Is there a perfect gun for ruffed grouse?

I've never hunted ruffs but I imagine my quail gun would do a fine job. 28ga sxs, choked cyl/ic, 26" barrels throwing 3/4oz of 7.5s. Would that work?
 
Patridge Poison

quail hound said:
I've never hunted ruffs but I imagine my quail gun would do a fine job. 28ga sxs, choked cyl/ic, 26" barrels throwing 3/4oz of 7.5s. Would that work?
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That sounds like a good woodcock gun.;)

Seriously, we live in the middle of 'patridge nirvana. I can hear young males drumming every day from where I type this.

Most of the stone cold 'patridge killers I know hereabouts use a double of some sort, O/U or S/S, 16 or 20 GA and choked SK1/SK2. And make mine light.That prescription right there is pure 'pat poison.

That said, the new BUL 20 has been duely blooded on both grouse and mudbats and is quickly becoming a favorite. That gun is light as a feather and quick to the target.:10sign:

NB
 
Most any gun works if pointed correctly, tradition and image rules shotgun choice for a few, lightweight is only one factor of several and the measure certainly is different for each individual when hunting from the UGLs to the far reaches of the Apps and lastly,..... for ruffed grouse and woodcock both, shots vary from the simplest gimmes to the toughest, wows.

Folks will use 12 BULs, as I do on occasion, to presently trendy 28s to 1 1/4s of 7 1/2s stuffed in some 12 gauge in a run & gun NW Lower Michigan grouse marathon of fitness and superiority.
Takes all kinds....and dog choice can play a card.
As to, is there a most popular eastern half of the U.S. ruffed grouse gun?...likely a 20 gauge and often in an O/U....1-71/2s.

While using everything over roughly 50 years short of a 10 and a 410, I personally prefer a Sweet 16, 26" plain barrel and IC....but, is there a perfect scattergun for Bonasa U...well, I surely hope not.
 
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 imperative that the gun points where you are looking.
 
My perfect grouse gun is my Browning Citori Lightning O/U 16 with 24" barrels. It's very light, short so that you don't hit as many saplings when pulling on a bird, and the 16 ga has a few extra pellets over a 20 when all the leaves are still up in the early season. I've got plenty of other guns in 20-28 ga in my safe, but far and away this is my favorite and best shooting ruffed grouse gun I've ever shot.

Brett
 
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When I hunted ruffies back in the 70's I had a 20 ga. Browning BSS with 26" barrels choked IC/Mod. It was a great ruffed grouse gun. Then I got stupid in the mid 80's and sold it for $285. :(
 
Dakotazeb said:
When I hunted ruffies back in the 70's I had a 20 ga. Browning BSS with 26" barrels choked IC/Mod. It was a great ruffed grouse gun. Then I got stupid in the mid 80's and sold it for $285. :(
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Shame on you, George! With your financial background, you should have known those BSS's would bring big bucks some day. j/k, j/k, j/k, j/k.....

Those Browning BSS are a sweet handling double and have really gone up in price over the years. They make a great grouse gun in a 20; I think the 12s are a better pheasant gun.

NB

PS Don't get me started on guns I've sold that I should have kept; its too painful!:eek:
 
In my woods, the pheasant and ruffed grouse overlap. Same gun works for both - usually either my Sweet 16 or my SxS 20.
 
MiUplander said:
My perfect grouse gun is my Browning Citori Lightning O/U 16 with 24" barrels. It's very light, short so that you don't hit as many saplings when pulling on a bird, and the 16 ga has a few extra pellets over a 20 when all the leaves are still up in the early season. I've got plenty of other guns in 20-28 ga in my safe, but far and away this is my favorite and best shooting ruffed grouse gun I've ever shot.

Brett
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That 16 sounds like a winner to me.
 
duppy said:
That 16 sounds like a winner to me.
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Duppy, it sure is a winner for me in the grouse woods. It's a great snap shooting gun, which, as I'm sure you're aware, is essential to knocking down birds in the thick stuff. As far as using it in the pheasant fields or trap club......no way. Too light to swing through a bird.

