light weight 12 or standard 20

[washerboy]

Sorry if this has been done to death

 

As my first owned shotgun(shot 12 bores, 410s on beaters days, friends guns all legal etc)

i would like a gun that is light to walk about with, i have shot a friends aya yoaman sxs.

would i notice this difference in performance between a 12 and a 20 bore, rabbits, pigeons odd crow, magpie .

can a 20 bore handle bigger loads for the odd close range fox.

 

thanks in advance

[figgy]

Get a light weight 12 and use whatever carts you need for the job not quite the same choice in 20 bore the 12 is popular for being an all rounder.

 

Figgy

[cosmo]

i was a gamekeeper for about 15 years and still know a lot of keepers.and off the top of my head i cannot think of any that use a 12 bore as there main shot gun they all use the 20 bore.i have killed loads of foxes with one with whatever cartridge is in it.

Edited January 4, 2013 by cosmo

[escortmagnum999]

iv just bought a 20 bore over and under, it seems to kill everything at the ranges the 12 bore would. The only thing i would say is they pattern tighter than a 12 bore. Great for walk about shooting, lighter and no massive recoil issues. I couldnt recommend one enough. The only thing you might struggle with is wildfowling/big loads, but thats not really what 20 bores are for. See if you can try one? I put a side by side in part ex to buy mine and i dont regret it one bit. I use mine for game, clays and walking about, i dont even realise im carrying it half the time.

 

sorry for going on abit, your best bet would be to try one out a few times and see how it goes.

[woodcock1]

I dont really understand the fascination with 20 guage guns. I have two 12 guage which are lighter than most 20g guns at 6lb, my cartridges are cheaper and have a vast range to choose from, my patterns are the same or better than a 20 firing equal weight shells plus i have the choice of firing heavier shells for duck fox or whatever. There is a far greater choice of 12g guns and are cheaper. The only advantage I could think of would be there are some small 20g guns which are more suitable for ladies or kids. Why limit yourself for no reason?

[sitsinhedges]

I dont really understand the fascination with 20 guage guns. I have two 12 guage which are lighter than most 20g guns at 6lb, my cartridges are cheaper and have a vast range to choose from, my patterns are the same or better than a 20 firing equal weight shells plus i have the choice of firing heavier shells for duck fox or whatever. There is a far greater choice of 12g guns and are cheaper. The only advantage I could think of would be there are some small 20g guns which are more suitable for ladies or kids. Why limit yourself for no reason?

 

Because physical size matters as much as weight. Some light 12s can feel flimsy or still bulky. I own a 12gauge 391 light which tips the scales at 6 1/2lbs and a 20gauge 391 which tips the scales at 6lb but the real difference is the smaller frame of the 20gauge, it's just nicer to walk about with and the difference though small is significant against my light 12gauge version.

[magman]

i was a gamekeeper for about 15 years and still know a lot of keepers.and off the top of my head i cannot think of any that use a 12 bore as there main shot gun they all use the 20 bore.i have killed loads of foxes with one with whatever cartridge is in it.

 

Find that hard to believe on a shoot day maybe but when on there day to day checks i bet they carry a 12g and more than likely an sec 1

Edited January 4, 2013 by magman

[washerboy]

The gun i used was a aya sxs, no idea how much it weighed in at.

[corvid wings]

the 20g throws fewer shot which will improve your accuracy in the long run ,it can also do everything a 12g can.,i also find them more pointable and lighter to carry .less recoil and less noise therefore reducing fatigue .

Edited January 4, 2013 by corvid wings

[JBS]

the 20g throws fewer shot which will improve your accuracy in the long run ,it can also do everything a 12g can.,i also find them more pointable and lighter to carry .

 

Shot count depends on weight and size. Gauge has nothing to do with it. 28gm of six is 28gm of six

[spanj]

the 20g throws fewer shot which will improve your accuracy in the long run ,it can also do everything a 12g can.,i also find them more pointable and lighter to carry .

 

12g beretta ultralight 26" barrels weighs in at 5lb 2 oz, I've put allsorts through mine up to 34g carts (obviously more recoil is felt)

[woodcock1]

Felt recoil is relative to cartridge load and speed and nothing to do with guage, and as stated does not "throw fewer shot" if equivalent shells are used. ie 28gm of 71/2 through 12g is identical to 20g.

