New Bird gun help

[Tjkride]

Ive been looking at the Dickinson estate and plantation SxS's in 20 and 28 gauge but Im not sure which gauge would be better suited (if it would even matter) for the grouse and pheasant among other game on the west side/jblm area. I love classic styled, lively in the hand double guns, just cant decide on which gauge. 

[Biggerhammer]

20ga is way vinilla. 28ga is classy, of course you will have the regular crowd chime in with ammo availability and cost. Get a 28ga and live a little!

[nwwanderer]

Are they new manufacture SKB (Turkey)?  I vote for the 28 which ever brand you decide

[Forks]

PM Merkleman, he has the 28 and obviously shot some nice pieces before. I know he puts a bunch of meat in the vest with his.

[T-Bone]

I love the 28 Ga. (I own three), but you stated Westside pheasant; so I would suggest the 20 Ga. for the extra and more affordable options in non-toxic shot for the release sites.

BTW, what is jblm shorthand for? Forgive my ignorance, I'm an old guy who lives in E.WA.

[Curly]

T-bone, JBLM = joint base lewis McCord

Fort Lewis and McCord were combined a while back.

[Bill W]

which gauge can you find steel shot for?   28 gauge might be a little tough to find and restrict where you can hunt.

[Tjkride]

Thanks for all the replies. If all the pheasants on this side are released I most likely wont hunt them. I dont have a bird dog and use hunting birds as an excuse to walk through the woods all day and cook a nice bird over the fire while Im out there. So it seems about even on 20 vs 28. Is steel shot mandatory for upland birds in certain places?

[T-Bone]

Thank you, Curley; I'm over 12 years removed from W. WA.

The steel shot options in 28 Ga. are 5/8 oz. of #6 steel shot; not a great pheasant load. Kent does offer a 7/8 oz. load of #6 bismuth in 28 Ga. and I have shot pheasants with it, but it is pricey.

In 20 Ga., many more choices; Kent's 3" 7/8 oz. load of #3 steel or the 1 oz. loads of #3 or #2 steel  from Federal and others work well on pheasants and ducks, too. Kent's 1 oz. load of #5 Bismuth is great, but again somewhat expensive , per shell.

Non-toxic shot is mandatory for waterfowl and on State Pheasant Release Sites and Federal Wildlife Refuges; P/U a FREE Waterfowl & Upland Bird Reg. Book at any licensing vendor or check the WDFW website for specific area listings:

https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/
 

I use my 28 Ga.'s to hunt forest grouse, CA. quail, Huns (gray partridge) and the occasional pheasant here in E. WA.

Try posting followup questions in the Upland Forum of this website.

[AWS]

Many places in the state are Non-toxic, not just steel but bismuth, ITX and other non-toxics are OK.  Bismuth, ITX and tungsten matrix are soft hevier than steel shot suitable for older none-steel rated barrels.  While we might no like it, I fear that the future of upland hunting is going to be Lead Free.  The 20 gauge will be the more favoriable non-toxic shot shotgun unless you reload.

I picked up a 20ga CZ Bobwhite to shoot steel for high volume shoots where soft non-toxics would be very expensive to shoot.  I do all my upland and waterfowl hunting with older sxs's and bismuth or ITX shot.

[Tjkride]

I had a cz bobwhite in 20 and I wish I never sold it. I bought it for grouse and pheasant when I was stationed at Ft. Drum, NY. I miss the days as a kid when I could run around the NC mountains with box of #6's and an old fox model with out a care for crazy regulations.

[Wacenturion]

28 Gauge

[magnanimous_j]

If you're considering the 20 gauge solely for practical considerations, you'll regret not getting the 28. I'm a big fan of the 20 myself, but I'm very practical when it comes to my gun choices (I like cheap ammo and versatility).

You have to admit though, the 28 gauge is a lot more... romantic.

[Tjkride]

I like cheap ammo myself, but I have to agree the 28 has more class and a romanticized aura about it that for some reason breeds confidence.

[Curly]

Thanks for all the replies. If all the pheasants on this side are released I most likely wont hunt them. I dont have a bird dog and use hunting birds as an excuse to walk through the woods all day and cook a nice bird over the fire while Im out there. So it seems about even on 20 vs 28. Is steel shot mandatory for upland birds in certain places?

If no bird dog, I'd skip pheasant hunting too.  Grouse on the other hand can be decent hunting without a dog and 28ga would be fine for ruffed grouse.  Now, I wouldn't consider grouse hunting to be all that good anymore around much of western Wa, but if you work at it you may do okay. 28 ga would also be fine since you likely aren't getting a lot of shooting anyway so price of ammo is really not that much of an issue anyway.