12ga. Or 20 ?

[Smart]

And place the more open choke on the bottom barrel shooting it first....the tighter choke goes up top..

[DapperDan]

And place the more open choke on the bottom barrel shooting it first....the tighter choke goes up top..

True. I got it backwards in my post. Lol


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[stickman]

20 all day, As mentioned above the 20 will fold ducks that are decoying and is a joy to swing around in the dove fields.

[poisonivie]

I'm in the 12 ga camp if that's all you got. You can get off the shelf 1oz 12 ga loads off the shelf that match 20 1oz loads. You can order 7/8oz loads as well. The 12 ga shotty will be heavier and reduce recoil better than the lighter 20. I solved my dilemma by buying multiples of both.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Given the choices you asked about, I'd pick a 20 ga. I hunt 99% of the time with a 20 ga. or smaller and have never felt under gunned. Especially for doves/upland hunting, that 20 ga. will serve you well... My personal favorite ideal shotgun for dove/upland hunting would be a 28 ga. I have Winchester 101's in multiple gauges, but I'd LOVE to have a Silver Pigeon in 28 ga.!!

[Leon County Slayer]

Thanks guys, this has been very helpful! Looks like I'm gonna run with the 20 and pick up some Briley chokes. Going to swing the 28" and 30" and see which feels better. I don't anticipate needing extra length for aiming but we can see which feels more balanced. It sounds like this may be a good excuse to grab a lesser expensive 12 for duck hunts if the opportunity arises too! Thanks for the comments coming from experience.

[oktx]

I'm in the 12 ga camp if that's all you got. You can get off the shelf 1oz 12 ga loads off the shelf that match 20 1oz loads. You can order 7/8oz loads as well. The 12 ga shotty will be heavier and reduce recoil better than the lighter 20. I solved my dilemma by buying multiples of both.

This. If you are shooting dove it's obviously a light load. If you you are shooting ducks you just don't shoot that much. 12 gauge for me.

[Smart]

Thanks guys, this has been very helpful! Looks like I'm gonna run with the 20 and pick up some Briley chokes. Going to swing the 28" and 30" and see which feels better. I don't anticipate needing extra length for aiming but we can see which feels more balanced. It sounds like this may be a good excuse to grab a lesser expensive 12 for duck hunts if the opportunity arises too! Thanks for the comments coming from experience.

You won't be disappointed. The smaller frame of the 20 for dove makes it a sweet shooter. That 30" will be a good swing for sure. My 20 ga 725 sporting with 32" barrels is just a shade longer than an SBE with a 28" barrels....I love it in an open feed field shooting mourning, whitewings and Eurasians.

[wal1809]

Some don't understand the concept of shotgunning. A 20 Ga, 12 Ga 16ga, .410 or a .28 Ga all have the exact same power as the other. The only difference is the amount of pellets they put down range. So to clarify, if we were to shoot every bore mentioned above with the same pellet size and speed (Call it a #4 pellet at 1300 FPS). Each and every pellet would hit the intended target with exact ft pounds Once the pellets leave the barrel there are no other governing factors, all the pellets are equal at that point.

So a 20 ga with the correct load, choke and patterned will kill ducks and geese just like a 12. I grew up shooting a 20 like everyone else. Then I needed the biggest bore we could shoot and went to a 10 ga for geese. Now I hunt with a .28 for and that is hands down my favorite all time shotgun.

So If I read it right, this is for your wife. I would go with a 28 or a 20. If you get her a 12 you could quite easily make the same mistake I did. My wife was getting the tar beat out of her by her 12. Enough so she stopped shooting for years. I finally got her an OU 410. I made her shoot it religiously. I have since bought her a OU 28. Now she loves shooting again.

[175gr7.62]

Some don't understand the concept of shotgunning. A 20 Ga, 12 Ga 16ga, .410 or a .28 Ga all have the exact same power as the other. The only difference is the amount of pellets they put down range. So to clarify, if we were to shoot every bore mentioned above with the same pellet size and speed (Call it a #4 pellet at 1300 FPS). Each and every pellet would hit the intended target with exact ft pounds Once the pellets leave the barrel there are no other governing factors, all the pellets are equal at that point.

