Selecting A Shotgun That's Right For You

As is the case when selecting a duck or goose call, there is no such thing as "the right shotgun for everyone" and instead of telling you that Benelli, Remington, Winchester, Browning or Beretta is "the best" or the "one and only" we're going to share with you the system we recommend you use when choosing your next shotgun.

Number 1 - What Are The Conditions You'll Be Hunting In

From backpacking a mile and a half through water, mud, grass and underbrush, to belly crawling geese in a disked cornfield, to hunting in pouring rain and heavy snow, to hunting from boat blinds fit for a king, we've hunted in about every condition known to a duck or goose hunter. Through it all we're convinced that the more varied the conditions your shotgun will be exposed to and the harder you hunt the more important it is that you have a dependable shotgun that will fire under almost any condition.

If you're the type of waterfowl hunter that has the potential to expose his shotgun to a number of harsh elements like dirt, mud, rain, snow, etc., we would recommend choosing either a pump shotgun (these guns will fire under almost any conditions) or an automatic shotgun that can be quickly and easily field stripped if necessary (for example, Benilli and Beretta semi-automatic shotguns can be field stripped, cleaned and become operational in a matter of minutes). Have the gun salesmen demonstrate disassembly/assembly to you when looking for your next shotgun.

Number 2 - How Heavy Are The Loads You'll Be Shooting

This is an area that many waterfowl hunters don't take into consideration when making a shotgun choice that definitely needs to be added to the equation.

The heavier the shotgun shell load you select to shoot, the greater the degree of recoil. Understanding that almost all waterfowl hunters are rugged manly men, recoil shouldn't be an issue. But truth be known, recoil often is an issue and recoil reduction should play a part in your shotgun selection.

If recoil is an issue, we would recommend choosing a semi-automatic shotgun over a pump or over and under (OU). When choosing a semi-automatic you have the choice between gas-operated and recoil-operated. Both types of semi-automatics use the energy from the fired cartridge to eject the fired shell and move the next shell from the magazine into the chamber. Gas operated semi-automatics tend to have greater recoil reduction than recoil-operated semi-automatics however, Benilli, who builds recoil-operated semi-automatics, has addressed this issue by going to a sophisticated new stock which has 11 chevrons that hold the top of the buttstock to the bottom of the buttstock and each of these 11 chevrons is a recoil reducer.

Number 3 - Gauge Selection

You must be a member to read past this point.