Picking favorites

Which guns to take on a South Dakota pheasant hunt?

For me, pheasant hunting is a 16-gauge pursuit. I took a Winchester Model 12 and a Browning Sweet 16. Coleson Bruce left his Model 12 at home and used a house gun, a Stoeger 12-gauge semiautomatic.

A few other 16s were in the field, including Bill Wilson’s Remington Model 870, which he shared with Monty Davenport.

David Knight and David Walker used 12-gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle II autoloaders. Gary Cooper and David Burnett used 12-gauge Remington Model 1100 autoloaderss. Ed Harshman used a 12-gauge Remington 870, and James Riddle used a Franchi autoloader.

Joe Thomas used a Benelli 28-gauge autoloader, and Jim Smith was deadly with his 12-gauge Merkel side-by-side, as was Anthony Michaels with his 12-gauge Beretta 686.

With his .410 over/under, Skip Henry ably demonstrated that the .410 is not a gun for beginners, but a gun for experts.

With its fixed full choke, my Model 12 throws a tight, dense pattern with No. 6 lead shot. I used 1-ounce Remington Sportsman loads and 11/8-ounce Remington Express loads. The heavier loads were noticeably more potent, and I had to let the birds fly a bit before shooting to minimize damage. I only missed twice with that gun.

As much as I like the Model 12, the Browning Sweet 16 is my enduring favorite. When it comes to the shoulder, it feels right.

With the heavy loads through a modified tube, the Auto-5 did not miss a bird.