The first game bird I ever killed (a wild ringneck pheasant) was killed with a 16 gauge Stevens Springfield sxs. To this day, the 16 gauge remains my favorite upland gauge, with the current favorite an Arietta Model 578 I picked up used a few years ago. Just perfect for most upland tasks.

I still have that Stevens, by the way. It was my father's and he gave it to me when he stopped hunting. Only shotgun he ever owned. I treasure it and his Winchester Model 94 .30-30 above all the other guns in my vault.