20ga or 12ga for upland birds

[akersrob]

hello,

I posted below about a hunt we are trying to plan to ND this fall. For upland birds, which gauge shotgun would be preferred 12 or 20?

Rob

 

[Lamjar]

I have hunted ND many times, my choice is a 20 gauge. Walking all day the weight makes a difference

 

[Dakotazeb]

Why not add 16 ha to the poll?

 

[Labradinger]

Public and nontox required?

 

[nickmqt]

410 or20 ga w/tss. dead is dead

 

[birddude]

If you want fun and sport, by all means a 20 will be fine if you know what your doing. If you don't you're going to be chasing a lot of cripples. Pheasant hunting can be very frustrating. You will probably see a lot of birds getting up at the edge of 12 gauge rang. Sooner or latter your frustration will make make you start taking those shots. If you want more birds in the bag take a 12. If you still want to try a 20, take a 12 as a backup.

 

[akersrob]

Why not add 16 ha to the poll?

didn't think about it, but I dont have a 16g was probably the biggest reason. I added 16 gauge to the poll

 

[akersrob]

If you want fun and sport, by all means a 20 will be fine if you know what your doing. If you don't you're going to be chasing a lot of cripples. Pheasant hunting can be very frustrating. You will probably see a lot of birds getting up at the edge of 12 gauge rang. Sooner or latter your frustration will make make you start taking those shots. If you want more birds in the bag take a 12. If you still want to try a 20, take a 12 as a backup.

thank you, I am new to bird hunting. I have really never been on anything but a preserve and that has always been quail. This trip to ND will be what I would call my first real hunt. Thank you for the response.

 

[Joe Hunter]

Here are a few of my pattern numbers from 20- and 12-gauge lead loads, that I’ve shot pheasants with, to give you an idea of the kind of performance you might get from similar loads and chokes.

Patterns from 20- and 12-gauge Browning Citoris with 28" Invector-plus barrels and Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot inscribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

20 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (BLUE DOT)
1 oz #6 lead (233 pellets) @ 1200 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 147 (63%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 168 (72%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 146 (63%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 163 (70%)

20 GA 3" RELOAD (BLUE DOT)
1 1/8 oz #5 lead (190 pellets) @ 1200 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 140 (74%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 150 (80%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 138 (73%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 147 (77%)

12 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (GREEN DOT)
1 1/8 oz #6 lead (267 pellets) @ 1225 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 171 (69%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 211 (79%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 173 (65%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 182 (68%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 195 (73%)

12 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (UNIQUE)
1 1/4 oz #5 lead (210 pellets) @ 1225 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 145 (69%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 177 (84%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 155 (74%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 155 (74%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 174 (83%)

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[Ky Setter man]

Juat remember that a wild pheasant is way different than preserve or pen raised birds. You will swear that sometimes the have on kevlar drawers. Lol. Take what you shoot well and thats light enough to carry all day. I like all of them except 410 but with tss it would surely do the job. But slinging 5 to 10 dollars per shot isnt something Im willing to do . To many better options out there. But a 16 is what I like the best.

 

[Tomahawker]

12 gauge is the do all workhorse of bird hunting. From Quail and Woodcock to Canadian Geese and Turkey. The 12 gets it done with more lethality. For ease of recoil/carry, ammo available the 20 gauge wins. For cool factor nothing beats purple shells 16 gauge. Sweet spot right in the middle, nobody borrows shells but they may not be on the shelf either. 410 and 28 have their place but it’s not beyond Quail Woodcock Dove.

 

[akersrob]

Here are a few of my pattern numbers from 20- and 12-gauge lead loads, that I’ve shot pheasants with, to give you an idea of the kind of performance you might get from similar loads and chokes.

Patterns from 20- and 12-gauge Browning Citoris with 28" Invector-plus barrels and Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot inscribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

20 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (BLUE DOT)
1 oz #6 lead (233 pellets) @ 1200 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 147 (63%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 168 (72%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 146 (63%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 163 (70%)

20 GA 3" RELOAD (BLUE DOT)
1 1/8 oz #5 lead (190 pellets) @ 1200 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 140 (74%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 150 (80%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 138 (73%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 147 (77%)

12 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (GREEN DOT)
1 1/8 oz #6 lead (267 pellets) @ 1225 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 171 (69%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 211 (79%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 173 (65%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 182 (68%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 195 (73%)

12 GA 2 ¾” RELOAD (UNIQUE)
1 1/4 oz #5 lead (210 pellets) @ 1225 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 145 (69%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 177 (84%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 155 (74%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 155 (74%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 174 (83%)

Hope this helps, good luck!

thisis really good info. Thanks for taking the time to add it here.

