Curious to know what everyone uses in regards to shotgun and ammo type/brand

Went hunting for the first time this last weekend and didnt do as well as I thought I should have.

I used a 12 gauge remington 870. The best shells i shot with were my late father-in-law's 15 year old winchester AA trap load shells. I think they were 8 shot. Have the default modified choke in the remington.

What do yall use?

My guess is it wasn't the shotgun or the ammo. Assuming you don't hunt regularly, when was the last time you attempted to shoot trap or skeet to see if you can hit a moving target with a shotgun?

I normally hunt with a Remington 1187 sporting clays model And I shoot Winchester AA super sport shells in 8s or 7s. I've killed a lot of dove with this set up.

I normally hit 22 out of 25 or so at skeet.

Dove can be pretty damned hard to hit. I like to use #8 or #9 shot. Normally go with the heavier powder load. I am a terrible shot though so it takes me a couple of boxes to limit.

Beretta white onyx. Heavy dove loads

Montefeltro 12 ga, Fiocchi Texas White Wing Shells. Buy I did buy some Monarch High Brass 1350 fps this year to try out...

12g shotgun
#8 shells
Miller Lite
Mojo
Buddies

Thats all ya need

Disclaimer - we averaged less than 1 bird per hunter over the course of this past weekend in La Grange so take it for what it is worth...lol

First split for dove I typically use a Browning Citori 26" 20ga with 7/8's ounce #7.5's. For the fall/winter doves I swap to my Browning Citori 625 28" 12ga, using 1 ounce 7.5's. Every now and then I'll change things up and use my first shotgun, a Remington 1100 12ga that I rebuilt! All that I need to make that gun complete is a nice wood stock set!

870 12ga mod, or occasionally 20ga mod. I prefer #7.5. I'm a marginal shot and rarely practice. Some days I hit 60-70% and some days 20-25%. A lot depends on how they are flying. Tomorrow I'm going to a place with a lot of high flying birds. I dug around and found a couple boxes of 1 1/4 oz #6 to throw at them. Doubt I'll hit many, but my shoulder will be sore.

Aggieangler93 said:

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My guess is it wasn't the shotgun or the ammo. Assuming you don't hunt regularly, when was the last time you attempted to shoot trap or skeet to see if you can hit a moving target with a shotgun?

I normally hunt with a Remington 1187 sporting clays model And I shoot Winchester AA super sport shells in 8s or 7s. I've killed a lot of dove with this set up.

I normally hit 22 out of 25 or so at skeet.

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Yes i've shot skeet. People were flabbergasted that I was hitting the clay so far away. They said I was aiming too much and needed to just point the gun in the direction of the clay. I wasnt as good doing it that way.

I got 10 birds last weekend.

I just bought a fiber optic for the shotgun to help me with my pointing.

I had three different brands of shells with me and I felt I was much better with the winchester than the monarch I bought. Monarch I think was #8

I use a 870 wingmaster with a modified barrel (old model that doesnt have chokes)
Ammo is whatever the cheapest target/game load at academy before the season, usually monarch #7 or #8

As stated above, its usually the Indian, not the arrow when it comes to missing birds. Doves are just hard to shoot sometimes, I think I've heard that the average hunter takes 5 shots per bird hit. So working on fundamentals and practicing usually yields better results than upgrading gear.

I've seen Texas Dove Hunter association has a "box club" where if you shoot a 15 bird limit in a box of shells or less, they'll send you a sticker for your truck/cooler. I guess its on the honor system for the most part. Closest I've ever been was 13 birds in 24 shots on a morning hunt, and I didnt go back out to get two more that afternoon. I've had several hunts where I've limited out, but its taken more than a box.

ajolly said:

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Aggieangler93 said:

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My guess is it wasn't the shotgun or the ammo. Assuming you don't hunt regularly, when was the last time you attempted to shoot trap or skeet to see if you can hit a moving target with a shotgun?

I normally hunt with a Remington 1187 sporting clays model And I shoot Winchester AA super sport shells in 8s or 7s. I've killed a lot of dove with this set up.

