Is the 20 gauge the 6.5cm of the shotgun world?

Shooting skeet with one of those lever action 410. So much fun on the doubles. Definitely a challenge but fun. I have a Winchester 9410 and it was a blast on the sheet field, after you talked the old guys off the ceiling that you where not shooting skeet with a 30-30.

I also got my triple crown of squirrels with that shotgun. Three fox, two grey and a red all in the same day of hunting.
 
Anchorite said:
There is simply no substitute for cubic inches. You can download your 12 to a 20, but you can’t upload your 20 to a 12.

The 12 is a v-8
The 20 is a v-6
The 28 is a in-line 4
The 16 is a Wankel.
The 410 is your JD Gator.
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I'd say the 16 is a 283 V-8. ;)

There is considerable overlap between 12 & 20 ga., there are some rip snorting pheasant rounds in 2 3/4" 20 ga. that are on the hot side for 2 3/4" 12 ga. I have no experience with 3" 20 ga., I'm sure there is a little less overlap there.

I'll agree with rust collector, handling a 20 or 28 ga. Double, whether O/U or SxS, is a joy that should be beheld by every shotgunner.
 
rust collector said:
I hope everyone at one point in their lives can hold a high quality 20 ga double in their hands, whether vertical or side by side, and swing on a dove whether real or imaginary.

Yes, the V-8 will do the job. Vive la difference! :p
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That old feather weight Spanish 20 ga SxS was nice to carry and it swung great. It was just not much fun to shoot a lot.
 
Newton's Law is still in effect. ;)

Which is why H&R type single shots are the worst way to introduce anyone to shotgunning. They average between 4 and 5 pounds. A 20 gauge SxS ( on a 20 ga. sized frame) weighs maybe 6 to 6.5 pounds. There's going to be some recoil.
 
When I was shooting skeet, my 20 ga averages were better than my 12 ga averages so I shot a 20 gauge gun in the 12 gauge events. I'm sure the AA class shooters could tell the difference though between 12 and 20 gauge.

These days, when I do shoot a 12 gauge on the skeet field, it is with 7/8 ounce or 1 ounce loads mostly to reduce the battering from the recoil of an 1-1/8" ounce shell.

I began my shotgun shooting with my Dad's 28 gauge side by side. I did well with it both hunting birds and busting clay targets.

Except on the skeet field, I've not been very successful with using a .410 around the farm for critter control. But, I have mostly .410-2-1/2" shells due to shooting skeet. A 3" shell with its larger payload of shot might improve the odds a bit. Of course, a youngster shooting at targets of opportunity might hone his skill and get pretty good with a .410.

My 5'-2" wife has a 26" 20 ga Browning Citori with a youth stock that fits her well. She breaks her share of clay targets on the skeet field.

I started my daughter with a youth Winchester 20 ga pump shotgun. She still has it today on her horse farm.

So, I guess I feel 20 gauge shotgun is a pretty good choice until you get to larger birds at longer distances.

Finally, I do love shooting 28 gauge shotguns. My first pheasant was with a 28 gauge. My first skeet class win was with a 28 gauge.
 
cfullgraf said:
Except on the skeet field, I've not been very successful with using a .410 around the farm for critter control. But, I have mostly .410-2-1/2" shells due to shooting skeet. A 3" shell with its larger payload of shot might improve the odds a bit. Of course, a youngster shooting at targets of opportunity might hone his skill and get pretty good with a .410.
Click to expand...

Correct on both accounts. I started with a single shot 410 as soon as I was old enough to safely use it. And I have always used the 3" 11/16 ounce 410 shells for hunting. My goto 410 shells were always Winchester Super X until I started reloading my own 410 shells in 1996.
 
If by your question, is the 20 something that encourages people to extend the range, exclaim that it will do anything, and is infallible for whatever reason, yes.
The 20 is not a 12. The payload is less, the smaller bore encourages more shot "scrubbing", and with equivalent loads, will generally kick as bad or more than the heavier 12.
Is a 20 fun, yes. My favorite pheasant/quail gun was a Breda O/U with i.c. and full barrels, 3" chamber. 7/8 oz 6 in bottom, 1 1/8 copper 4 in top and few pheasants got away.
For trap, skeet I go 12.
For deer, a Savage 220 which is a 20 but really a rifle. It is being replaced next deer season by any of my single shots, 357, 44, 45-70
 
Anchorite said:
You can download your 12 to a 20, but you can’t upload your 20 to a 12.
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After 60 years of shooting I can't think of one time where that would have been necessary. Your mileage may differ though.
 
Cvans said:
After 60 years of shooting I can't think of one time where that would have been necessary. Your mileage may differ though.
Click to expand...

I have hunted 12 gauge loaded as light as 3/4oz and as heavy at 2.25oz. It's hard to argue with it's versatility.
 
I used 12 ga for everything for many years. Then, I bought a sweet little Ithaca SKB model 100 in 20 gauge and fell in love with it. I used it for doves, skeet, squirrels, and rails. In recent years, though, most of my shotgun hunting was deer/geese, which is 12-gauge territory; Browning BPS for the former, Benelli for the latter.
 
I've considered trying to trade my 870 12 gauge for a 20 gauge but it seems to me however I haven't done enough research to actually back this up but it seems to me that accessories like extra barrels for home defense and rifle barrels for example are easier to find in 12 gauge than they are in 20 gauge and it seems like there are more ammunition options in 12 gauge then 20.

