Would you have just one?

Ericb

Ericb

Active member
Does anyone use just one shotgun? My dad and grandpa did, so did my father-in-law. I can't seem to get to just one of any style or gauge, much less one for all purposes.
 
I have way to many shotguns but for the last 3 years I have done 90 percent of my hunting with a s SxS 20 ga 3 in chamber double triggers . Pheasant , quail doves , ducks , geese and Prairie chickens ,
 
I’m really thinking about downsizing. I shoot one, maybe two and the rest just gather dust.
 
Ericb said:
Does anyone use just one shotgun? My dad and grandpa did, so did my father-in-law. I can't seem to get to just one of any style or gauge, much less one for all purposes.
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In those days that was quite common. Back then there weren't nearly as many choices. Now-a-days you have a multitude of shotguns made for all kinds of specific purposes, the list is endless. For instance, you have all the clay target sports with models for each discipline. You have light weight models for upland game, longer barreled heavier models for waterfowl and all flavors of camo. Fact is we have so many more choices and models to fine tune each gun to it's specific purpose and possibly more disposable income to buy them than our fathers and grandfathers did??

I don't think there really is a one gun, all purpose shotgun. Oh sure you could use one gun for everything, but likely it wouldn't be ideal for everything.

It's like anything else, the more choices we have the more we tend to accumulate. :D
 
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I use more than one and it is as much a hobby thing as it is practical.
I’m near 63 years now. When a young man, I used a Mossberg for near. Everything. It had two barrels.
My Gramps used a Model 37 Featherlight for many different prey...flying, running and large.
Folks back in the day learned by necessity to be frugal. Game for the pot as well as loved time afield.
Funny...but I have been thinking about this sort of thing lately.
 
I only use one (Franchi Instinct L 20 ga) mainly because I only own two and the other one (J.C. Higgins 20 in 12 ga.) goes unused because it's a fixed full choke so it makes it tough to choose to upland hunt with.
 
LOL...absolutely NOT! I'm a sucker for a nice 20ga O/U and have several. Use them on different days for different reasons that I really can't explain.
 
Ericb said:
Does anyone use just one shotgun?
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Essentially.....kind of yes & no. For doves, I'll shoot my Beretta 303 Sporting 20. For waterfowl, my Montefeltro. For clays, my Red Label (English stock & 26" bbls - not your usual clays gun). But the vast majority of my shooting is pheasant hunting, for which I use my Sweet 16 99% of the time (with an occasional appearance by my 16 ga. Model 12). Others in the safe haven't been shot in years & years.
 
Last season, my first season back after a broken leg in Oct. of 2016, I shot a Browning Maxus 12GA during a trip to the Winner,S.D. area and mostly a Citori 20G during the other days in NE and eastern CO. A 6lb 4oz Lanber 12GA O/U didn't leave the safe last season as I decided I did not shoot it well two seasons before. Trap and sporting clays is a Citori Gran Prix sporter. Still on my list of things to do is a shoot-off between the Lanber 12GA and the Citori 20 GA on the same sporting clays course on the same day to see if I can figure out the issue. I have shot them both at a grease board with similar results so it must be something in my mount.
 
I sold off my 20 O/U yesterday. Never shot it anyway. Bought a single shot 16ga on gunbroker, so I still have the same number. Looking to replace a Benelli Montefeltro that I traded off a while back, and if I trade in a couple guns toward that, maybe I can get a little ahead of of this thing.
 
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I got it down to a Cynergy Field 20ga OU and a brand new Sweet 16 that I haven’t even shot yet. Both really light guns that are easy on my back and quick to the shoulder. I have bought and sold a bunch, but found myself gravitating towards smaller gauges in the 6lb range when I turned 60. Don’t own a 12ga anymore. The wife says it’s time to stop now.
 
My wife asked me how many guns I have. I just acted like I didn’t hear her. Seemed to work.
 
I'm basically a one-shotgun guy. While I own several, I hunt and shoot targets with an Ithaca 200E 12 gauge with 26" barrels. Last year I had to send it to a chop to have the barrel hook re-attached. It was during the season. So I had to go to the backup--a Franchi diamond 12 gauge. It felt really heavy compared to my normal gun.
 
I would love to use just 1 gun. But then i see something new and it shoulders so well i have to get it...only been hunting shooting shotguns for 5 years and i have 5 shotguns...

It's only a problem if the other half find out!
 
I use a Beretta 687, 12 gauge, with a custom stock for everything except turkeys. No doubt this gun would work for turkeys (old 870 painted camo for turkeys). I shot better when I don't switch guns, and love my custom stock!
 
Most all of the people I’ve bird hunted with are gun guys so all of them had multiple guns. I have a couple shotguns I use. I have my favorite which gets used 99.9% of the time. When I go out of state I bring 2 shotguns in case 1 has a malfunction. Ive seen that happen twice to other hunters.

I also keep two shotguns in the truck when out of state. One is choked Skeet and IC for when the birds are holding tight and one choked M and F for when the birds are skittish. I hate messing with chokes in the field so that’s my lazy way of dealing with it.
 
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