Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game OU Question: Upland Game

I find ejectors more of a pain on the trap or skeet field than extractors. While hunting I don't have a favorite but I do like not loosing hulls I can reload. While ejectors are faster I don't know if it practically makes a difference in the field. Maybe for some it does. For me if I need faster reloads or more shells I have multiple pumps and semi autos for that. All three of my SxS are extractor guns though I use to have a Browning O/U that had ejectors. For me ejectors are not really a plus or a minus.

My SXS's and O/U's all have their ejectors intact, as does my single-barrel trap gun. I catch my fired hulls without even thinking about it. Do I drop one once in a while? Yeah, probably, but if I were so infirm as to be unable to bend over and pick up an empty once in a while I should probably just stay home. On those occasions I shoot a round of sporting clays with my duck gun (Beretta auto, my only repeater) I pick up my hulls before leaving a station.

I have never given it much thought really. My main bird gun is a SxS with extractors, but I also shoot some with ejectors

It's an old habit to open the gun with the heel of my right hand and ever the shells pop I to my hand or I pull them out with my first and third fingers.
Cat

No practical difference. I try to pocket my empties anyway and either is fine. I suppose if fastest loading mattered then the ejector gun might have the edge. If I’m feelin’ plucky, I’ll eject one up in the air and catch it in my hand. Just cause I can. 😁

My shotgun career started with clay games. You very quickly get in the habit of ejecting into the hand and saving for later. I grouse hunt for birds - not a high volume affair for me - especially as I don't have a dog. So for me - ejectors work just fine on the O/U as it's muscle memory.

When duck hunting, I used an auto and policed my shells. We were primarily hunting divers with a 2 bird a day limit so 2 shots, 2 shells floating near me and I was done for the day.

American bird shooting is not much when compared to bird shooting in other places. I have traveled to various US states wing shooting plus, Chile, Peru. Paraguay, Argentina, South Africa, etc. Most of the guns built in the US are built for the US market, which is set for limits like 12 birds a day. If you go places where the birds are considered vermin or pests, then you will run into guns built to last hundreds of thousands of rounds and for very differing speeds of shooting, in thousands not in dozens of shots per day. To shoot 2,000 rounds per day, requires some speed.

I was on my 8th trip to Argentina when the outfitters around Cordoba switched from Benellis to Berettas. The gas guns are easier shooting, the cleaning was done by bird boys with gasoline and labor is cheap. But on my prior trip, the 2nd trip I noticed a marked difference in speed of shooting, counting shells and the actual bird count between my 391 Beretta Urika sporting gun and my 20ga 32" Browning Ultra XS sporting gun. The Citori was faster, mostly due to no stopping the bird shooting to reload the tube. So I shot only one gun on one day VS the other gun on another day. The O/U select barrel, ejector was faster than the 391 on actual birds down and shots fired, both in a high volume shoot, count by the day and over 10 days. After considerable thought, drinking lemonade at the end of day, it was the tube reloads, so tried a shorter string, not shooting the 391 dry, still slower, must turn it to load it.

So when my son returned from one of his outings, to the vacation sand box. 23 tours in Para-Rescue. I told him, if he made it back alive, I would take him to Argentina with me on a 10 day bird trip, all on me. Asked him, which guns he wanted, the autos or the O/Us, so he opted for the autos, 391 Urika sporting guns in 20ga, two Silver side ported Sporting guns. We did the set up for him on both guns and he shot a round of Sporting Clays the day before we left, was pretty even.

I shoot the Browning Citori Sporting guns in Sporting Clays and the bird fields both, they are built like a Patton tank, and are very fast. So I told the son on the plane ride down that I would beat his shell and bird count at the end of our trip, naw you will not beat me! So he was 485 birds and shots behind by the end end of 10 days. He is very fast and accurate, Dad paid the shell bill, which was, smoking.

Oh, I did break a Beretta Silver Pigeon O/U in the pigeon fields of South Africa, the steel actuator arm on the for-end snapped right off. Rendering the gun an engraved wall hanger. You do not take American guns to these places unless you have a sack full of extra parts or a half dozen extra guns with you. My Brownings, each gun, have hundreds of thousands of rounds through them.

By the by, buying a shotgun comes in stages, the first $1,000 gun really hurts, the first $5,000 gun gets your attention, after that it is easy, like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer you get used to it. :-)

In the heat of the wing-whacking fervor, the last thing I want to fret over is chasing hulls.

If you have ejectors and the situation requires speed, you have it, and can pick up the hulls later. Otherwise, catch and pocket them.

My Henry .410 SS really tosses the empties, and loaded ones too! Non-selective ejectors are a PITA.

i try to find my hauls when i hunt . i trap shoot with a Perazzi TM3, my friend uses a Alferman for trap he also picks his hulls up , he wins plenty state titles too , but the both of us when we bird hunt we use auto`s .

Depends on what you like. I have three AyA's what had ejjectors and I removed them all. Didn't really need to but have having shells I'm gonna reload hit the ground is for me a no-no and 28's are awful expensive for field loads, I hate not being able the find one! Of course the answer, if you like, is to simply put your off hand over the barrels and catch shells being ejected, that works but I simply prefer the extractors.

Ejectors any day of the week and twice on opening days. Mb

Agreed Bob, its not even a close call. Ejectors for the win.

From Shotguns by Keith:

On a properly made gun there is a joy to the shooter, when he opens the piece and hears the soft punk of the ejectors kicking the empties clear of the gun. If you do not have ejectors, you are certain to get in a hot corner sooner or later while birds raise all around you and just when you should be dropping a couple more rounds in the gun you will be fumbling with those empty cases, trying to get them out of the gun the while you watch one beautiful opportunity after another fade away on fast wings.

No....Remember if you happen to leave one empty lying on the ground, you are a slop hunter and make the rest of them look bad. You MUST pick up every shell. It is the new rule.

Remember those Lewis and Clark boys were carving their names on rocks...Indians were drawing pictures on prehistoric rock. Its a shame they just didn't know.


Addition. More than once Grouse have decided to come out in one or two, followed be another one or two. Then you may be trying to mark down falls and watch the Dog retrieve. As far as i know, those empties may still be there. I admit it....I'm a slob..

One time I was trying to get a Bic lighter into the chamber after missing the first Bird that came out....It was followed by 6 more and I never could get that Bic to chamber and shoot.

If more birds might flush, faster than I can catch and pocket the empties, I always tilt the gun so they eject on the ground right next to me—hard to lose an empty this way.

Today the Autoloader is at least an 80 percent user favorite. And they throw them into places you could be spending an hour to unsuccessfully find one.

You’re properly lined up in a Pheasant walk thru a field. Stopping to look for errant empty, causes an unnecessary safety issue.

The whole, with exceptions like a Dove shoot, gentleman pick up their shells is mostly BS.

Have an AYA light 12 ga game gun 2 triggers and extractors it carries nice about 7 #'s. But while trying to quickly get it reloaded as Keith said opportunities are lost. On the the other hand my AYA Matador II 10 ga has 2 triggers and ejectors with a pair of rds between your fore end hand fingers it's you be gettner time. Like anything else practice and modifying what you do for the best result is the best plan. Shoot what you like but strive for proficiency..mb

I absolutely hate ejectors, always have. Just a personal pet peeve with shotguns. Closely followed by rubber recoil pads.

I've picked up plenty of hulls that weren't on a dove field . . .