# What is a good pheasant gun?



## Jhennager

I have a benelli NOva with a 28" barrel and I think it is to much gun for pheasant hunting. I am pretty new to hunting pheasants but I know I need a different gun. Any one have any suggestions I want to start saving now before next season.


----------



## Hardsell

I really like my Benelli SBE I with 26" barrel. It's very light weight and has great balance. Very enjoyable to carry and it's an auto, which is a wonderful thing. 
The Benelli Montefeltro is also a great choice.


----------



## birdsforever

There really is no one "good" answer. Ultimately, the gun that fits you best, that you really like and can afford is the best gun for you. I grew up hunting wild roosters here in NY. My very first gun was the very reliable (and still own) Remington 870. I did everything with that gun. Deer, turkey, waterfowl, you name it, I shot it with that gun. As I got older I started to do a lot of competition skeet shooting and switched solely to over and under's. They also became my bird hunting guns because I shot them so much I was comfortable with them and I enjoyed the ability to have two different chokes in one gun.

I hunted ND for the first time this past fall and was fortunate to shoot pheasants, huns and sharpies. I had four guns with me on that trip, not knowing what to expect and still my number one "go to" gun was my 28 gauge over and under. That barrel set has accounted for more birds then all my other gauges combined. Does that mean it's the right gun and gauge for you? Who knows? Do you hunt over dogs? Are you confident in your shooting ability? If so, hell, a 410 can do just as good a job with a clean head shot every time. If you know your 12 is "overkill," then perhaps a nice 20 gauge may be the right choice for you. I say that from the perspective of the price and availability of shells, which will be comparable to that of the 12. After that, determine if you are comfortable with two shots or do you want to load it on Sunday and shoot until next Saturday. Whether it's a double you're after or a semi/pump, you can find decent made for an affordable price in both. Of course, a decent made double will cost a few hundred more then a decent semi/pump.

Whatever you decide, remember to get both a 3" chamber and screw-in chokes, both pretty standard items on most guns today.

Scott


----------



## Guest

I have a sbe II 12 w/28" bbl and a Benelli Montefeltro 20 ga 26" bbl. I use the 20 primarily because of the weight (and i just like 20's) but the sbeII is a great backup at just over 7lbs.


----------



## Burly1

If you can explain what you mean by "too much gun", I might be able to formulate a more helpful reply.

Burl


----------



## Gildog

12 ga. Browning A-5, fed 2 3/4" 4's, 5's, or 6's always worked fine for me...I liked having the 3rd shell for a late flusher that I didn't have in a Win 101

But the 101 was a little easier to carry as the day wears on...not that you notice it when a rooster flushes


----------



## Jhennager

I guess what I am looking for is a light reliable 26 inch, 12 gauge shotgun. That is cheap.


----------



## Chuck Smith

Well if you are looking for an O/U check out the stoegers. Good guns and cheaper in price.

I use a beretta 303 A with a 26 in barrel. Great gun. I have used if from everything from Deer, geese, ducks, pheasants, etc.

Now I use a beretta extrema 2 for waterfowl but still use the 303 for pheasants.

But like others have stated. If you want an auto that is cheaper $400 and under.....tristars, stoegers 2000's, stevens, etc. Pumps....870's, Nova's, NEF's, etc.

There are all types of guns out there. Go to a store that sells used ones and you can get one heck of a deal. My best advise is go to a gun store and just walk around shoulder guns and talk with the employee's.


----------



## MnPheasantGuy

I've gotta agree with Chuck. The Beretta 303 is similar (if I am remembering correctly) to the 302. I've used my dad's 302 and it shoots like a dream. It hardly kicks and is light as a feather. It sure is easy to carry all day. 
Now lets talk about a new gun. I would say if you have a decent budget to buy a gun go for the best; the Benelli Super Black Eagle II. It is a hair over 7lbs and can handle 3.5" loads in case you turkey or waterfowl hunt. A second best would be a Benelli M2. I am hopefully going to be purchasing an M2 this year, but so far I haven't found my money tree. If you are looking economy, try a Remington 870. Tough as nails and not that heavy. Its easy to take down and clean. If you get the Express you may want to think about getting it in synthetic because the wood is cheap. The new Express has a better stock, but synthetic is cheap. I think wood looks better and is way cool in an old school way. Synthetic is just so durable.


----------



## KurtR

Get a 870 and then you are gtg for the next 70 years


----------



## trikortreat

i have an o/u Baikal 410 and i use 6 shot......think its great. only down fall is not havin the third shot like a pump or semi....cant stand it when the dog kicks up a group of 3 n ya cant get the third one......but other than that its a great combo.


----------



## striped1

Benelli Ultralight 12 gauge


----------



## rand_98201

your nova is definitely not to much gun.you will be getting a more rugged gun with the 870 but its still a pump.I have always shot #5 #6 1'1/8 12 ga for pheasants.it doesnt really matter what gun you shoot them out of.

That part is up to you and what you personally like.I shoot a beretta 325i citori for all of my sporting clays and have used it in the field alot.I am going to buy a stoeger 2000 because they are owned by benelli and have a very similar action to the 1200$ benellis for 479$.Just so I dont beat up up my o/u.


----------



## ChukarBob

I have almost identical Browning O/U's in 20 and 28 gauges. Both have straight stocks, schnabel forends and are very light, about 5.75 lbs. The big difference between the 2 guns is that the 20 ga. has 3" chambers, so can shoot 1 1/4 oz. loads, while the largest load I can find for the 28 ga. is a 1 oz. load. The light weight of the guns took some getting used to -- but once I did it's great for carrying in the field for 5, 6 or 7 hours.

I hunt over Labs and if the birds are flushing close, I'll use the 28 ga. because it throws a better pattern -- more evenly spread with fewer "holes" in the pattern. If the birds are flushing a little further out, I want that extra 1/4 oz. of shot and a little tigher pattern, so choke down and use the 20 ga. with 3" shells.

Like everyone else, I sometimes wish I had that 3rd shot. But there have been times hunting upland birds when I wish I had the 3rd, 4th and 5th shot when I was shooting my O/U! But I tell myself that if I were so lucky as to flush 3 roosters and drop all three with 3 shots, my pheasant hunting for the day would be over. And what's the fun in that?


----------



## rooster hunter

*Look into the Beretta "Pintail"...

It's a work horse that gets the job done. 
*


----------



## blowgunner62

rand_98201,

The Citori is made by Browning, not Beretta.


----------



## HeavyD

Benelli M2. It does a fantastic job with recoil control getting me back on target quickly to maximize the benefits of a semi-auto. It's also a bit lighter than the SBE making it comfortable to carry on longer hikes.


----------



## MnPheasantGuy

rooster hunter said:


> *Look into the Beretta "Pintail"...
> 
> It's a work horse that gets the job done.
> *


My dad also has one of these. Sweet gun. The only inertia driven Beretta, if I am thinking correctly. Only thing is I have heard that they do not shoot lighter loads consistently. You could always get a SureCycle for it, though.


----------



## Marlin40

rand_98201 said:


> you will be getting a more rugged gun with the 870 but its still a pump.


That's debatable...

If your looking for a lighter gun, don't be afraid to look into a 16ga. Browning makes a 16ga BPS for around $400-500 if i'm not mistaken.


----------



## ru14bndecoyedn

Belgium browning superposed, 12ga 26" , my meat gun.....


----------



## bobert

miroku 3800 28" brls, beretta ultralight 28" brls, webley and scott 700 sbs 26"barrels and an old spanish .410 sbs. all fed 30gm 6 or 32gm 4 apart from the 410 which gets 19gm off 6s


----------

