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ctafoya

Bird gun

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I have been a fan of the Remingtons, still have my 1100 with an IC choke I bought when I was 14( long years ago) and it still cycles perfectly. My dad had shot an much older 1100 in a Mod choke for years, and “upgraded “  to the 11 87 which really is the same gun. I now have his 11 87 and switch back and forth and notice no difference in handling.  My Versamax, however, is like shouldering a bazooka compared to both. I only use it for Turkey,although I have killed way more birds with 1100. However I used to draw a spring turkey tag every year back in the” good old days” and had more opps.

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I have a Remington 870 SP 12 ga Turkey with a 24" barrel (or so) that I use for everything.  You really don't need 3.5 " unless you are pass shooting geese. Get one you can afford and will shoot all the time.  The pumps are cheap, reliable and you won't be afraid to get them scuffed up.  

 

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A lot of good info so far, much appreciated. Guess I need to go try some on. I never thought about fitment. Makes sense since most shots would need to be pretty quick. 

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11 hours ago, ctafoya said:

A lot of good info so far, much appreciated. Guess I need to go try some on. I never thought about fitment. Makes sense since most shots would need to be pretty quick. 

Definitely throw a few models up. I bought a Benelli from a member a few years back, and shot it a few times and realized it wasn’t for me. Beautiful gun, just didn’t feel natural.  The right  gun becomes an extension of you. I used to hunt with a old boy who shot an OU, and he was so quick with it, the bird was dropping by  the time mine was shouldered. Had to quit hunting with him if I wanted a quail dinner for myself, lol

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buy a nice beretta or benelli 20 ga semi auto (I have a montefeltro super 90- its dove-quail-chukar death) for everything upland, get a remington 11-87 or 870 to muck up and shoot waterfowl.

Or maybe a Benelli montefeltro 12 ga it weighs about 7lb and points well too....and shoots 3".

 

Biggest issue I see with 20 vs 12 for waterfowl, is that 3" 20 ga loads dont go as fast as 3" 12 ga loads by about 100 fps-----and smaller payload.......it does matter for waterfowl IMO.

 

Best of luck!

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On 12/15/2020 at 7:53 PM, ctafoya said:

A lot of good info so far, much appreciated. Guess I need to go try some on. I never thought about fitment. Makes sense since most shots would need to be pretty quick. 

your eye is the rear sight so fit is important. also with the loads they make for turkey now a 20 can be very effective. i have killed both merriam and goulds with my 20 ( savage model 24).  i am still shooting the 12 and 20 guage beretta autos i got in 1972 and 1982, plus a citiori o/u 20 i got more recently. they last a long time get a good one. 

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If you want to hunt cranes I would suggest get something that will handle 3.5” shells 

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4 hours ago, Vowell said:

If you want to hunt cranes I would suggest get something that will handle 3.5” shells 

 

I would have said this before last year ... would shoot up nearly a box of very expensive shells.  But it's a lot like turkey hunting -- if you know what you're doing, you can decoy them in close, not beat up your shoulder, not potentially would several birds, and NOT shoot up a box of shells.  

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6 hours ago, Vowell said:

If you want to hunt cranes I would suggest get something that will handle 3.5” shells 

Good luck getting drawn for an AZ crane hunt.  

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6 hours ago, Swivelhead said:

Good luck getting drawn for an AZ crane hunt.  

Right! Azgf screwed it all up this year

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2 hours ago, Vowell said:

Right! Azgf screwed it all up this year

Have not been drawn since AZGF included cranes in the regular fall draw.  Including cranes in the regular fall draw was the right thing to do IMO but sure would like to get drawn one of these years.  

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51 minutes ago, Swivelhead said:

Have not been drawn since AZGF included cranes in the regular fall draw.  Including cranes in the regular fall draw was the right thing to do IMO but sure would like to get drawn one of these years.  

Be nice if they gave us bonus point if not drawn, not sure why they don’t

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Cranes are honestly one of the easiest waterfowl to kill.  All neck and wing.  I usually shoot 3” steel 2’s or 3’s here in ND.  Keep your shots under 50 yards, if you’re on them you’ll crush them.  2 3/4” would work just fine too.  Killed a pile of them with a 20 ga when I was a kid too, even some with a .410.  

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Getting back on topic:

A shotgun that will do it all, i.e. waterfowl, turkey, coyote, dove, quail, grouse, chukar, etc. is going to be a compromise.  There is no subsitute for a quick handling well fitted scattergun for flushing birds.  Pass shooting birds or coyote, turkey, etc. generally does not require a quick mount so a heavier weapon can actually smooth out abberations of your form.  In either case, a shotgun that fits YOU is paramount to hitting what you look at.

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On 12/17/2020 at 5:04 PM, Elmacho said:

buy a nice beretta or benelli 20 ga semi auto (I have a montefeltro super 90- its dove-quail-chukar death) for everything upland, get a remington 11-87 or 870 to muck up and shoot waterfowl.

Or maybe a Benelli montefeltro 12 ga it weighs about 7lb and points well too....and shoots 3".

 

Biggest issue I see with 20 vs 12 for waterfowl, is that 3" 20 ga loads dont go as fast as 3" 12 ga loads by about 100 fps-----and smaller payload.......it does matter for waterfowl IMO.

 

Best of luck!

No but they kill ducks just as good.

I have a 20 gauge 3" mag  miruku charles Daily from way back when was shooting ducks,geese, dove and phesants with it 2 days after my Father bought it in in yokuska Japan in the very early 70's.. Rice patty ducks are huge, as well as the doves the doves back in Japan are bigger than a pigeon here. Killed quite a few Canadians in Washington state before they switched mandatory to steel shot.

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