Twelve to twenty

[Joe180]

Hi guys, due to a shoulder problem I am moving to a grade five 325 twenty bore , any recommendations for game and clay cartridges.(what’s popular out there ?) save me doing any testing 😜

[CaptC]

Eley 25 gram game will take care of the highest birds. Don't go for heavy 30 - 32 gram loads as the recoil can be the same as your 12 bore.

[Dasher]

Not what your really asking but, I've been there and done that for the same reason. Not worth the change in calibre in my opinion,  better off trying to improve the gun fit or gun weight. I bet you will still be shooting 21gram cartridges or similar which will be cheaper in 12b than 20b. 

[Welshpestcontroller]

Eley Zenith 30g 5’s for game.

[Dave at kelton]

Eley eco steel are excellent, used them last season, see my post,  otherwise EleyVIP

[Smudger687]

Hull Pro20 24 gram for a clay cartridge. Supposedly 5% antimony which is rare for 20 gauge cartridges. 

[Westley]

Having gone down this road some time back, due to a shoulder injury, I bought a 32"  barrelled 20 bore o/u weighing 6 1/2 lbs. I used 25 gram RC 6's which were excellent.  However, I have a 2 1/2" English gun which weighs 6lbs 2ozs. and using 28 gram Fiocchi game 6's, I found I shot a lot better. There is a far greater range of cartridges in 12 bore, something that seems to back up my thinking, along with the fact my 20 bore has been for sale for 6 months without any interest  !

From the recoil point of view, stick to 28 gram game loads through a LIGHTWEIGHT 12 bore game gun and there is no noticeable difference, plus the cartridges are cheaper. Stick with a maximum of 24 gram loads on clays or even 21 gram, both will break any clays that you shoot at.

[Joe180]

I’ve already bought the 20bore, the only problem with my 12bore perazzi it weighs 9lbs

[Johnny English]

Eley CT20 24 gram for clays, lovely smooth cartridge and nearly the cheapest going. Any of the hull or eley game cartridges are excellent.

[Charliedog]

Tried all the popular 20b clay carts and the Hull Pro twenty in 21g or 24g (plastic or fibre) were clear winners from a shooting perspective, bit pricey only negative

[oldypigeonpopper]

10 hours ago, Joe180 said:

I’ve already bought the 20bore, the only problem with my 12bore perazzi it weighs 9lbs

Hello, 9llbs 🤔🙄 is that a browning 325 ? I must say it's a long time ago that I used my 101 20 Winchester but never felt under gunned clay and rough shooting and very little recoil, I used the lightest load on clays and as Paul mentioned Eley 25 gram 5/6 shot will sort out any game shooting 

Edited July 4, 2022 by oldypigeonpopper

[Joe180]

6 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, 9llbs 🤔🙄 is that a browning 325 ? I must say it's a long time ago that I used my 101 20 Winchester but never felt under gunned clay and rough shooting and very little recoil, I used the lightest load on clays and as Paul mentioned Eley 25 gram 5/6 shot will sort out any game shooting 

No my 12bore perazzi weighs 9lb, my 325 20 bore is 61/2lb the arm I am having problems with is my left ,(I shoot from right shoulder).

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 hour ago, Joe180 said:

No my 12bore perazzi weighs 9lb, my 325 20 bore is 61/2lb the arm I am having problems with is my left ,(I shoot from right shoulder).

Hello, I meant the Perazzi at 9llb, my 101 weighed 6llb , what length are the 325 barrels, ?

[Joe180]

1 hour ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, I meant the Perazzi at 9llb, my 101 weighed 6llb , what length are the 325 barrels, ?

325 are 28” perazzi is 32 exact weight is 8lb 12oz

[oldypigeonpopper]

Just now, Joe180 said:

325 are 28” perazzi is 32 exact weight is 8lb 12oz

Ok would adding a bit of weight to the stock on the 325 ? Better balance for left arm

[Joe180]

5 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Ok would adding a bit of weight to the stock on the 325 ? Better balance for left arm

With a few pain killers the 325 shoots great and is ideal ,and don’t want to alter it. Just hope the shoulder replacement is a success.Thanks for the interest.

[oldypigeonpopper]

9 minutes ago, Joe180 said:

With a few pain killers the 325 shoots great and is ideal ,and don’t want to alter it. Just hope the shoulder replacement is a success.Thanks for the interest.

Ok good luck 👍

[Old Boggy]

I was out yesterday after a few pigeons with my 20 bore Highlander. I normally use 28 gm fibre wad RC Sipes 6s but picked up the wrong cartridge bag which was full of RC20 24g steel shot 5s that I used when asked to use steel shot when shooting over peas a few years ago. I only noticed my mistake after getting one or two but it also proved that I can miss with whatever cartridge I use. The ones I did hit were dead in the air, so perhaps steel do pattern slightly tighter than lead, but I`m not inclined to get too wound up about the technicalities, just go out to enjoy myself and find that if I point the gun in the right direction most cartridges will do the job. 

I certainly didn`t notice any difference in the recoil between the steel and my usual Sipes or sometimes Eley VIPs.

OB

[TIGHTCHOKE]

4 minutes ago, Old Boggy said:

I was out yesterday after a few pigeons with my 20 bore Highlander. I normally use 28 gm fibre wad RC Sipes 6s but picked up the wrong cartridge bag which was full of RC20 24g steel shot 5s that I used when asked to use steel shot when shooting over peas a few years ago. I only noticed my mistake after getting one or two but it also proved that I can miss with whatever cartridge I use. The ones I did hit were dead in the air, so perhaps steel do pattern slightly tighter than lead, but I`m not inclined to get too wound up about the technicalities, just go out to enjoy myself and find that if I point the gun in the right direction most cartridges will do the job. 

I certainly didn`t notice any difference in the recoil between the steel and my usual Sipes or sometimes Eley VIPs.

Now we just need a few thousand more people to realise this.

[Old Boggy]

1 minute ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Now we just need a few thousand more people to realise this.

And not a red cartridge to be seen 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

1 hour ago, Old Boggy said:

And not a red cartridge to be seen 

Yet!   

[hawkfanz]

my beretta 12g is sat waiting to be sold,,,ive totally gone over to 20g,ive used them for about 10 years but decided to ditch the 12g,i like the handling of the 20g currently useing a fair jubilee on pigeons,i shoot just as many as useing 12g,my crow gun is now my 20g armsan and again my scores havent gone down by useing smaller gauge,28g/25g 6 fiocchi in the auto,and 24g homeloads in the o/u.

[Old Boggy]

21 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

And not a red cartridge to be seen 

However, for any 16 bore fans out there Clever now do a steel cartridge and it`s ......... wait for it.........RED 

No excuse to miss now then TC 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

No excuse to miss now then TC.

 

Send one of your guns up here then, I will get some of those shells and test the set up.