a leftie & when I was learning to shoot, there were no left handed jamomatics. I have some 14 SXS, DT shotguns in 10, 12, & 20 ga. not including 1 SXS rifle. I will never hunt with any other type of shotgun. The most expensive is a sidelock Merkel but it doesn't work better than my Elsies. I also have Berettaes & others
 
#153 ·
Geometric,

Glad you like your L.C. Smith double guns, I am more than fond of them also, and have a nice collection. I have another SXS double gun you might like to try, it's a German Best J.P. Sauer pre war 16 gauge built in 1898 on a 20 gauge frame.

If you like your L.C. Smith guns, you will love this little gun, downs Grouse, Woodcock and Quail exceedingly well, feels just like my L.C. Smith double guns, smooth swinging well balanced and carries like my L.C. Smith guns also. Has Krupp Barrels like my pre 1913 Elsies's, just something for you to think about. Merry Christmas!

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

1889 J.P. Sauer 16 gauge Best Grouse Gun, on a 20 gauge frame. - You will love it.


 
#154 ·
There is no doubt I would love that gun. It looks a lot like a Smith. Trouble is, I already have more guns than I can justify. (or afford) The retail on my Merkel was 10 G when it was made but I got it for half price as NOS. It is bored F&M, which is what I wanted. So far I have used it mostly for pheasant & sharptail grouse. When I need more open patterns, I shoot reloads with PC POST wads. I don't shoot factory shells much. I have other guns that fill the cracks & have choke tubes.
Thank you for your reply & Merry Christmas to you also!

geometric
 
#158 ·
geometric said:
I didn't say I wouldn't like to have more. I just have a limited supply of money! Oh yea & a wife!
I hear you Geo, we all a limited supply of money,
For some of us , including me,the limit is just less. I was averaging a gun purchase every couple months for awhile there, my wife told me I was not allowed to purchase any more guns. She didn't clarify what she meant by "more" so I agreed and have not bought anymore than 6 a year. I'm a man of my word ! They are not all expensive guns, but I'm a sucker for an oddball or a "deal".
 
#160 ·
geometric,

Having other hobbies and responsibilities does get in the way of investing in a larger gun collection. I have an old home I am trying to sell that is keeping me from the purchase of a pre war antique J.P Sauer 16 gauge drilling gun that I want to own. I understand your situation totally. I also just purchased a new Ryman Setter puppy, from Wyssfiresidesetters. A man can only do so much, you just have to prioritize. Having a nice gun collection already, and with the loss to old age of some of my Grouse dogs, the priority became another prize gun dog, even two, the gun was put on hold. To me bird hunting without a serious Grouse dog is not really hunting at all. So we contracted with Clearcut Kennels in WI also, and have taken possession of a nice Gordon Grouse dog puppy to run as a mixed brace with our new Ryman Setter puppy.

Pine Creek Heston our male Ryman Setter at age 8 & Pine Creek Shadow our new female Gordon Setter puppy.


A man can never have enough great Grouse dogs, fine guns or Bamboo Fly Rods!

Pine Creek/Dave
Pine Creek Grouse Dog Trainers

Can't wait to get my new female Ryman Setter puppy from Wyssfiresidesetters.

Maybe it will be another Orange Belton like my Daisy, I miss her every day.

There is nothing like the magic of a Ryman Setter Grouse Dog.

Pine Creek Ryman Daisy - Top shelf Ryman Grouse Dog.
 
#162 ·
For me, bird hunting is more about watching the dogs work than it is about guns.
 
#163 ·
Zbigniew,

I agree however I do like good double guns, without them I would just be a dog watcher. Ryman Setter dogs have been in our family from before I was born. I can not remember a time when there was not a good dog in our family.

We have had good German dogs also and I love them also. I keep going back to the Ryman Setter and Gordon Setter dogs because of their beauty, personality and talent for Grouse & Woodcock hunting.

There is nothing like the magic of a Ryman Setter Grouse Dog, both in the forest and in my home.

Pine Creek/Dave
Pine Creek Grouse Dog Trainers

Pine Creek Ryman Daisy

 
#165 ·
DeanMk,

I had a German Shorthair from Germany and she was really something, best dog for finding Grouse buried under the snow I ever owned. Flush on command trained dog, big long legs and had a personality like a Ryman Setter. Rosie set up some of the finest bird gunning I have ever seen, I do miss her all the time.

Pine Creek/Dave
Pine Creek Grouse Dog Trainers

Rosie's Grouse Tail Shadow Box

 
#167 ·
Hi everyone, I'm new here. I would like to start hunting but don't know which gut to buy. Is there something for people who have just finished their lessons? You know I always wanted to have in my garden birds but couldn't attract them to me. So I found on the internet these guys https://www.faunafeeders.com/. There I read everything about how to feed birds and other animals in order to keep them near me. I guess that I can use this strategy in hunting too, what do you think about this idea?
 
