However, the 20 gauge is widely used as an upland and small game shotgun and excels in those roles. Hunters can tighten up the shot spread to a certain extent by using a choke, which is a constriction on the muzzle of the shotgun. While the 20 gauge is on the light side for deer, turkey, and waterfowl hunting, it will work in a pinch for those situations. Leaf blower. Learn how your comment data is processed. Most shotgun shells are loaded with lead shot and it’s best to assume that’s what you’re dealing with if the box doesn’t say anything about it one way or another. Please regard this as second priority and I am looking forward to your response. 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So, increasing the shot size comes at the expense of a thinner shot pattern if the total shot weight remains the same. (The men riding "shotgun" on Wells Fargo stagecoaches in the Old West were issued 10 gauge doubles.) He also said that he went out on the local lake in a boat with several friends and a ‘Punt Gun’ to hunt geese. The Technoid writing for Shotgun Report, LLC Twelve gauge is about the thickness of a nickel, and 14-gauge is about the thickness of a dime. Since individual steel pellets weigh less than lead pellets of the same size, hunters must typically use larger diameter steel shot or suffer degraded terminal performance. The early 3-1/2″ Remington 870s had problems. The pump action of the 3-1/2″ Remington 870 requires comprehensive medical insurance. Shot patterns are traditionally measured by shooting at the center of 30″ circle at 40 yards and counting the number of pellets that hit inside the circle. His 10 gauge knocked it into the cornfield next door. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is. While it’s certainly a capable all-around shotgun gauge suitable for deer, turkey, and duck hunting, the 16 gauge is most often used in the United States for hunting small and upland game like pheasant, quail, dove, grouse, rabbit, and squirrel. The 10 gauge and 16 gauge are much less common than the rest, but are by no means rare. Glad you enjoyed the article Jeremy! 30 gauge wire is much "thinner" than 10 gauge wire. However, the actual diameter of the bore will sometimes vary. 3-1/2″ 12 2-1/4 oz lead 1150 fps, Alliant: If they are correct it means that you will get a better pattern from a 2-3/4″ shell used in a 2-3/4″ chamber than you will with that same shell used in a 3″ or 3-1/2″ chamber. Being able to hit what you aim at with a slightly lighter load is far, far more important than missing the bird with a boxcar full of shot. This area can get particularly confusing, so bear with me for a minute here. Almost all the 3-1/2″ pumps are converted from the 3″ models by lengthening the receiver and bolt, while redoing some internal stuff. Those numbers are great for making an overall comparison between the various shotgun gauges. Basically, the fatter 12 gauge shell can fit the same weight of shot into a shorter column, which results in less shot deformation as it travels down the barrel. I’ll take the 10 ga. any day for power. The recoil action of the Benelli SBE doesn’t help much at all. (Often in error. Indeed, a hunter armed with an inexpensive Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun could conceivably hunt almost every species of game in North America by simply changing the barrel, choke, and/or shot size as necessary. This is because of the previously discussed advantages of the larger bore and longer shell length offered by the 10 gauge when using non-toxic shot compared to all other shotgun gauges in common use. Hence, if you are using 10 gauge for an application requiring only 30 gauge, it will more than handle any current flow. Most people probably know that there are 16 ounces in a pound. Well, this is why that matters. Much better for a home defense gun is a 20 gauge. It’s also the #1 choice for home defense as well as for military and law enforcement use. Also, look at the breaker for the circuit in question to see if it’s a 15-amp or a 20-amp breaker. