20's

I don't think they are "suddenly" becoming popular. I think quite a few folks have realized for a while that a 20 ga has sufficient ballistic potential to handle most home defense scenarios, but also has significantly less recoil than a 12 ga.

In my particular case my wife doesn't like the recoil of a 12 ga. I understand and long ago adopted a 20 ga for the house. There is a darned good selection of shot available so it's easy to tailor the ammunition to the physical surroundings.

I don't know about the "suddenly" part either. My wife requested one as her HD gun years ago. 000 buck powers it.

PS: It's a very nice dove and quail gun with the right ammo also.

Masaad Ayoob has been promoting it for quite a while. If I remember correctly he was saying it has more power than two .44 magnums.

If people bring shotguns up I usually recommend they look up the 20ga first ... sometimes they think I'm saying they are wimpy or "can't handle it". Not sure what to do to get over that hump ... my INTENTION is to just tell them to consider it. They could shoot my 3in 15 pellet 00 I use but I don't want them to decide they can't handle the recoil ...

Thanks for bringing it up--- I don't have a shotgun and have been thinking about getting one for the house. I shot a 12-gauge once as a teenager and don't think I want to do that again, so I've had some curiosity about the 20. I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say about them.

My back-up HD shotgun is a 20 gauge Winchester Model 1300 with an 18" barrel on it.

I went to the 20ga 30 years ago. My HD is a 19" barreled Mossberg 500 with the stock slightly shortened to make sure it comes up into my armpit without a hitch. Because some one had damaged the barrel I bought this gun for $75. Then cut it down to remove the damaged portion. I put no bells or whistles on this gun. Just a plain old reliable shotgun.

I have a couple others set up for HD as well . I am downsizing, so those will go when the opportunity arises.

I recently bought a Remington 870 Youth in 20 gauge as a gift for my SIL , to use as a HD gun for the family.

So my input here is YES to the 20ga for protection in the home , and YES to the youth model as it can be handled by small statured persons, and handles like a carbine. I mainly load with 2&3/4 inch #3 buckshot. I also have some 3" #4 buck shot, and some #1 buckshot in 2&3/4" .

Great shotgun! I use a 20 gauge with No. 3 shot min is pictured below

I still use a 20 gauge for hunting when I go to South Dakota each year. I figure if it was good for me on 1960 when I was 12, it is still good today. I shoot a Rem 1100 in 20 LW with a 2 3/4 inch chamber. A pheasant is not armor plated as of yet. The other 4 that go to S.D all have a 12 Ga. 3 inch loadings. The only time I feel out gunned is when I have to shoot steel in certain areas, then I shoot my Rem 1100 12 ga. also in 2 3/4.

I remember when I was in Nam,my Compsmans/aka Doc. humped a 20 ga. pump shotgun.I don't remember what name brand it was. I asked him why he carry a shotgun and not a M-16 or 45 auto.His words not mine,he didn't worry about hitting what he was shooting at with a shotgun.Reading this post brought that back to mind, to me.Just sharing.

If you don't worry about what you're hitting with a shotgun, you might as well carry a party popper cuz you're going to be just as effective.

My first 20 gauge shotgun belonged to a friend of mine who let me borrow it when we use to go hunting for grouse, pheasants, and rabbits. It was a basic, no frills Ithaca Model 37 with a plain 26" barrel. That gun had the smoothest and fastest pump action on any shotgun I have ever used. It was also lightweight, easy to swing on target, and was a natural pointing shotgun, at least for me. It was always my first pick of all the long guns my friend had.

I eventually got my own shotguns, two Remington Model 870s in 12 and 20 gauge, that were great shotguns in their own right, but neither one was as much fun hunting with as that old Ithaca Model 37.

Never owned a 20 ga. in my life. I was always a 12 ga. guy since I was a teenager and had that "bigger is better" fever. Only thing smaller than a 12 ga. I own is the single barrel 16 ga. that was my dad's pheasant gun back in the 40's. Having said all that I'll now say that over the years I've come to really appreciate 20 ga. stuff because of guys I know who own and use them. The OP mentioned the 20's popularity for HD and that's because a 20 ga. shotgun is more than sufficient in that role with softer recoil while a 12 ga. could be considered "overqualified" for that job. Even when used in big game hunting like deer a rifled barrel 20 ga. is superb with sabot slugs out to someplace beyond 100 yards. I've witnessed performance like that from my buddies 20 ga. Savage 220. Or all the various 20 ga. guns on the sporting clays fields and pheasant fields where I've slowly realized that " Hey, those things really work good ! ". In fact, if I were gonna consider a shotgun for HD use I wouldn't even consider a 12 ga. after seeing what the 20's can do.

jeepnik said:

If you don't worry about what you're hitting with a shotgun, you might as well carry a party popper cuz you're going to be just as effective.

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You got to remember it was Doc. job to take care of us Marines,and our job to take care of him. He carry the shotgun for his self defense.

Mossberg recently announced release of the Shockwave in 20 gage. I started my shotgun career with a Remington 870 in 20. Might reconsider the Shockwave now.

In 20ga I will be interested in purchasing the Shockwave

It's no secret that self defense loads are unpleasant to say the least, so 20ga is obviously going to be popular with some folks. I have no doubt it can get the job done. The primary reason why many people don't consider it an option for average sized men is that it's hard for us to load due to the small magazine tube, and we tend to pinch our fingers trying to jam shells up in there.

I don't like 12 gauge recoil so I have always been a fan of the 20 gauge. I live 5 minutes from a shotgun range and haven't been to shoot there in years. What's wrong with me? I need to pull it together.

grampajack said:

It's no secret that self defense loads are unpleasant to say the least, so 20ga is obviously going to be popular with some folks. I have no doubt it can get the job done. The primary reason why many people don't consider it an option for average sized men is that it's hard for us to load due to the small magazine tube, and we tend to pinch our fingers trying to jam shells up in there.

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If your thumbs are that big, you must have been a butcher in a previous life. I don't know anyone else that's ever had that problem.

"I don't like 12 gauge recoil so I have always been a fan of the 20 gauge. I live 5 minutes from a shotgun range and haven't been to shoot there in years. What's wrong with me? I need to pull it together."

I have been unable to do much of any shooting in the last 7 years due to disability and no local range. I sincerely miss it. As in it effects the quality of my life in a significant way. Get a 20ga gun and get to the range . You never know when that option is taken away from you.

jeepnik said:

If your thumbs are that big, you must have been a butcher in a previous life. I don't know anyone else that's ever had that problem.

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It's pretty common. It's not a huge deal if you're just hunting, but when you're trying to reload under duress and you lose your fine motor skills it doesn't help anything. I'm not saying I can't do it, but I have to be kind of dainty about it or my thumb gets pinched.

Looked on GB to see if there was any Shockwaves in 20ga. for sale. Only two listings right now and both have starting prices of over $450 . That is over $200 mark up from a regular Mossberg 20ga . So you get less barrel and less rear stock and a price tag around double a regular M500 shotgun. I went from a thought I was going to buy, to shaking my head and saying to myself - NO WAY ! They can keep them at that price.