Barrel length is very subjective. I won't own anything under 28". My two favorite quail guns are 30"s (it's the choke you know).
My favorite waterfowl gun is a 32. Anything less than 28 feels to me like trying to shoot a flyrod.
Barrel length is very subjective. I won't own anything under 28". My two favorite quail guns are 30"s (it's the choke you know).
My current favorite new production upland guns are both 20's. My Rizini Br 550 is a SxS and the CSMC Inverness is an OU. Both have 30" barrels. Unless I simply want to use one of my classics - which I do a lot - these two handle any upland duty.
Valid point. I have a wee little William Atkins 20 bore that would be very similar to your "O" frame. This one is a 26. Don't remember when I last had an opportunity to hunt woodcock. We would get a healthy migration of them into Southwest Louisiana every year and virtually no one hunted them. Back in the day, my griffon would retrieve ducks in the morning and then we would hit the woods behind camp after lunch and a nap. Great fun. Probably did that twice with the Atkin about 15 years ago.
Supposedly Williamson county is on the western edge of the Texas woodcock migration. At least the Grainger WMA lists them as huntable species. I've never hunted them, only read about it.
There always was a really big concentration north of Lake Charles around the Boy Scout Camp (Camp Edgewood). That whole area has been leased for deer hunting now, but I bet the birds still come. Last time I hunted them was in the early eighties.
There always was a really big concentration north of Lake Charles around the Boy Scout Camp (Camp Edgewood). That whole area has been leased for deer hunting now, but I bet the birds still come. Last time I hunted them was in the early eighties.
The post duck hunt birds were on Little Chenier.
As you can see with @Red Leg and @WAB, they have specific shotguns for specific purposes. Even I (a self-proclaimed minimalist) admit that I need more than one shotgun for what I like to hunt. Turkey and waterfowl get the SBE2 with specific Turkey or waterfowl loads. I hope to have a O/U for upland birds, but truthfully should have at least 2 or 3 shotguns for that purpose. A 12 bore O/U will cover it all, but it is just too much gun for some of the smaller species of upland birds, so then I need a 20 bore as well. Even then, I'd get the side eye for showing up at a proper Southern Bobwhite hunt without having a pre-1950's SxS in at least 20 bore, or better yet 28 bore. By the same token, try going to Argentina and hunting Dove all day with an O/U or SxS...by the end of the first day your thumb will be so sore from opening the action that you won't be able to do so for the next two. In this case, a semi-automatic is the way to go. Different horses for different courses.
I'm really looking forward to giving the F3 a close look. One of the most interesting things is the non-traditional closed shape of the pistol grip. Benelli did something similar with the grip on their 828U.
Will be curious about your impressions. One sees them a lot in the pigeon ring. I loved the way they handled. I would have owned one years ago, but would have been just silly to get a modern gun when I prefer my older ones for that sport.
I'll be looking specifically at the F3 Competition Sporting (also called the Professional) with 28" barrels. This is the closest to a game gun as the F3 gets. If I go to the F16, the fit will be the same as far as the barrels and stock, but there are several upgrades that the F3 has over the F16 that I could deem necessary.
That's why you pay for the loaders and take a pair of guns.
