Any practical reason to buy a 20 gauge shotgun…

[Brandon Breeze]

In short, yes.

 

[Boomhauer]

12 gauge is the shotgun to own, cheapest and readily available ammo. Packs a punch and good spread for all needs. 20 gauge is a lighter recoil, which is nice for younger shooters, new shooters, women, and just people who like shooting with low recoil. I personally have multiple 12 gauge shotguns and am in the market for a .410 because my kids are 8 and below and I’d like them to start shooting shotguns. I’ll probably be in the market for a 20 gauge in a few years.

 

[doggman61]

For clays- if you have a 12 and looking for something just super fun and easy to shoot go 20.

 

[Gawernator]

Nah

 

[recpark99]

A Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol in 20 gauge loaded with slugs or buckshot makes for a decent home defense gun, especially for the recoil sensitive (wife, kids old enough to shoot etc). If your hunting game, a 12 gauge is great for rooster pheasant and ducks/geese. A 20 gauge is great for smaller game like hen pheasants, chukkar, quail, bugs bunny etc. For range use, both are great. Good luck

 

[shroom]

My brother has a bunch of shotguns in 12, 16, 20. The 12's are the ones I definitely enjoy shooting the least for clays.

Looking on ammoseek, 20 and 12 look to be more or less the same price. 16 is more expensive though.

 

[Trapper]

In my opinion, the balance and fit of a shotgun is far more important than 12ga vs 20ga when the intended use is for trap, skeet, sporting clays, or hunting. My recommendation would be to shoot a few rounds of trap with O/U and semiauto shotguns to see what feels best to you.
If you just want something to shoot paper targets at an indoor range then any 12ga pump will work.

 

[DesertDepotArms]

I just got s A300 20ga for some trap and for the kids

 

[Yoteassasin]

Yes it’s true most of the posters likely have no reason to ever buy a 20ga. Well I could say most of the posters likely don’t have a real practical reason to buy any gun. Likely rape spray and a whisle is enough.

But For those who are interested a 20ga swings faster. 20 ga ammo is the exact same price. You don’t kill stationary targets with shotguns . Get a clue

 

[Darqhelmet]

12 gauge is the shotgun to own, cheapest and readily available ammo. Packs a punch and good spread for all needs. 20 gauge is a lighter recoil, which is nice for younger shooters, new shooters, women, and just people who like shooting with low recoil. I personally have multiple 12 gauge shotguns and am in the market for a .410 because my kids are 8 and below and I’d like them to start shooting shotguns. I’ll probably be in the market for a 20 gauge in a few years.

.410 is stupid expensive. I would try to find so light loaded 20 gauge or mini shells

 

[Trapper]

My wife shoots a Browning Silver 26” 20ga. It swings well for her, has been 100% reliable and recoil is soft. She started with a 20ga 870, it was great for hunting but had more recoil than she wanted for shooting trap.

 

[Darqhelmet]

Yes it’s true most of the posters likely have no reason to ever buy a 20ga. Well I could say most of the posters likely don’t have a real practical reason to buy any gun. Likely rape spray and a whisle is enough.

But For those who are interested a 20ga swings faster. 20 ga ammo is the exact same price. You don’t kill stationary targets with shotguns . Get a clue

who pissed in your cereal?

 

[Yoteassasin]

who pissed in your cereal?

I’m not fond of idiotic reasoning .
.”410 is stupid expensive “
For the rest of us with means maybe a .410 is what we want to do … maybe shooting is so easy for us that we want a bigger Challenge
Maybe ……

 

[Darqhelmet]

I’m not fond of idiotic reasoning .
.”410 is stupid expensive “
For the rest of us with means maybe a .410 is what we want to do … maybe shooting is so easy for us that we want a bigger Challenge
Maybe ……

Ah, you’re just angry. Okay, good luck. Hope what ever pissed you off gets better.

 

[RustVendor]

Yes it’s true most of the posters likely have no reason to ever buy a 20ga. Well I could say most of the posters likely don’t have a real practical reason to buy any gun. Likely rape spray and a whisle is enough.

