20 gauge stupidity

[DevLcL]

good thing this is on the internet... i'd probably be shot by about twenty 20ga. shells by now haha

[DevLcL]

What does troll mean?... I dont know all the 'lingo' yet but im guessing it isn't good.

[sdkidaho]

A troll is someone who posts to "ruffle feathers"

I own a 20 gauge because I didn't like the kick of the 12, nor did I like packing the extra weight around all day bird hunting either. Although, I've never been of the mindset that I needed the biggest calibre out there to knock something down.

I grew up in Wyoming, and grew up hunting all sorts of game - from coyotes to elk. I killed my first elk with a .243 lever action, Browning. Too small? Bah. Just because you can afford a 30-06 doesn't mean you should own one.

People hunt/shoot with what they enjoy and feel comfortable with, and I REALLY enjoy my 20 gauge Benelli Nova pump shotgun. There isn't a bird out there that I can't knock down with my 20 gauge that you can take down with your 12. Ok, maybe birdzilla, but I haven't met him in the wild yet so can't comment for sure.

[K80Geoff]

The only true gauge for real men is the 28. Larger gauges are for folks with ego problems and the 410 is an abomination.

The 28 is for real shotgunners.

[Ozzieman]

Why would anyone buy something like a 12 ga shotgun?... If you're gonna buy a shotgun then buy a shotgun. Don't mess around with small stupid shells. If you cant handle the kick of a 10 ga then you shouldnt be shooting it.

[Danindetroit]

I think shot guns were made after the rifling in a barrel, got worn out. The gun was then reamed or drilled, or whatever process they had, at the time. So in the 1800's a 20ga black powder single shot shotgun seems very feasable. A .58 caliber being bored out to 20, or a .50 or .54? to 28. I think when purpose built SxS were built, the popular coachgun was a 10 ga blackpowder. With the advent of smokeless the 12 became king of the hill. This is all just conjecture, and I could be wrong, but I thought early americans prized there firearms, and tried to get every type of use out of them. Corrections appreciated.

[wudjalike2no]

i think shotguns were invented before then, i think the first were just black powder rifles with rocks instead of bullets. the prolly figured out that it was easier

[Danindetroit]

I know they had blunderbusses(sp?) but the modern shotgun, with gauges, and perhaps lower pressures. I am sure that cannons shooting grapeshot were used, but i was talking about the modern evolution of the SG, for use by colonists, to get food in america. I believe in England, and maybe Europe hunting was banned for pesants, and only the aristocracy was legally allowed to hunt.

[sm]

The only true gauge for real men is the 28. Larger gauges are for folks with ego problems and the 410 is an abomination.

The 28 is for real shotgunners.

K80Geoff - Thank Goodness this subject is answered once and for all...time to move onto something else I say...

[rugerdude]

hey, a buddy of mine has an NEF single shot 12GA. come on over and I'll load you up a 3in. slug and you will see why people use smaller gauges, especially in smaller guns. I have a 12GA. because it is the only gauge they make my shotgun in (maverick 88) nd the shells are more available. Hey, if you are so manly why don't you make your own shotgun, something like 1/2 gauge (meaning that a lead ball half the width of the bore would weigh 1lb.)

You seem to think causing yourself unnecessary discomfort makes you a manly man, so why don't you go to a mental institution and see what some of theose people do to themselves. Why don't you cut yourself? It must be because you are a wimp and can't hack it.

I still can't believe I actually reponded to this stupidity.

[K80Geoff]

Bah!! 10 GA is for wannabe hunters from the city who pay to shoot ducks. Real duck hunters use a 12, the only legitimate use (Except Clays) for that gauge. (And none of those 3 1/2"" mag guns either).

Learn to shoot and you will not need those skybusters.

[Striker]

Ok, I'll confess.

Two weeks ago at my local gun haunt I saw a NEF single shot 12 ga, that had the barrel cut back to 18 1/2 ".

"Hmmmm" thinks I "What a nice handy little package. Would make a nice all around truck and walk about gun for those jaunts with dogs in the woods"

So I pony up the $45.00 (should have realized something at that point), do the paper work and take her to Casa del Striker. Dig out an old butt cuff, stick some sling swivels on her and voila! walk about gun par excellence (again, should have realized something at this point).

Fast forward to last week sometime, walking around in the woods, Jack Russells' having a grand time, when it comes upon me to test the little beasty out. (butt cuff stocked with 1 AA factory #8 skeet load, 2 wally world generic WW "target loads", 1 Federal tactical buck load, and one ancient Remington slug.

So I loads up the skeet load, and lets fly, brisk! Then "tgt" loads.....brisker!!
(should have really realized something at this point). I then let fly with the tactical buck load....ouch!! Then finally that old Remington slug. Euraka! I realize something!! This is not fun, this hurts, this is dumb!!!

I glance over at JoJo puppy dog and Dixie Dancer, who having taken a break from terrorizing the squirrels to watch the goings on, and both give me the "Well, we coulda' told you that, had you bother to ask us" look.

Moral of the story? I don't know, but thought I would share!

PS: Have subsequently discovered that the Augulia, shorty 12 guage shells are perfect and you can fit ten in the butt cuff, so this now is the designated round for this piece

[9mmMike]

12 ga is the most popular, has the most versatile loadings. Loads can be found on the side of the road and in gas stations here in the South..

