Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
The Shorthair worked up the gully that bisected the cornfield. We followed, spread out a bit and huffing a bit from the climb. As the gully pinched out, every fiber of that dog was at full alert,saying "Bird Close", then "Bird HERE!"
The shot was a postscript ....
Hunting upland game is fun without pressure. There's no Boone and Crockett listings for quail,grouse or pheasant. Safari Club cares not one whit if your woodcock has a 4" bill. And, the fact that good upland hunting oft exists near our homes makes it all that much more attractive.
When we say Upland game, often we mean upland birds. Starting from quail and woodcock up,the biggest game is the pheasant unless there's turkey on the agenda, and turkey are not much hunted these days over a dog.
And this IS dog hunting, by and large. This is old calendars with ribby pointers hunting, or excited spaniels and sports wearing ties and handling double guns.
And to those of us who have done it, it's close to being in Heaven.
Let's take a look at what constitutes a good upland gun. Be aware that if one asked 10 upland hunters what makes a good upland gun, one gets at least 11 answers.
Starting with the load needed...
Except for pheasant, an oz of shot will suffice, mostly in sizes from 8 to 6. Wild pheasants can soak up a lot of shot without dying right then, and I used to use 1 1/4 oz of 6s or even 5s to anchor them. Otherwise, an oz suffices, and lots of folks use the 3/4 to 7/8 oz loads found in 28 to 16 gauge shotguns and consider it enough.
The 16 used to be the darling of the uplands. Improvements in ammo brought the 20 to the fore, and the 16 has faded from the scene. That's a shame.
The 28 gauge refuses to believe it's small, and often gives the quietus to stuff we'd rather whack with a 12. IMO, the 28 gauge is more for the experienced shotgunner than the beginner, to achieve sufficient density with the small shot charge one needs to tighten the choke a bit, thus limiting the apread.
While some favor the 410, I'm no fan if we talking hunting stuff that can suffer. Even quail get hard to recover with the 410, and quail are not exactly armorplated.
Lots of us just own 12 gauge shotguns. These can be used for the uplands if they aren't on the heavy side.Many are heavy for this,from a little bit to way too much.
As a very loose rule of thumb, a shotgun weighing more than 7 lbs is probably not going to be fun 5 ridges away from the truck. Uplands run more to vertical than plains or wetlands, and the weapon has to be carried for miles. After 45 or so, this becomes more important.
On the light side, shotguns of less than 6 lbs are harder to keep the swing going from lack of inertia.
FYI, a riot barreled 870 just squeaks in under the limit. And some of us do very well with it. The Ithaca 37 has its fans for these conditions, and oft runs near optimum at 6.25 lbs. The Mossy 500 and the Winchester 1300 series oft are contenders here.
Some autos meet the weight limit, including the venerable Franchi AL-48. One friend has a 20 gauge AL-48, it's very light and he's toted it hundreds of miles.
The 1100s in the smaller gauges have lots of fans. So do the Beretta and Browning autos in 20 gauge.
But the classic Upland guns are SxS doubles. From old Crescents to the British best guns, these just plain work. Many are "Pretty" also, a nice plus. O/Us will work also, but they are not as common. They also run a little heavier, good for a waterfowler or target shotgun, but again not the best for the uplands.
Besides the weight thing, upland guns should have open chokes,Cylinder to Modified mostly. I'd call for choke tubes, and would take along a Full in case the birds are spooky.If I HAD to pick just one choke here, it'd be IC.
Classic upland guns tend towards short barrels, though the coach guns now common with the CAS folks may be a little too short for best work. Inertia again. Something around 26" for a double, shorter or the same for a repeater, ought to work for you.
As for balance, a neutral or muzzle light feel is more popular than a weight forward one, these may be a bit faster to deploy. It's up to you.
Since most birds will be rising, a POI of something like 60-40 is probably best, but again, it's your call.
Basically, grab your scattergun and go upland hunting.If it works for you, it's an upland gun.
Mac's Gogo Girl,known around the house as Girl,worked through the alders with a gait belying her 12 years. I fought greenbriars behind her, cussing as I handled the little French/Belgian SxS. As the first woodcock flushed, I swung up and pointed, catching the funny little bird as it towered, the bang hiding the sound of another flush a few yards away. I saw a flash, identified it and shot milliseconds before it would have been hidden by branches. As it tumbled, and Girl nosed my thigh to let me know she had the first one, the memories jelled...
