What is your go to pheasant gun?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I generally roll with either a Beretta 390 sport or if I know it will be lots of walking I'll go with a light English-style double. Mine's a Spanish Garbi that I got an unbelievable deal on.
 
I shoot a 12 ga side by side with 28" barrels that weighs a little over 6 and a quarter pounds, straight stock and splinter fore-end.
 
I have a bunch of "go to" pheasant guns. Bottom line would be my 16 ga Fox Sterlingworth and my Browning Sweet 16. I lugged around 12's for decades. I finally found the 16 ga several years ago. Never going back.
 
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.
 
I have a 20 ga Beretta 20 ga O/U that has become my gun, now that my son thinks my trusty Rem 1100 20 ga Light Weight is his :rolleyes:
 
Ruger Red Label 12 ga. most of the time. when that gets heavey after a couple of long days in the field then I switch to a Remington 11-87 premier 20 ga. The ruger has been my main gun for about 20 years.
 
30 year old Browning Citori upland 20 ga. O/U. Idaho limit of Sharptails from decades ago when the gun still had bluing on it.
attachment
 
Since 2003 my main gun is a Beretta AL391 Urika 12 guage, 28" barrel filled with 1 3/8 oz of 5's.

For kicks, I'll carry my Ithaca 37 Featherlite 20 guage, full choke and 1 oz of 6's. It killed a few roosters opening day last year, and they were definitely hard to come by.
 
Winchester Model 12...12,16, or 20. (Or the Model 42 if I'm feeling really sporty!)
 
I have two that are my go to's.

one is the ol reliable 870 either in 12 or 20.

the other is a beretta 391 urika 2 field gun 12 gauge.
 
my Citori with 26" barrels in 12 ga. Owned it for probably 16 years now, and I'd guess I've shot 250 pheasants with it. I'm fast and accurate with it.

I'm starting to incorporate a 16 ga Ithaca sxs into the program though. It's got 30" barrels and is choked tight.
 
I primarily carry a Benelli Super Sport 2 in 12 gauge. It is light enough for me to carry all day. I usually hunt 6-8 hours per day chasing pheasants. My back up this year is a 16 gauge Remington 1100, new to me this season. I shoot trap and clay targets with my Benelli all summer,so for me it points quite naturally.
 
Beretta 687 Silver Pigeon II 12 guage OU, 28". I got measured by a gunsmith and he steam-bent (and cut) the stock to fit me. He also installed a recoil pad that has the "no snag" heel on it. I absolutely love it. The only problem is that now I can't stand hunting with anything else, so when I go for ducks with my Xtrema I find myself wishing I had my OU. I also have the same gun (also custom fit) in the plain ultralight model. That one tips the scale at just 5 lbs 7 ounces, but I actually find it a bit TOO light for pheasant. It FLIES to the shoulder so it's great for woodcock especially and grouse too, but I don't get a good swing/follow-through with it the way I do with my full weight (6lb 12 oz) OU, and seem to end up shooting behind on a lot of crossing shots.
 
Benelli youth Monty 20ga with stock and forearm removed and replaced with bicycle grips. At 4 pounds, 7 ounces, my hunting partners call it the "pogo stick". It's like carrying my first Daisy BB gun.

I grew up(beginning at age 11) sling'n lead at ruffies and found no time to shoulder a gun. When the recoiling stock(now reduced to a stub) glides "naturally" under my armpit, I feel most comfortable. Always start at port-arms, then raise the pipe about 3/4, just enough to instinctively jab, stab, or poke at the flush. Works for me but hard to explain or teach. I never notice the gun barrel or its relationship to the target. It's an instinctive "flinch".

I hate trap, skeet, and sporting clays. Do terrible at them. Gotta have the sound(and sight) of a flush for igniting the reactor into a flinching motion. There is no substitute for me.

I do poorly on birds that I
 
RK Special K said:
Benelli youth Monty 20ga with stock and forearm removed and replaced with bicycle grips.
Click to expand...

This sounds interesting. How about a photo because I can't picture how you can put a bicycle grip where the fore end goes...or are you just being funny? I'm as gullible as they come so it's possible I've been had.
 
You certainly have NOT been had!

The fore-arm is really quite easy:

1. Remove wood fore-arm

2. Remove barrel from receiver

3. Slide bicycle grip over the mag tube back to the receiver

4. Put barrel back and tighten the cap(I actually have replaced the big cap with a small lock-nut).

Replacing the the stock is a bit more involved(to do it right) but still quite easy.

I will send a picture today sometime.

A Montefeltro is really quite easy to modify in this regard.

I used to be a Franchi-fan and have modified them also but they are harder to work with and certainly not built as well as a Benelli.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top