Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Conversation Starter-What do you use?

To liven it up a bit in here, what shotgun do you use for what? I started out with a 20 guage 870, went to a 12 guage 870, then when I got out of school bought a Beretta 391. While the 870's served me well, I definitely won't be going back to them since using the 391-use it for doves, pheasants, turkey, the few quail we have around, clays, and sometime in the future ducks and geese I hope.

When I am wanting to be different, I'll switch over to a 1948 vintage Ithaca 37 20 guage, that gun is choked tighter than Rosie O'Donnell's grip on a dessert spoon, but it shoots where I point it, and is a dream to carry.

SKB M85TSS Unsingle combo for most trap duties.. SKB M685 3-barrel set for skeet.. LMAO.. I LOVE it...

Ithaca model 37 12ga.

For sporting clays and occasionally doves I use a 12 gauge Beretta 303 30" with Comp-N-Choke tubes. I also have another 303 12 gauge with a trap stock on it and just swap barrels, but I havent registered any trap in years. My hunting gun and sub gauge sporting gun is a 28" 20 gauge 303 also with Comp-N-Chokes that I bought last year from a friend. I carried it up and down mountains in Nevada last year chasing the most frustrating bird on the planet...chukkar. It has also been my dove gun the last 2 seasons and I pretty much love it.

rem 870 -- turkey barrel and rifled for slugs
BPS-- waterfowl (usually swans)
Citori o/u (70s vintage)-- upland
CZ Amarillo --managed recoil slugs for Double Rifle practice

I'm with WyoJoe - Ithaca 12 for recreational clay birds and pheasants (haven't been forever). I also still use it some with the DeerSlayer barrel for deer. Rest of the time I use a rifled 1300 with scope.

Clays and upland game - Model 12 Winchester or Browning Citori White Lightning
Doves - Benelli M2 20 gauge synthetic
Waterfowling - Benelli SBE I
If I had to give them all back and only keep one it would be the Model 12 hands down.

Smith&Wesson model 3000 12 gauge full choke. Use it for skeet,trap,quail dove an just about everything else.

Used to run around with a 870 youth 20gauge. It was a lil short but it made a dandy truck gun as well as a heavy brush quail gun. But the girlfriend kept that when she dumped me.

Right now I'm using a 12GA Beligian Guild (Francotte) 1920 SXS. I picked it up at ashop I won't name that had it labeled as a Chinese gun - yeah really!!200 bucks. I laughed my butt off on the way to the car waiting for the guy to come rushing out at any moment saying he made a huge mistake. The guns is about a 3000 dollar gun! Unbelievable. You know I don't feel all that guilty in that I waited 48 years for that to happen. Then to top it all off, i shoot it better than any shotgun I've ever owned. Gotta love that. Went ten for ten on doves last weekend which was a first in my lifetime. And get this: with 7/8oz #6 handloads. They patterned beautifully out of the gun and everything dropped stone dead. Can't wait for Oct 6 when chuakr and quail opens. Then Oct 21 when rooster season is here. But right now I'm looking forward to an elk tag I drew for sept 15-25.

28ga. Miroku O/U- skeet/doves/early-season grouse.
16ga. German Guild gun, L.C.Smith 12ga.- general upland hunting.
12ga. L.C.Smith Long Range Ideal Grade, 32" heavy reinforced barrels, 3" chambers, 1924 DOM (mild Bismuth handloads)- ducks/geese.
Stoeger 2000 beater- ducks/geese, if the weather is truly nasty. Even then the L.C. LR often gets the nod.

Quail, Pheasant - Model 21 (old, old type, double triggers and lifters - no auto ejectors).
Dove (so far) my new (last month) M535 Mossberg, 12 ga. pump - later on when the seasons come in I will use it for duck, geese, swan, and spring turkey (special turkey barrel).
Winchester 1300 12 ga pump - owned since 84 - main gun until I bought the Mossberg.
Win Super X Model 1 - get out occassionally for old time sake - first shotgun I ever bought new (in 1976). Just don't care much for semi-auto's anymore.

Beretta Extrema for everything but clays, for those I use my SKB 885 Trap Combo. I might pull the 870 Supermag out of the safe to use for turkeys but then I'd have to find my full choke.

For Waterfowl I use the Browning A5 magnum my Dad left me. Getting harder to find non-toxic shot that is safe fr the barrel though?

For general clays and the occassional pheasant hunt my current favorite is an old stevens 311 in 16 ga.

And I still make it a point to occassionaly take out the old Stevens 410/22lr O/U that was my dad's favorite carry gun. This old girl rarely missed an evening during the fall back when we lived where "going hunting" meant a walk behind the house to some good small game cover. Gosh I mess those days !

Supermag, that M885 is a nice firearm. Always wanted one of those just for craps and giggles.. Kinda rare nowadays too. Maybe someday.. LOL.

BTW, ever heard of a M880 Crown Grade? Only 60 were imported and I was lucky enough to snag a new one about 25+ years ago.

Never heard of the Crown Grade, but knowing the quality and beauty of the high grade SKBs, I bet it's a looker.

I actually got the 885 back in 1998 as a previous model close out at Guns Unlimited in Omaha. I hate to make you kick yourself but I believe I got it for less than 1/2 of the original price.

If I am not mistaken all the big three are loading new non-toxic shot that is softer than steel or Hevi-Shot in waterfowl type loadings. Check Winchester, Remington, and Federal and see if they don't have some new "soft as lead" non-toxic shotshells for waterfowl hunting.

Having been through several phases of shotgunning we generally use Citori Trap models and a BT-99 for most trap work and use Beretta 686E's for upland game and sporting clays. If we're into heavy goose banging it could be The E's or a Remington 870 Express and a Mossberg 500. The old standard 1100's and 870 Wingmasters are pretty much retired to safe duty. And that really is a shame.

I have an early 1960's 870 WingMaster in 20 gauge with two barrels; a 28 inch full choke and a 26 inch IC choke. I've killed doves, quail, turkey, small game, and deer with it.

Most of my quail and dove shooting for the past 20 years has been with a Rugger Red Label; 26 inch barrels Mod. and IC choked. I won several club Skeet League trophies with that gun and an 1100 I no longer own.


I have used an 870 Express 3 inch 12 gauge for turkey since 1995.

I like 870's much better than any semi auto.

870 fer birds and clays

I hope to pry the old man's Browning pigeon grade 20 gauge SxS out of his hands some day. That will probably require a good kick to his shin and a getaway car.

On another note, I got to play with a Mossy O/U this weekend. It wasn't too shabby fer a eastern block import, but it needs a little shooting or polishing to loosen it up. The action is a little tight.

Started with a 16 gauge Ithaca 37, mod choke, in mid-60's, killed everything with it including my first deer. Lost in a duck hunting mishap in '68. Replaced it with a full-choke version that shot too gawdawful tight, turned that into a slug gun. Got a 12 gauge Ithica slug gun from back when they made them well, used it for everything for a few years. In the mid-80's got a Ruger Red Label 12 gauge, 26 in with tubes, used it for everything (but slugs)for a few years, still shoot it better than most of my other smoothbores, but have gotten more specialized over the years. I have a Browning BT-99 for trap, two gauge Merkel 1620 set and Philidelphia Fox 16 gauge for birds, Beretta auto 3 1/2 inch 12 for late season waterfowl, 12 gauge 24 inch turkey barrel for my T/C Encore for turkey. Got a few other smoothbores in amongst the rifles and a few have come and gone, but these are the ones I use. Have come to the conclusion I would shoot better it I just stuck with the Ruger as an all around gun. I guess I just like guns.