sproulman

i thought i would talk a little on this after 50 or so years carrying shotgun for small game and upland here in pa..

i read so much about why we choose the gun we do..a lot of it is because of weight and balance...

many buy a 20 ga over the 12 ga because of WEIGHT..

my personal opinion on the best all around gauge is 12 ga..shells are cheap and available..

until i tried the BERETTA URICKA FIELD 12 ga i felt same way..other shotguns were all too heavy..that gun is not..

with new stocks out now you can trim a pound or 2 off of a shotgun..i took a mossberg and put on those plastic type stocks and, boy, does that gun feel light..it still balances same as when it had wood ..

i had opportunity to take my beretta 12 ga wood stocks off and put on those kelvar stocks..

you should have been there to see my eyes when i pulled that beretta up to my shoulder, it almost flu out of my hand..i bet it felt like over 1 pd or more weight was off gun..it still balanced the same but came up to my face so fast i almost put my thumb in my eye..

that 12 ga felt like the 20 ga i almost bought ..

what i am trying to say is this, you can get a 12 ga with those new stocks to feel like a 20ga,yes they are ugly but what a difference in handling and weight ..

this is way i would go if i was looking for shotgun and was concerned about weight in my decision..

so, which way ole sproul would you go, no question, 12 ga with the ugly plastic stocks..

Chantecler111

my 10 Ga. weighs right at 10 lbs. And has never bothered me to carry it through the marshes all day long.

backcountryjlaf

Talk to me when you've walked 20 miles behind a dog. LOL. If you carry a 10lb gun 20 miles and don't think that you wouldn't mind shaving a few pounds you are a better man than most.

Chantecler111

Sorry, was that supposed to be funny?

outdoorslover

My 12 gauge is synthetic and weighs like 6 1/2 pounds. It's all muscle too . I can carry it all day long.

backcountryjlaf

i wasn't taking a shot at you all i'm saying is that i carry a 7 pound gun, and by the end of the day it's heavey. I couldn't imagine another three pounds. But to each their own. if you are happy carrying it than good on ya.

Chantecler111

Oh, lol , sorry, I get confused sometimes, that 10 pounds feels like 1000 sometimes when the day is through.

Ruddyduck

When I younger weight never seemed to be an issue even though we would cover alot of ground thru thick cover & fields. A bit later on I started hunting over a dog using an O/U I found myself with my gun open resting in the crook of my arm 80% of the time in the field and again weight wasn't a concern to much. For almost 17 years I was using my 12 ga.sporting clays gun for almost everything even though it weighed in at 7lbs 10oz. with 28" barrels but did use a 20 ga that weighed a full lb. less on ocassion. I found for me 1 oz of 7 1/2's for the first barrel and 6 or 5's in the second was always plenty for upland birds.
All that being saidbeing older I'mgoing to treat myself after the holidays to two new O/U's , one 12 & 20 (thinking of a 20 & 28 two barrel set) that will tip the scale at just 6lbs. Just remember when you go light your skills have to be up to par as you'll get no help from the gun for your follow thru and if you don't have confidence shooting loads that aren't going to knock your molars out light might not be your cup o' tea.

4feathers

I love taking my Franchi 48 AL Deluxe 20 ga in the woods.At a mere 5 1/2 lbs it is a joy to put on as manymiles as I want.

Pokey

I hunt mostly quail behind dogs with a couple of trips up north for phesants. I shoot a sxs 410 for quail and a 28ga for phesants, they are both a joy to carry all day. It is usually where you point a shotgun and not what shotgun you shoot that gets the birds in the bag.