But For those who are interested a 20ga swings faster. 20 ga ammo is the exact same price. You don’t kill stationary targets with shotguns . Get a clue

before you talk you should know I am an avid duck hunter that also goes after mountain quail primarily but every once in a while valley quail but all on public land. Even valley quail barely hold on most of the public land so I have found there's a lot more opportunity at 30-40 yards than there is a 20 yards, especially mountain quail that flush reallll quick. Public land duck hunting, sure you can decoy birds a bit, but mostly you are getting 40 yard opportunities. I load my own steel so I'm very familiar with the ballistics, and I shot 20 gauge the patterns definitely fall off faster with 25% less pellets. If you want to spend 3 bucks a shell on bismuth you can mitigate that. People definitely kill a lot of birds with 20 gauge, even ducks. But I HATE cripples and losing birds. I have a dog but even he isn't fast enough for a duck diving under water where it lands at 60+ yards away. The fact is that in most circumstances 12 gauge is a better choice and more ethical. If you get lots of short opportunities with birds that hold well, I'm jealous. My 12 gauge Franchi is under 7 lbs and doesn't swing any slower than a 20 gauge under 7 lbs because if they weigh the same they "swing" the same. I have definitely entertained the idea of the Benellli ultralight 12 gauge that's just under 6lbs. Being semi auto the recoil is negligible yet it weighs less than most 20 gauge.

If you look at Sportsmans they have about 25 options for 12 gauge shells at 9.99 and 3 options for 20 gauge. I definitely see deals on 12 gauge much more often because there's more choices. as I said, it tends to cost more even though there's less material involved in making it.

 

[Jimi Jah]

Got turkeys?

 

[Trapper]

I took a turkey this spring with a 12ga 3” tungsten #7 shot at over 65 yards. At that distance the pellets still had enough energy to break the wing bone and dropped him in his tracks.
Federal steel 410 costs $20 a box. I have a Remington 48 that’s as old as I am but in much better shape and enjoy the challenge of chasing rabbits and quail with a 410. It’s more of an opportunity to take my shotgun for a walk in the woods and occasionally I get a bird or bunny.
The majority of my trips to the trap range and bird hunting is with a 20ga O/U.

 

[Boomhauer]

.410 is stupid expensive. I would try to find so light loaded 20 gauge or mini shells

So I had always thought that as well and for the most part it is true, but doing my weekly ammo scroll through a favorite site of mine I noticed .410 shells at about 28 cpr and figured what the hell and bought 2k. So I guess I’m in the .410 game now. Honestly always thought the shells looked cool and I still have never shot one.

 

[Boomhauer]

I just got s A300 20ga for some trap and for the kids

A300s are great guns all around, I think they are the best bang for buck in semi autos. I have one in 12 gauge and my buddy has one in 20 gauge. We take new shooters and have them start on the 20 and then have them try the 12.

 

[Yoteassasin]

before you talk you should know I am an avid duck hunter that also goes after mountain quail primarily but every once in a while valley quail but all on public land. Even valley quail barely hold on most of the public land so I have found there's a lot more opportunity at 30-40 yards than there is a 20 yards, especially mountain quail that flush reallll quick. Public land duck hunting, sure you can decoy birds a bit, but mostly you are getting 40 yard opportunities. I load my own steel so I'm very familiar with the ballistics, and I shot 20 gauge the patterns definitely fall off faster with 25% less pellets. If you want to spend 3 bucks a shell on bismuth you can mitigate that. People definitely kill a lot of birds with 20 gauge, even ducks. But I HATE cripples and losing birds. I have a dog but even he isn't fast enough for a duck diving under water where it lands at 60+ yards away. The fact is that in most circumstances 12 gauge is a better choice and more ethical. If you get lots of short opportunities with birds that hold well, I'm jealous. My 12 gauge Franchi is under 7 lbs and doesn't swing any slower than a 20 gauge under 7 lbs because if they weigh the same they "swing" the same. I have definitely entertained the idea of the Benellli ultralight 12 gauge that's just under 6lbs. Being semi auto the recoil is negligible yet it weighs less than most 20 gauge.

If you look at Sportsmans they have about 25 options for 12 gauge shells at 9.99 and 3 options for 20 gauge. I definitely see deals on 12 gauge much more often because there's more choices. as I said, it tends to cost more even though there's less material involved in making it.

FUD !
I hunt most upland game with a 20 and 28ga Grouse , mountain quail , valley quail , chuckar , Huns . Not a singe farmed bird in 10 years . And not a single serious hunter I know that chases these birds hunts with a 12 . They are heavy . Shells are bulky . And less efficient . It’s cute that you think a 12 ga is more ethical … real cute