r/canadaguns • u/DryF1re • 27d ago
Buy recommendations Best Duck and Migratory Birds shotgun?
Would like to get into duck and migratory bird hunting.
I inherited a pump 2.75" 12-gauge but its pretty old and unwieldy (though the slamfire is fun). Wouldn't mind something a bit more modern and in 3".
What is your go-to waterfowl and goose hunting shotgun?
Is there a best bang-for-your-buck shotgun for ducks and migratory birds?
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u/FroBro243 27d ago
IMO the Benelli Supernova is one of the best waterfowl shotguns on the market for the money.
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u/Strong-Owl-55 27d ago
What did you inherit? Love the oldies
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u/DryF1re 27d ago
Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight. Its got the waterfowl engravings on the sides of the chamber. It does look quite nice. Serial numbers indicate it is from 1952
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u/Strong-Owl-55 27d ago
I have one i just shoot clays with it but its a mint shotgun to use i think mines from a similar year. Its nice to with the one port because theres less openings for it to get dirty id just keep it the only reason i have mine for sale is i have 3 shotguns
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u/Strong-Owl-55 27d ago
If thats what you have i wouodnt look for another one. Its the best bang for your buck
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u/LumberjackCDN Gold'n Loan Outfitters & Pawn 27d ago
Does the old girl have removable chokes? If not she probably cant handle steel shot. A benelli nova would be the creme de la creme but i use a maverick 88 still to this day as my pump and its never failed me.
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u/Franksredsilverado 27d ago
I have been running a mossberg 535 with a mossberg 500 as a backup. But this year I picked up a stoeger m3500 waterfowl edition semi auto. Feels good shooting clays. Can't wait to put it to the test in the field
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u/preferablyoutside 27d ago
Take a look at your local gun store that has both new and used options available
For scatterguns a lot comes down to fit over branding, you’d be better off to mount 10 than settle for one. Same logic applies to other things.
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u/duckin-depressed 27d ago
maverick 88 is always the answer. though they go for around $400 now, sometimes they do go on sale for closer to $360ish. next best options are going to cost close to double that.
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u/BeerGunsMusicFood 27d ago
It’s very budget-dependent. I got a mossberg 930 that smokes just as many birds as my buddy’s sbe3 and was 1/3 the price. It’s heavy but it shoots soft and I love the tang safety.
That being said, the sbe3 or the a400 extrema are what I would have gone with if I wasn’t worried about budget at the time.
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u/airchinapilot 27d ago
You have a lot of decisions and factors:
Pump vs semi? Pump is reliable and less can go wrong with it. Semi will shoot faster but a pump in the hands of someone who is practiced with it is not dramatically slower. Myself I will not go back to a pump as I don't like taking my eye off the bird and I just am just used to my semis. But I began with a cheap SXP and killed lots of birds.
If Semi then gas vs inertia. Gas will have less recoil as it uses the gas to charge the next shell but it will be dirtier and need more cleaning. How much more cleaning depends on make and model.
Wood vs synthetic furniture: Synthetic will hold up better in the elements but wood is classic and looks good to some eyes.
Cost - up to you
Fitment - way more important than any bells and whistles. My most expensive duck gun - my Maxus 2 - I am putting on consignment not because it is inherently worse than the cheaper SX4 I am keeping but because at the end of the day I just didn't feel it. You have to like the way it shoulders, how it swings, the weight of it.
2.75 -> 3" -> 3.5" - Going up to 3.5" is really not important IMO unless you are regularly hammering big geese. a 3.5" shell will tenderize your shoulder after a day of it and at the end of the day you are paying for just a bit more extra power and extra BBs in the air. But hunting waterfowl has so many other factors involved to bring birds right down in your face that a skilled hunter with a 2.75 with the right load will put them down just fine. Another factor to think of is availability of ammo.
12g vs 20g - I have no opinion on this since I've never had a 20g but many people have no issues shooting the lighter load. There will just be some availability issues and you won't be able to share ammo with your blind buddies more than likely.
Black vs camo pattern - as long as your gun is not some marine coated chrome gun this is not really that important. My longtime hunting buddy has not moved on from his black gun in all our years together and he puts down birds easily. And if you are lucky to be regularly in a blind, you are hidden anyway until the moment you decide to shoot.
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u/DryF1re 26d ago
thanks for all the points. i was planning on sticking with pump but i hadn't considered that staying on target could be compromised
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u/airchinapilot 26d ago
Not as much as you think but it will motivate you to practice pumping smoothly
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u/cmiller82 Rouge River Arms 24d ago
For competition shooting, there are a hundred different guns that have pros and cons. For hunting? It's the gun you're comfortable with. I have 20+ shotguns. I still hunt with the first shotgun I bought because it works and I have the most experience with it.
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