Your favorite pheasant O/U

Gotta agree with the Red Label guys here. My ol man has a 20 gage that is super sweet. Kills roos out to 50 yds easy with 3 inch shells and 4 or 5 lead. Pretty much a 12 gage on a lighter frame. Not very easy to find is the only trouble.
 
I have to say that a Ruger Red Label "sporting clays" (30 in bbls) in 20 ga had to be the best pheasant shooter I ever had. It was heavy, though, so I sold it to save my old body. One year in Kansas (over the entire season) I killed 24 roosters with 25 shots. Never done that again with any gun.
 
I guess I'm not quite a main-streamer. My first O/U was a Winchester 101 in 12 ga. I shot it well and carried it until the degenerated disks in my neck voted otherwise. I picked up a Weatherby Orion 20 ga and killed the first 4 birds I lined up on with 1 shot apiece. As has been said before, handle everthing you think would suit you and pick the one that shoulders aligned with your eye.
 
I love these threads. Invariably someone mentions a gun I haven’t considered. Sometimes it’s something I’ve tried and hated so it’s nice to see it working for someone else. Sometimes it’s a gun that many people complain about but here the owner loves his.
Good stuff!
 
I use 2 completely different shotguns but both in 20ga. Browning 725 feather and a Benelli Montefeltro with a 24" barrel. Just depends on what mood I'm in for the day.
 
Bob Peters said:
I've been getting the urge to get an O/U field gun which would be strictly for pheasant hunting. I picked up a browning 725 feather the other day and it felt really nice. I'm a lefty so if the gun is italian I'd have to get left hand wood on it. Browning field stocks seem neutral to me. Gauge doesn't matter, the only requirement is that it is a good gun for wiley roosters that often run, don't play by the rules, and flush on the edge of range. Thanks for any reccomendations.
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Did you ever end up with an o/u? If not I also vote for the 686 ultralight, if you are going to stick with a 12. I have both the 28” tubed barrels & 24” sk & sk. 5.9 lb with the tubes, but I generally shoot the short ones. If a 20, I would try an skb in 20. I am not sure what the new ones are like but the Ithaca/skbs had 25” barrels about 5.4 lbs. “magic wands”. I sold mine, but kept the ss with the English stock. The only problem with the Skb is if I shoot 3” the trigger guard hurts my 2nd finger on recoil. I only shoot short shells in the first barrel & hardly ever needed the 2nd!
 
captainshotgun said:
Did you ever end up with an o/u? If not I also vote for the 686 ultralight, if you are going to stick with a 12. I have both the 28” tubed barrels & 24” sk & sk. 5.9 lb with the tubes, but I generally shoot the short ones. If a 20, I would try an skb in 20. I am not sure what the new ones are like but the Ithaca/skbs had 25” barrels about 5.4 lbs. “magic wands”. I sold mine, but kept the ss with the English stock. The only problem with the Skb is if I shoot 3” the trigger guard hurts my 2nd finger on recoil. I only shoot short shells in the first barrel & hardly ever needed the 2nd!
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Not a bad turkey gun either! Light, simple and effective!
 
You don't fit the gun, the gun fits you. Whatever gun you chose, how it fits you is what matters most. For me the 12 gauge Beretta 686 dimensions are probably the closest fit for a factory made gun. I have a 20 gauge Beretta but because the frame is smaller I needed to add an adjustable butt plate. The Ruger Red Label is a terrible fit for me even though I really like the gun. The approach I would take is decide what you want to spend, see what is available in that price range and try them. You don't want to buy what you think is the gun you have always wanted only to find out you can't hit a damn thing with it.
 
I shouldered a ton of guns this past year and came to the conclusion a Citori Hunter is what felt the best, regardless of age or gauge. Landed on a 12 but havent pulled the trigger on a bird yet.
As far as killing birds, when I hunted over my shorthair years ago, my Franchi 620 vs with a 24 in barrel and 3 inch Golden Pheasant was my go-to. Then I went through a couple flushers for the past several years and went all 12 gauge because shots were farther.
After missing the point, I have a shorthair again and will likely carry the 20 as much as the 12. That 20 is one of the only guns Ill never part with.
 
Browning Cirtori is my go-to O/U since they fit me best. I like the Lightning model and have both 20- and 12-gauge guns w/ 28" barrels. My 20 gets most of the work but I do use the 12 on pheasants when the conditions warrant it.
SD Pheasant (3).JPGSD pheasant (1).JPGSD, grouse.JPGSD, grouse.JPG
 
I have a browning superpose broadway trap gun that has always been a great pheasant gun. Acquired it when i was shooting competitively in college and sent several thousand rounds down range on the trap fields as well as the pheasant fields. This was my first O/U and i was hooked on them ever since. I then bought a FIA Kassner Imports o/u in 20 gauge and have been using it mostly in the fields and woods, great light little pea shooter.
 
birddude said:
Not a bad turkey gun either! Light
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I realize this is off topic, but I wouldn't want to use a lightweight shotgun for turkeys, solely because of magnum shells and recoil. I tried using my Monty once for turkey loads and that was awful. It kicked like a mule. IMO you're better of going with a heavier shotgun for turkeys, one that helps reduce the recoil from using a magnum turkey load.

I use a Benelli Supernova in camo pattern for turkeys. It has a comfortech recoil system built into the stock and really helps reduce the recoil from shooting cannon-style loads at turkeys.
 
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