Which Shotgun to Take on Quail Hunt?

S

slowr1der

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I'm supposed to go on my first quail hunt and I'm torn on which shotgun to take.

My first option is an 1100 Special Field 12 gauge I bought years ago at an auction in near new condition minus the box. I initially thought this would be perfect. I bought it years ago and have barely shot it. My hesitation is that I looked on GunBroker and the current value seems to be about 4x what I paid. I hate to tear this thing up an d ruin it's value.

Option #2 is a double barrel 20 gauge that I inherited. It has a lot of sentimental value. However, like a dumbass when I was teenager I hunted with it and put a few scratches on it. As I've gotten older I realized I never should have taken taken this out of the safe. However, it is what it is. I'm not sure if I want to risk additional damage, but it's also not 100% condition either. Honestly I'd be okay if I never shot this thing again and just passed it down to my kids one day. However, I also feel like it would be perfect for this. I have no idea how rough this quail hunt will be on a gun, so I'm lost on what to take.
 
It doesn't have any sentimental value to me. The only way it's going to have any sentimental value to your kids is if you use it. If you don't use it meaningfully, it will eventually pass to someone who hardly knows a person who ever did and has no reason to care. On the other hand, if you leave your wear on it, it might mean something to the people who know you and for whom that means something.
 
Hmm, you have guns you don’t seem to want to use. You even called yourself a dumb donkey for using one of them in the past.

Sell them both and buy something you will use.

Maybe check this thread for some inspiration:

Who abuses their nice shotguns (Benelli/berretta/$1200-$2000)

I’ve been doing a little duck hunting this year from a kayak and a small plastic John boat/pond prowler thing and my 870 had been abused Frozen freshwater marsh mud everywhere, soaking wet, etc The ice is causing feeding problems with the flipper I’ve heard reports, and watched the “grand...
www.thehighroad.org
 
PapaG said:
My dove/quail gun is an Ithaca (SKB) model 100 choked i.c. and mod. Backup is an old 1100 20 with a skeet barrel.
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Ithaca SKB Model 500 12gauge O/U, 26", Mod/IC. Bought it when I first went on active duty in the Army in `74. It`s seen more quail covers and dove fields than I can count. Too many memories of places and people and good hunts to ever part with it. Still functions like the day I bought it.
 
Guns were made to be used not looked at. There is nothing prettier than a well-used gun with the blue worn off from being carried. Every scratch and dent in the wood should be a reminder of memorable hunts. You should look back on those character marks with pride instead of letting the guns collect dust in the safe. If you want to make money invest in the stock market instead of guns.

NORMALLY a 20 ga SXS would be ideal, but without more info I can't say for sure. If not being in 100% condition means mechanically flawed then I wouldn't use it.

Barrel length is huge for quail where I hunt. Birds are close and cover is thick. There is no such thing as swinging on a bird. They tend to flush straight away and the shooter pokes the barrel through a hole in the brush and pulls the trigger when the bird flies in front of the barrel. A lot of old timers cut barrels down to make them shorter and get rid of all choke for this type of hunting.

The 1100 Special Field was made just for this type of hunting. I'd not hesitate to take it.
 
slowr1der said:
My first option is an 1100 Special Field 12 gauge
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And also the best option of the two you list.
slowr1der said:
I initially thought this would be perfect.
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You would be correct.
slowr1der said:
I bought it years ago and have barely shot it.
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Why? Beautiful guns are made to be shot; if you're not going to shoot the good ones, then sell them to people who will and go buy a soul-less piece of plastic and sintered metal to shoot.
slowr1der said:
My hesitation is that I looked on GunBroker and the current value seems to be about 4x what I paid. I hate to tear this thing up an d ruin it's value.
Click to expand...
You do realize that you're going on a quail hunt, not an extended African safari. Odds are, you won't "tear this thing up" at all unless you trip over your own feet and fall on it. Even so, anything can be repaired. I regularly bird hunt with a handmade European side by side that was built in the early 60's. When I bought it, I had the chokes opened and a recoil pad installed. Did I ruin it? No, I made it so I could hunt with it. It was pristine when I got it; it now bears a few scratches and scars from some memorable quail and dove hunts. Those scratches and scars bring back good memories for me; who cares about the value of the gun if you enjoy shooting it?

Mac
 
The 20 ga sxs is the traditional classic quail gun. That third shot you can generally just throw on the ground. Sometimes it comes in handy, but generally can add it to the miss column.
As @Turkeytider knows, you can hunt pen raised birds with a cork gun....and they will be singles.
If hunting over dogs you'll also have the advantage.
My sxs 20ga is full/mod and is too much choke for such business as wild quail over dogs. Skeet or imp cylinder choke is the sweet spot for that. If you're walking them up, you should go tighter. The difference between 12ga and 20ga can be a non-issue with the proper choice of ammo.
Best wishes.
Enjoy your hunt.
Post pics on THR.
 
Unless the 'double barrel' ( you didn't specify SxS or O/U) is choked full and fuller, both will do the job admirably.

I see it as a win-win. Either way you choose, you will be carrying a gun well suited to the purpose.

Last time I busted a covey of quail, I had an M16A1 in my hands. With blanks. I still lined up on a bird and fired. The whole unit dropped to the ground and opened up, the top yelled at me, the CO just laughed, being a quail hunter himself.
 
