10 gauge?

[La Pistoletta]

What's 10 gauge used for nowadays? More or bigger pellets, ie. is it always more powerful than the 12? Is there any merit in using 10 gauge for combat?

 

[JonB]

Not sure about combat but the few guys I know that have one use them for goose hunting. You can reach out a little farther than a 12 .

 

[RacingJake]

How about an 8 gauge

Saw one at a trap/sheet range, made alot of noise and smoke, He did hit one clay

 

[Dave McCracken]

10 gauge use these days is mostly waterfowling and turkey. Both are places where big shot loads count.

As for combat, even the 410 packs more muzzle moxie than the 44 magnum.

The 10 gauge load is best served in auto loaders weighing 10 lbs or more.

Brister described shooting any 10 Magnum other than the Ithaca Mag 10 as like "Being in a car wreck". Nothing has changed in the quarter century since.

 

[La Pistoletta]

So the 10 gauge is stricly more powerful than the 12 in all cases if you use 3-1/2" shells? I read this article: http://www.chuckhawks.com/10_gauge_obsolete.htm

The URL should be a giveaway as to the general sentiment expressed therein. He talks about the pressure being lower, as if the 12 gauge can be/is actually more powerful?

Let's say you're meaty as an iron pumping gorilla and could actually handle a semiauto 10ga as well as a 12, would it actually be more effective in combat? I'm thinking more "saturated" patterns given the same shot size (but higher pellet count) and such.

 

[Deer Hunter]

A combat situation that cannot be solved with a 12 gauge shotgun will most likely be too much for the 10 gauge as well.

 

[DRYHUMOR]

I bought a Browning Gold 10 the first or second year they came out, been awhile.

It' great on ducks, geese, turkeys, and deer, and I imagine 2 legged varmits.

My buddy has Browning pump in 10 ga. While shooting ducks, he would end up with nose bleeds while my gas 10 gauge felt about like a strong 12 ga 3 inch magnum.

Gas is the only way to go. I seldom use mine these days, but I can't bear to part with it either.

 

[Jeff F]

Some of the waterfowlers around here use the 10 Gauge. They tell me that they get way better patterns then with the 3 1/2 inch 12 Gauge. Most all the 10's I've seen were heavy and auto loaders. My self I have never had the need for one, i get most of my work done with 2 3/4 inch heavy shot with occasional 3 inch loads but not many.

 

[Capstick1]

10 gages have a long distance advantage when it comes to hunting high flying geese. Does this mean you're going to be severely handicapped if you go goose hunting with a 12 ga? I don't think so. I don't have any numbers or statistics but I suspect the majority of geese are taken with 12ga 3.5" and 3" loads every hunting season. Other than goose hunting I'm not sure the 10 guage would be very practical for any other use. The shells are expensive. If you try shooting a 10ga magnum in anything other than a semiautomatic you're going to be putting a hurting on your shoulder. A 10 ga would also be a poor and expensive choice of gun for trap and skeet shooting. It's tough to beat a 3.5 or 3 inch chambered 12ga shotgun when it comes to versatility. Most of the time all your needs can be filled with a standard 2 3/4 inch 12ga shell.

 

[Okiecruffler]

I know a couple of turkey hunters who swear you need a 10 for turkey. I don't want to kill a turkey that bad. Butu I have heard that the 10 patterns better than those 3.5" 12ga shells.




confused: WOnder what those big birds were I killed with my 12???)

 

[rcmodel]

I suspect most turkeys could be easily killed by a 12 ga 1 1/8 oz trap load.

A tight pattern of 7 1/2 shot out of a trap gun would over-saturate a turkeys head & neck.

All of mine have been called in over decoys and killed well inside of 30 yards with a 12 ga & 2 3/4" shells.

IMO: The 10 ga possibly is needed somewhat for geese, but only because of the steel shot requirement making less effective shot available in standard length 12 ga.

rcmodel

 

[redneck2]

A 10 gauge has a more "square" shot column than a 12 gauge 3 1/2". This is, the length is closer to the diameter so it typically tends to give a shorter shot column and more even patterns.

