What shotgun for a designated snowshoe hare / grouse gun

[Kezarwoodsman]

Because im a college student tight on cash my approach to buying hunting guns has been to limit the amount i have, but to make the few useful for as many situations as possible. As such my only shotgun at the moment is my 12 gauge, 28" remington. While this gun has worked for me thus far, it has been annoying to carry through the woods ruffed grouse and snowshoe hares due to weight, and overall length (weight has been annoying, but length is the bigger issue). As grouse/hare makeup probably 90% of what i hunt, I figured its time to get a shotgun more suited for this purpose, and am going between getting a 12 gauge or 20 gauge side by side, and was wondering which gauge, as well as what barrel lengths you guys recommend for a designated grouse/hare gun.

At the moment i have been looking at the Stoeger uplander field (my local gun store has a few new instock for both 12 and 20 for $450) and was wondering what your opinion on this SxS. As well I have been looking at the CZ Bobwhite (local ffl has one used, but good condition in 12 gauge for $680, a little more than my 500-550 price range, but might be possible depending on a few factors). My other thought was getting the Stoeger for now (if its not a completely horrible gun), and then selling it a few years down the line when i go to upgrade. If you guys have any recommendations under $700 MSRP, im open to those as well.

Because I am a mass resident, and living out of state for college going through an FFL is my only option, and the few FFLs within a few hours drive have fairly limited selection, so I am planning to make the drive to the bigger FFLs about 4 hours away in a few weeks here once i decide what i want (if i dont go with the stoeger), so that I can call around and see who might have what I want before making the drive down.

[dewman]

Going with a 20ga will save weight right off, there are a few other thoughts.
Remington pumps are steel receivered, most all others are aluminum, much weight saving there. I know most of these are foreign made but still hold up well.
If you wear heavy winter wear, quite likely given your location, a youth model comes with a shorter barrel & stock and may actually fit you better in fast action situations.
Yildiz makes a beautiful o/u for about $430 if there is an Academy sports in your area.
Cz makes great guns, can't argue with the quality if you decide to go there.
Finally, I know Mossberg 500's get snubbed but the fact is they go boom and are light. Also they are easy to sell later on when school is done and you can reward your hard work and sacrifice with a shotgun upgrade. Stay safe, stay focused, and best of luck to you. Let us know the route you go please.

[dewman]

Only Stoegers I have experience with are their o/u (condor) and their auto. They feel heavy/clunky to me. Much more than Weatherby's pump(pa-08) or the H&R partner pump gun or Winchesters sxp(said to be very fast to work).

[FirstBubba]

"... my only shotgun at the moment is my 12 gauge, 28" remington. ..."

Rem what? ...870? ...1100?

Might I suggest you attempt to locate a shorter barrel or maybe have the 28" cut down? Maybe save yourself some money?

I guess my old tightwad comes out. I ain't buying anything if what I've got works. LOL! 😉

If you insist on purchasing a new/different gun, I suppose the Stoeger would be okay.

[Kezarwoodsman]

Thank you everyone for the replys thus far, and my remington is an 870, somehow forgot to add that in to it.

Regarding the shorter barrel, i thought about that route, but as i do have the money saved up for another gun, id rather my savings for their intended purpose and get another shotgun as ive been saving for the past 2 years.

As well, i am looking for preferably a SxS, although i am open to a O/U as well (i know that makes my price range difficult, but im not looking for a work of art). My thought is if im going to spend money on another pump for $ savings then i can deal with the 870 for my last hunting season, as it worked good enough for me the past 3 years.

[fitch270]

First question is how’s your ammo supply right now? If you have 12ga shells on hand you’re already ahead of the game at present. Buying a 20ga might end up being a problem if you can’t feed it.

Best value in your price range will probably be used, if you’re tempted by the CZ Bobwhite I’d start by offering the dealer $650 cash out the door.

[CD2]

My fave bunny gun (cottontails) was an 870 Special Field 20 ga w 21" mod choke.
They are silly priced these days.
Might have to just be realistic and get an 870 Express youth model and put an adult buttstock on it.

[Kezarwoodsman]

First question is how’s your ammo supply right now? If you have 12ga shells on hand you’re already ahead of the game at present. Buying a 20ga might end up being a problem if you can’t feed it.

Best value in your price range will probably be used, if you’re tempted by the CZ Bobwhite I’d start by offering the dealer $650 cash out the door.

my ammo supply at the moment for 12 gauge is about 20 shells in total, but ammo supplys up here while limited, are present at a slightly higher cost than usual. My main reason for actually thinking about a 20 gauge is just that actually because if i have a 12 and a 20 it will make it easier for me to find ammo for atleast one of them, even though 12 gauge would give me a bit more room regarding distance and accuracy on top of letting me just get one type of shell for both.

