Gauge Junkie

I guess you could say I’m a bit of a sub-gauge junkie... I haven't shot a duck or turkey with a 12-gauge in over a decade. I originally went to a 20-gauge primarily for turkey hunting. It was smaller, lighter, and easier to pack around all day long. I decided to start shooting teal with it, fell in love, and never put it down for all of duck and Canada goose season. When I was younger I wanted the biggest I could get and thought shooting 3.5" shells gave me an advantage. The older I got the more I realized it had more to do with the pattern density, being able to get birds in close, and being able to put my shots on target than it did having as many pellets as I could in a 3.5" shell. 

The reduced recoil on a sub-gauge gun is great and it makes follow up and second or third shots that much quicker. I also like that they aren't nearly as loud as the "big pills". More than anything though, it is the sheer performance in the field that keeps me toting a sub-gauge everyday. I like to get birds in close and don't take passing shots. After shooting a twenty gauge for many years, I picked up a 28 gauge and loved it even more. However, at the time all that was available were 2 3/4" shells. I didn't carry it everyday, but shot it in certain situations. Even after shooting a 20 gauge for so many years and knowing how lethal the sub-gauges can be, I still had it in my head the 2 3/4" 28 was a "certain situation" type gun... small holes, decoying birds close. With the evolution of the 3" HEVI-XII 6's in the 28-gauge, my Benelli Ethos Cordoba B.E.S.T. 28-gauge went from a "certain situations" gun to my EVERYDAY gun.