As a general partridge type gun any thoughts as to 12vs16vs20?

I don't think guage matters as much as choke. The weight might vary a little between guages though. Just make sure it fits!

God Bless, Louis

should have said this if for my wife. Improved/Modified is the way to go?

I have a few shotguns for sale if you are interested. I have a Winchester 97 in 16 G. another in 12G.I have a LNIB (no box) Ithaca 37 in 12G.,a Browning stack bbl Citori in 12G.Let me know if any of those interests you. The Citori is of course the most expensive at $1000.00.The others go for much less;the 97's + 37 for half that. In the for what its worth dept. :concerning 'kick': i.e the fear of recoil pressure.Case in point;When I took my 13 yr. old dove hunting for the 1st time he used a Browning BSA in 12 G..I think mainly because big brother told him he could'nt do it. But he did + has been an avid shooter ever since. My point being that she can most likely handle a 12 G. The ammo these days are so much cheaper as well.Don't know where you are located but if down this way,she is welcome to try out any shotguns she would like to try;just to get the feel of it. NO charge of course,I consider this a community service.Best of luck,Randy

I shoot a parker 20 gauge with IC/MOD for my chokes. Use 7.5 shot early in the season because of the leaves and brush and switch to 8's in the winter time. Depends on what you like to shoot, side by side, over under, etc but as far as gauge I like the 20 or 28 gauge. Partridge are not difficult birds to bring down.

An auantinance of my son (not a friend) brought by a Parker dbl. that had a slight seperation of the bbls so he though he could fix it by arc welding the bbls back.I was damn near sick.One more classic sidelock destroyed by stupidity.

Not sure what bird you mean by partridge, as it differs by region.

To me, the most versatile is the 12 ga. Huge variance in loads available commercially, and a wide variety of guns. You can't go wrong with it, but they tend to be a bit heavier than the subguages.

The 16 is probably the most efficient, but ammo is hard to find and more expensive of the choices you list.

The 20 is likely the lightest to carry and has good ammo availability...second only to the 12. For a casual hunter, who is not interested in waterfowl at all, this is the best choice given availability, recoil, weight, and versatility, IMO.

The one other to consider is the 28. Rarer than the 16, but lighter by far and less recoil than all the rest. If all you are hunting is quail and dove, this is the best choice as long as ammo isn't an issue. It patterns quite well (unlike the .410) and recoil is negligible.

Of course, the fit of the gun and confidence of the shooter in the gun are really the way to make the decision. Find one your wife likes and get it...

As to choke, pretty much all the guns come with tubes nowadays. That makes choices a bit easier there. Classically a short range upland gun is IC/mod if a double. Pump or semi, I'd go with ic, if I had to choose a fixed choke.

I use either a Citori in 20 or a W&C Scott SxS in 28 depending on my mood. Both are IC/M. However, bobwhite quail. I use both on dove, but might toss in my Beretta 391 if I’m headed to Argentina soon, as we use Berettas there.

probably modified would be my choice as a one choke for everything size.
12 vs 20 is kind of the real question they are the easiest to procure ammo for and it's reasonably priced just about everywhere.

if you reload the 12 goes all the way from 1/2 oz up to 1--1/4 oz easy enough in a 2-3/4" shell if your using lead.

the bigger issue is yor wife.
does she shoot?
does she shoot a shot gun and know what to expect?
how far will you be walking?
they make 6 lb 12 ga shotguns but if the fit isn't close your just looking for a beat down with every trigger pull.
the weight of the gun will be blamed or the chambering when in reality it's the fit.

I shot a lot of ruff grouse/partridge or just the BIRD my best season was 91.

I have 10 or 12 shotguns I prefer a 20ga SxS with 26 inch barrels a wide open IC right barrel and Mod. left.

The one I use most a 26" 20ga BSS it has hundreds of BIRDs to it's claim.

Real shotguns have 2 barrels the best ones are side by side.

If shooting a single barrel a open IC.

I been shooting a 1oz of 7.5 at 1200fps for 5 decades. I killed my first one at age 9 and my latest at 62 a couple days ago.

Nothing more is needed.


It is all about being on them.

For about 8 years I kept logs miles walked BIRDs flushed/killed no. of rounds fired weather cover date time of day ect ect.

I have killed them as close as 5 feet and far as 65 yards. The avg. was 21 yards.

The trick to killing grouse is shoot as long as it is safe.

My daughter asked me how do I shoot around all those trees.

My reply was what trees.

My shell avg was 2.3 rounds per grouse 1.75 on woodcock.

I prefer the .410 these days. 1/2 ounce of 7.5s at 1300 fps works like a charm out my 30" barrels. It is deadly on dove, quail, partridge, pheasant.

Check out Muller chokes. Jimmy Muller has produced chokes that function almost as two. PM me if you want more info.

When I lived in northern MN I used skeet and IC; shots were close. If single bbl, IC.

PD: assuming you were not ground sluicing, that is pretty good shooting!

quote:

PD: assuming you were not ground sluicing, that is pretty good shooting!

10's of thousands round of practice.

I even shot a few from the hip and one handed.

Why because I could.

If you are an expert shot, then a 20 ga is the way to go.

Otherwise, stick with a 12 ga. It gives you an edge that could mean the different between a dead bird and a wounded bird.

JMO

BH63

My friend here is a former (19702) jobber at EJ Churchill and has recommended for an American gun an Ithaca based upon their strength as a good starting place for a gun to be restocked.

Thinking 12g sxs. Not familiar with models though.