Jason_W
Member
Rght now, I have two 870s in 20ga, a Benelli Nova tactical in 12 ga, and an old single shot .410.
One of the 870s is my wife's deer gun and has a saddle scope mount installed. I'd prefer not to pull the scope mount off for bird season only to have to put it back on for deer season. My other 870 is an old basic model that my wife has kind of adopted as her bird gun. The .410, while it served me well as a kid, is a bit limiting.
So, I'm squirreling away what I can for another bird gun. I'm undecided as to whether to get a 12 ga or a 20 ga.
Grouse hunting in Northern New England (when you don't have a dog) means you will likely shoot mostly grounded birds. If you're surprised by a flush in the thick stuff, the bird has a major advantage. You also tend to do a lot of walking, so the inherently lighter nature of the 20 is a plus.
I'd like to hunt ducks, but there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of geese around here. Is a 12 that big of an advantage over a 20 when jump shooting mallards out of a marsh?
One of the 870s is my wife's deer gun and has a saddle scope mount installed. I'd prefer not to pull the scope mount off for bird season only to have to put it back on for deer season. My other 870 is an old basic model that my wife has kind of adopted as her bird gun. The .410, while it served me well as a kid, is a bit limiting.
So, I'm squirreling away what I can for another bird gun. I'm undecided as to whether to get a 12 ga or a 20 ga.
Grouse hunting in Northern New England (when you don't have a dog) means you will likely shoot mostly grounded birds. If you're surprised by a flush in the thick stuff, the bird has a major advantage. You also tend to do a lot of walking, so the inherently lighter nature of the 20 is a plus.
I'd like to hunt ducks, but there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of geese around here. Is a 12 that big of an advantage over a 20 when jump shooting mallards out of a marsh?