The shot was a postscript ....
Hunting upland game is fun without pressure. There's no Boone and Crockett listings for quail,grouse or pheasant. Safari Club cares not one whit if your woodcock has a 4" bill. And, the fact that good upland hunting oft exists near our homes makes it all that much more attractive.
When we say Upland game, often we mean upland birds. Starting from quail and woodcock up,the biggest game is the pheasant unless there's turkey on the agenda, and turkey are not much hunted these days over a dog.
And this IS dog hunting, by and large. This is old calendars with ribby pointers hunting, or excited spaniels and sports wearing ties and handling double guns.
And to those of us who have done it, it's close to being in Heaven.
Let's take a look at what constitutes a good upland gun. Be aware that if one asked 10 upland hunters what makes a good upland gun, one gets at least 11 answers.
Starting with the load needed...
Except for pheasant, an oz of shot will suffice, mostly in sizes from 8 to 6. Wild pheasants can soak up a lot of shot without dying right then, and I used to use 1 1/4 oz of 6s or even 5s to anchor them. Otherwise, an oz suffices, and lots of folks use the 3/4 to 7/8 oz loads found in 28 to 16 gauge shotguns and consider it enough.
The 16 used to be the darling of the uplands. Improvements in ammo brought the 20 to the fore, and the 16 has faded from the scene. That's a shame.
The 28 gauge refuses to believe it's small, and often gives the quietus to stuff we'd rather whack with a 12. IMO, the 28 gauge is more for the experienced shotgunner than the beginner, to achieve sufficient density with the small shot charge one needs to tighten the choke a bit, thus limiting the apread.
While some favor the 410, I'm no fan if we talking hunting stuff that can suffer. Even quail get hard to recover with the 410, and quail are not exactly armorplated.
Lots of us just own 12 gauge shotguns. These can be used for the uplands if they aren't on the heavy side.Many are heavy for this,from a little bit to way too much.
As a very loose rule of thumb, a shotgun weighing more than 7 lbs is probably not going to be fun 5 ridges away from the truck. Uplands run more to vertical than plains or wetlands, and the weapon has to be carried for miles. After 45 or so, this becomes more important.
On the light side, shotguns of less than 6 lbs are harder to keep the swing going from lack of inertia.
FYI, a riot barreled 870 just squeaks in under the limit. And some of us do very well with it. The Ithaca 37 has its fans for these conditions, and oft runs near optimum at 6.25 lbs. The Mossy 500 and the Winchester 1300 series oft are contenders here.
Some autos meet the weight limit, including the venerable Franchi AL-48. One friend has a 20 gauge AL-48, it's very light and he's toted it hundreds of miles.
The 1100s in the smaller gauges have lots of fans. So do the Beretta and Browning autos in 20 gauge.
But the classic Upland guns are SxS doubles. From old Crescents to the British best guns, these just plain work. Many are "Pretty" also, a nice plus. O/Us will work also, but they are not as common. They also run a little heavier, good for a waterfowler or target shotgun, but again not the best for the uplands.
Besides the weight thing, upland guns should have open chokes,Cylinder to Modified mostly. I'd call for choke tubes, and would take along a Full in case the birds are spooky.If I HAD to pick just one choke here, it'd be IC.
Classic upland guns tend towards short barrels, though the coach guns now common with the CAS folks may be a little too short for best work. Inertia again. Something around 26" for a double, shorter or the same for a repeater, ought to work for you.
As for balance, a neutral or muzzle light feel is more popular than a weight forward one, these may be a bit faster to deploy. It's up to you.
Since most birds will be rising, a POI of something like 60-40 is probably best, but again, it's your call.
Basically, grab your scattergun and go upland hunting.If it works for you, it's an upland gun.
Mac's Gogo Girl,known around the house as Girl,worked through the alders with a gait belying her 12 years. I fought greenbriars behind her, cussing as I handled the little French/Belgian SxS. As the first woodcock flushed, I swung up and pointed, catching the funny little bird as it towered, the bang hiding the sound of another flush a few yards away. I saw a flash, identified it and shot milliseconds before it would have been hidden by branches. As it tumbled, and Girl nosed my thigh to let me know she had the first one, the memories jelled...
Need input, more input!
