12 OR 20 for Hunting

[..]

Looking at factory bird loads, there is only an 1/8oz difference. Is there a reason to pick 12 over 20? I've always had a 12ga and kinda want to try out a 20. My buddy has a 20, gun and ammo is lighter and recoils a bit less.

I am considering the Rem 1100 26' synthetic 20 for mostly dove, maybe quail.

 

[sm]

12 ga is more versatile in loads. From 7/8 oz on up . More choices for Buckshot loadings.

Matter of bore - not choke - Brister.

Understand for instance a 7/8 oz load from say a 870 12 ga and 20 wiith everything else being equal ( platform, using same POC....) the guns can/will pattern different, percieved recoil will be less on the 12 ga than the 20 becasue of weight of gun. Now toss a 1 oz in these two guns Feel a difference?

That said - for a one shotgun person I most often recommend a 12 bore - There are exceptions. Tyros, petite folks, those with impairments...

One of the best kept secrets is a 1100 20 ga. Totes easy, payload is fine for what you want to do with it.

You get interested in Waterfowl, Turkey, and so on....the 12 is the more versatile .

Thats why we say get one of each...better to have and not need than to need and not have . Collect the whole set... pumps, semis, O/U , SxS, all gauges....

For doves and quail - for easy toting and hard hitting - gimmee a 28 gauge .

[ snicker ....snicker....just wait - another person will handle, fondle, drool, and shoot a 28 ga. Anyone got the scorecard? How many folks am I up to so far - getting them in trouble? ....snicker....snicker ]

 

[TrapperReady]

I'll largely agree with sm's comments.

There is a specific occasion when I'll use a 20ga. When I'm bird-hunting, and have reason to believe that there's going to be a LOT more running/hiking/climbing/crawling/swearing/sweating/blister-forming/blister-popping/etc than shooting, I'll bring a 20ga. Basically, it's lighter, hits almost as well and I'll feel better later in the day.

Then again... it looks like this season is going to be largely spent using a 16ga. Just because.

 

[Spinner]

I've been real tempted to get a 20 ga to play with for clay games .... and maybe to introduce the wife to it all, too. I was super tempted when I saw a 2nd hand Rem 1100 synthetic in 20 ga in the rack at a gun shop the other day, but I have to say that I'm really in two minds.

1 oz of shot launched from a tube is still 1 oz of shot, regardless of the size of the tube. So, theoretically a 1 oz load out of a 20 ga should be as effective as a 1 oz load out of a 12 ga, but....!

A given volume of shot (say 1 oz) is loaded into two shotshells, one is 12 ga, the other 20 ga. The length of the shot column in the 12 ga will be shorter than in the 20 ga shell (because its a larger diameter base). So, the shot string is shorter to start off with. In addition to that, each individual pellet at the bottom of the 20 ga shot column has a greater mass of shot on top of it to shift once ignition of the powder that is lurking behind the wad occurs. This greater mass has greater inertia and will cause greater distortion of pellets at the bottom of the column. Distorted pellets have greater air resistance, fall behind the undistorted pellets, which serves to further lengthen the shot string, and will fly more erratically, which serves to spread the pattern out.

Now we know that short shot strings and dense patterns are a good thing (TM) so surely a 1 oz load of shot from a 20 ga would have more distorted shot, a longer shot string, a wider (and thinner) pattern and fewer effective pellets in the main body of the shot string with which to smite flying objects?

So theoretically, a 12 ga should be superior to a 20 ga for delivering more pellets, and more effective pellets, on a given moving target. Correct?

This is all good in theory, but is it actually significant when it comes to the real world? If the theory does translate to reality, how come a 28 ga is so effective?

Spinner

(think I need to go re-read Brister .... gotta get it back from the people who keep wanting to borrow it! )

 

[9mmMike]

Good post.

PS. Bride's 20 ga LT 1100 Special Field is one of the most beloved SG's around here.

 

[Marshall]

For birds? I say the 20ga is a perfect gauge for upland bird hunting. I have a LT. 1100 Special Field and love it, basically a 11-87 Upland Special. Downed many a pheasant and Quail with it!

BTW, I like the 1100 16ga 26" too! Fine gun!

 

[Sam]

I love 20's, make into a light easy swinging, easy carrying bird gun.

A 12 may be more useful in the long run, if only because you can get shells easier. And as said above 20 ga. buck is lacking.

1 oz through a 20 is different than a 12, longer shot string. It can hurt you a bit. Course you might have that golden BB in the tail end of the string.

Sam

 

[..]

So, you folks are saying the pattern won't be as good? I only intend to hunt dove/quail, it's all I've ever hunted.

 

[sm]

Spinner Damn - I'm Impressed. So I ought to get that book by Brister - huh? Hey my friend - In your Country [ New Zealand] if you can use the 1100 for what you and I discussed - and the "wife" can afford it let" her" get it. Nothing at all wrong with a fella using the wife's gun. Women do stuff like this to guys all the time.

