Bleg: Dove Gun
I’ve committed to taking my nephews dove hunting this year. I need a gun for it. I want an auto-loader for less than $700. I may be talked upward if it’s worth it.
Also, 12GA or 20GA?
I do like some dove.
28 Responses to “Bleg: Dove Gun”
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July 28th, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Armslist.
July 28th, 2014 at 9:11 pm
1187. 12 ga.
I’ve knocked down more than my share of doves with that piece, swings like a dream. YYMV.
July 28th, 2014 at 9:21 pm
Old-school Browning A-5 or Remington Model 11.
Utterly reliable, can run fine with light loads, and a beater won’t make you feel too bad about dragging it through brush and mucking up the stock.
Plus, if you look around, you can find A-5’s for under $400. I picked up two Model 11’s for $175 apiece 6 years ago.
July 28th, 2014 at 9:33 pm
12 ga. And I second the Browning A5. Great gun. I like the shorter barrels.
July 28th, 2014 at 9:52 pm
personally, I’d go 12ga because it’s more versatile (i.e. greater variety of commercially loaded shells) and the difference in recoil is usually negligible because most 20ga guns are significantly lighter so they feel about the same as a 12ga.
July 28th, 2014 at 9:54 pm
Start working on connections for dove fields asap. Otherwise, it won’t really matter which beater Remington 1100 you borrow.
(The TWRA fields will be under-doved and over-hunted)
July 28th, 2014 at 10:00 pm
Another vote for Browning Auto-5 here. Just make sure the bronze rings are set right for the load you run. (It’s not difficult to do.)
July 28th, 2014 at 10:03 pm
$700? There are plenty of ’em.
And I’d stick with 12 as you can always use lighter field loads in 12 that are in 20 gauge range but it’s real hard to make a 12 out of a 20.
July 28th, 2014 at 10:11 pm
And now for something completely different: I like the Mossberg SA-20s. Most shotguns don’t pattern evenly, so I don’t think the difference between 12 & 20, at least on small game birds, is really noticeable.
July 28th, 2014 at 10:44 pm
I regret selling my Auto-5.
You may take that as a recommendation.
12 or 16? Not enough experience with 16 to offer any opinion.
July 28th, 2014 at 11:03 pm
$700? Bad example for the nephews. A $300 gun (and there are a LOT of good ones; a field gun ain’t an AR so the supply/demand inflation didn’t kick in near as much) will take as many birds as a dandy-boy Beretta, you don’t have to baby it, it has some history behind it, and most important it leaves lots of bucks for ammunition or even another gun, maybe one for the boys to keep! They’ll love their uncle, get some good eating, and learn some fine life lessons…
July 29th, 2014 at 12:15 am
Dove hunting?
A 28 gauge double.
July 29th, 2014 at 1:09 am
Dove shooting can be very challenging. Doves rarely fly in nice, straight lines – they’re quite challenging.
First, you need to find some good dove ground. The area around grain fields is usually prime dove hunting turf.
Second, you need to use the proper load – usually 7/8ths oz of #8, maybe 1oz of #8 at most. Unless you’re a well experienced shotgunner, you’ll find that using a more open choke will serve you better. Start at something like a Modified as your tightest choke.
A 20ga can throw this load just as well as a 12 ga can. A 12 ga gun would be more versatile, but the 20 gives up nothing to the 12 in terms of ability to bring down a dove. Bringing down a duck or goose? Now you’ll need a 12. For most upland game, including doves, a 20 ga load of 7/8ths to 1 1/8ths oz loads is plenty, from #6 to #8 shot.
Pattern whatever gun you have at 35 to 40 yards. Look for holes in the pattern – if you have holes, see if changing the choke helps close it up. Often, tighter chokes will have more openings in their patterns than the less severe chokes.
OK, semi-auto shotguns for dove (and other upland game):
I like the Beretta AL-390 (which you can only find used now) as a semi-auto. They’re built well, their gas system is foolishly easy to clean, they’ll take 2.75 and 3″ rounds interchangeably. In the black matte/synthetic version, they’re not a pretty gun, but they’re durable, pretty light and so easy to operate, clean, break down/re-assemble, etc. The gas system has no small fiddly little parts – there’s like all of 4 parts, all of which are so large you can hardly lose them if you’re on solid ground when you disassemble it.
The Browning A5 is a great gun, but they’re heavy. That’s OK if you’re hunting waterfowl from a blind or a boat, but in upland game (like dove), you need to hump that gun over a fair bit of ground. As you’re tromping about, you’ll come to appreciate a lighter gun – which the Browning is not at over 8 lbs (typically for 12’s). There was a “light” version of the A5, but it was still over 7.5lbs.
I used to hunt chukar every winter in Nevada. Hunting chukar means humping your ass (and your gun, your lunch and lots of water) up and down two to three thousand feet of elevation gain/loss at least twice per day – once in the morning, once in the early afternoon. Heavy guns become the bane of your existence after the first outing. The AL-390 is my favorite shotgun for chukar, bar none. Reliable, light, solid, easy to clean, easy to find parts for. Looking in my Blue Book, most all variants of the AL390 are under $550, even at 100% condition.
July 29th, 2014 at 7:27 am
Lots of used 12 gauge 1100s around in your price range.