 

[Dakotazeb]

didn't think about it, but I dont have a 16g was probably the biggest reason. I added 16 gauge to the poll

Thanks for adding the 16 ga. You could probably eliminate the .410 that is really not a viable gauge for pheasants.

 

[Bob Peters]

I think the more important question than gauge is what ammo to shoot. I'll leave out tss, because it's not economically feasible unless you're really into reloading and want to roll your own. If you plan on shooting steel then a 12 gauge is the way to go. Yes, plenty a bird has been killed by steel shot from a 20, but a 12 just does it so much better with that lighter metal. Higher payload with coarser shot and bore diameter really makes a difference. If looking at bismuth and lead, then the smaller bores are at less of a disadvantage. The 3" 20 gauge shell can shoot 1 1/4 ounce of lead, which is the same payload as the most common 12 gauge pheasant shell. With bismuth, you can find shells with 1 1/8 ounce for a 20 or 16. In a 28 you can get 1 1/16th.

The differences between the gauges have lessened in the modern era. There really is no brag on bagging a rooster with a certain gauge. Using a shotgun that you handle well and have confidence in is the most important thing in my book. Find appropriate ammo and go hunt. If you have a few shotguns and you like them all equally, then I would nod towards a larger bore diameter. If all other factors are controlled for, the wider bore throws a better pattern. Albeit maybe by small percentages.

 

[gim]

ammo available the 20 gauge wins.

I wouldn't say this is true. I see more ammo for 12 gauge than any other.

 

[Ditchmaster]

Whatever gun you have the most confidence in

 

[Wolfchief]

I have used the 16 gauge on wild roosters--and wild ducks--since 2003 and for me it is far and away the best for those birds (I'd use a 12 gauge 3" load on geese). My shotguns, all light and trim--are an A5 16 gauge, a Merkel 1620, and a pre-64 Model 12 with mod choke. I can carry them all day and still swing them adequately in that last "golden hour" we like to hunt. I have used the No-Tox loads of Bismuth, Remington Express 1 1/8 oz. #5 and #6 shot lead loads and, the last 3 years or so, the Boss 16 ga. nontoxic loads. They all work fine.

 

[Joe Hunter]

Here are a few of my 20- and 12-gauge pattern numbers to give you an idea of how #3 and #2 steel pheasant loads perform, in my gun/chokes! I've only listed the chokes that could maintain a minimum of ~100 pellets in the 30" pattern at the distance tested.

Patterning results from a 20-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels and Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot inscribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

20 GA 3" WINCHESTER DRYLOK SUPER-X STEEL LOAD
1 oz #3 steel (145 pellets) @ 1330 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 114 (78%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 123 (85%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 106 (73%)
40 YARDS – LF / pattern 110 (76%)

20 GA 3" REMINGTON NITRO-STEEL MAGNUM LOAD
1 oz #2 steel (118 pellets) @ 1330 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 101 (86%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 105 (89%)
40 YARDS – IM / pattern 99 (84%)
40 YARDS – LF / pattern 102 (86%)

Patterning results from a 12-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels using Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

12 GA 2 ¾” REMINGTON SPORTSMAN HI-SPEED STEEL LOAD
1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) @ 1375 fps
30 YARDS – SK / pattern 116 (83%)
30 YARDS – IC / pattern 129 (93%)
40 YARDS – IC / pattern 111 (80%)
40 YARDS – LM / pattern 114 (82%)
40 YARDS – M / pattern 114 (82%)

As you can see, there wasn't much difference between the IC, LM and M chokes with this steel load at 40 yards, and the LM and M both registered the same 5-shot pattern average!

Hope this helps, good luck!

 

[LC Smith]

My favorite gun is a 12ga, but my favorite gauge is the 16ga. Now, having said that, I am slowly converting to the 28ga. Oh, and they are all double barrels!

 

[Miforester]

I hunt SD and NE most of the time with my 20ga. It is more than enough to take down roosters. But when I'm out west I bring an arsenal that includes 12, 20, 16 and soon to be 28.