The 28 ga is "better than it is suposed to be" because of the relation of the payload to bore, and short shot stringing. "It hits hard" because of the short shot string. [ Brister]


.. - The 20 ga is a GREAT Upland bird gun. As with any shotgun - no matter the gauge - pattern to see what THAT Gun does with WHAT load For the TASK. AS Trapper put it , when doing more walking / toting than shooting - the handiness and less weight is a good thing. So yes a 1100 is a great gun choice.

You have to understand , Trapper has these classic shotguns follow him home. Once home they latch onto Mrs. Trapper, and the Trapper kids. Poor Trapper has to load ammo, provide shelter and TLC to the Wife's and Kid's guns.

He worked out a deal so he could borrow a 16 ga to hunt with. That is the version of the story I heard - I'm sticking with it.

 

[Spinner]

Good is as good does.

Plenty of folks reckon a 20 ga is great for upland hunting .... lighter guns that get carried a lot, etc.

I'm thinking of 20 ga for clay games ..... the difference in scores between 12 ga shooters and 20 ga shooters in clay games is very, very small. In theory the 20 ga shouldn't pattern as efficiently as a 12 ga, but that is theory.

I haven't used a 20 ga ..... my comments are only theoretical and are mostly questions posted so that folks can poke holes in my logic and I can learn.

Plenty of folks use 20 ga for upland hunting and shoot them very well.

Spinner

 

[Smoke]

Actually a man needs both. There is just no way a man can go through life with out both. I truly believe you are also well served by obtaining a .410, 16ga, 28ga, and 10ga, as well. Do you own one caliber rifle? One caliber pistol?

Collect the whole set.

Smoke

 

[TrapperReady]

Steve -

You see, I'm trying to make sure I've got a good collection of nice old guns so that I can pass them on to my kids one day. Until then, I've got to make sure that they work correctly. Right?

After all... it's for the children!

 

[TrapperReady]

Spinner - I have periodically used a 20ga for clay games (specifically trap and sporting clays). Were I shooting in a competition for money or prizes, I'd always choose a 12ga. If shooting a round for grins, or maybe even the lunch tab, I'd happily use a 20ga.

 

[m14nut]

20's are fun too!

All my life I've owned nuthin but 12's.....then I shot a 20 at the skeet range
I got my first 20 about 2 years ago; a winchester 1300 defender. Fun to mess 'round with, but a defesive shotgun is not the choice for a hunter/skeeter. But for the 150.00, what the hell.

Next was a Baikal SxS in 20 with interchangable chokes. It's a really good gun for the money, points well and shoots as crooked as I aim.

Then, while chunkin' thru a used gun rack at a local shop, I came across a Belgian Browning A5 20 magnum that someone had cut the 28" VR barrel down to 22" and installed the Briley choke system choke in x full....Ready guys....200bucks!!! The gun is in about 90% condition, and I'm currently on a search for another barrel to bring it back to it's original config.

The A5 smokes skeets at any distance and sucessfully took alot of birds last season, using Remmie #6 buffered High brass shells.

Now to throw a monkey wrench into the works....how about trying a 16 ga?????

I recently purchased a Stevens 530a SxS in 16, and it is da bomb

Could very well replace them all as my best upland gun.

 

[45crittergitter]

I kill twice as many doves with my 20 as with my 12 of the same brand. Far easier to swing.

 

[Spinner]

Hey M14

Nice to hear about the Baikal 20 ga SxS ..... that's another gun that I'd seriously like to have hanging about.

Let's see I'm hankering after a 20 ga 1100, a 20 ga SxS, a handy 12 ga pump gun, a nice O/U 12 ga .... and then we've got rifles.

Hmmmmmm .... think I'll need to get a bigger safe and a bigger salary .... maybe a Lotto win is the answer.

Spinner

 

[9mmMike]

Someone mention 16 ga.?

Just finished a '56 870 Wingmaster for Mrs. 9mmMike in 16 ga. with a real nice 26" VR Skeet barrel. First shoot, this weekend. Actually, second shoot as I "tested" it for her a couple weeks ago.
Decided to refinish another stock with a Decelerator instead of the older, classic curved plastic butt-plate. More kick than I expected, especially compared to her favorite 20 ga. 1100 Special Field.
The Pachmayr should work well for her.
Can't wait.

Mike

 

[kudu]

For what it's worth, about 40% of my shotgunning is done with a 28ga, followed by about 30% with a 20ga, not far behind is the 12ga with about 20% then the little .410 with about 9.9%. I left the last .1% for the 10ga in goose season.

Trap is a whole different game than skeet, but not impossible with the smaller bores, just impractical. 20ga will do just about anything well enough.

 

[..]

I've decided on a 12 because I already have a set of remington 12ga choke tubes, I might hunt Pheasant or other game later in life that would behoove me to have a 12, and I need all the help I can get.