I normally hit 22 out of 25 or so at skeet.

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Yes i've shot skeet. People were flabbergasted that I was hitting the clay so far away. They said I was aiming too much and needed to just point the gun in the direction of the clay. I wasnt as good doing it that way.

I got 10 birds last weekend.

I just bought a fiber optic for the shotgun to help me with my pointing.

I had three different brands of shells with me and I felt I was much better with the winchester than the monarch I bought. Monarch I think was #8

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I usually use a Weatherby SA-08 20ga or a Benelli Nova in 12ga. I prefer the monarchs over the winchester superspeeds or remington dove loads. I feel I miss a lot with the winchesters and I get a lot of falling feathers and no bird with the remingtons. How many boxes of the monarchs do you have left I might take them off your hands.

ajolly said:

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Curious to know what everyone uses in regards to shotgun and ammo type/brand

Went hunting for the first time this last weekend and didnt do as well as I thought I should have.

I used a 12 gauge remington 870. The best shells i shot with were my late father-in-law's 15 year old winchester AA trap load shells. I think they were 8 shot. Have the default modified choke in the remington.

What do yall use?

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Dove are fast and hard to hit. Lead them more ... as a new shooter you can't lead them enough. Shoot waaaay out front of them till you get sight picture dialed in.

Exclusively 7.5. Unless you're shooting in no wind and tight quarters, you're gonna have a rough time with anything lighter.

You can't hit birds you don't shoot at

Remington heavy dove loads. 7 1/2 shot is the best bang for the buck that I've found. Red and green box.

beb08 said:

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ajolly said:

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Aggieangler93 said:

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My guess is it wasn't the shotgun or the ammo. Assuming you don't hunt regularly, when was the last time you attempted to shoot trap or skeet to see if you can hit a moving target with a shotgun?

I normally hunt with a Remington 1187 sporting clays model And I shoot Winchester AA super sport shells in 8s or 7s. I've killed a lot of dove with this set up.

I normally hit 22 out of 25 or so at skeet.

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Yes i've shot skeet. People were flabbergasted that I was hitting the clay so far away. They said I was aiming too much and needed to just point the gun in the direction of the clay. I wasnt as good doing it that way.

I got 10 birds last weekend.

I just bought a fiber optic for the shotgun to help me with my pointing.

I had three different brands of shells with me and I felt I was much better with the winchester than the monarch I bought. Monarch I think was #8

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I usually use a Weatherby SA-08 20ga or a Benelli Nova in 12ga. I prefer the monarchs over the winchester superspeeds or remington dove loads. I feel I miss a lot with the winchesters and I get a lot of falling feathers and no bird with the remingtons. How many boxes of the monarchs do you have left I might take them off your hands.

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Zero. I was awful saturday. Gonna lead more next time, i was only 2 or 3 inches in front, I read recently to lead 6 inches. I do think I will switch to #6 or 7 1/2 ammo for next time

6"? Are you shooting them 10' away?

I do hope you where trolling with that statement, as my typical lead is a foot and a half or more and i have had to lead some that were with the wind 7+feet to hit them. But those birds flying with a 10-20 MPH tail wind will humble you but also make you grin when you start nailing them!

Beretta A391 Teknys, 12ga. with Fiochi TWW loads in 7.5, or Rio TG36 in 7.5 for mourning doves. White wings, I pull out the high brass Rio TGHV36.

Personally, I can't stand the green/orange loads, but it's probably me not the load.

I got out shot by my 13 year old son last weekend, "but he had all the easy shots".Kinda brings a tear to my eye.

OP, you are way overthinking wingshooting. It's not like trap or skeet or all that orange plastic stuff. Just close your eyes and load a shotgun shell. They're all the same. Stop aiming the gun. Swing the gun and pull the trigger, but for god's sake stop thinking so much.

Every time I see a dove flying towards me I tell myself "Don't Think Just Shoot."