#168 ·
"I don't know which gun to buy"
The one you shoot the best! However, if you can shoot a sxs, the "Bob White" by CZ would be a good choice. It is better made than the price would indicate & if it doesn't work for you, you won't have invested a fortune in it. I have one in 20 ga., the old model, not the G2. I still shoot Pop's old Featherweight 12 ga. LC Smith. I killed the first bird I ever killed on the wing with it in the latter 5o's. I can still see that brown back dove flying over that sugar cane field in Taiwan. I was in the 5th grade. Pop was a skinny kid staying on the farm with his older sister & her husband. He called Pop Scrub because he was skinny. They hunted Bob White quail every day of the season & it wasn't long before "Scrub" was showing them all how it was done! No telling how many truck loads of quail that gun has killed & it is still going! Dad had bird dogs his entire life until his health failed him. Quail hunting here isn't what it was. My dogs have been Labs & hounds. I also have a 20 ga. Elsie, among others, that I have hunted with since 1961. My shooting improved greatly with that gun. The only gun I can shoot as well as the 20 is Pop's old bird gun. That is with what I call bird guns. Waterfowl guns are a different story but I killed everything with the 20.
 
#169 ·
LiudwigXIX said:
Hi everyone, I'm new here. I would like to start hunting but don't know which gun to buy. Is there something for people who have just finished their lessons?
The one you shoot the best is sage advice, but if you don't own any guns right now and don't have much experience with them, then you're still at the stage of finding out which gun you do shoot the best.
A visit to your local range might be a place to start. Sometimes they have loaner guns you can try and the rangemaster (or a helpful patron) can help you out with tips to finding a gun that fits you like it should.
Your local gun shop may also be of help for finding you a gun...just depends on who ends up helping you.
If it's "Upland" game that you're looking to hunt (because you never actually stated what kind of hunting you want to persue), then the action type isn't really all that important (i.e., "action type" = Semi-auto, pump, SxS, O/U, single), but rather, you're looking for something that is balanced with a little weight towards the far end, fairly light and goes up on your shoulder easily and fits like it was a part of you.
Upland hunters tend to prefer the smaller gauges, especially 20 gauge, because they tend to be found in lighter guns, but these days, the manufacturers seem to be addressing this and even a big 12 gauge can be found in a fairly light gun without having to do too much searching.
Past that, its all about finding what works specifically for you.
Try not to get too hung up on brands. Keep an open mind and try anything that's presented to you.
Its the only you're going to learn.
Good luck

Dean
 
#171 ·
Tidefanatic,

I blame that on owning to many standard off the shelf guns, it is my opinion that once a man or woman owns a truly high grade double gun that fits them correctly and they shoot really well, they will remember the name on that shotgun for ever.

When I pick up a 1910 Purdey 16 gauge self opener shotgun or a 1901 #5 16 gauge L.C. Smith double gun, I know there are very few guns ever built like them, and none that will ever fit me as well. To Grouse hunt with either of these guns is to know great double guns.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man
 
#172 ·
I only have one gun that I consider to have been expensive. It is a 10 G Merkel sle. That is really not a lot of money to pay for a shotgun by some standards but it is for me! I have other guns that I consider quality, well made guns that are just as good field guns as the Merkel that cost far less. I do love my Merkel but it isn't the only show in town! All of my shotguns are primarily to shoot something that flies, "feather birds" as a friend calls them. I once asked him, "Bruce, what kind of birds don't have feathers?" Anyway, I always thought of a "Bird Gun" as one you use to shoot birds such as bobwhite over a pointing dog, even though a lot of birds are shot without the aid of a dog. Most of my guns are more at home in a duck blind & there is a lot of cross over. I haven't hunted behind a pointing dog in quite a long time, sadly due to the lack of something to hunt & a place that has the game. There is game & plenty of public land to hunt but not enough to train a dog & keep him happy. I'm getting off subject but Pop's old Featherweight LC Smith & my Bobwhite are the only guns I own that I would call bird guns, although I have never shot a pheasant with either. Hunting pheasant with flush dogs is a different game than hunting with a pointer. I have hunted pheasant walking them up when I didn't have a dog very successfully with a classic open choked 20 ga. bird gun.
 
#173 ·
My favorite 16 is my A grade Fox Philadelphia Gun. Fits me to a T.
 
#174 ·
casonet,

Got to admit I like them also, Ken Graft has a 16 Fox that I would love to own. Other than the pre 10 Purdey 16 and the L.C. Smith #5 16, the Fox A is a fine fitting 16 gauge double gun. I would put Ken Fox in my Gunsafe right now if he would sell it to me.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Kens original Fox 16, one beautiful gun.
 
#176 ·
DeanMK,

I do own the 555 Savage Stevens 28 gauge gun, so far a very nice little gun for the money built on a real 28 gauge frame. Great little gun for dog training especially. I purchased the flat Matt Black gun with the Aluminum Breech. The gun is very tight when you 1st purchase it, work the action in with Singer Sewing Machine oil and the gun works fine. Multi Screw in Choke gun, I use the IC and M chokes most of the time.
I also have heard good thing about the new 16 gauge 555 Enhanced gun, but do not own one. The are built on a steel from however. From the looks of them they are a little higher quality gun. For inexpensive guns they both get the job done.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Savage/Stevens 555, 28 gauge gun.

 
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