Silma 20Bore O/U any good?

[Bussta]

I'm seriously thinking of joing the dark side and transforming from my s/s 12bore to an o/u 20. Read a recent article in sporting gun about the Silma 20 o/u and it's sounds prertty good at £500 brand new, has anyone heard/seen/used one off these and how do you think it compares to the Baretta Silver pigeon, or Mcnab lowlander?

[Rob0]

I think it would be fair to say in that a 20 bore can be a nice gun to shoot but i think that generally these guns are best used by experienced shots (you may fit in this catagory then thats fine) or ones that have gradually made the change i think for the lest than experienced shot the 20 can sometimes hinder things a little and with a pokier load be quite uncomfortable generaly if you can shoot with a twelve then do so as for the silma they generaly seem to fit into the macnab/lincoln price range and for the price seem ok but as in life you get what you pay for and the beretta would be a price increase but you are raising the stakes a little..hope this helps..Rob

[Bussta]

Thanks

,

 

I keep getting told that 20B has potentially more killing power than 12B as the pattern is more concentrated than a 12 therefor hits with a punch instead of tickle? - I presume that say if you shoot 28g 6's through a 12B and 28g 6's through a 20 then the 20B would have a tighter pattern than the 12?

 

I am fairly new to the in's and out's of it all as have only been shooting with my grandfathers 12B - not bigging myself up, but I am quite a shot on the shoot and tend to hit most things.

 

The reason for wanting a 20B is a0 to be a bit different, to have a lighter gun and to know that if I hit a phesant I'm more likely going to kil it than make it a runner - supose though you have to be a more confident shot as you havn't got as much of a spread pattern?

[Hammergun]

The tightness of the pattern has nothing to do with the bore size, but rather the choke. With a comparable choked 12 and 20 bore, you are less rather than more likely to kill cleanly (as there's less pellets).

 

You need to find out what the chokes are on your present gun.

 

Pellet velocity is mainly due to the type and load of the cartridge and nothing to do with the gun construction. Different cartridges contain different types and power of propellant, which all affect pellet velocity. Competition cartridges will hit differently to game cartridges as they have a different composition - game pellets are soft and deform, competition pellets are hard for smashing clays.

 

The reason for choosing a 20 bore is due to weight alone. You need to be more skilled to use it. A 16 bore is a bit lighter but you wouldn't notice the difference as much as with a 20 bore.

 

Don't forget you have less choice of cartridges and they are more expensive if you get anything other than a 12 bore.

 

At the end of it all, a shotgun is just a pair of tubes fastened together with a mechanism and a bit of wood at the end. You need something that is right for you - i.e. that you shoot well and are comfortable with, and to a certain extent, like the look of.