There is some truth to the fact that certain shells pattern better than others, but I have never figured that mattered a lot for dove hunting.

IMHO most people that miss shoot behind the bird on a passing shot, below the bird on an approaching shot, and above a departing shot. You have to make yourself shoot where the bird is going to be.

STX Ag said:

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6"? Are you shooting them 10' away?

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6" from gunpoint would be approx 6 ft relative to where the bird is.

PANHANDLE10 said:

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OP, you are way overthinking wingshooting. It's not like trap or skeet or all that orange plastic stuff. Just close your eyes and load a shotgun shell. They're all the same. Stop aiming the gun. Swing the gun and pull the trigger, but for god's sake stop thinking so much.

Every time I see a dove flying towards me I tell myself "Don't Think Just Shoot."

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Will try your method next time

Aggieangler93 said:

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There is some truth to the fact that certain shells pattern better than others, but I have never figured that mattered a lot for dove hunting.

IMHO most people that miss shoot behind the bird on a passing shot, below the bird on an approaching shot, and above a departing shot. You have to make yourself shoot where the bird is going to be.

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Good advice!

I shoot 20ga at dove so my loads are usually 7/8oz of 7.5's. All of my shotguns are fixed IC/Mod.

ajolly said:

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STX Ag said:

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6"? Are you shooting them 10' away?

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6" from gunpoint would be approx 6 ft relative to where the bird is.

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Well that depends on a lot of variables. But it sounds like it's working for you.

I shoot an old Browning A5 light 12, with Remington Heavy Dove 7.5 with 1 1/8 shot, or the equivalent Winchester AA shell. I usually shoot my modified barrel for a bit more reach.

For quail I use a little O/U 28, but after a lot of iffy dove openers, I like to give myself all the help I can get.

While I do shoot better when I don't think about it after wingshooting 30+ years, I don't think it's fair to say that would be true for a new shooter. I think a bit of sporting clays would do most of us some good, especially in learning to shoot instinctively. When I start making bad shots, I'm usually not leading them enough and following through. And with fast birds or high wind, that can easily be 3 - 6 feet.

For someone who is still trying to get a feel for that, go shoot with an experienced shooter who can watch you, or get some of those shells that have colored wads so you get some visual cues for where your shot is going.

Fishin Texas Aggie 05 said:

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You can't hit birds you don't shoot at

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Amen brother. I'm a fellow 2 dove per box kind of guy.

Remington 1100 .... Rio 8 shot.... I suck at dove hunting but love it!

I use a 16 ga Winchester model 12 with a dove load, usually a 7 or 8. For dove, i try not to aim too much because I often out think myself.

agfan2013 said:

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I use a 870 wingmaster with a modified barrel (old model that doesnt have chokes)
Ammo is whatever the cheapest target/game load at academy before the season, usually monarch #7 or #8.

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Same here.

I was shooting my Ruger red label 20 with 1oz 7.5s today. Good news was I batted 1.000. Bad news was I only shot twice.

I feel like I pick up more dead birds and less cripples with 7.5s vs 8s but I have no data to back that up.

Agree with the stop thinking and just shoot advice. The biggest thing for me is do. Not. Stop. swinging. Over exaggerate if necessary.

Don't aim , look at the target ( bird) let your brain , instincts etc point the gun , it will figure out lead as you shoot more. Should never look at the bead / sights

Getting my first hunt of the season in tomorrow. Taking a Stoeger M3000 12 gauge and a Yildiz Legacy HP O/U 20 gauge (just picked it up). Ammo...whatever is cheapest...Monarch. Have some leftover Winchester target loads for the 12 too. (The type, price, specs, etc of the ammo won't make a lick of difference for me...shooting a flying missile out of the sky is hard.)

AV8ORAG84 said:

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Don't aim , look at the target ( bird) let your brain , instincts etc point the gun , it will figure out lead as you shoot more. Should never look at the bead / sights

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Got a fiber optic sight to help me see where the end of my barrel is pointed. The bead doesnt stand out enough. Will help me focus on the bird instead of my barrel