I have a SP-10 Remington that I use for turkeys. Two of my shots have been at 12 and 24 yards, so most anything would have worked. Two have been over 50 yards. All were one shot kills with zero chasing.

I should add that I've got a custom choke that cost about $70 and the patterns with Hevi-Shot have to be seen to be believed.

I have a limited time to hunt, so I'm using whatever gives me the highest odds at the longest range.

Recoil even with turkey loads is probably the same or less than a standard 870 with high brass field loads due to the semi-auto and weight. Downside is that it's about the same as carrying a railroad tie through the fields.

 

[jmr40]

I'm not sure it is accurate to say the 10 guage is more powerful. The 10 has a larger case capacity which translates into more shot. More shot=denser patterns=greater probability for hits at longer range. The velocity of the shot varies very little among any of the shotgun guages.

 

[Tennessee Ned]

Last time I shot a 10 gauge we were using it to knock mistletoe out of the top of a tree for Christmas decorations.

The "toe" didn't stand a chance. We scored a full trash bag that day.

 

[ElToro]

i got aced out of an Ithaca ROoadblocker in 10 ga by about 5 minutes once... way cool gun. otheriwse, my 2 3/4 inch A5, 3 inch 870 or 1100 will have to get it done.

 

[VegasOPM]

Geese or Turkeys.

 

[Gordon]

I use a BPS 10 ga with steel shot for geese (#4 steel for ducks and BB for geese) and have a 60 yard kill zone IF I have to. I use the same BPS with #2 lead shot for turkey and have the same zone IF I have to.
I have an AyA 10ga 20" coach gun with loaded up high and hidden in the house with 18 00 buck each barrel IF I have to!

 

[metrotps]

I purchased an Ithaca Mag-10 in the early 80's and hunted Ducks, Geese, Pheasants and Bear with it until the late 90's. It was about 12 lbs loaded and kicked hard, not as hard as my .458 with 510 grain soft-points though. If I did my part it would really kill. It was a pre-interchangeable choke model so I bought another barrel and cut it to 23-1/2 inches. Used the long barrel for Geese and the short for Ducks Pheasants and Bear. It broke once and I had Ithaca rebuild it. When I bought it I purchased 10 cases of lead shells and shot all of them up. I even shot at the trap range with the #4 shot I had. I then switched to steel shot and shot up about 6 cases of that. I could count on a great pattern that was like a huge, fat, cylinder flying at the bird. Didn’t miss very often and often got 2 or 3 Ducks. It would kill a goose at 80 yards with T shot if I was leading him correctly. I only shot it after my buddies would fire their 11-87 3 inch Remington’s so I could get the stragglers from a flock. On Bear I used Federal 1-3/4 ounce hollow point slugs. Dropped Black Bears in their tracks. I miss it but I had to sell all my big guns after car accident injuries.
The big TEN has its place in hunting but would be a pain in CQB.

 

[publiuss]

I had a Rem. 10 ga. auto which was good for turkey if you didn't mind lugging it around. It's only other use is waterfowl. I found it unacceptable for duck hunting, just too heavy and not quick to point. My 3.5" mossy or 3" 870 do everything the now sold 10 did. In fact they do it better in my opinion.

 

[cota]

!0 GA are now vertualy redundant even as a waterfowl gun, the 3.5 inch 12 has the advantage of comercial ammo that is of a higher proff preasure than the 10GA. and even if you reload for the ten or live in Europe where the CIP regulations do not even apply to the ten the sky is the limit on preasure ( How brave are you) The theoretical advantages are small, and the disadvantages far out weigh them.

The Ten as a goose gun was born out of USA laws not the guns credibility as a goose slayer, even on good old lead the Ten was at best an allso ran compared to the eights and fours that still prevailed over here for coastal goose shooting.

