doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Best Possible Grouse Gun

I agree that my own personal choice would not include a 21 for the reasons already stated. I will put in a vote for the 2" 12 gauge however. A smallbore Fox would rank up there as well, I just haven't been fortunate enough to add one to the safe yet.

That "looooong action bar" on the 21 is matched by that on a Parker, gauge for gauge.

My 1882 Westley Richards 16ga makes me shoot better than I ever did before I bought it. So I take what I can hit with. The WR is my go to gun.

2" 12 ga, @ 5#, 8-10oz., 26" bbls. My Hellis comes to mind.

I'm reminded of when I was a kid hunting pheasants with my 30" full choked BPS pump, because that was all I had. Missed a few close shots because of the tight choke, and ruined a few birds when I connected close too.

The perfect grouse gun? The one you have in your hand.

Otherwise, a 26" 6.2 lb. sk/lt.mod DT 16b would be about ideal in my opinion (like C'man's). You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

Dave, I used an A-5 twenty in imp. cyl. for ruffs and blues and it is a lot of fun. This year I used a CZ ringneck in 20 ga, cyl, and imp. cyl. Next year I think I'll try a 16 ga. o/u in skeet and light mod. The ideal gun is the one you get your limit with.

I'm having some fun with a Browning Citori Upland Special. At first I thought the barrels might be too short (24"), but it's a nice little shooter.

Never did understand all the fuss over the 21.

Kind regards,

My favorite is a H.E. Akrill back action sidelock in 12 gauge. Light and so well balanced that it feels less than it is. It fits me perfectly and it shoots well. Sometimes I use my L.C. Smith 20 gauge with 26" barrels, which is a pleasure to carry. Its a wand, but I don't shoot it as well as the Akrill.

My 'best grouse gun' criteria:

- under 6lbs. for one-hand carry all day long;

- Straight stock for quick mounting;

- SxS or O/U for short length in heavy cover;

- single trigger and roomy trigger guard for Minnesota Decembers;

- Cyl. and Mod. chokes;

- 20ga.;

- and a perfect fit to the shooter.

There are quite a few guns that meet all these criteria, and many others that come reasonably close. My 'best grouse gun' for the past 12 years is a Bernardelli Hemingway.

I've never understood the allure of the "carriage bolt" guns either. Perhaps the bolt is there to keep the gun from looking as horrible as a 21 does in the action bar, but, it looks more like a primitive repair. The Parkers I get to see around these parts(low grades, for the most part) often have a homemade matching repair in the stock. Is there a wedge built into a Parker, that is designed to split the head of the stock? One could begin to believe that with the frequency one sees bolts stuck through the head of the stock. A Parker is a complicated boxlock. At least the Parkers could be had in well balanced, lighter configurations, and had double triggers available to the end.

The 21 was there for the greatest falsehood ever foisted on the American shooting public, the twin myths of the magnum and short magnum cartridges. It was built heavy enough to indure a steady diet of same, at least if the ribs hold on anyway, and they often don't. In a time when most here have actually gone the other way, to low pressure and 2 1/2 inch loadings, often in smaller gauge guns, the 21 is an expensive anachronism, particularly in a discussion about hunting "Bonasa". Use it for that work if you like, but, calling it perfect for that use here will cause people to wonder if you have ever handled a different double gun, or if you really hunt grouse. The actual grouse and pheasant hunting I get to do here in the brave new millenium, always seems to involve lots of legwork, per bird taken. Maybe the guys that bought those 21s new had it easier.
Best,
Ted