Let me ask a question to settle a point brought up to me at the dawn of my hunting experience. I was looking to purchase my first shotgun. I had shot an 870, and had my eye on one, but an 1100 came up at a good price. I was asking friends what I should do. Their response was that either would be great for anything but duck. For duck, I'd want a pump. The reasoning was that semi-autos had a better chance of icing up and jamming. I hadn't been duck hunting yet-- still haven't. I ended up with the Rem 1100 and it is still my main do-everything shotgun. About 20 years ago, I was on the cusp of going duck hunting, and I asked about this to another guy. He recommended a pump as well; he shot an O/U. If memory serves a good many of the fellows he hunted with shot with WIN Model 12's. I happened to find a Mossberg 500 right about then and was all set to go. Then the trip got cancelled and I was left with the whole schmeer (gun, ducks, ammo, etc.) and I still actually have not gone duck hunting.
The question still remains: is a pump better suited for ducks than an auto? Is icing ever a problem? Was it ever a problem?
As an epilog, I had a falling out with that buddy during my divorce, and we drifted apart. His family were hard-core duck hunters. My old buddy died at duck camp a few years ago of heart failure a few years ago, and his family just threw a blanket over him and went duck hunting, figuring that's how he'd have liked it. My son, his godson got all his hunting gear except for the Browning Citori-- that went to a nephew.
Last edited by shaman; 10/05/20.