[washerboy]

Back on Track, would i find any of them easyier to shoot

[fortune]

the 20g throws fewer shot which will improve your accuracy in the long run ,it can also do everything a 12g can

How will it improve accuracy? Generally there is less shot in the air and if you miss you've missed. “Never mind. have another go”. “You might hit it this time. Or maybe not”.

I shoot 28 >> 20>> 16 and 12 and whichever one I use the target generally falls down. If it doesn't fall then I haven’t put the lead in the right place it’s as simple as that. He will never learn how to shoot by missing.

Edited January 5, 2013 by fortune

[corvid wings]

Shot count depends on weight and size. Gauge has nothing to do with it. 28gm of six is 28gm of six

think you might find there are fewer shot in a 20g cartridge of say 28gm 6 or 7 1/2 or any shot size for that matter ...you often find people who start there shooting with a 410 and can competently knock down birds or clays often turn out to be phenomenal shots when moving on to 20g or 12g. Edited January 5, 2013 by corvid wings

[corvid wings]

for want of a better description shooting with fewer shot teaches you to be "bob on " you haven't quite got the leeway of a 12g .if you have never missed plenty of birds you ain't shot at plenty of birds .

Edited January 5, 2013 by corvid wings

[hawkfanz]

20g,my favorite cant beat em.28gram of no6 works with whatever caliber

Edited January 5, 2013 by hawkfanz

[EdSolomons]

28g of 6 is28g of 6! Doesn't matter the size of tube you store it in!

[Paul223]

Shot count depends on weight and size. Gauge has nothing to do with it. 28gm of six is 28gm of six

Indeed it is,

 

worth noting that 28 gram of 6 through a 20 bore will not pattern the same as 28 gram of 6 through a 12 bore of the same choke, because the bore is smaller there will be more shot in contact with the tube walls and therefore more deformed shot, which will tend to drift and become 'flyers', so a slighty less dense shot pattern from the 20

 

Felt recoil is relative to cartridge load and speed and nothing to do with guage, and as stated does not "throw fewer shot" if equivalent shells are used. ie 28gm of 71/2 through 12g is identical to 20g.

the biggest single influence on recoil would be the weight of gun firing the shot, every action has an equal and opposite reation, a heavy gun will travel less backwards than a light gun

 

think you might find there are fewer shot in a 20g cartridge of say 28gm 6 or 7 1/2 or any shot size for that matter ...you often find people who start there shooting with a 410 and can competently knock down birds or clays often turn out to be phenomenal shots when moving on to 20g or 12g.

there may be fewwer grams of shot but for weight for weight cartridges of the same size shot the number of shot would be the same

Edited January 5, 2013 by Paul223

[wildfowler.250]

Haven't read the comments but I really rate the 20 bore with 28g 6's and see very little disadvantage compared to the 12. A light 12 can also be punchy with bigger loads

[Cranfield]

I own a lightweight 12 bore and a lightweight 20 bore, as has been said 28gms (the most I use in the 20) No 6 kills most thing cleanly at the appropriate range.

 

I love using my 20 bore, but the cartridge differential cost is not pleasant , if you are shooting a lot.

You also rarely see "deals" on 20 bore cartridges, as opposed to 12 bore.

[corvid wings]

"i was assuming" we were talking about cartridge of the same specifications when i said the 20g will throw fewer shot at your target. the 12g throws approximately 28% more shot which in turn increases recoil if other factors( gun type,and weight, mv), etc are equal ,but why would any body think otherwise

[hillmouse]

A 12 and a 20 will both fire EXACTLY the same weight of shot if loaded with a cartridge of equal weight. Does a 20 bore mysteriously evaporate 28% of its shot load???

 

If you shoot equal loads through equally designated chokes then a 20 bore will lose slightly more pellets from the pattern due to deformity created by the longer shot column.

 

If you have the choke regulated, or fiddle with varying degrees of choke designation (specialist chokes often go up in 1/8's from cylinder to full) then it is possible to achieve better results.

 

The ratio of 96:1 used to be the commonly accepted rule of thumb for gun to cartridge weight to achieve acceptable levels of recoil. A 6lb.gun for a 1oz, load in old money.

 

To answer to OP. I have used a 20bore for 23 years now and shot everything on the UK list with them.

 

I am also a gamekeeper and the 20, 28 or .410 see far more daylight than the Section 1 12g semi ever does.

[EdSolomons]

Same spec shell out a smaller tube = same shot down range, whichever way you try and slice it!

[hillmouse]

and the odd flier always increases the odds of pulling off a flukey one when all else fails