grouse calibers

[hafwit]

went hunting for the first time with my 7 month old german longhair pointer. she knows more about grouse than I do right now. did not carry a gun, have enough to worry about with loopy puppy. next year I intend to actually pull the trigger. suggestions about caliber. .22 with birdshot? .410? .20 Gauge? a little help is appreciated.grouse will be primary, pheasant rarely.

The .22 shot cartridges normally are loaded with shot that is far too small to shoot grouse with.I have used both the 410 and 12 gauge,and personally I find the 12 gauge more flexible.When shooting sitting grouse with a 12 gauge,I aim high so that the bottom of the pattern strikes the head and neck.For wing shooting,the 12 gauge has a much denser pattern.

[theduke]

if ur just gunna use it just for grouse and upland go 20 i ude a 20 for upland and 3 12s for upland and duck, i love the 20 its a ruger red label swing beautifully light and does the job, so i strongly recomend a 20cif u can afoord 2 guns

[catnthehat]

I used a 20 gauge for grouse for years , and thought it was the ultimate, I have also used a .410.
However, since I have started using a set of 28 guage Briley tubes in my 12 gauge, I am convinced that a 28 with a 3/4OZ shot charge of number 9's is about PERFECT!
If I can get Silverado to post some pics of our last hunt I can show you why.
The only draw back is the cost of the ammo.

I handload, and have aquired all the componants I need, but if a fella did a lot of shooting it would be wise to try and get a bulk buy of ammo or maybe go to a 20 gauge.
The 20 does quite fine with lower shot charges and you can beef it up for pheasants also.
We don't have pheasants up here and I have 12's and 16's also.

IF a fella was to use a 12 guage for all his birds I would suggest a light shot charge of 1 OZ of 9's or even (7/8 OZ) and 2 1/2 drams , something like a youth load if you were going to hunt ruffys and ptarmigan.
Up here, we find that the "field" loads that are available from Walmart and Canuck tire are too heavy for ruffys on the fly.
Cat

Yup...20 gauge makes an ideal upland gun....

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by sheephunter

Yup...20 gauge makes an ideal upland gun....

I really don't think you can find a better sized shotgun for all around upland, no.
Especially with the removable chokes available these days, it is easy to go from partridge to fast and furious puddle jumping for ducks even!
But yes, for all around pheassnt, partridge , rabbits, etc., you cannot beat a 20.

But for straight ruffys, I won't be buying one any time soon as long as a've got my 28 gauge tubes for my O/U 12!
Cat

[knight hunter]

I've used .22, .410, 16, 12. I like my 16 g the best. But also with the 12 guage there are a larger variety of ammo. buy cheapies for grouse, more expensive for ducks + geese.

[geezer55]

I've used 12 gauge, 20 gauge, .410 and .22 on grouse. Loved the 20 gauge and won't use a .410 on them again as too many flew off after being hit. My boys and I love the .22 as there isn't any meat loss when hit in the head.

[duffy4]

For WING SHOOTING upland birds a 20, 16 or 12 would be good.
And of the three I like the 20.

Robin in Rocky

[dabears]

How about a 17HMR to the head?

[duffy4]

Originally Posted by dabears

How about a 17HMR to the head?

Normally when one is hunting upland birds with a dog, they are shooting flushed birds in the air (or shooting near them). A shotgun is the tool for this type of shooting.

And buy the way,"hafwit", it takes a very expert shot to effectivly shoot birds out of the air with a .410.

Robin in Rocky

[honda450]

I use 12 gauge as I have a surplus of lead shotshells. Also use 410 sometimes. Seems to be a good year for grouse.

[Jamie]

I like my 410-22

Seems to work.
Also try shooting trap with a 410.
It takes the chalenge level up more than a bit.


Jamie

[Bobby B.]

I've hunted grouse for years with the .410 side by side I received as gift around the age of ten. It's an excellent choice for taking grouse on the ground and not bad for taking grouse as they rise from the ground. But for wing shooting grouse in wooded areas, the .410 just doesn't provide the power neccessary to routinely fold birds. If I were to select a shotgun specifically for shooting grouse over dogs, it'd be a 20 double barrel. Preferably the side by side strictly on the aesthetics. Something very light and very quick to point.

Bobby B.

[Okotokian]

Shotgun for sure.... and if you are only going to have one shotgun, it HAS to be a 12 gauge (my opinion, not an absolute). It is the most versatile shotgun, can do anything. Now if you really get into it, you may want to specialize later, get a 16 or 20 for the weight, etc. But one gun? Has to be a 12... you can shoot clays, pheasant, partridge, grouse, waterfowl... heck, you can use slugs! If you want to go cheap but reliable, get a pump. I prefer semi-autos myself.

12 gauge with cheap walmart or canadian tire bulk shotshells in #7's, aim 2 inches high

[honda450]

Cooey single shot break action. 12 gauge. Gotta hunt with it. it was my fathers.

[Straightshooter]

Depends. Where do you hunt and what kind of grouse do you hunt?

For ruffed grouse, blue grouse, and spruce grouse, anything from 28 ga up to 12 gauge is fine. Personally, I prefer 16 or 20 ga. with 7 1/2 and 6-shot.

For pheasant and sharptail grouse, you'll need larger shot sizes (usually 4, 5, or 6 shot). With pheasants, the larger shot is pretty much all that's required because the birds are tough, but the shots are close. With sharptail, most of your shots are from 40 to 75 yards and the birds are tough as sailors. So, you'll need the larger shot AND heavier loads (in the 3 1/4 dram equivalent range). For Pheasant and sharptail, I usually use 12 guage so that the gun is heavier and absorbs more of the felt recoil.

[theduke]

if your not intrested in a 20 ga i have a 12 ga upland gun, its a browning citori feather wieght, weighs less then my 20, the barrel is 26 inches bought it with the intensions of hunting lots of pheastents this year but didnt, and got a great deal on another gun so this gun has to leave my collection which is a shame. bought it for 2000 but if u are intrested make me an offer

"12 gauge with cheap walmart or canadian tire bulk shotshells in #7's, aim 2 inches high"

I'm going to try that, i was always told that was too small of shot for ruffies (mind you no one else i know hunts with a 12 gauge). I shot my first one with a shotty last weekend (22 is always weapon of choice). Note to others: number 2 shot is not a good idea when you forgot the number 5 , it just took me 20 minuted to pull all the feathers out of the mutilated breast while making a ruffie caesar salad. Removed one wing, broke the other in 3 places, head pretty much removed, can you say DEAD chicken!!

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by jrs

"12 gauge with cheap walmart or canadian tire bulk shotshells in #7's, aim 2 inches high"

I'm going to try that, i was always told that was too small of shot for ruffies (mind you no one else i know hunts with a 12 gauge). I shot my first one with a shotty last weekend (22 is always weapon of choice). Note to others: number 2 shot is not a good idea when you forgot the number 5 , it just took me 20 minuted to pull all the feathers out of the mutilated breast while making a ruffie caesar salad. Removed one wing, broke the other in 3 places, head pretty much removed, can you say DEAD chicken!!

Larger shot will penetrate deeper than smaller sized shot. I have always used 9's for my patridge loads if I had them, it doesn't take a lot to kill them, a few pellets in the head or neck will do, but if you hit them hard with big shot you're going to do a lot more breast damage than if you hit them with small shot.
Cat

[theduke]

jrs all u have to do is aim for the head same thing happen to me while hunting ducks came across some huns at a duck shell in my gun aim for the head of the one that watches no wreck meat lol but the one that fellow away and the one i hit got mangeled