I've tried it at the bird farms on pheasant. The only way I can consistently knock them down is to wait till they get out to 25-30 yds then quick mount and shoot.....no leading or swing through allowed :D
 
This thread has opened my eyes. I need a grouse gun.

Have never hunted grouse, never even seen one, but I don't have a dedicated grouse gun.
 
cheesy said:
This thread has opened my eyes. I need a grouse gun.

Have never hunted grouse, never even seen one, but I don't have a dedicated grouse gun.
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We think a lot alike you and I.:D I was thinking that my quail gun would do well but aftet being informed it was just a good timber doodle gun I got to thinking I need a short, light, open choked 20ga. You know, in case I ever make it up north for pa'tridge hunting.:cheers:
 
cheesy said:
This thread has opened my eyes. I need a grouse gun.

Have never hunted grouse, never even seen one, but I don't have a dedicated grouse gun.
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Cheesy.......grouse hunting is nothing like hunting any other bird. You're tromping around thick poplar/alder thickets where you usually can't see any more than 15-20 yds ahead of you. Climbing over downed trees, ducking under low branches, getting slapped in the face or poked in the eye with sappling branches. You hear your dogs vs watching them. You train them to work back and forth to you, checking in often. Beepers or bells are an absolute must, or you'll lose your dog. Probably half of the grouse flush wild and you only hear them......or catch a glimpse of a shadow through the trees. When you get a point, they don't hold long......or they run 10 yds and flush :p Or you'll get a stiff point and walk all around and.......nothing. So you let the dog loose and the bird takes off from a branch 15' in the air to his freedom. And if you get a close flush, it scares the shit outta you :D

I've hunted all over our great country for pheasant, sharptails and chickens, quail, and huns. No other bird stymies me like the King.....the ruffed grouse. And that's what makes them so fun. So when you're in the thickest shit you can think of and a bird goes up, you want the quickest snap shooting gun you can find. And you rarely get a second shot on that fastball.

Brett
 
Light and Fast!

My favorite Ruffed Grouse gun is a Browning Citori Upland 20 ga. It has 24 inch barrels and Invector chokes. I normally use Cyl & Skeet. It has no pistol grip which points well for me. Light and Fast!

I also sometimes use a old Winchester Model 12 16 ga. with the barrel cut to 24 inches. This one is also great for winter snowshoe hares.


Lock and Load! :D
 
MiUplander said:
Cheesy.......grouse hunting is nothing like hunting any other bird. You're tromping around thick poplar/alder thickets where you usually can't see any more than 15-20 yds ahead of you. Climbing over downed trees, ducking under low branches, getting slapped in the face or poked in the eye with sappling branches. You hear your dogs vs watching them. You train them to work back and forth to you, checking in often. Beepers or bells are an absolute must, or you'll lose your dog. Probably half of the grouse flush wild and you only hear them......or catch a glimpse of a shadow through the trees. When you get a point, they don't hold long......or they run 10 yds and flush :p Or you'll get a stiff point and walk all around and.......nothing. So you let the dog loose and the bird takes off from a branch 15' in the air to his freedom. And if you get a close flush, it scares the shit outta you :D

I've hunted all over our great country for pheasant, sharptails and chickens, quail, and huns. No other bird stymies me like the King.....the ruffed grouse. And that's what makes them so fun. So when you're in the thickest shit you can think of and a bird goes up, you want the quickest snap shooting gun you can find. And you rarely get a second shot on that fastball.

Brett
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:) Productive ruffed grouse covers vary with the time of year and area of the range....and so do the scattergun particulars that work well for them.
Many hunters define Bonasa U by the worst or toughest hunting scenarios.
As such, grouse hunters appear to sound exactly like chukar hunters at times.
All gamebirds are good, all are tough and, at times, all are as easy as pie.
Sometimes, you just have to smile at the passion.
 
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