If I did not upland game hunting I'd be looking at a Stevens 555 in 20 gauge. I got to use one once and boy oh boy was it sweet.
 
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Interesting question. With today’s loadings I think the 12 is the gun to have…almost everyone agrees the best HD round is 8 or 9 pellet #00 buck, which cannot be had in 20, you can get factory loads from 1-1/4oz down to 3/4oz and with the weight of some guns, the 3/4oz load is like shooting a pellet gun, although that comes with a disadvantage…weight. If one is so inclined to reload, 1/2oz loads can be made in the 12ga, I have not tried them as the process to do it is slow (for me), so I stick with 3/4oz with everything from 12 to 28…410 gets the 1/2oz.
 
I find 20ga to be more enjoyable to shoot than 12ga. Slugs in a 12ga are just not all the comfortable to shoot. Maybe if I spent money on a semi-auto, I wouldn't care that much about the recoil. For myself, I'm looking at the Mossberg 590 9 shot 20ga. Styling that I like, sights I like, shoulders well, affordable, and in a barrel length I'd like.
 
Heir Kommt Die Sonne said:
12 Gauge is the everything shotgun because it's just what is most used. But 20 gauge is more of a 'everybody' shotgun in my opinion. Although I don't own more than 1. A break open of some time is my only use for a 20 gauge, and that because I can use pistol caliber adapters in it.
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Brad Dysinger once wrote in Georgia Sportsman magazine that although he liked all the shotgun gauges for what they were, when he was serious about bringing game home to eat he always reached for a 12 gauge shotgun. He felt that the only thing gauges smaller than 12 could do better than a 12 was to be smaller.
 
My journey to, and acceptance of, the 20ga came after 40+ years of hunting and shooting. I started out hunting with a shotgun at age 14. It was a JC Higgins bolt action 16ga. A couple of years later I was bequeathed an Ithaca® LeFever Nitro-Special™ 16ga SxS. I hunted everything with that gun; deer, doves, ducks, geese, grouse, pheasant, quail, rabbit, squirrels, and turkey. In about 1976 I bought a 12ga H&R® single shot in KMart®. I was a young Staff Sergeant in the Army but had a wife and two kids and money was tight.

Two years later I made Warrant Officer (WO1) and went to Europe. There I purchased a Browning® Liege™ BK-26 12ga skeet gun. By the time I retired as a CW3 in 1990, I had a whole passel of shotguns in 12, 16, and 20 ga. I had O/U, SxS, single shot, pumps, and semi-autos. and I shot skeet, sporting clays, and hunted with all of them.

In 2008 I had to have my shooting (left) shoulder replaced and my surgeon told me my days of shooting a 12ga were over. HE WAS RIGHT. From that day forward all of my shooting and hunting has been with my 20ga guns. Now I shoot just as many waterfowl and upland game as I did before and I ain't going hungry.

Now next month I will be 73 and have suffered the effects of age, mileage, and infirmities. I will stick with the 20ga. With all of the 21st-century improvements to shotgun ammunition, I certainly DO NOT FEEL I AM UNDERGUNNED WITH MY CHOICE OF GAUGE!
 
I don't think so. They have always been popular for younger/smaller shooters starting out, and many quail hunters prefer them. A 12 gauge is much more versatile, esp. if things like turkey and waterfoul or bigger game is in the equation- but the power will likely cause an inexperienced/smaller shooter to get a flinch reflex.
 
FL-NC said:
They have always been popular for younger/smaller shooters starting out, and many quail hunters prefer them.
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Some of us bigger heavier guys hunt everything with them also. I know people in general consider .410 and .20 ga. as good beginner guns and that's understandable. It's the people that won't be seen with one because of the stigma that I think are missing out on an enjoyable experience. I'll be 73 in July.
 
[In 2008 I had to have my shooting (left) shoulder replaced and my surgeon told me my days of shooting a 12ga were over. HE WAS RIGHT. From that day forward all of my shooting and hunting has been with my 20ga guns. Now I shoot just as many waterfowl and upland game as I did before and I ain't going hungry.

Now next month I will be 73 and have suffered the effects of age, mileage, and infirmities. I will stick with the 20ga. With all of the 21st-century improvements to shotgun ammunition, I certainly DO NOT FEEL I AM UNDERGUNNED WITH MY CHOICE OF GAUGE![/QUOTE]

Sir, speaking just for me, let me tell you that you have earned all your "real man legitimacy credentials" many years ago. As long as what you were doing was humane and ethical, I wouldn't care if you spent the rest of your life hunting with a .410. Some people feel a need to prove. You don't. You want to stay in the hunting and shooting game enough that you are not worried about "manly guns" or power pride. Good for you.
.
I used to want everything I shot to be big and powerful and pack a wallop. It always seemed like that, as I got older, the stuff that used to give me that "See? I can take it and not feel a thing" rollercoaster ride started to become less and less fun...so the 7mm magnum rifle got sold and the 3.5 inch 12 gauge turkey shotshells got put away. When money got tight and I got a good price for it, the Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 magnum went away, too. I hope it found a good home. If and when I ever have to or just want to step down to a less powerful gauge, I'll have your example to hold my head up with.
 
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