Once in a great while, and not lately, I'd take out a 410 double that we had ordered for a friend around '68 or so. Company from Florida would get your gun built to your order (on a box lock action). Guy wanted a full sized double, mod and full, selective trigger and electors set up for 11/16 oz of 7 1/2. Don't know how they figured it out. You could spec Krupp sterl, Bohler, or just fluid steel. Pad, hard butt, skeleton, whatever plus splinter or beavertail, straight or p.g.
This one was pretty plain and ran about $300 in 1969 dollars. A Superposed wasn't much more.
He swapped it back to dad for a Contender. Dad gave it to brother and I. I got it when brother passed. Brother contacted the company to price out a twin after Pop passed in '79.
Quote was $1500.
I can't hit as well with it as with the Ithaca but there is something about a double...
 
jmr40 said:
Guns were made to be used not looked at. There is nothing prettier than a well-used gun with the blue worn off from being carried. Every scratch and dent in the wood should be a reminder of memorable hunts. You should look back on those character marks with pride instead of letting the guns collect dust in the safe. If you want to make money invest in the stock market instead of guns.

NORMALLY a 20 ga SXS would be ideal, but without more info I can't say for sure. If not being in 100% condition means mechanically flawed then I wouldn't use it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I should probably get over my fear of scratching them. My main deer hunting rifle and shotgun are pretty rough appearance wise. They have lots of scratches, bluing loss from riding in the truck, etc. I don't worry much about them. However, I've tried to keep most of my others pretty nice.

I definitely didn't buy the 1100 Special Field as an investment. I bought it because I liked it and wanted to use it. However seeing the current prices of them I was kind of stunned and it was really making me really question that decision.

The SXS 20 gauge I have is in great mechanical shape, it just has some scratches in the beautiful wood. I don't want to tear it up anymore than it already is.
 
MacAR said:
And also the best option of the two you list.

You would be correct.

Why? Beautiful guns are made to be shot; if you're not going to shoot the good ones, then sell them to people who will and go buy a soul-less piece of plastic and sintered metal to shoot.

You do realize that you're going on a quail hunt, not an extended African safari. Odds are, you won't "tear this thing up" at all unless you trip over your own feet and fall on it. Even so, anything can be repaired. I regularly bird hunt with a handmade European side by side that was built in the early 60's. When I bought it, I had the chokes opened and a recoil pad installed. Did I ruin it? No, I made it so I could hunt with it. It was pristine when I got it; it now bears a few scratches and scars from some memorable quail and dove hunts. Those scratches and scars bring back good memories for me; who cares about the value of the gun if you enjoy shooting it?

Mac
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Yeah, I realize it's not an African safari, but I just really have no idea what to expect from a quail hunt since none of us have done one before. I do a lot of deer hunting with dogs and it's rough on guns. Bouncing around in a truck, or side by side, sliding under fences, through brush, etc. All leads to lots of scratches and bluing wear. I don't know if I should expect to be going through thick brush that's scratching the gun or if I should expect to be walking through an open field with relatively low chance of damage to the gun.
 
Turkeytider said:
Hunting wild birds or put birds? If the former, take something that fits and is quick to the target. If the latter, you can pretty much take a broom and do fine.
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It's going to be put birds. I really just have no idea what to expect from this type of hunt.
 
slowr1der said:
if I should expect to be walking through an open field with relatively low chance of damage to the gun.
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If it's planted birds, I'd say this is what you'll be looking at, especially at a preserve. The only thing you might worry about is the gun getting dinged in the truck, but as long as you leave it in a soft case you should be fine.

Mac
 
mm93 said:
Not going to be much left to eat if you take the 12 ga. for quail! Unless you let them get out a ways before pulling the trigger!
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I've shot a 12 for a long time. 3/4 or 1 oz of #8 shot out of the old BRNO works good on the tame birds; wild birds need #6 shot since they tend to get up farther away. The secret to my success (at least I think it is) is open chokes. The right barrel is Skeet and the left barrel is Light Modified, a combo that just seems to work for me. I can't imagine the 1100 would be any tighter than Improved Cylinder, and if so that ought to be just fine on preserve birds. A friend of mine I hunted with for many years used an Ithaca 37 16 gauge that he sawed off himself to about 20" and refitted the bead. That gun looked like hell but he killed a lot of birds with it; rabbits too come to think of it. He used high brass sixes on the wild stuff and #8's on the tame birds. I often wondered what happened to that gun when he died.

Mac
 
The Ithaca/SKB 600 is one fine shotgun. I think you are right in taking them to the range and shooting them to see which you like best.

If you want something that would more closely resemble quail shooting I would suggest finding a skeet range or sporting clays, or both. They are both a lot more fun and more of a challenge than trap.
 
My personal preference was for a self-loading 20ga so that a person could focus on the front bead and the next bird.

Now, if a person can take the recoil, OP's 12ga self-loader probably works, but ammo versus choke can be a consideration. Can be. Can be an argument, too.

The sort of field a person is going to matters., too. If you are only going to see maybe a dozen birds, there probably won't be enough presentations to beat a person's shoulder up. Go down to Mexico or similar places where the birds are treated as crop pests and can bee seen in four digit quantities (and the bag limit is the back of the truck), then recoil management becomes a thing.
 
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