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Oh man. I didn't vote. I use mostly a 12 now (finally got a semi a few years ago, Browning Silver Hunter and wouldn't trade it for anything) but I still like to go out with one of my 16's every so often. That would include for geese or ducks.
Going back a couple posts about shells. I order everything on-line, even for the 12(s).
I currently have a pump 20ga but my next shotty will prolly be a semi-auto 12. What do people think of the Saigas with the external 20 round clips?
I was a 12 gauge person till I got a nice Stevens 520 in 16 gauge. Wonderful pattern, effective, and much nicer to shoot than a 12 gauge. I ended up ordering my ammo online though. I think the 16 gauge deserves more effort by the manufacturers-ammo and gun makers. It was once more popular than 20 gauge and could be again.
Depends on the situation. I prefer the 16 ga. in a bird gun- its smaller than the 12 and can be accomodated on a lighter frame, but it packs more punch than a 20 ga. which can be important when taking longer shots on pheasants for example. It was at one time very popular, so there is a historical aspect to the 16 too.
The 12 is more versatile in that you can get light loads for lighter game and heavy loads for larger game. Its also available everywhere. But 12 ga. guns can be heavy, and the lighter ones will kick like a mule.
Yep - it's funny - the 16 was once one of the most popular shotgun cartridges - heck, I've got a Drilling chambered in 16 gauge that dates back to prior to 1905!
I like the 20, because you can make a smaller, lighter, better-handling shotgun in 20 gauge than you can in 12 gauge. >99% of my shooting is at clays. Target loads in 20 gauge are 7/8 oz or 1 oz and they are 1 or 1 1/8 oz in 12 gauge. There isn't that much of a difference in performance with 1/8 oz more shot on clays or in shooting small birds like quail. The real advantage of the 12 gauge doesn't come into play until you want to shoot heavy loads at much larger targets. It's a toss up whether I use my bulky 12 gauge or stuff pricey 3" mags into the 20 when I go for pheasants. I always use the 12 for turkeys as the name of that game is shot weight and 1 3/4 or 2 ounces out of a 3" 12-gauge load trumps 1 1/4 oz out of a 3" 20 every time, and by a lot. Ditto with rifled slugs, the 12s have much more power although I have shot and killed multiple deer with one shot from a 20 gauge using slugs as a kid.
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Originally Posted by cry_havoc
IDK why they stopped making 16. It seems like a good gauge. More power than 20, but lighter and less recoil than 12.
Can you easily get ammo for it?
The 16 gauge isn't very popular because there isn't room between the 12 gauge and a modern 20 gauge for an intermediate-sized gun. The 20 gauge in 2 3/4" and 3" chamberings can throw all of the shot weights a 16 gauge can, and from a lighter, smaller gun. Once you want to throw more shot than the 3" 20 gauge, you are into heavy 2 3/4" 12 gauge loads. You will also get less recoil from equivalent 12 gauge loads than 16 gauge loads as the shotgun is heavier.
Mostly I use a 12 ga, whether waterfowling or upland hunting. I've got an old 10 gauge I've taken out to shoot big Canadas a time or two as well - it doesn't kick as bad as people expect, though it's certainly deafening.
I have a Mossberg 500 that I bought shortly after I turned 18. Out of all the things I own, that and a NCAA regulation football I bought almost 10 years ago are sentimental favorites. My shotgun is a 12 gauge pump (obviously) and is a lot of fun to shoot. My football is old and it shows. The outer skin is actually pealing in some places. But that thing went to Afghanistan and back with me, and I wouldn't dream about replacing it!
I like and shoot both. The 20 has little performance advantage over the 12 except that it can be made up into a lighter gun (a little lighter) although in double barrels with 2 smaller barrels maybe the difference is worth thinking about.
Particularly if you handload, splitting the difference and getting a 16 makes a good bit of sense.
If you *don't* handload, the cheapest 20 gauge shells, the 7/8 ounce of usually #8 shot - if these will kill anything bigger than a dragonfly cleanly, I have not seen it. The cheap target 12 loads, though, with 7/8 or 1 ounce of good hard shot, tend to work better and cost less.
For shooting steel when that's required, for me, yeah, a 12 gauge 870 is what I will be shooting...
I like and shoot both. The 20 has little performance advantage over the 12 except that it can be made up into a lighter gun (a little lighter) although in double barrels with 2 smaller barrels maybe the difference is worth thinking about.
Particularly if you handload, splitting the difference and getting a 16 makes a good bit of sense.
I would think that with handloading, the 20 would be better since making a 3" magnum 20 gauge reload costs little more than a standard 2 3/4" round despite factory 3" ammunition costing even more than 2 3/4" 16 gauge shells when you can find them.
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If you *don't* handload, the cheapest 20 gauge shells, the 7/8 ounce of usually #8 shot - if these will kill anything bigger than a dragonfly cleanly, I have not seen it. The cheap target 12 loads, though, with 7/8 or 1 ounce of good hard shot, tend to work better and cost less.
Shooting 7/8 oz or 1 oz of shot from a 20 gauge is little different from shooting 7/8 or 1 oz of shot from a 12 gauge, especially in cheap shells. You are flinging the same amount of lead at roughly the same speed. The difference is that decent 12 gauge shells throw that ounce of shot faster than a 20 gauge can, giving you longer range- or you can throw more than an ounce from a less-expensive 2 3/4" shell. But cheap 7/8 or 1 oz loads are pretty much indistinguishable whether they are shot from a 12 or a 20.
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For shooting steel when that's required, for me, yeah, a 12 gauge 870 is what I will be shooting...
Steel is a whole different ballgame due to its bulk. Steel has brought the 10 gauge back from the dead after smokeless powder made the 12 gauge the shotgun bore of choice. Shooting steel from a 20 gauge is about like shooting lead from a 28 gauge. You can do it in hunting situations but you need to be a good shot and be very careful of your range.
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