I have an old sauer 16 ga. with hammers 27 1/2" full and full barrels and it weights less than 6lbs.the shots will be between 30 and 50 yards.I was wondering what brand and shot size ammo out there would be good for this?......Thanks

Before you start,check the chamber for proper length. A lo of older guns have shorter chamber for older wad type ammo and the new star crimp ones get opened up in the forcing cone.Not good.

#6 shot will do fine

It was opened up for 2 3/4 at some point .

I would say 6 shot. But that's just me!

When I was growing up, a friend of mine had two really nice Ithaca 16's. He always shot Kynoch shells with #4 shot well on ruffed grouse and ring necks. Good luck in your search. Maybe buy a few different brands to see how they pattern in your gun.

I like 5's for blues.. Some are quite large.. 6's also work well..

Never shot one with a shotgun...but Im guessing WCH is right...5s

#6 shot would be a good choice.

Thanks for the great info.I will check out RST so I can keep my pressure lower.I will get some 5 and 6 shot loads to pattern.I also have 1 box of old super X 4 shot that came with the gun 2 9/16 shells.

Blues are a favorite hunt for us, and 5s seem to work best, especially latter when the feathers are thicker. 6s are not a bad choice, nor are 4s, but I stay with 5s. We need the range often that 5s have, and we need the better pattern density than with 4s. Just my $0.02. Blues can be BIG!

Great photo and love that sling.I will be hunting along the edge of woulds next to ski runs and some will be far and open so I will order some 5's today to pattern.

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I like 5s for about everything anymore. I do use 6s for turkey heads.

6, 7 1/2, & 8 is what I use in my 20s don’t use hi velo loads as well though most of my shots are 30 or under. I run into duskys when hunting ruffed grouse and usually use 7 1/2 or 8 on the ruffs. They are bigger birds though and have/still do carry 6 shot, just don’t see a stark raving difference.

You see a difference when you clean the birds.

I prefer a few bigger holes, many all the way through, to a bunch of little holes full of feathers and tiny shot.

I've gone to 5s and 6s in light loads for dove and quail for that reason, and the bigger shot breaks bones and nails birds to the ground.

...just an opinion... Ever try 7s? They're hard to find, but they make a real good quail/dove killer.

RST has some loads with 7 shot .They load light loads and short shells for older shotguns.

I think I have shot a million blues, mostly with a handgun. Probably shot a couple hundred thousand with a 410 and 7 1/2 shot. But don’t take my word for it, there are probably people that have shot more than me...

How do you cook them Shrap?

Just like ruffs or pheasants...

A goodly majority of the ones I've eaten were stuck on a stick and cooked over a fire. They were favorites on goat hunts, as we'd always find a bunch.

That would stand to reason for sure. Blues like the high elevations.

And they always like to scare the crap out of you when you are putting a stalk on a deer or elk. Every damn time it seems...

Mine were usually taken with a 165 gr ballistic tip from a 30-06 with 60 gr of H4831 behind it. Targets of opportunity while deer hunting. I have killed a few with a 20 ga Wingmaster and dove loads. But I was just shooting their heads off with an unopened shot column.

Blue grouse are not much bigger than a pheasant. 2 3/4" 16 ga loaded with #5 or #6 should work well.

I'm decided to use a 6 shot spreader load for my first shot and a non spreader 5 for
my second.

Yeah, with Full and Full chokes, a spreader load in the first barrel may be a good idea. Unless they are spooky, and then you can use 5s in both barrels.