One of the deadliest bird shooters I know is Floyd. He's thinned the arsenal down to a 25" barreled 20 gauge Ithaca SKB SxS that he uses for quail and woodcock. For dove and snipe, he shoots a Citori 20. When he hunted ducks, it was with the Citori. He has a beautiful 28 ga. AyA that he'd like to sell. For deer, a Springfield 30-06 that he inherited from his dad who sporterized the ex-military weapon. He has an old .22LR that he used for squirrels back when we hunted the tree rats. I would be up the creek with only 2 steel shot capable paddles if I lived in CA and depended on public land to hunt.