The 10GA today is a expensive unnecesary luxury, modern propelants and non tox shots have moved the goal posts a great deal from the days of yore, the large bores will still be used by thair fans but from a practical view it is pure nostalgia,.
I still have a 10ga myself and it still kills geese just fine but it has the disadvantage of weight and cost to load and reload. I am just not nostalgic old technology is old technology the ten will eventualy go the way of the Eights and fours into the realms of the collector some will keep using them sure enough but they wont put any more geese in the bag even on the coastal tide flats.
It is time to move on there is hope out there for the long shore gunners but it is not in a ten bore case.

 

[chas08]

Brister described shooting any 10 Magnum other than the Ithaca Mag 10 as like "Being in a car wreck". Nothing has changed in the quarter century since

.
I own two 10 ga guns. A Remington SP-10 and a Browning BPS I refer to them as "Beauty and The Beast" respectively.

It would kill a goose at 80 yards with T shot if I was leading him correctly.

This is why I use a 10. Sure, I've heard all the arguments, that the 3 1/2" 12 ga. is just as good. Or the new non toxic shot surpasses the 10 in long range performance. IMHO thats all crap. I hunt with fellows who believe this, and I consistently out shoot them with my 10 and for a cheaper per shot price. I gave the 3.5 12 ga a try for a few seasons with a Benelli SBE1 and watched my numbers plummet to be comparable with my hunting partners. Well two years ago I sold the SBE, which I was never truly happy with, lets just say it didn't live up to the hype. My numbers are back to what they were and my hunting buddies are still telling me their 3.5 12's are just as good as a 10. Only now I know better.

 

[cota]

A pattern from a 12 bore delivering a 42gram load of steel bbs at 1550FPS and a 10 bore delivering a 42 gram load of bbs at 1550FPS, both doing above 70% density even and with no CD size holes in the pattern. The goose wont tell what load killed it
Sorry your kill rate went back up due to how your 10 is performing and suits your shape and most probably style of shooting. Nothing to do with the advantage the ten gives over 12 supermagmums.
Lets get oner thing square right now the ten in the old days was at best a duck gun it got souped to semi usefull goose getter as a 3.5 inch but the eight still ruled in 4&1/4 inch chamber. the 10 was made by the Americans out of a need to fill a legal hole not because the eight stoped being the top dog.
Tens are fast drifting into history my advice is develop your benelli with suitable loads that work in it, mabe try a good aftermarket choke tube in it or change the gun for one that fits you better, then try that gun a few seasons then report back then and see how you feel. Your tune will have changed if you get the combination right.

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

!0 GA are now vertualy redundant even as a waterfowl gun, the 3.5 inch 12 has the advantage of comercial ammo that is of a higher proff preasure than the 10GA.

There must've been an article making the rounds that stated this, because I've heard it often enough, nearly verbatim...and...

This is where I say
"By that logic, a 3" 410 will outperform a 28 gauge."

High pressures deform shot and diminish pattern density & uniformity. Where moving targets are a concern give me a square load at low pressure.

Load up some 1 oz twelves to 6000 psi and some to 11,000 psi, all other things equal and see what happens on the pattern board. I've done it. Brister's done it. Others have, too. Try it. It's very eye-opening.

 

[chas08]

cota, I've hunted geese for way over half of my 52 years and I assure you I have tried a lot of different chokes on the 3.5 12ga. And some worked really well...on paper. But when you are shooting a cripple swimming as fast as he can across a flooded ricefield. And you see a shot string of 15-20 feet in length on the water from a 3.5 12ga. And with a 10 ga, the shot just seems to envelope the target at once. It doesn't take any more than that to convince me which is superior. I'm not here to argue that the 10 ga hits harder because I don't think it hits any harder than a 410 bore loaded with the same shot at the same velocity. It just has a superior pattern at long range. I like "Mission Specific" shotguns. Geese are the only species I use a 10 for and I wouldn't recomend it for home defense. I own several different shotguns,Two of which are 3.5 inch capable 12's. And each one serves a specific purpose, all fit me well and I shoot all of them quite well. As for the benelli, I no longer own it.

your kill rate went back up due to how your 10 is performing

as for your above statement, I couldn't agree more.

 

[La Pistoletta]

Two Cold Soakers, check the article I linked in post #5.