doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com TGS, short barreled double gun for sporting?

No arguments for me Mike.

You probably hit all of my metrics

One, did you have fun?

Two, were you respectful of the game after you shot at it?

Three, did you make good use of it when you were successful?

Were you as happy at the end of the day as you were the day before?

If you’re focusing on those things and enjoying your day, it’s a winner in my book nothing to argue about.

I think people assume any choke combination will work for them, but, it often is a different story when it comes to use in the field. Conditions change from early season to late, the birds that live wise up, the weather can be a factor, etc.

I’ve never had great results with full choke. The longest shot I ever made happened with a modified choke on a pheasant that had full engagement of the afterburners, after my partner missed twice. Nobody save the bird was more surprised than I when he fell into a very large pond after that shot.
The most memorable part of that event was my old English Setter, who hadn’t seen the bird, being pointed out into the slew with the command “fetch my bird” and ambling off in the direction I pointed, and returning soaked, and muddy, tail gently wagging, with the bird in her maw and a hundred cockleburrs in her coat, tail and ears. A lab wouldn’t have been as much of a mess as she was, but, no lab ever made a more spectacular blind retrieve.

It took me longer to comb her out than it took to retrieve that rooster.

And it was worth every minute.

Best,
Ted

ClapperZapper, did I have fun? You bet I did and I would give anything to be able to do it again. I especially remember one morning's hunt when there was snow on the ground. It was mostly ploughed fields with a couple woods plots, where I was assigned to "back up" the line through the woods and take any hare trying to escape that way. That year there were enough pheasants that hens were on the abschuss plan (shooting plan) and I took 17 hares and 5 pheasants. That was really memorable day, for me a good day would have been 5 hares and 2 or 3 pheasants. Maybe the best part was I was a stranger in a foreign land, and they treated me like I was a brother.
Was I respectful of the game after I shot it? Yes. In Germany, the game belonged to the owner of the hunting rights and except for what he kept or gave to the hunters, he sold to help defray the cost of his lease and other costs. That is how the general population of the area was able to enjoy the delicious game dishes served in the Gasthauses. As for the game I shot in the US, we enjoyed it at home or in the hunting camp.
Even though I can only hunt now, siting in a ground blind, I have happy memories and can still take a deer every once in a while. This year, at 81 years old, I was able to take a nice buck and give most of the meat to my grandson (who was unsuccessful). Although they won't remember it, it really makes me happy to know my first two great grandsons' first taste of venison will come from a deer I shot (not to mention passing my guns on to them and hopefully their cousins).
It was sure better than spending my time in beer joints and pool halls.
Mike

This has been debated for years and will continue to be talked about .
Robert Churchill promoted his 25 " barrels but in the last thirty years barrels upto 32" have been promoted.
I think we can all adjust to shooting any length of barrel , because many of us cannot afford to change on a whim .
King George has tried 34" but didn't like them and settled on 32".
John Bidwell became Sporting & Fitasc World champion with 28" barreled Browning before moving to 30".
So I think we can all have success with whatever we choose and practice with.