What type of shotgun for upland birds?

[Jamok]

If you want a double barrel shotgun, go with it. As far as what works for upland hunting, which I do plenty of including chuckar, a 12 gauge semi auto is my preferred choice. Here, for chuckar you can hunt with a full magazine and are not restricted to just three shells. Often, chuckar flush far if they are high pressure birds and the additional shot in a 12ga is helpful. Trying to kill as many birds in a flush is the key to success where I hunt as opportunities can be fleeting.

For grouse, a smaller gauge can be useful as the birds are often very close, but then again you can accomplish the same thing with a lighter 12ga shell

Chukar and pheasant hunters in E. WA use 12 ga autos on wild birds. M2 Benelli is popular. Not sure about released birds so much because I've never hunted those with any regularity. There were some WDFW release sites where we hunted on the Snake R. but those were public and the birds were all harvested the first day of the season by hoards of hunters. We usually hunted on private land with permission.

I always hunted with a 12 ga sxs because it was a good light game gun. Today a Benelli M2 would be my choice for pheasant and chukar in any situation. I haven't hunted anything in about 15 years.

 

[Gen273]

I love my Benelli Ultralight 12ga.

 

[Blockcaver]

My favorite upland bird guns (hunting wild birds behind Vizsla pointing dogs for over 30 years) and I've owned quite a few that are no longer in the safe. The keepers are listed below:

1. AYA #2 Round Body side lock SxS's with twin triggers, straight stock, 28" barrels choked IC & Mod. The 16 ga gets the call for pheasants and late season sharptails, etc.....the 20 ga for early season sharptails, blue and ruffed grouse. And the only round of skeet I shot this fall with the 16 ga was a 25 straight...not a common score for me. Downside is they are far from inexpensive, even when these were bought new in the early 2000's.

2. Winchester Model 12 pumps, again in 16 ga and 20 ga, both with a measured light modified choke constriction. The 20 ga is a 1935 with a 26" solid ribbed barrel and the 1947 in 16 ga has a 28" aftermarket vent rib barrel with the choke opened up. Both have straight grip stocks that I converted by removing the pistol grip via the bandsaw, belt sander and a lot of hand sanding/oil finishing. Both were $300 CAD shotguns bought 4 years ago and handle and shoot great in the upland and on the skeet and sporting course. Haven't been made by Winchester since 1963 though so kind of a crap shoot to find one. The later Miroku (Japan) made reproductions were all 26" vent ribbed barrels in 20 ga or 28 ga and are very well made but much heavier in physical weight, with a heavier trigger pull than the USA made Winchesters. I don't like them as well for a hunting gun due to the weight, but they work fine on the range.

3. Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon O/U 20/28 ga combo gun with choke tubes from 2001. I hunt and shoot the 28" barrels in 20 ga almost exclusively. The 26" barrel set in 28 ga just don't shoot as well for me and are actually slightly heavier than the longer 20 ga barrel set. Hunting I usually use IC and Mod chokes except for early ruffed grouse when it is Sk and IC. The stock is an upgraded straight grip from Coles. I did remove the Schnabel tip from the forend as they hit my index finger. The small gauge (not the 12 ga) 686 are a very slender, great carrying hunting gun still available today, new or used.

4. Beretta A400 Xplor gas operated semi-auto 28 ga with 28" barrel with choke tubes....IC early season and Mod in the later season. If buying one of these for my hunting gun I'd buy a 20 ga vs my 28 ga for versatility . They are very light, mine weighs just 5.5#s in 28 ga, and I doubt the 20 ga is much heavier as they are built on the same frame. Mine was built in 2016 but they are readily available today new and used. Shims for cast and drop on the stock, along with a variety of recoil pad thicknesses (.4" to 1" thick in .2" increments) available from Beretta help ensure that you can get great gun fit with them. Excellent shotgun I shoot well.

 

[Bopper0219]

2. Winchester Model 12 pumps, again in 16 ga and 20 ga, both with a measured light modified choke constriction. The 20 ga is a 1935 with a 26" solid ribbed barrel and the 1947 in 16 ga has a 28" aftermarket vent rib barrel with the choke opened up. Both have straight grip stocks that I converted by removing the pistol grip via the bandsaw, belt sander and a lot of hand sanding/oil finishing. Both were $300 CAD shotguns bought 4 years ago and handle and shoot great in the upland and on the skeet and sporting course. Haven't been made by Winchester since 1963 though so kind of a crap shoot to find one. The later Miroku (Japan) made reproductions were all 26" vent ribbed barrels in 20 ga or 28 ga and are very well made but much heavier in physical weight, with a heavier trigger pull than the USA made Winchesters. I don't like them as well for a hunting gun due to the weight, but they work fine on the range.

Great post that got me going down memory lane of my favorite scatter guns over the years.

Included on my list are several Model 12's in 12, 20, and 16 from a variety of years. There's even a Model 42 in .410 that my grandfathers. 15-20 years ago, the Model 12s were common finds in used racks and pawn shops all over the midwest for a couple hundred bucks.

I'd love to see photos of the straightened grip stocks you crafted. Might become a project on my end.

 

[WoodDuck]

I was in a similar situation to you. Hunted a fair amount of waterfowl with the occasional upland foray (pheasants and ruffed grouse) and used a 12 gauge semi auto for everything. While you can certainly do the job with sub gauges, the 12 will do everything fine without being overkill as long as you choose the right load.

Last year I decided I needed a handier, lighter 20 for the grouse woods and shouldered a bunch of the mid tier O/U options. Long story short, nothing fit me well and I much preferred the fit of the auto loaders, and ended up buying a Franchi Affinity 20 with 26” barrels. I absolutely love how handy and light it is, and don’t mind beating it up for the price payed. This would certainly be an option if you aren’t dead set on a double.

 

[Fireman03]

Check out webleyandscott.com

 

[Ringbill27]

I have two. CZ upland ultralight and a Winchester SX4. Both are awesome.