Funny you should say that sm. When we got the first 16 gauge here at casa del 9mm, we could not find ammo anywhere. On a day-trip to Lancaster, we stopped at an old (very old) hardware store, you know the type that have everything, and found 16 gauge (dusty boxes) on the shelf. We bought both boxes.

[neal bloom]

"Dang! I apoligize to all the pheasants I have killed with a .410."

Thanks! You made my day with this quote!

I've hunted and bagged more birds with a 20 gauge and a .410 than I ever did with a 12 gauge. Went with a friend to test out his 12 gauge 18" home defense shotgun with a pistol grip. Fired one round of 00 buck and one slug. No thank you! I am just not macho enough for that.

[sm]

Here in the South, at least in my area, the 16 ga was not seen much. I am about an hour away from the Duck and Rice Capitol of the world - so 12 ga and 20 most often seen for waterfowl. 20 ga felled a LOT of ducks for me, especially before non-toxic shot was required.

28 ga used for Dove and quail, then again being a Skeet shooter...I had reason to rationalize using the 28 ga bunch, I reloaded. I actually had some places in the old days, before non- toxic shot, one could NOT use anything larger than a 28 ga to fell ducks. Yep ,felled many a duck with a 28 and .410 .

.410, heck everybody had at least one single shot , then there were the model 42 Winchesters, 1300s, 870s and various O/U and SxS.

Too many folks rec'd a .410 single shot as first gun. Deer fell to slugs, as did dove, quail, rabbits , squirrels....you name it.

From kids to grandma's.

I have seen too many times a person go into the local hardware store, Mom& Pop Grocery , gas station...and from a Coffee can buy 4 or 5 .410 shells, half a dozen 20 ga, and maybe a 12 ga slug or two .

A Grandma maybe be hanging clothes on the clothes line, .410 single shot leaning against a stump, darn rabbit in the garden again, grab the H&R , pull a shell from an apron and "pop" - rabbit for supper that night.

Grandpa would often reload that fired .410 hull with popcorn - good way to get the pigeons to fly out of his barn - with out damaging the barn.



It always boils down to the shooter , not the firearm. There is that "tool for the task" dealie, then again if one can shoot, and all you have is a single shot .410 - one tends to learn to shoot.

[DevLcL]

i never said anything about a 10ga.. i actually think it would be stupid to have anything bigger then 12.... i just think if ur gonna shoot a 20 or 28 its alot funner to just shoot a rifle (all of this is my opinion, im not trying to tell anyone what they should shoot.. nor offend anyone) Keep your panties on.

[Mesa Tactical]

What does troll mean?... I dont know all the 'lingo' yet but im guessing it isn't good.

Jargon File definition of "troll."

[Steve499]

My life is obviously empty or I would not be on this thread!

[Bullrock]

This old guy just purchased a 12G. for trap. It's my turn to shoot, right after we douse the campfire.

[Chuck Jennings]

Life would sure be less interesting with just the 12ga. Variety is the spice of life!

[chris in va]

Tell you what, more people (and females...) will shoot your 20ga than a 12. You want some tears or a smile?

[claude783]

I have a Savage over/under. It's a .22 on the top barrel, and a 20 gauge on the lower barrel..Have taken more game with it than any other gun I own.

I discovered that the 12 guage if I didn't let the birds, rabbits, etc. get out aways, it would tear up the meat...since I'm not interested in shooting clays, but was more concerned about putting food on the table, this gun did it all!

I got brass shells, reloaded and developed a nice mild load which got the job done, but left "something" to eat!

If the little critter were mo-tating out of the country, the shotgun did its job, if the little critter stopped to see where I was, the .22 through the head did it's job...

[Greybeard]

Test for the beefcake(s):

Take a timer, a 12 gauge pump and a 20 gauge pump out to where you have a safe backstop. Put up a couple of 9" paper plates at 15 yards.

Load each shotgun with 5 slugs. Using timer, fire 5 shots from 20 gauge at paper plate. Record time and count holes. Repeat the same process with 12 gauge.

Then let us know which gauge puts the most lead on target in the least amount of time.

P.S. I really enjoy using an old 20 gauge Ithica 37 "featherweight" to introduce "macho men" to a little game called "$20 a hole".

[calvin62]

This is my very first post. but what devlcl said is the very same feeling I get when dealing with alot of people. I bought a 12 ga rem 870 brand new when I first started hunting and developed a flinch immediatly, traded that gun for a wingmaster 20 ga and worked that problem out and now take deer almost every year , including this year a doe at 80 yds and a 12 pointer at 40 yds both were killed with the first shot. the size of the gun is less important than were you put that bullet. it seems alot of people try to make up for poor [or no] practice with a bigger gun. also if you read the ballstic charts the right 20 ga sabot slug's have far less drop at 100 yds than a 12 due to the smaller diameter cutting through the air. my hunting group has 2 people with 12's and 5 people with 20's and the 20's take just as many deer per shots fired . I know I rambled a little bit here but if you read [shotgunning for deer by dave hendersen] you will see I know at least a little about what I wrote and probley learn something to. THANKS AND BY THE WAY I'M EATING THAT 12 POINTER AS I WRITE THIS!!

[StevenII]

Nice post.