AStone
Member
20 ga "equivalent" rnds for use in 12 ga
This is an offshoot from a thread about the availability of 16 ga ammo.
Here is a quote from that thread that motivated this one.
Now that I think about it, that makes sense: the equivalent of a 20 ga rnd for use in a 12 ga.
Less kick, more pattern. Wow. What a concept.
{Added by edit, just to be clear: I'm seeking information about 12 ga rnds that will, therefore, fire in a 12 ga shotgun, but loaded to 20 gauge standards for significantly less recoil.}
So, since another shotgun is on my list (currently don't have one), and I'm still waffling on gauge, I've started this thread to explore this concept some.
Here are my main questions for now are about factory rnds (there [strike]may be[/strike] probably are others ...) :
I'm not opposed to getting into reloading - I actually intend to as time and money allows - and it's fine with me for folks to discuss handloads here. But I'd still like to know if factory rnds of this type are available, from whom, details, etc.
Thanks in advance for your input.
For anyone that's interested, below is more background on my current thinking and criteria for a shotgun, and why this is such an interesting concept for me.
Nem
______________
I've owned three shotguns in my life: a 20 (my first one as a kid, single shot), a 16 (that 870 Wingmaster mentioned above, which came second in my late teens ... loved it, but sold it during some hard financial times called "grad school") and a 12 (870P, in the last few years, now sold).
The 870P was my first long gun in many years of nothing but handguns. I really liked the way it handled, and appreciated it's power, but the recoil with full 00 loads (let along magnums) was just more bang for me than was conducive to lots of practice. Even reduced recoil loads were just more jarring than I wanted for two or three boxes of shells. I'm on the smaller side of average, and detached retinas runs in my family. All that jarring can't help that issue much.
And as we all know, because Dave McC has kindly reminded us persistently, BA/UU/R is necessary.
So, after some consultation with an ophthalmologist, I passed the 12 on to someone who would give it the time it was due. Too fine a gun to become a safe queen.
After that, I decided to focus mainly on rifles for a while. In addition to a couple of revolvers, I now own .357 mag in a carbine (canned lightning, kick is nada) and .30-30. (MUCH more manageable than a 12 ga.) There's also a .22 in the mix.
Still, I've found I miss a shotgun in the tool kit. For upland birds, mainly, maybe rabbit. Occasional perimeter security duty.
I seem to be drawn also to older technologies in my guns: levers & wheel guns are what want now, instead of semi's and pumps (no superiority implied; just what I'm into now; why is another story).
So, I've decided that the next shotgun is gonna be a SxS. I like the looks of Stoegers. I'm leaning towards their coach gun or coach gun supreme, blued with walnut furniture.
I've already decided - or thought I'd decided I didn't want another 12. I remember the 16 as being very nice, more power than the 20, but with far less bump for the bang.
Yet, Stoeger doesn't make SxS in a 16. So, I thought I'd try a 20 again, even though something in me isn't quite as warmed up to a 20 as to the thought of a 16. But there's that availability issue, both in terms of SxS available in 16 and in terms of the concern that 16 ga rnds are becoming less available.
But, the idea of shooting a 20 ga equivalent load in a 12 ... now there's an idea worthy of consideration.
It allows far less kick for normal use, adequate for most birds I have in mind (quail and dove, not pheasant and goose), but can be loaded with full 12 ga loads when the need does arise.
Seems like such an amazing amount of flexibility for one gun, kind of like being able to shoot full-house .357 mag rnds in a wheel gun and carbine but also low recoil .38 spl. (That ammo diversity has strongly motivated the composition of my tool kit.)
Hence this thread to explore this idea more.
This is an offshoot from a thread about the availability of 16 ga ammo.
Here is a quote from that thread that motivated this one.
I found that very interesting, and at first surprising.
Now that I think about it, that makes sense: the equivalent of a 20 ga rnd for use in a 12 ga.
Less kick, more pattern. Wow. What a concept.
{Added by edit, just to be clear: I'm seeking information about 12 ga rnds that will, therefore, fire in a 12 ga shotgun, but loaded to 20 gauge standards for significantly less recoil.}
So, since another shotgun is on my list (currently don't have one), and I'm still waffling on gauge, I've started this thread to explore this concept some.
Here are my main questions for now are about factory rnds (there [strike]may be[/strike] probably are others ...) :
- Are such rnds offered by some as factory rnds? If so, who?
- Are factory rnds easily available or hard to find?
- How much diversity in shot sizes is there in factory rnds? 00? #4, #8?
I'm not opposed to getting into reloading - I actually intend to as time and money allows - and it's fine with me for folks to discuss handloads here. But I'd still like to know if factory rnds of this type are available, from whom, details, etc.
Thanks in advance for your input.
For anyone that's interested, below is more background on my current thinking and criteria for a shotgun, and why this is such an interesting concept for me.
Nem
______________
I've owned three shotguns in my life: a 20 (my first one as a kid, single shot), a 16 (that 870 Wingmaster mentioned above, which came second in my late teens ... loved it, but sold it during some hard financial times called "grad school") and a 12 (870P, in the last few years, now sold).
The 870P was my first long gun in many years of nothing but handguns. I really liked the way it handled, and appreciated it's power, but the recoil with full 00 loads (let along magnums) was just more bang for me than was conducive to lots of practice. Even reduced recoil loads were just more jarring than I wanted for two or three boxes of shells. I'm on the smaller side of average, and detached retinas runs in my family. All that jarring can't help that issue much.
And as we all know, because Dave McC has kindly reminded us persistently, BA/UU/R is necessary.
So, after some consultation with an ophthalmologist, I passed the 12 on to someone who would give it the time it was due. Too fine a gun to become a safe queen.
After that, I decided to focus mainly on rifles for a while. In addition to a couple of revolvers, I now own .357 mag in a carbine (canned lightning, kick is nada) and .30-30. (MUCH more manageable than a 12 ga.) There's also a .22 in the mix.
Still, I've found I miss a shotgun in the tool kit. For upland birds, mainly, maybe rabbit. Occasional perimeter security duty.
I seem to be drawn also to older technologies in my guns: levers & wheel guns are what want now, instead of semi's and pumps (no superiority implied; just what I'm into now; why is another story).
So, I've decided that the next shotgun is gonna be a SxS. I like the looks of Stoegers. I'm leaning towards their coach gun or coach gun supreme, blued with walnut furniture.
I've already decided - or thought I'd decided I didn't want another 12. I remember the 16 as being very nice, more power than the 20, but with far less bump for the bang.
Yet, Stoeger doesn't make SxS in a 16. So, I thought I'd try a 20 again, even though something in me isn't quite as warmed up to a 20 as to the thought of a 16. But there's that availability issue, both in terms of SxS available in 16 and in terms of the concern that 16 ga rnds are becoming less available.
But, the idea of shooting a 20 ga equivalent load in a 12 ... now there's an idea worthy of consideration.
It allows far less kick for normal use, adequate for most birds I have in mind (quail and dove, not pheasant and goose), but can be loaded with full 12 ga loads when the need does arise.
Seems like such an amazing amount of flexibility for one gun, kind of like being able to shoot full-house .357 mag rnds in a wheel gun and carbine but also low recoil .38 spl. (That ammo diversity has strongly motivated the composition of my tool kit.)
Hence this thread to explore this idea more.
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