So a 20 ga with the correct load, choke and patterned will kill ducks and geese just like a 12. I grew up shooting a 20 like everyone else. Then I needed the biggest bore we could shoot and went to a 10 ga for geese. Now I hunt with a .28 for and that is hands down my favorite all time shotgun.

So If I read it right, this is for your wife. I would go with a 28 or a 20. If you get her a 12 you could quite easily make the same mistake I did. My wife was getting the tar beat out of her by her 12. Enough so she stopped shooting for years. I finally got her an OU 410. I made her shoot it religiously. I have since bought her a OU 28. Now she loves shooting again.

This. The only thing a 12 gets you is the possibility of more pellets on target. When we used lead shot we shot 2 3/4". Same powder charge, less payload weight equals higher velocity. A #4 at 1300fps doesn't know what it came out of and neither does the bird. More of them is better but if the bird is in mid pattern is doesn't really matter.

[goose48]

20 ga

[Smart]

Some don't understand the concept of shotgunning. A 20 Ga, 12 Ga 16ga, .410 or a .28 Ga all have the exact same power as the other. The only difference is the amount of pellets they put down range. So to clarify, if we were to shoot every bore mentioned above with the same pellet size and speed (Call it a #4 pellet at 1300 FPS). Each and every pellet would hit the intended target with exact ft pounds Once the pellets leave the barrel there are no other governing factors, all the pellets are equal at that point.

So a 20 ga with the correct load, choke and patterned will kill ducks and geese just like a 12. I grew up shooting a 20 like everyone else. Then I needed the biggest bore we could shoot and went to a 10 ga for geese. Now I hunt with a .28 for and that is hands down my favorite all time shotgun.

So If I read it right, this is for your wife. I would go with a 28 or a 20. If you get her a 12 you could quite easily make the same mistake I did. My wife was getting the tar beat out of her by her 12. Enough so she stopped shooting for years. I finally got her an OU 410. I made her shoot it religiously. I have since bought her a OU 28. Now she loves shooting again.

Yup.. there is no more harump from a 12. Just more pellets in the air.

[Lungbustr]

12 gauge

[mjhaverkamp]

I would go with the 20, just handles better to me and is lighter, you can kill anything with it that you can a 12.

[AtTheWall]

Some don't understand the concept of shotgunning. A 20 Ga, 12 Ga 16ga, .410 or a .28 Ga all have the exact same power as the other. The only difference is the amount of pellets they put down range. So to clarify, if we were to shoot every bore mentioned above with the same pellet size and speed (Call it a #4 pellet at 1300 FPS). Each and every pellet would hit the intended target with exact ft pounds Once the pellets leave the barrel there are no other governing factors, all the pellets are equal at that point.

So a 20 ga with the correct load, choke and patterned will kill ducks and geese just like a 12. I grew up shooting a 20 like everyone else. Then I needed the biggest bore we could shoot and went to a 10 ga for geese. Now I hunt with a .28 for and that is hands down my favorite all time shotgun.

So If I read it right, this is for your wife. I would go with a 28 or a 20. If you get her a 12 you could quite easily make the same mistake I did. My wife was getting the tar beat out of her by her 12. Enough so she stopped shooting for years. I finally got her an OU 410. I made her shoot it religiously. I have since bought her a OU 28. Now she loves shooting again.

Yes and that means a 12 will carry a denser\deeper pattern, with more wound channels, versus a 20 gauge with all things being equal.

Half bucket of marbles versus a full bucket. More OOMPH with more marbles. For long range shots on ducks and geese, 12 gauge.


30 yards in, sure a 20 works. At 15 yards more to these shots, I bet the 12, hands down, puts more birds in the bag.

Prefer 30" barrel versus 28" More FPS with a longer bore, allowing just a tad bit more burn rate before it clears. I have two 30" and two 28" barrels. Consistently find the 30's put birds down at extreme range more consistently.