12ga vs 20ga for a slug gun?

[grampster]

A lot of good advice in this thread. I've always been partial to my Ithaca XL900 20 ga with my deer slayer barrel. I use Brenneke slugs and have been well satisfied hunting in places where you have to use a shotgun. 20 ga will do a fine job in taking a whitetail. A 20 ga with interchangeable barrels is a fine weapon start to out a young lad with.

As for 20ga, I harvested my first deer with my dad's old Ranger 20 ga double barrel using a slug. Severed the spine and drt. That old 20 ga double harvested many pheasants, rabbits and squirrels as well. My dad bought it from Sears and Roebuck prior to WWII sometime in the 1930's. I still have it.

 

[Jim Watson]

Connecticut Shotgun has the RBL Professional Slug Gun, a double barreled 20 ga sabot gun, fully rifled, about $6500.

New England Gun Co will convert your Ruger No 1 to a 20 ga sabot gun for only $2995.

Hollands will build you a real Paradox for only £130,000. Plus VAT, of course, a trifling 20%.

 

[Rickt300]

I don't have a real preference as I have slug guns in both gauges. I use whichever one I can get the slugs it is sighted in for and lately 20 gauge has been getting the shaft.

 

[Old Hobo]

Connecticut Shotgun has the RBL Professional Slug Gun, a double barreled 20 ga sabot gun, fully rifled, about $6500.

New England Gun Co will convert your Ruger No 1 to a 20 ga sabot gun for only $2995.

Hollands will build you a real Paradox for only £130,000. Plus VAT, of course, a trifling 20%.

Yikes!

Even if I had a gargantuan amount of wealth, I just don't think I would spend those sort of $bucks$ for hunting bucks!

 

[Axis II]

I think 20ga shoots a little better due to not as much recoil but if you plan on getting the combo than go 12ga.

 

[Bcwitt]

Is there any disadvantage to a reduced 12ga load? When you look @ availability of ammo, the 12ga wins on all counts.

 

[bearcreek]

Is there such a thing as a "reduced" or low recoil 12 gauge slug? I thought it pretty much ranged from "kicks hard" to "kicks crazy hard".

 

[Thomasss]

It has been shown that only the last couple of inches of a barrel need to be rifled for a slug to be accurate in a shotgun. There are rifled screw in chokes available, otherwise shoot a wide skeet choke. All shotguns have a particular slug they like. Ya just have to go out and find which YOUR gun likes. It can be as simple as cutting one out of a shotshell and dropping it down the barrel which may include the wad if it is a sabot. The tightest one usually is the one you want to use.
As for shot, all the national trap shooters I've known have said to always throw the greatest amount of shot downrange to hit the target which is 1 1/8 oz. loads. 1 1/8 oz shot increases the density of your pattern by 18%. To maintain the advantage pattern of your gun, you may want to buy a high quality choke, like a Briley or a Creighton. You have to deal with all types of weather, wind and seasons of the year to compete. Shoot 8 shot in summer and 7.5 shot in winter will give you the best possible score. I've heard 20 ga. is better for deer, but don't know why. I always shot 12 gauge and didn't have any problems. I am not a muscle man. Recoil from a 12 gauge slug is a lot easier than heavy duck loads. If not on your gun, invest in a Limb Saver recoil pad. They are worth every penny.

 

[entropy]

I suggest reading Niel Winston's work on patterning.
1/8 of an oz. is 12.5%, not 18, and it does not necessarily increase the density of a pattern, though it obviously increases pellet count. There are many variables involved in pattern density. I've loaded some 7/8 oz. loads that had more pattern density than some of my 1 1/8 oz. loads.

 

[d2wing]

I have used both for deer hunting. I prefer the 12 gauge. Better load selection, cheaper shells and more powerful. The only deer I ever lost is with a 20-gauge slug gun. The recoil is a wash in my opinion. The advantage of the 20 is less weight if you plan on walking alot. A young kid might like a 20 better. My favorite slug gun is a Remington 1187 rifled barrel with red dot sight. I also prefer sabot slugs.

 

[Jim Watson]

My pheasant hunting friend of the feminine persuasion carries a 6.5 lb Benelli 12 ga. How light do you want?

The English never much favored sub-gauge guns. 16 ga was for Continentals, 20 and 28 for women and children.
But they made up lightweight 12 gauge game guns. The figure of merit was for the gun to weigh 100 times the shot charge or sometimes stated 6 lbs per ounce; a 96 multiple.
They shoot a lot of 1 1/16 oz loads, therefore 6.4-6.6 lbs.

If they wanted something really handy, there were makers who would produce guns for a 2" shell.

 

[Frostbite]

Is there such a thing as a "reduced" or low recoil 12 gauge slug? I thought it pretty much ranged from "kicks hard" to "kicks crazy hard".

Yes, reduced recoil slugs exist, and they don't cost significantly more than the regular stuff, but a little more. Over here anyway. Reduced recoil buckshot is also available. I have only seen those in 12 gauge, but I guess they must also exist in other gauges.

 

[armedwalleye]

After taking advice myself from severel members here that have posted before me, I went with a left handed 220 Savage. While I wanted badly to get a cantilevered barrel and find an 870 express, it really wasn’t cost effective. Additionally, the 220 got such good reviews, I would do it again in a heartbeat. The 220 is plenty accurate with Accutip slugs, and I think has a flatter trajectory than comparable 12 gauge slugs. If you’re serious about it, a dedicated slug gun and a separate bird gun, even in a different gauge, is a better plan, IMHO

 

[PapaG]

Makes no real difference if you so apples to apples. Most sabot loads use the same weight bullet at the same velocity. Fiction about recoil. My 220 seems to buck about as bad as my 212 did. It is lighter and more accurate so I don't care.

 

[GooseGestapo]

The 20ga sabot slugs at same weight as a 12 has a better SD and BC than the 12ga at similar velocity.
This gives the 20 a noticeably flatter trajectory.
I’ve found 12ga 7/8 and 1oz Foster slugs to be poor penetrators on game.
Likewise, I’ve not found an acceptable rifled choke tube.
The only acceptable one I’ve seen/shot was the Browning BPS attempt at a dedicated slug gun circa 1995. It had a rifled choke tube approximately 8” long. It shot well with Brenneke 1-1/4oz slugs. Recoil was equivalent to a .458 Lott!

You are better off with a dedicated slug gun w/rifled barrel.

 

[nettlle]

If you are going the same weight for both gauges the choice isn't that big of a deal. My 12 gauge will break both shoulders and drop the deer in it's tracks. As far as SD and BC in a slug gun, after all, it is just a slug gun. 20 gauge has less recoil than a 12 gauge. And can be lighter to carry. Considering that the 12 gauge has been the better choice for me.