doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Duck hunting with your classic side by side?

I bought into the heavy gun for duck hunting thing, but I have found a heavy duck gun too sluggish to practice swing through lead shooting. It's also tough to get a sustained lead on duck too. If I had to do it over again, I believe a lighter English style game gun is better for waterfowling.- IMHO

Yup.

Different strokes for different folks and, by the way, I wasn't one that "bought into the heavy gun for duck hunting thing". I proved I can kill them better with one, with rare exceptions, mainly because of recoil control when getting on the second duck with the second shot. Lightweight guns with heavy loads jump around too much to suit me.

I shoot a 9 lb. 3 oz. (unloaded) Perazzi for sporting, and there's nothing that the target setters throw that I can't get on quickly enough. My big duck gun is a 32" 9 lb. 6.6 oz. (unloaded) SuperFox. I have killed 4 mallards, and two extra ducks with 6 shells, with it. The one place I will go with a lighter gun is shooting woodies in a little beaver pond at first light. No duck I've ever hunted is harder to get on quickly than they are, including teal. The woodie's line of flight is never constant when they're "coming in hot". Lighter guns work better for me there, but I'm using lighter loads, too.

Best, SRH

I have a Model 23 Heavy Duck that I have used here and in S.A. for ducks. It shoots fine with various 2 3/4" shells. I never needed to use 3" though I've thrown a few in my pocket just in case.

I only use side by side shotguns for hunting. My duck gun is a Browning BSS 12 ga and my favorite upland gun is a Fox XE 20 ga.

The few times I've gone duck hunting near freshwater I've used my NID 12E, just right for a swamp or marsh...



OTOH if hunting over saltwater for ducks, geese or brant I use an 3" Janssen 12 or 3-1/2" AYA 10. Nice guns that take better to the salt.

Duck hunting with my classic sxs? Yes please.

I�ve hunted ducks pretty much every year since I got my first shotgun in 1966. It was a Winchester Model 1200 12 gauge, 28� modified with vent rib I still have that gun, but I�ve used many other guns over the years. I�m a pretty good shot, should be after fifty plus years. Anyway I like a 7 1/2 to 8 pound gun with longer barrels, seems to work well for me, not to whippy.

I say all this because I just found a nice Parker VH 12 gauge 3� magnum built on a #2 frame that weighs in at 7 pounds 14 oz. two questions; 1) Did Parker actually make a 3� magnum gun? I�m worried that somebody reamed out the chamber somewhere along the line. 2) I have my wife�s great grandfather�s GH grade with Damascus barrels. It�s also a 12 ga, 30� barrel gun on a #2 frame, but it weighs a ton, though it has spectacular wood for a GH. The barrels on it are stamped 4#4oz, I�m wondering how the weight is distributed in this lighter version?

Btw, thanks for all the replies. It�s very helpful and giving me piece of mind.

Beautiful gun- beautiful birds!!!

Glad you are putting her to use Mark