12 versus 20

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Shot a grouse today at just under 60 yards with a 3 inch 20 gauge load. Didn't pattern it and I didn't worry about shot string but when it was the only bird I had a shot at today I was glad to have all the pellets. After 11 miles in snow I was glad I wasn't carrying a 12 gauge.

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We found 3 but only 1 gave me a shot but yeah stubbornness is the only way I can kill January grouse. It sure ain't because I know how to find them.

Willy is a drahthaar.
 
slidellkid said:
I read some information over the weekend about shot strings. The general consensus seemed to be that at far as hitting the bird it really makes no difference if the shot string is longer. Most studies showed a bird traveling 35mph would move an inconsequential distance for a longer shot string to have any impact; however, what can be a problem is that because the string is longer and all the pellets are spread out there can likely be large holes in the three dimensional pattern that may prohibit a mortal wound versus a killing shot. Not sure if I understand all that.

Then again, you have the Pattern master style chokes that claim that because they grab the wad the shot string is less affected and thereby shorter. I had a good buddy that swore his Patternmaster really made a difference on both ducks and doves and that he felt like he put much more killing shot on the bird. I have never tried one so don't know.
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Bob Brister wrote a book called Shotgunning: The Art and Science (early 70's I think). Read it as a teenager and it is very informative and comprehensive of shotguns and more importantly shotshells and how they function. Regards shot strings he had his wife pull a target behind their station wagon and he shot sillouettes of ducks ( I think the wagon was traveling 40MPH). It showed a big difference in how shot strings perform vrs just shooting at a 30" circle. In essence the more long and narrow a shot string is the worse it patterns. Highly recommend the book it is a good read. It taught me how to learn to "point" a shotgun...what you do is buy a Red Ryder BB gun pry the sights off, throw bunch of ping pong balls on lawn and tell the kid to throw gun to their shoulder, point the gun and shoot (both eyes open of course). Worked well when teaching my daughter and son.
 
This has been interesting reading. I have always used 12's. The other day a friend brought out his Rizzini O/U 20. I loved it and now want an affordable 20 gauge ( the Rizzini was a bit spendy for me). Thanks for all your input.
 
Thank you At the Murph, I picked up an Uggie Falcon 20 gauge at a local gun show Saturday. Vintage 1971, it was carried a lot but still super tight. It was being carried around by an older guy and I got it for 200.00. I hope to get out this week and shoot some.
 
slidellkid said:
If I shot a 20 gauge with 1 1/4 ounce of #5 shot wouldn't that basically be the same as a 1 1/4 ounce #5 load out of a 12? I'd have to shoot 3 inch shells in a 20 to shoot 1 1/4 ounce loads but since it's not high volume shooting I think that would be ok. On the other hand I could probably find some one ounce loads that pattern well and use those too.
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Slide -- Out to about the 40 yard mark, you will give up very little with the 20ga if you use the appropriate loads/chokes. So, keep your shots reasonable (out to ~40 yards max) and use the right load, pellet size and choke, and you won't have have any trouble killin' pheasants with a 20ga.

Of course, you'll need to pattern your loads and chokes at the distance you plan on using them to make sure they can maintain good pheasant killing pattern densities. But, loads from 1- to 1 1/8-ounce with lead No. 6s or 5s will handle most pheasant shooting at reasonable ranges if you choked them properly. A good starting point for a choke combo in a double-barreled 20ga gun would be would SK/IM.

Here are some of my pattern numbers from a 20-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels and Briley flush chokes that I've killed pheasants with to give you an idea of what you might find (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

20 GA 2 3/4" RELOAD
1 oz #6 lead (233 pellets) 1,200 fps
30 YARDS -- SK / pattern 147 (63%)
40 YARDS -- IM / pattern 163 (70%)

20 GA 2 3/4" REM PHEASANT LOAD
1 oz #5 lead (177 pellets) 1,220 fps
30 YARDS -- SK / pattern 104 (59%)
40 YARDS -- IM / pattern 109 (62%)

20 GA 3" RELOAD
1 1/8 oz #5 lead (190 pellets) 1,200 fps
30 YARDS -- SK / pattern 127 (67%)
40 YARDS -- IM / pattern 122 (64%)

I mostly shoot my reloads above but I've killed several with the factory load listed.

Of course, if you can't put the pattern on the front end of the pheasant then little else matters!!!
 
12vs20

Hunted with 12ga, 16ga, and 20ga out in SD. All of them worked really well. I also found out that I can miss equally well with all three. Liked the 12ga a little better with steel, but also liked the 20ga with Federal Heavy Weight 7s in the 1 1/8 oz load. They get a little expensive, though. My new 12ga is only 2oz heavier than the 20ga that I hunted with last year at 6 3/4 lbs. I have a 16ga on order that weighs 5 3/4 lbs. If it ever comes that will be interesting to shoot.
 
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