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Gentlemen,

After many years of hunting Grouse , Woodcock & Pheasants I have found all the different options come into play sooner or later. Barrel length maybe way down the list for some sportsmans requirement others may shoot better with a certain length barrel and others may need a short barreled gun for very thick habitat. The same goes for the choke requirement and even more critical is the shells chosen to hunt with. Of course if the gun does not fit you correctly this also becomes an option worth investing in.

The more you hunt or shoot Clays the more options and experiences a sportsman learns. In reality there is a great deal of difference between an experienced bird hunter and a beginner. All the different experiences do matter sooner or later especially while hunting. This is especially true when Grouse hunting and when picking your 1st primary Grouse/bird gun.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

There are many different quality levels to choose from, choose wisely.

All good advice, and to each their own but the OP’s question was on barrel length & chokes.

I have learned to shoot considerably well with a gun that fit me poorly, my 935. And guaranteed I will miss with a gun that fits me perfectly. And that’s on clays, nevermind an environment off the well beaten path of a skidder or moose trail. Just this morning I (hopefully) corrected a poor habit on the skeet field of mounting the gun as I said “pull” instead of looking for the clay and then mounting. My lead would be too far in front causing me to correct on the swing resulting in missed clays. The habit crept in only in the last couple weeks. I have seen similar things happen with much better shots than I, which is typically everyone else I shoot with.

Just last week at the close of our north zone duck season the Citori tango’ed with quite a few multiflora, grape vines & willows getting into my spot. The shooting was all close even though they didn’t set in the dekes, and I was wishing on the way in and out that I had that 21” frankengun, safety & imperfect fit be damned.

All I know is, grouse flush when they believe it is to their advantage, and that’s usually after I have passed by them and got entangled in some raspberry or other such terrestrial octopus that seems to fall hopelessly in love with my Citori’s barrels, with the Briley extended chokes apparently being the vine equivalent of a thong bikini. And while I long for a year like 2001 where almost every grouse the dog pointed flew into the open across my path, I will not pass up too many opportunities due to vegetation…with the major exception of prickly ash; been there, got the T-shirt.

Joined: 30 Sep 2020 Posts: 185 Location: ont canada

Chicago,

Lots of Sportsman believe as you do, habitat being hunted usually determines the gun and barrel on the gun. I like a longer barreled 12 gauge double gun, and something 28" and under for my 16 gauge Grouse guns. Most of the time I am hunting Pheasant with my 12 gauge guns, in a little more open habitat. However I due use my long barreled 12 gauge guns when walking the big tram roads. I stay on the big tram roads walking for miles, and let the dogs work both sides into the Grouse woods for about 50 yards. I get a lot of Grouse points along the edges of the big tram roads, and my #5 L.C. Smith 12 gauge gun really puts the birds down nicely, with #8's in the 1st barrel and #6's in the 2nd. Always let the dog due the Grouse hunting, you are along to pull the trigger when necessary, stay out of the thick habitat with your long barreled guns when you can. However when the dog points 35-50 yards off the tram roads, a Grouse and Woodcock hunter must go to the point and gun the birds.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

L.C. Smith #5 gun, the stuff dreams are made of.

Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 196

I bailed on the gun due to no cast off.If anyone is interested it is at Cabelas in AZ.really nice sauer.You guys have provided a lot of great info thanks .

AC,
Well the gun maybe nice, however I no longer due business with Bass Pro/Cabelas,
thanks for the heads up however.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2349 Location: West MI

Sorry for this late response on a trailing off thread, forgot about the 20ga BPS Upland Special taking up space in the back of the safe ever since discovering my 16ga addiction, has 22" OEM barrel w/tubes, Skt1 ran best in that barrel for me, sweet quick little gun.

Aurelio, best of luck in your hunt for a shotgun, fit is key, no question.

this will also put me in a place to be shunned Putzie , but the best gun for Grouse is an LT20 1100 in 28 or 20 ga . The youth model that my kid "borrowed" was a 23'' mod . It was one of the best guns ever for everything , i put my 28ga skeet gun right there with it !!

Joined: 09 Mar 2016 Posts: 754 Location: Mn.

The Admiral contacted me last week and asked me to talk him out of buying a new gun. I did.

For those of you that like short ugly and poke and hope guns in the wrong gauge to hunt grouse with it is the limited edition Benelli 828u upland performance shop 24" 20 gauge.

LOP is short at 14 1/4". And did I mention it is ugly yet?

And that is coming from someone that has been known to screw a polychoke on the end of a Benelli Ultralight and commit 12 gauge while grouse hunting.

Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 1480 Location: Mpls, MN.

That is an ugly gun. You are a true friend.

I used a 1930s vintage Remington model 17 for grouse for a decade or so, after high school. It had a Cutts Compensator on it, that I truly hated. I had Stan Baker shorten the barrel, and pick a couple of chokes for hunting grouse and pheasant in Minnesota. They aren’t marked, you stick a pinky finger in to deduce which is more open. The barrel was shortened to 21” at the same time. Stan told me that barrels were bent when a Cutts or a Poly Choke was installed, and cutting it to that length got rid of the bend. Just happened to be a perfect length for a skinny kid with a new Gordon Setter pup, and a bad grouse habit. It is a hell of a bird gun, and I shot a boxcar full of birds with that gun.
I still have it, haven’t used it in decades, but, I have a lot of memories with the old gun. I’d guess you could call the open choke IC, and the barrel is 21”.

That combo worked very well for me for a long time on Minnesota and Wisconsin grouse.

Good luck.

Best,
Ted

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2349 Location: West MI

Member Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 1863 Location: Wisconsin

I like my front trigger to be cylinder bore and my rear to be I/C or mod., depending on the conditions. 26” barrels are as short as I go and I use 8’s in the Cyl bore and 7.5’s or 6’s in the tighter one. Changing chokes is handy if you can for the best patterns on various shot sizes, and I like my gun to weigh as close to 6 lbs as possible. My next adaptation is to remove my rubber recoil pad and install a wooden one to further reduce the possibility of hanging up on my extra clothes; flushes are valuable and missing a shot opportunity is time and shoe leather wasteful. Reno

Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 196

Two pipe shoot thanks about the pad idea non of mine have pads and been seeing a lot of guns with pads for sale.I’m seeing a lot of cyl. And full combo in older European guns.I have found 2 Lefevers a 20 and a 16 that are sk. and sk. 26” damasscus barrels.I see a lot of leather covered pads but don’t no how durable they are.This is really tough shopping for a new shotgun.

AC,
You are correct sir, when purchasing a good gun a sportsman finds that the more he knows about guns and their engineering design, the more critical his decisions become. This is not a bad thing, it is usually how good decisions are arrived at.
The more education and experience you have as a purchaser the better decisions you make. The gun costing the most money is not always the best gun, usually however high quality guns do cost more money.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man