For the first decade that I hunted snipe I used only one gun. It was the first and only shotgun I owned. When I was in my early twenties I bought my first gun that was chosen specifically for snipe. At that point I thought I had the best gun for hunting snipe that I could find or afford. For the majority of the conditions I hunt under I was probably right. However, while I haven't found a gun to make me more lethal I have found a few that I enjoy hunting with more than that first snipe gun. That gun is an Over/Under twenty gauge. It came with choke tubes but not being one to put too much emphasis on choke the improved cycinder and modified tubes that were in the gun when I picked it up are still in it. Are there days when I might do better if the open choke was replaced with a full choke? Sure there are, just as there are days when the modified could be replaced with a skeet choke tube making the improved cylinder barrel the tightest choked of the two. However, I spend far more time trying to be ready for a flushing bird than I do worrying whether or not I have the best choke combination for a given day. Does that mean an IC/Mod choke combination is the best? From a shooting standpoint I would do just as well (or poorly) with a pump or auto choked anywhere from skeet to modified. A full choke is the only choke I would consider a liability more often than an asset. If I hunted pastures more often than I hunt marshes, and if flushes were longer and I took more high passing shots, I might think more choke was better than less choke. You know your typical range so I will let you decide what choke or choke combination is best for you. Just for the sake of discussion I will say that my first shotgun was a Remington 870 pump that has a fixed modified choke. As a teenager I shot it well and even today I could use it as effectively as any other gun I own. Every other gun I hunt snipe with has two barrels and is choked improved cylinder and modified.

What about gauge? I wouldn't use a ten gauge. You could, but I have never seen one light enough that I wanted to carry it very far while slopping through mud, water, and thick thigh high grass. Assuming you'd never use anything larger even if legal still leaves quite a bit of options. Perhaps the best all around gauge for me might be a twenty gauge. Does that mean it is better than a sixteen or a twelve? Not at all. Anything a twenty can do a sixteen can do every bit as well and sometimes better. The same is even more true for the twelve gauge. So, why do I choose a twenty? I feel it is the best compromise between small size and light weight while still being nearly as effective as a larger bore gun the majority of the time. I like light weight and I like small tubes. I prefer to shoot double guns and the smaller the tubes are the less vision they block. I tend to find anything larger than a pair of twenty gauge barrels to be something of a distraction, although they might be preferred by you. Different tastes make hunting and shooting far more exciting than if we all shot the same guns.

How about the smallbores? There is a word than will put a smile on my face in a hurry. I can tell a big difference at the end of the day if I have been carrying my little five pound, three ounce twenty-eight gauge. I only wish I could carry it everytime I hunted. But I can't, or at least I shouldn't. In my opinion it isn't enough gun to humanely kill snipe under tough conditions when the birds are skittish and shots are at the long end of effective shotgun range. It might be for some but it isn't for me. You could make the case that you can shoot 7/8 ounce or one ounce loads in a twenty-eight gauge and you would be right. However, very rarely will you end up with patterns as effective as if you used those same loads in a larger gun. That is just a cold, hard fact of shotgunning and a fight that doesn't need to be fought again. I will mention the four-ten because contrary to what you might read or hear spoken it will kill. I bought one specifically for the purpose of finding out for myself if it could or could not be used effectively. It is far less of a qualified everyday gun than a twenty-eight gauge and a barely efficient killer on all but the easiest of shooting days. I don't want to seem hypocritical because I shoot one even though I don't recommend it. In my opinion it should never be chosen for the first gun someone buys to hunt snipe with, nor their second.

That should leave you with some ideas but not too many absolutes. That is because nobody knows how you shoot better than you. If you are a slow and deliberate shooter you might consider a larger gauge or more choke than if you are a more reflexive shooter that shoots much quicker. You know your taste in guns and you are the one that has to pay for and use your guns. I'd never tell you what to get and neither should anyone else. Pick a gun with weight, barrel length, balance point, etc. that you are comfortable with and have confidence in and you will be happy. I see no reason to show the specific guns I shoot. If you want to see them they are all over the main page of this site. This article wasn't intended to be a gun show and what I have isn't that impressive anyway. They are all I have and they work as well or better than I do, and when all is said and done that's all that really matters.