Dickinson Greenwing Over/Under Shotgun

Performs like a True Champ

Tim Bailey and the folks at Dickinson Arms in Southern California continue to out-do themselves and raise the bar when it comes to delivering value in shotguns with the introduction this fall of the Greenwing 12-gauge over/under shotgun.

“This isn’t just a great value gun – it’s a great gun, period,” said Bailey, co-owner of Dickinson Arms. “Working with our factories in Turkey, we are able to provide a level of features, quality and performance one would only expect from a gun costing much more.”

The Greenwing is built with the same handcrafted construction and attention to detail found in Dickinson’s other over/under and side-by-side models.


As much as the Greenwing is loaded with features that will be discussed later in this article, all of the features in the world don’t matter if the gun doesn’t shoot straight. Short answer for the Greenwing: It shoots straight, easily and comfortably. This gun has it all.

FIRST WAS A trip to the patterning board to see if the gun shot where I was looking, and if both barrels patterned to the same point of impact. This is critical if the gun is going to be a winner in the field.

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For much target shooting, it is handy to have a gun that shoots a little bit high (like 60 percent of the pattern above the point of aim) so that the target is always in view. But for a hunting gun and a sporter that engages a lot of dropping targets, a totally flat-shooting gun can be the real ticket.


While shooting targets with this gun, I purposely picked some stations that featured dropping targets and had a lot of fun hitting them easily and repeatedly. In hunting, sometimes shooters miss when mourning doves do their little dipsy-doodle, where, as they accelerate forward, they dip down, pick up even more air speed and then sling out of the short dive, up and away. Guess what: dipsy-doodle doves being shot at with this gun would merely fly right into the bottom of the pattern – game over.
Next was a trip to the sporting clays range to engage some random sporting targets, using improved cylinder in the bottom barrel and modified on top. Ammo was one-ounce, 1,200 feet-per-second No. 8 target fodder. Again, the gun came through like a champ. When I did my job, it crunched clays repeatedly. To double-check, I had old buddy Blaine Huling give the gun a ride with sporting targets. Repeated crunches. Beautiful.
We shot the gun a lot more at sporting, did some skeet and then hit the five-stand. Story was the same whatever we did. When we did what we were supposed to, the gun hammered targets.

THE SPECIFIC GUN for this writing sports 26-inch vent rib barrels. It was both alive and smooth, whether it was a quick pointing shot or a long swing-through. That matters with any field gun.
The Greenwing has a mechanical single-trigger system, which is very nice in a hunting shotgun because this means that if there is an ammo failure on the first shot, the second shot can be taken quickly. By comparison, inertia systems require a bump from the recoil of the first shot to set the trigger for the second shot. The trigger pull for both barrels was virtually identical at a tiny bit more than four pounds. Very nice – clean break in the process.
The gun also features automatic ejectors, and do they eject! Empties are launched several feet when ejected. And, when two empties are ejected simultaneously, they land within a couple of inches of each other. This is the sign of very well timed ejectors and another added touch that usually is not found in any but the really high-end guns.
Nominal weight is 7½ pounds, but since it has a wood stock – Turkish walnut to be specific – there can be a slight overall weight difference because not all pieces of wood have the same density and weight. Length of pull is 14½ inches, which is standard for such guns.

Diamond point checkering at 22 lines per inch on both the pistol grip and the forend is both functional and aesthetically pleasing, as is the outline of the checking pattern itself. A convex curve at the top of the pistol grip checkering is a nice touch.
The Greenwing features screw-in chokes and comes with five – full, improved modified, modified, improved cylinder and cylinder (and a flat wrench to change them, as well as a small plastic box to carry the wrench and extra chokes).

The Schnabel forend is a nice touch and a pleasing part of the overall configuration of the stock and forend. Both the sweeping pistol grip on the buttstock and the forend are substantial without being blocky. This means there is plenty of wood to grasp securely for total control. Other dimensions are classic, which gives the gun an appealing look.

The action features a full coverage scroll engraving pattern with two ducks on each side, as well as the Dickinson name and Greenwing logo on the bottom. This is not something one expects on lower priced guns. The Greenwing comes with either blued or silver satin finish receivers (the model for this discussion has the silver satin finish). The trigger has a gold finish.
The barrel selector switch is within the mechanical safety button and the barrel indicators are totally intuitive in that there are two dots for each barrel. One is white and the other red. The red dot indicates which barrel will shoot first. Bone-headed simple and about time.

The Greenwing is offered in 26-, 28- and 30-inch barrel lengths to accommodate different preferences and shooting needs. In addition to the 12-gauge Greenwing available now, Dickinson will be adding 20-, 28- and .410-gauges in the 2019 model year. The Greenwing carries a retail price of $700.

Like every Dickinson shotgun, the new Greenwing is also backed by the company’s U.S.-based customer service and limited lifetime warranty.
For more information about the new Dickinson Greenwing 12-gauge over/under, or the company’s entire line of quality shotguns for hunting, sport shooting and tactical use, visit the local Dickinson Arms dealer, contact Dickinson Arms at (805) 978-8565 or go online to dickinsonarms.com.

Story and photos by Steve Comus