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What’s the best general-purpose weight for a shotgun?

Shotgun advice: What’s the best weight for a general-purpose 12-bore shotgun in order for it to be relatively easy to carry, but not recoil unduly?

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SHOTGUN ADVICE
Mike George
The most adaptable gun for a man who does clay shooting as well as pigeon or game shooting is a Sporter, and the ideal weight for one is around 7.3/4lb.

Most over-under game shotguns these days weigh around 7.1/4lb.

Old books tend to suggest the ideal weight for a game gun is 6lb of gun for every ounce of shot you plan to fire, in other words about 6.3/4lb assuming you plan to use loads up to 1.1/8oz.

That’s fine if you plan to do a lot of walking and not much shooting, but for driven days or work from a pigeon hide an extra half-pound makes for a much more comfortable day.