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< 16ga. General Discussion ~ Old 16, new grouse |
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Posted:
Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:20 pm
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Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 190
Location: Washington State
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Some months ago I acquired a vintage 870 in 16ga. It's a plain Jane for sure but it turns out she does the job just fine. That's when the end that is breathing is working right.
Second morning out I'm rounding a bend in the road and I spot a big fat blue grouse. As I get closer it starts getting jittery and does it's thing, swing, BANG, dead grouse. About the time I'm congratulating myself his first partner departs the nearby brush and I don't even get a bead on him and the second one takes off. Now I'm stunned and can't figure which one to shoot first when numbers three and four also take flight, swing, BANG, miss. Swing, BANG, miss. Again,
Four empty hulls, one grouse. Dang! At least the 16 works on the metal and wooden end.
Over the four days of hunting I saw lots of birds, mostly in very tight cover, and often running their butts off in all directions. All total I brought down 4 Ruffed and the one Blue.
My greatest surprise was that I saw very few hunters. I felt that was odd due to the fact the opener was on a weekend. I'm hoping it remains like that but I'm not holding my breath. We'll see in a couple of weeks when I head back up.
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Posted:
Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:32 pm
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Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2007
Posts: 3373
Location: The Great Northwet
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Great pic! Thanks for sharing, you're making me very very antsy to get out into the woods. |
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Posted:
Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:45 pm
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Member
Joined: 02 Feb 2006
Posts: 602
Location: western pa
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Looks like the previous owner took good care of that Wingmaster for you. |
_________________ Always get get a drink upstream of the herd-Will Rogers |
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Posted:
Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:55 pm
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Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 51
Location: Laguna Niguel, CA
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Well Done! I've been dying for some new reading material.
It looks like I'm still at least three weeks away from getting into the field.
Keep us updated on your next adventure.
Best,
Fernando |
_________________ Remington M11
Lefever Nitro Special
Browning BPS
High Standard Flight King 12ga
F. Sarriugarte sxs Magnum 10 |
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Posted:
Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:12 pm
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Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 190
Location: Washington State
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fred lauer wrote: |
Looks like the previous owner took good care of that Wingmaster for you.
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Yes they did! I was very pleased when I picked it up at my local shop. It was from Florida and it must have been in a climate controlled safe by the looks of it. Not a spot of rust anywhere and only the smallest of marks in the stock.
The only drawback is that it's a modified barrel, so I have to let the grouse get out some if they flush too close.
We'll see how my new 16ga BPS matches up when it get here... |
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Posted:
Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:28 am
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Member
Joined: 18 Aug 2007
Posts: 211
Location: Alamogordo, New Mexico
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Roper: An inspirational photo and post. Hope to get out for grouse this weekend when I check my huckleberry patch in the high Cascades. I almost always see ruffs and blues on the way up there.
By the way, what's that sweet-looking 870 weigh? |
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Posted:
Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:35 am
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Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 302
Location: Maricopa County, Arizona
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I have an 870/16, not quite as vintage as his piece. Mine was made in 1962. It is also Modified with a 28" barrel. I just set it on my Digital scale and it came in at 6.12#. I was surprised I thought it weighted more than that. Of course it was not loaded.
The piece I have is like new, it was a safe queen for all these years. The original owner who I purchased the piece form used it on one pheasant hunt and it had less than a box of shells thru it. |
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Posted:
Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:42 pm
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Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 72
Location: UTAH
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Nice pic. I need to figure out how to post pics. My four boys and I went out for the opener of the Utah grouse hunt two weeks ago. We bagged 7 nice blues and 6 ruffies. A very good opener for us. Next weekend we'll be looking for sage chickens and chukars! |
_________________ "Because Hunting aint Catch and Release" |
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Posted:
Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:48 am
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Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 72
Location: UTAH
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Well......that didn't work. Any help with this issue would be appreciated. |
_________________ "Because Hunting aint Catch and Release" |
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Posted:
Fri Sep 21, 2007 10:47 pm
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Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 72
Location: UTAH
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Well, I headed up the mountain to chase Blues again today. I was able to drop three nice Blues right before dark. Dang I love bird hunting!! |
_________________ "Because Hunting aint Catch and Release" |
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Posted:
Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:58 pm
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Joined: 30 Mar 2007
Posts: 10
Location: N.E. Michigan
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Roper, I have a modified choke in my favorite grouse gun, 1940, 16 ga. Model 12. I tried some of the Poly Wad Spreader loads, that I originally bought for my full choke 2 9/16" chamber, 1923, Model 12. These are available in #6, 7 1/2 & 8 shot. These loads are great for tighter choked guns, in the brush for grouse and woodcock and for the first shot over a pointing dog in the field for pheasants. They are a little pricey but I think there great for the few shots a year I'll be using them for the first or second round in the magazine. |
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