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My old stand by too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hickory
But I did buy a 20 ga express with slug barrel and reg barrel tubed. But it away on lone for the second time and I have yet to take it out hunting. Learn a good lesson, money and college don't make gun care smart people, I did to there car what they did to that like new 20 ga they have my hide. Got it back burn oily stained. Good thing I buy them to use them or lend.
I have the 311 in .410 and it was my 'go to' bunny gun when I hunted a lot. The 311 is built like a tank and at least for me holds well. Of those two, I would get the Savage.
That is good to know. I think I will make the leap then. I know my Mossberg 12 gauge will do it, but I always wanted a double barrel shotgun, and figured a 20 gauge might be a little better for small game. I just wanted to see if that was the general consensusQuote:
Originally Posted by Hawks Feather
The best answer if one has the funds to do it is to have one of each gauge if you do the same type of hunting and shooting at different ranges. I voted 12 gauge for all around needs but a 20 in that same style gun would also work if the distance it is needed becomes closer.
By that I mean if you are shooting ducks in late season and they are flying in the stratosphere late in the season then I want the shot load that the 12 can handle. The same applies to shooting deer with buckshot and other large dangerous game. For up close, easy to kill game then give me a good 20. Later David
Given that information, I would get the 20ga Savage over the Stoeger. I have the 311 in 12ga, and while it may be a bit heavier than a friends Stoeger, I also think it is better built and expect it to last longer, even with more use.Quote:
Originally Posted by Electric88
I think you need to shop a bit more as there are a lot of S/S and O/U shotgun models out there. And many of them will beat your two options for aesthetics and hunting. You definitely get what you pay for in a double barrel shotgun.
For me if I'm not using a 12 then the 410 it is.
I seem to remember reading an article awhile back concerning shotgun chamber adapters and it showed that during their testing that using a 20 gauge or .410 shell in a 12-gauge barrel did not noticeably open up the shot pattern or affect the velocity. As such, if I was wanting a side-by-side shotgun, I would probably just go with a 12-gauge and if I needed to shoot smaller gauge shells, just get an appropriate sized chamber adapter.
Match the gun/gauge to what you are doing.
I voted for 20 ga. because I prefer it if all else is equal. Quicker pointing, lighter gun.
When it comes to heavy work, give me a Ten ga. magnum.
Just off that .......... make it a 12 .........
But when it's suitable, make it a twenty!
Three 44s
When I was a kid with a 20 gauge, I couldn't save my pennies fast enough to get a 12, now all I have is 12 gauges and watching for good deals on 20's. lol
I have always thought a sxs 16 would be the ticket for birds.
Just a thought, if you've never shot a sxs you might try to get a little practice with one first. I'm a deadly wing shot with most anything you pull out of the closet....except a twice barrel. Maybe something about my eyes. I never see the barrel when I shoot, just the bird I'm shooting. Don't even like a ventilated rib. But with a sxs all I can see is barrel. Like I said, maybe just me.
Take what Hogtaimer had to say as gospel truth! I grew up shooting a Fox Sterlingworth 20 Ga for upland Birds and it took me a long time to adapt to any other configuration! When it comes to upland Bird hunting my favorite is neither a 12 or a 20. I've got an LC Smith DHE 28 guage SxS and a CZ in the same chambering that gets called on when small game involved. NOTHING beats them when it's Quail or Gouse you are after!
I shoot left handed and prefer a sxs above all else. Till I finally got a sxs it was a 25 dollar single shot.
When I was 12 I couldn't wait to get a 20, when I turned 20 I couldn't wait to get a 12, snuck in a 16 at 40, but shoot a .410 now at 60+.
I don't hunt duck or geese, but I do hunt Pheasant, quail and grouse and rabbit. When I was younger I started with my Dad's old 12 ga stevens pump..more an artillery piece best suited for waterfowl shooting from a blind. I stayed with 12 ga. but bought a Winchester Winlite which weighed less and was quicker in the field. A few years back I got my hands on a 20ga x 3" bolt action and have used it instead of the Winlite. I think the 20 ga. is better for my hunting needs. It is easy to carry, points quick and has the plenty of power. Although I haven't used it for deer I think the 20 would be good with slugs or buckshot.
the shotgun I keep at the back door is a .410 X 3". I have used for raccoon (#4 shot) and with slugs for deer at 25 yds.
I have a pump 12 ga, and a bolt 20 ga. I voted 20 ga because it is lighter, and handles nicely. With the 20 ga I have won quite a few hams etc at turkey shoots, not so many with the 12 ga.
luvtn
I grew up using pumps in 12 Gauge, but an injury while deployed has forced me to lighten up considerably in the field. First it was a Browning lightweight Auto-5 in 20 Gauge and now it's a Browning Featherweight O/U in 20 Gauge. To my surprise, I am making the same shots at the same ranges as I did with the 12 Gauge shotguns using the 20 gauge. As I can get on target faster with the lighter shotgun, I seem to center up those birds much better with the shot cloud and the ability to choose which choke for the shot with a double using the safety-barrel selector (if equiped) or double triggers is a big help when hunting over either pointers or flushing dogs due to their different style of hunting.
I still use a 12 gauge Remington 870 in the duck blind with steel shot in heavy waterfowl loads, but I don't have to carry it all day in that situation.
My funnest gauge? A Remington 1100 in 410. It's not a double, but it's the bomb on doves and quail.
In the end, the best shotgun for you will be the one that fits you the best with your hunting cloths on. That will ensure your success in the field.
As you can see by the photo below, I'm not adverse to your preference for a good S/S double barrel either. My bird dogs have really never given a damn which shotgun I use, just so I hit the birds that they find!
They both work fine. I use 12 as it is more common.
I'm in the 12 ga. camp.
I was talked into a Remington 870 featherweight 20 ga. about 40 years ago. I shot it a bit but found it pretty limiting with heavy shot loads, buckshot and slugs. I read all sorts of comments about 20 ga. being easier to shoot and 20 ga. slugs being just as effective as 12 ga. slugs but...
as has been said, you can load down a 12 ga. much easier than loading up a 20 ga. and with sabot slugs I have trouble seeing how 20 ga. is better. As good maybe, but better? Just opinion on my part as I was not satisfied with Foster slug performance in my 20 ga. Rifled guns open up a whole new area for slugs though.
Certainly when considering buckshot a 12 ga. wins over a 20 and 10 wins over a 12.
The 12 ga. does everything I want where the 20 didn't.
Different strokes.
Longbow
12 gauge.
I seem to be genetically wired to be a rifleman and a handgunner. It seems I can go to a museum or the fine gun room of a Cabela's and walk right past a rack of engraved and inlaid Holland or Westley Richards shotguns without them even tripping my radar. Give me the same workmanship on something with grooves in the barrel and I start drooling. Therefore my shotguns seem to be a purely utilitarian sort of thing, and as such it's more about logistics than anything else. The variety in ammo is to be found in the 12 gauge section. My 20 is for the wife or for teaching kids - I don't really shoot it anymore.