Hunting Season(s) Approaching - What gun(s) will go with you for opening day?

[Foxnut]

The MI grouse season opens up September 15th….just 40 days out. I started thinking about what gun will go with me on my first hunts….For me it will be my A Grade 16 2 barrel set. It’s the gun I finished last year’s season with as well. I might also pack a 20 gauge Parker GHE 26” stratight grip gun w/Miller SST and 26 IC/Mod barrels! (forgive me Father for I have sinned)

[Stan Hillis]

As I write this the opening day of our dove season is 32 days, 6 hrs., 4 minutes and 8 seconds away. I won't be opening it with a Fox, only because Fox never made a .410. It is tradition for me now to begin each dove season with a .410, then work my way up in bore sizes through the end of the season, Jan. 31. So, my gun of choice will be a 30" barreled Dickinson.

[DarylC]

Like Stan, I will not be shooting a Fox only because they never made a 28. Opening day of dove season will see me with my 30" VHE, OO frame Parker 28. IMO, the perfect dove gun.

[Kimber06]

No dove season here in CT, so my first hunt will be the RGS benefit hunt the third week of October. It is held in the Malone, NY area and the grouse and woodcock numbers are usually pretty good. I will be using my old standby grouse gun the first day, a 1903 vintage Parker DH with 26 inch Damascus barrels choked light improved cylinder and mod. The second day I plan on using a new to me 20 ga Fox A grade that I picked up from a member at Ernie's this June. I shot it pretty well on Ernie's small bore course and look forward to giving it a workout in the grouse woods this fall.

[Foxnut]

As I write this the opening day of our dove season is 32 days, 6 hrs., 4 minutes and 8 seconds away. I won't be opening it with a Fox, only because Fox never made a .410. It is tradition for me now to begin each dove season with a .410, then work my way up in bore sizes through the end of the season, Jan. 31. So, my gun of choice will be a 30" barreled Dickinson.

Stan….but who’s counting? !!! A 30” .410 sounds fun!

[eightbore]

Stan is watching the obituaries for my name. He will hound "The Lovely Linda" to buy my 30" .410 Skeeter. He will put it to better use than I have.

[Silvers]

This is "Vixen" my long time grouse gun; she's a second year (1913) Sterlingworth 20-gauge 28", new buttstock and converted to long tang/straight grip and nothing else done beyond rechamber to 2-3/4" and rechoke to Mod & I-Mod. That "Sterlingworth" stamped into the frame panels is embellishment enough for me. Four seasons ago I went 7 grouse straight with her, all walk-up hunting. She also does well on pheasants over our Springer "Nitro".

I'm excited for this season. Besides my regular haunts I'll have access along a closed woods road about seven miles long, much of it through good edge cover and with a locked gate on both ends. That will get me back into some places I hunted as a young man.

Pic shows a Red Letter day, our PA daily limit of 2 birds taken within 1/2 hour of each other. That was after an overnight rain, a good walk-up day. frank
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[Jeff S]

While I intend to hunt with my new 16 ga. “early A”, I think I’ll start the grouse season with my 12 ga. J. P. Saur. It’s a family heirloom that I have never used and I would dearly love to take a grouse with it. The gun was manufactured in 1907 with 26” barrels choked .015/.025. and weighs only 6 lbs 5 oz. At some point in time an Infallible single trigger was installed.

The story goes that probably in the late ‘40’s my grandfather purchased it from the owner’s widow. I can assume that grandpa enjoyed many hunting trips in Northern Michigan with this fine gun. Upon his passing in 1981, my dad became caretaker of this little gem, but to my knowledge he only hunted with it once. Now it resides in my gun cabinet and it deserves to see some action.

[fox-admin]

No upland hunting for me this year, two knees bone on bone. One replaced one to go. No dove season in NY state so my first hunt won't be until October 12th, the first split of our duck season. If the day is dry it will be my pawn shop DE 12ga 30" and if it's real wet my Sterlingworth 30" 12ga. I have a couple more that are new to my collection that I hope to hunt with this Fall. Sometimes I wish I was a one gun and done guy, that will never happen LOL.

[Stan Hillis]

Stan is watching the obituaries for my name. He will hound "The Lovely Linda" to buy my 30" .410 Skeeter. He will put it to better use than I have.

One request, Bill. Ask the Lovely Linda to use your screen name "Eightbore" in the obit in lieu of Bill Murphy. That might gain me a time advantage over the rest of the buzzards.

Foxnut, 31 days, 04 hours, 29 minutes and 36 seconds. But, as you said, who's counting?

[Maggiemollie]

NE Kingdon VT opening weekend for grouse. Candidates are a M12 20g M, a 20g Parker Trojan M/F or a 20g LCS Field LM/IM.

[6pt-sika]

Early antlerless deer season starts in VA in my county on 9/7/24 I suspect I may take a Parker shotgun loaded with a 1930’s vintage 0 buck in the right barrel and my handload in the left barrel and of course I’ll have my Mannlicher Schoenauer 6.5x54 MS along .

[vaturkey]

There will 2 Fox 20 gauge upgraded Sterlys going on the first hunt this year. That will likely be the last 10 days of October in the upper lower of Michigan. One of those Sterlys will be my meat gun which has 26" barrels. The second will hopefully be the gun currently being upgraded to a custom B grade with 28" barrels. Both are right at 5lb 14 oz.

[Jimmy Goodtime]

Started up a couple weeks ago with a pair of rented Benelli Montefeltro 20ga’s. Many shells and many doves later, safe to say Argentina was an incredible experience!

[Fin2Feather]

An early November sojourn to South Dakota will be my first time out, and typically that means my Philly A Grade 16ga and my 16ga Utica Sterlingworth will be in my Galazan double case.





I've threatened to make it a 20ga trip some time with guns of similar vintage but there are a few places where non-tox is required, and as I haven't run across any 20ga non-tox shells that's not likely to happen this year either.