Regarding negotiating with the dealer i might go that route. That guns been sitting on that shelf for almost 2 months now, so i would guess either they, or the people they are selling it for (this store both buys to resell, and acts as a middle man for sales), might be willing to take a bit less.

[fitch270]

Best of luck, let us know how things work out.

[Kezarwoodsman]

I have decided im going to go with the CZ for quality, and the fact it comes with 5 choke tubes so i wouldnt need to buy those as well. So at 20-30/pop for choke tubes thats 60-90 of the price difference (stoeger only comes with two).

finally, the store also has a 20 gauge CZ bobwhite as well now, and as ive mostly only shot 12s i was wondering how the recoil would compare as the 20s i have shot have more recoil to it due to their lower weight compared to the power of the cartridge.

The weights according to the manufacturer are 7.2 lbs for the 12 and 6.5 for the 20. Handling both the weight of the 12 wouldnt be an issue in the field, so now it all comes down to the recoil. Basically do you think a .7 lb difference would be enough to make 20 gauge have more (or end up comparable) to the 12? I figure if they end up being comparable i might go with the 12 for the little bit extra range it affords.

thank you guys for all being so helpful

[dewman]

If you are only going after grouse and snowshoes I wouldn't think extra range would matter much. A long day of trudging would be in favor of the lighter 20 as fatigued arms will swing it faster to catch up to flushing grouse. Recoil is also a nonissue, you aren't shooting 3" shells. Biggest factor in favor of the 12 is shell availability, especially regarding choices (selection). Cz is a quality firearm, I think your choice is very sound. One other thought to ponder. If there are several of each I would look them all over and go with the prettiest, that's just how I roll. Hope you continue to share your hunts with us, stay safe.👍😉

[fitch270]

Agree with Dewman, pushing thickets the 20 will carry and maneuver easier in thickets. Recoil would depend on individual loads as much as anything. Since you’re not stocked up on shells you have a point about having options with two chamberings as well. Choke and load combinations also can cover range concerns, which are probably more important for waterfowl and turkeys that could be handled with your 870.

Sounds like you’re getting it figured out.

[PigHunter]

Yesterday I shot clays with a friend who has a CZ 1012 semi-auto 12 gauge. I had my old 870 Express in 12 gauge. We were going to try a dove shoot but decided to shoot targets since neither of us have seen many birds lately.

It's been twenty years since I'd shot clays and of course was very rusty. My stance was all wrong and I was slow to get on target. Was also slow to rack the slide and a few times I forgot to eject an empty. Well, that's what I get for neglecting practice.

I shot the CZ too and was very impressed with the speed of swinging onto target and follow-up shots. The CZ was lighter so the recoil was a little more but of course not bad with 2-3/4 inch #8's.

So, I'm now considering purchasing a CZ 1012. It's an inertia action and thus easier to keep clean since it doesn't have a gas system. The workmanship looked good and all the controls were easy to use. My friend had the walnut stock professionally done in camo but I'm considering a synthetic version with factory camo. They come with 5 chokes and are less that $700.

Semi-Automatic | CZ-USA

[PigHunter]

Ordered 5 boxes of #8's today for clays or dove. Got them from Natchez Shooter Supply.

[fitch270]

Yesterday I shot clays with a friend who has a CZ 1012 semi-auto 12 gauge. I had my old 870 Express in 12 gauge. We were going to try a dove shoot but decided to shoot targets since neither of us have seen many birds lately.

It's been twenty years since I'd shot clays and of course was very rusty. My stance was all wrong and I was slow to get on target. Was also slow to rack the slide and a few times I forgot to eject an empty. Well, that's what I get for neglecting practice.

I shot the CZ too and was very impressed with the speed of swinging onto target and follow-up shots. The CZ was lighter so the recoil was a little more but of course not bad with 2-3/4 inch #8's.

So, I'm now considering purchasing a CZ 1012. It's an inertia action and thus easier to keep clean since it doesn't have a gas system. The workmanship looked good and all the controls were easy to use. My friend had the walnut stock professionally done in camo but I'm considering a synthetic version with factory camo. They come with 5 chokes and are less that $700.

Semi-Automatic | CZ-USA

I just checked out the link because I’m still considering picking up another shotgun for multipurpose use and that looks interesting. Noticed it’s only 6.5lbs, thinking recoil might be similar to my 835 using the same loads. Won’t rule it out, but…