In Search of the Ideal Grouse Gun

If 40 years of hunting with shotguns has taught me anything about them, it is don't believe anything you read or hear about shotguns until you prove it to yourself. This is particularly true concerning grouse guns.

The ideal gun for ruffed grouse may be the 20-gauge side-by-side, choked modified and improved cylinder, with 26-inch or 28-inch barrels. But if a hunter hits grouse with it, the gun will have to fit the shooter like a spandex mini-skirt fits a fashion model.

Gun fit easily outweighs all other considerations when grouse are the main objective. I proved it to myself by shooting 36 grouse one season with a gun that had a 30-inch full-choke barrel. I tried shooting this over/under at grouse as a desperate measure after a season and a half of dismal shooting performance on ruffed grouse with a 26-inch barreled auto-loading skeet gun.

The two guns were about the same overall length, but the longer barreled over/under weighed less and fit a lot better. The higher stock comb also was better suited to grouse hunting in tight cover. After switching guns, grouse began to tumble out of the sky, despite the perceived handicaps of excessive barrel length and choke.

Gun Fit is Key

Of course, the switch was not a cure but a step in the right direction. It did tell me that gun fit was way more important than choke, barrel length or anything else. It also told me that most factory shotguns are stocked with too much drop for me. The way they fit someone else will be different, but remember that most grouse rise up from the ground, and the straighter stock with less drop is designed for built-in leads on rising targets.

I think the concept of a higher comb with less drop than what is normally found on factory field guns makes sense on such a specialized tool as a trap gun, and so too with a gun designed to shoot ruffed grouse.

My search for the ideal grouse gun had only begun when the long-barreled over/under proved effective. You may be able to drive nails with a pistol butt, but a hammer will do a better job. A long-barreled full choked gun is not the tool for grouse, no matter how well you shoot it.

The basic hurdle in matching oneself to the perfect grouse gun is money. Were it not for that, everyone who felt like shooting a few grouse could have the gun tailored to his or her anatomy. But most of us have to pick through the gun rack at the local shop and shoulder them, hoping to find the shotgun that feels right. Oh, a competent gunsmith can help, but one who understands stock fitting might be hard to find.

In my quest for the perfect grouse gun I found several guns that seemed to fit me well. The first was an unlikely little 20-gauge pump that fit like a glove and handled beautifully. It had a humped receiver, like a Browning Auto 5, and it was 20-gauge petite. The problem was it had a weak mainspring. Several gunsmiths failed to solve the problem of increasing misfires, and I finally sold it to someone who thought he could fix it.

When my father died, I inherited his gun of choice, a Belgian Browning Light 12. It proved to be a good grouse gun, but it also proved to be finicky about shooting my reloaded ammunition. When it did eject the hulls, it was like looking for dead woodcock and I hate leaving spent shells around secret coverts. I need a reliable second shot and I want to keep my spent hulls. This precluded the automatic.

Paying For Gun Weight

I finally settled on a 20-gauge Browning side by side, but with some reluctance. My childhood memories of side by sides with double triggers were of bruises and of recoil. You pay for the gun weight you do not have to carry with recoil, and shooters who tell you they don't mind recoil are trying to be manly. A gun that punishes on your end will not necessarily dole out an equal measure on the other. A sharp punch in the face or shoulder is simply not conducive to good shooting.

I decided to try a 20-gauge BSS because it shouldered well in the shop. B.C. Miroku, the company that made my 12-gauge over/under, also manufactured it in Japan. I already was familiar with the quality of the guns produced by this company, and my credit happened to be good in this particular shop. I was able to walk out the door with a $700 shotgun with no money down. In its first three days of grouse hunting, it killed 11 grouse, two rabbits and a woodcock. I had a keeper.

It is still not the perfect grouse gun. It is heavier than I would like, the safety is still stubborn after 13 years of hard use, and the gun still breaks and closes stiffly as it did when it was new. I didn't like the plastic finish on the stock either, but that, at least is gone painstakingly removed with a lot of Zip Strip and a sharp knife I replaced it with a hand rubbed oil finish. It may not be perfect, but it is a very good gun whose dimensions suit me. Until a different gun comes along, it will do nicely.