Any practical reason to buy a 20 gauge shotgun…

[Yoteassasin]

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.

I shot 3 turkeys with my 410 all within 20yds all on public land . My kids shot 7 more birds all with 20ga . I reload bismuth for my 410 . It’s a blast .. literally

 

[Darqhelmet]

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.

Nice, it’s almost double the cost of 20/12 every time I go to buy it. Still have my break action .410 from when I was a little kid, just don’t shoot it often anymore.

 

[RustVendor]

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

cool story

 

[Yoteassasin]

Moral of the story buy whatever gun you fancy for whatever reason . All guns are fun.
12ga are for simps lol

 

[Sheepdog1968]

My wife strongly dislikes the home defense 12 gauge we have. Too much recoil and even with a 12-3/4” LOP hard for her to reach the foreend for pumping the shotgun. My daughter, who is just starting to get old enough where she should learn how to use a shot gun will have the same problem. Mossberg makes a line of 20 gauge shotguns that i think are called “youth” or somethign like that. Shorter LOP and forend closer for pumping but in 20 gauge. I could easily replace the 12 gauge in the house and go with this. I would in no way feel under armed.

If you want to follow the 12 gauge logic many folks espouse more is better, then why aren’t they shooting 10 gauge shotguns? Don’t get me wrong, right now I am content with a 12 gauge and have probably 20K or 25K worth of rounds through mine. I just don’t see an issue if someone wants a 20 or 16 gauge shotgun. Shells costing more is the only real issue but that isn’t the end of the world for most folks.

 

[HarleyLowRiderST]

Moral of the story buy whatever gun you fancy for whatever reason . All guns are fun.
12ga are for simps lol

Almost a nice recovery . . . I used to think Calguns went off the rail quick before some of these threads.

If I already have 2.22s, 2PCCs, a lever action and an AR 15?

OP you asked any practical reason to buy a 20ga. Depends on what your use case is.
If you want a clay gun or softer shooter for kids/wives maybe. But then again a dedicated 12ga semi-auto sporting gun shoots fairly soft with low recoil ammo.
For Home defense I would go 12ga all day.

For hunting I defer to the two guys above who shoot tiny tiny birds that seem to duck and cover a lot.

 

[RustVendor]

My wife strongly dislikes the home defense 12 gauge we have. Too much recoil and even with a 12-3/4” LOP hard for her to reach the foreend for pumping the shotgun. My daughter, who is just starting to get old enough where she should learn how to use a shot gun will have the same problem. Mossberg makes a line of 20 gauge shotguns that i think are called “youth” or somethign like that. Shorter LOP and forend closer for pumping but in 20 gauge. I could easily replace the 12 gauge in the house and go with this. I would in no way feel under armed.

If you want to follow the 12 gauge logic many folks espouse more is better, then why aren’t they shooting 10 gauge shotguns? Don’t get me wrong, right now I am content with a 12 gauge and have probably 20K or 25K worth of rounds through mine. I just don’t see an issue if someone wants a 20 or 16 gauge shotgun. Shells costing more is the only real issue but that isn’t the end of the world for most folks.

I don't have an issue if someone wants to use 20ga either I just pointed out that 12 is better for steel hunting loads. Coyote man is fine with shooting boutique 3 dollars a shot heavy metals so sub gauges are fine for him. If we could shoot lead I would use a 20ga more often for sure. To your situation though, think about the elements of 12 vs 20 and why you would choose it. If you want a compact gun that also exists in 12 guage, the mossberg makes the same exact adjustable length of pull shotgun in 20 and 12 and they weigh the same. If you want less recoil, simply getting a 20 gauge doesn't solve that because if you are shooting defensive loads out of a pump, 20 gauge also sucks to shoot, it would really only be the lightest target loads that would be significantly less in recoil. I don't even like shooting target loads out of a 12 gauge pump unless it's heavy like the benelli super Nova that has the buffered stock. If recoil is an issue the real choice is just to go semi auto because a semi auto 12 gauge in any load has less recoil than a 20 gauge pump or an over under. I've shot the benneli utralight in 12 with 3" 2s and it's it's very similar in recoil to a 20 gauge over under with standard 7/8oz trget loads. The Franchis, Benellis and Berettas are all reliable these days there's definitely no inherent reliability advantage to a cheap pump gun. My mossberg and Remington 870 pumps were the only guns I've ever had feeding issues with, my franchi and Beretta auto loaders have never had a problem. By far the biggest issue I've ever seen with beginners is them forgetting to pump for a follow up shot. 20 gauge absolutely works for home defense but you do have to consider why you would choose it because a 12 is still likely a better choice for ammo variety if nothing else, for instance you are limited on the size of buckshot if you want to run 00, I think you can only get 20 gauge in 2s. I don't really care what other people do but these are the technical aspects of the choices and why I personally don't find a lot of value in 20ga, even when I'm shooting with women or children.

 

[momin]

Almost a nice recovery . . . I used to think Calguns went off the rail quick before some of these threads.


OP you asked any practical reason to buy a 20ga. Depends on what your use case is.
If you want a clay gun or softer shooter for kids/wives maybe. But then again a dedicated 12ga semi-auto sporting gun shoots fairly soft with low recoil ammo.
For Home defense I would go 12ga all day.

For hunting I defer to the two guys above who shoot tiny tiny birds that seem to duck and cover a lot.

Thanks, everyone. I want to buy a shotgun but I’m not sure it would offer much more for home defense than the rifles and pistols I already have. I guess I’m trying to justify another purchase