I bought mine at an auction for way under $700.
July 29th, 2014 at 10:19 am
Browning A5s are alright, tougher to find though, overpriced too IMO. Remington 1100 in 20 gauge all day long. Tons of replacement parts, accessories, and online support plus you can get a used one around 500 bucks in decent shape. More choke options than you can imagine.
Not sure how many folks here actually go dove hunting, but if you smack a dove on the nose with a 12 gauge anything there isn’t any meat left to eat – it will become a red misty cloud. I really like the suggestion of a 28 gauge side by each, but the bleg was for an autoloader. My personal pheasant / dove / grouse gun is a Charles Daly side by each in 20 gauge, which could also be found for under $700. The suggestion of an open/modified choke in #8 shot was a good one.
July 29th, 2014 at 10:33 am
Remington 1100 Youth 20ga for smaller shooters.
Beretta 390 or similar in 12ga for larger.
Both have minimal recoil.
July 29th, 2014 at 12:56 pm
Can’t go wrong with the old school Browning A5. I have a Browning B-80 which I love too (its based on the A5 – but was actually manufacturerd by Beretta in Portugal as opposed to Browning in Japan). Or the 1100. Should be able to pick one up in good shape for far less than $700. Lots of them around.
Get lots of ammo too Assume 5 shells a bird.
Where and when are you going?
July 29th, 2014 at 1:16 pm
Weatherby SA-20 Synthetic $539 at Cabela’s.
http://www.weatherby.com/product/shotguns/sa_08/sa08_synthetic
Review:
http://www.chuckhawks.com/weatherby_SA-08_shotgun.htm
I bought one based on the review and it’s pretty nice.
July 29th, 2014 at 1:44 pm
The Remington Versa-max can now be had for $699.
http://www.slickguns.com/product/remington-versamax-12-gauge-35-shotgun-28-barrel-shotgun-69999
It can handle a wide range of loads without a hitch.
July 29th, 2014 at 1:45 pm
The Remington Versa-max can now be had for $699.
http://www.slickguns.com/product/remington-versamax-12-gauge-35-shotgun-28-barrel-shotgun-69999
It can handle a wide range of loads without a hitch. This is the next shotty I will be buying.
July 29th, 2014 at 3:18 pm
I bought my 1100LH 20 Ga. in 1976, so I don’t remember what I paid for it (less than $400). I’ve used it for dove, quail, rabbits, and the occasional snake, and can’t think of any reason at all to even consider a different gun – OK, one, but I don’t hunt geese.
July 29th, 2014 at 4:20 pm
I second the Beretta 390 with aluminum receiver. I have one with a synthetic stock. It runs on ANY ammo (up to 3″) without adjusting anything (it’s a very simple gas pressure regulator system). No O-rings or anything to adjust. It will digest at least 300 rounds of anything before it needs cleaning. It’s easy to take down, clean, and reassemble.
The stock also has a tapered shim in front of it, so you can reverse the shim to adjust the drop at comb. It fit me better than any long gun I’ve ever tried though, so I didn’t do anything to it. It came with several chokes. Mine also came with fiber-optic fire sights, but those can be easily removed, leaving a rib and front bead.
Oleg liked it also, if that means anything to you. He popped off 100 rounds of light target loads without a hickup when he was here.
Also, yes’ 12 gauge. If you look closely at the loads, you find that 12 and 20 come in the same loads (shot weight and dram eq.) up until you get into the really powerful 12 gauge loads, so you’re not losing anything whatsoever with a 12, but gaining on the hot end.
July 29th, 2014 at 5:15 pm
You can get a Rem 11-87 for way less than $700 and have a gun that runs anything from 26 gram AA Featherlights to 3″ mags without doing anything but loading it and pulling the trigger.
July 29th, 2014 at 5:20 pm
Wife has a 390 for Sporting Clay shooting, and I’ve used it a few times, and taught some new shotgunners with it, they’re pretty nice. New they’re in the vacinity of $8-900, so used should be in your range.
Also I’ve heard damn good things about Mossberg Auto-Loaders.
July 29th, 2014 at 6:58 pm
Mmm… pastoral thoughts of Fudd hunts. I’d take my dad’s old (last of the Belch) Browning Sweet-16 (16ga A5). Been picking up whatever various (scarce) 16ga shells I run across, so I have a good variety, but plenty of 8 and 6 shot. I could be hell on doves.
July 29th, 2014 at 8:24 pm
Any decent-swinging 12-gauge autoloader will do.
Short barrels feel like they point better, and they do, but I’d suggest something with a 28-inch barrel and Mod or Imp Cyl choke, and 1 1/8 ounce loads. That longer barrel will mean more muzzle weight, which helps you follow through with your swing.
And as the saying goes, you ain’t got a thing if you ain’t got that swing…
July 29th, 2014 at 9:28 pm
About 1-1/2 years ago I got a new CZ 712 Utility with adjustable stock in 12Ga. Came with 5 choke tubes & well under your price range new. Absolutely love it.
July 30th, 2014 at 11:43 am
Agile Budget…I was selling brand-new SA-08 shotguns last Christmas for $399, as my distributor was running a special on them last season. It was $447.90 out-the-door (with tax and TN background check.)
Have one in my store currently at $475 retail as we speak.