Go to varies by birds and early vs late season. Opening Dove season has been a 16 Fox A grade for the last few years. Quail is a 20 Lefever but will now be my new/old Lefever E grade 20. Ducks are Fox 12, late Geese will now be NID 10. If lead was ever legal for ducks I would shoot my Winchester Model 12 - 28 gauge as it was my first gun and hold many fond memories.
I know people like one gun answers but I love them all and enjoy shooting them all. If I limited myself to just one the others would become closet queens and I can think of no sadder fate for a field grade gun. I even shoot my graded guns.
If my life was on the line my chioce might be as simple as a Mossberg 500 which I have shot 8-9,000 doves, ducks and geese with over the years. But meat and kill score have lost their value to me. I now go to keep my mind clear and eyes open to life and what time I have left will be spent watching more than doing I suspect. And that is fine with me.
