|
A 12ga is the most versatile gague ...and you'll have a larger variety of shells to purchase ...from 1 1/8 oz down to 7/8oz of shot in shells.
When screw in chokes came about in the 1980's or so - it changed a lot of this stuff. Prior to that - we had guns for specific birds / with fixed chokes. 40 yrs ago there was not the variety of shells, to buy, that we have today.
So with screw in chokes ...one gun can be used for hunting quail, pheasant, waterfowl ...and Trap and skeet and sporting clays ...by screwing in different chokes and using different shells with a wider variety of shot charges.
My point about the 16ga / was to say the assertion that a 16ga recoils less - is not necessarily correct. The 16ga has been left out / because we have a variety of 1 oz shells you can buy today in a 12ga or in a 20ga ...leaving the gague in the middle of the 12ga and 20ga (the 16ga ) out in the cold. We also don't shoot any "registered shoots" in skeet, sporting clays,etc in a 16ga / where we do shoot 12ga, 20ga, 28ga and .410 events. You can shoot a 16ga in a 12ga event ..if you want / but no reason to these days.
Buy a 12ga or a 20ga and you'll have a very versatile gun / that you can do many things with ....especially if it has screw in changeable chokes and either a 28" or 30" barrel / save the 16ga, 28ga and .410's for consideration as your 4th or 5th gun ...probably.
I still have a 16ga bolt action gun ...I've had for 50 yrs ...not looking to get rid of it ...but I wouldn't buy a 16ga O/U either ....where I do have Browning O/U's with 30" barrels in 12ga, 20ga, 28ga and .410 ...and I shoot them a lot.
|