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Do you understand the word pain? I am looking at purchasing a 10 or 12 gauge shotgun both chambered in the 3 1/2 and wondered which one ACTUALLY has the best bang for the buck. For turkey hunting, it makes sense to use all you can for that one head shot at 50 yards. Gauge SlipX Solutions® Shower Curtain Liner Weights & Gauges; 3: Click to View All Lightweight Shower Liners: Thin … 14-Gauge Cords: Any 14-gauge cord between 0 and 50 feet long will adequately handle loads between 10 and 15 amps. Jonny breaks down each size & offers some insight into the metrics of it all. The shot pattern of a shotgun gradually expands as range increases. While many hunters know a little bit about shotgun gauges, I think that most people would likely agree the subject can be really confusing. A lot of people claim that absorbing the recoil from a few thumpers doesn’t really bother them. It’s substantially more powerful than the .410 bore, but still has a very gentle recoil, even in a lighter gun. That being said, while there are exceptions, those other shot sizes larger than .17″ generally increase in size in a pretty uniform manner as well. All things being equal, a larger bore has more potential to heave more shot faster. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. But it’s so strange how those older black powder weapons were rated and gauged. It is for me and I have long arms. They’re usually about 1/2″ shorter when loaded. There is one exception to this rule: the .410 bore. Dear Dave, I would get a 12 instead of a 10. Sometimes inaccurately described as “.410 gauge” or “36 gauge”, it’s the only shotgun in common use that is named after its actual bore size (.410 of an inch diameter) as opposed to a gauge number. However, increasing the size of shot results in fewer individual pellets. If we were to fire it out of a 7 lb Winchester Model 101 Field, it would generate 13.9 ft lbs recoil energy. .410 ammunition and shotguns are pretty common and easy to find as well. This is also true with a 10 gauge (or 10 bore) ball compared to a 12 gauge (or 12 bore) round ball. Though they are far from the only really good shotgun options, I personally prefer either a Remington Model 870 or a Mossberg 500. A shotgun with a longer chamber can generally safely use smaller shells, but the opposite is not true. There’s a reason for that. To determine the size of birdshot, just subtract the shot size from .17″. I’m not taking sides on this one yet as it is still winter in Connecticut where I live so I won’t pattern. So therefore, there are 256 drams in a pound. While the .410 bore is available in most shot sizes, its light payload and correspondingly thinner pattern can make the .410 a challenging shotgun to hunt with at anything other than short range. However, you risk ruining the meat of these small-game animals when hunting with a 12-gauge. 20 Gauge: Ranking only behind the 12 gauge in terms of popularity, the 20 gauge is by far the most widely used of all the smaller gauges. Thank you for the detailed explanations for the gauges. This means that with your 12 you shoot trap one day and launch a 3-1/2″ satellite the next, all with the same gun. “Magnumitis” is a social disease. The ten has got to hold more stuff if everything is optimized. Aside from shotgun slugs, shotgun shells are loaded with a large number of pellets. Thanks so much for taking the time to share this and keep up the good work as I truly enjoyed it. This is further complicated for North American waterfowl hunters when using steel shot. Just reference the chart below for the nominal bore size of 10 gauge, 12 gauge, 16 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge, and .410 bore shotgun barrels. That means weights top out at 8 pounds, but are usually under. Additionally, I recorded an entire podcast episode on this exact subject. However, using larger diameter shot results in thinner shot patters. The thickness of a cable or wire is defined by its gauge size. So why wouldn’t any sane person always pick the 3-1/2″ 12 over the 3-1/2″ 10? Holding all things constant, the 3.5 inches in the smaller 12 gauge won’t hold an equal amount of lead and powder as the 3.5 inches in the larger 10 gauge bore. Thanks for your support. Not surprisingly, 12 gauge ammunition is also widely available in virtually every shot size from #9 up to 000 Buckshot and slugs. The .410 does have a very mild recoil, which makes it popular for smaller framed hunters like children. If you’re looking for the most versatile shotgun possible, then the choice is clear: get a high quality 12 gauge shotgun, preferably one with a 3″ chamber than can accommodate both 2 3/4″ and 3″ shells. This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to create free content that’s useful to hunters like yourself. The same principle applied to 8 pounders, 6 pounders, 4 pounders, etc. It’s really confusing, but ever since then, companies manufactured shotgun shells listing the powder load in terms of drams of black powder. 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