10 gauge?

O

OKRattler

Well-known member
How many of y'all hunt or have hunted with a 10 gauge shotgun? What kind do you have and do you feel like it's an advantage over a 3 1/2" 12 gauge? I've only ever shot one which is an old double barreled 10 gauge a buddy of mine has. It's got less recoil than my 12 gauge using 3 1/2" loads but it's also heavier. I wouldn't mind having one but I honestly don't know that I'd be much better off with a 10 than I am with a 12 gauge.

What are your thoughts? Also what are some good 10 gauges that are available?
 
I have owned many and am down to two. A browning gold NWTF 23" camo and a Charles Daly side by side from the late 1800's. They only thing I use my browning for is turkey hunting. For coyotes I use my beretta a390 with 3" lead BB loads. 10's are heavy, she'll options are limited and expensive. I can say it hits harder than any 12 guage 3 or 3.5" load. I shot a turkey a few years back at about 35 yards and it ripped the whole back of its skin off. It was skinned from behind its wings all the way to its neck. I paid $1200 for it back 90/91' and rarely use mine anymore. I've owned a 30" gold that was awesome for waterfowl and also the cheap, browning pumps that will rip your shoulder off. The semi autos spring is extremely heavy duty and makes my gold kick as ligh as a 3" 12 gauge load. The semi shotgun recoils up instead of back like the pump. It's a pleasure to shoot.
 
Last edited:
I have used a Browning Gold 10 gauge for many years. I use it predator calling, turkey and waterfowl. The Browning Gold is about a pound {or just a little over} lighter than the Remington SP-10. The Browning has an aluminum receiver, the Remington has a steel one. They are both very reliable shotguns. I didn't want to carry around the extra pound and a half of the Remington and I was a little concerned about feeling the extra recoil, but honestly I believe the Browning kicks less. Maybe it's the recoil pad or the stock dynamics, but it feels less to me.
As far as the advantage of a 10ga. over a 3.5" 12 ga. you have to consider what the 3.5 12 is for. it was developed as a way to get enough payload weight in a 12 gauge with steel shot. It does get the job of that done, but at a cost of the best possible pattern for that shot charge.
The 10 gauge is a whole other world of patterns and shooting long range, especially with lead shot. One thing I want to be clear on...when it comes to waterfowl vs. predator ammo...you will feel a lot more recoil with lead shot. A 2 1/2 ounce charge of lead will let you know it on both ends, but it's not so bad that it is not going to be worth the extra power and range on predators. I definitely reccomend you get a 10 ga. and I also suggest you reload for it.
 
All I know about the one my buddy has is it was made in Spain and says Kassnar on it. Not sure on the spelling but I think that's right.

The day he and I and another buddy went sandhill crane huntin he was the only one that did any good. I was shooting a 12 gauge loaded with 3 1/2" shells and my buddy was shooting 3" in his 12 gauge. We didn't even hurt those birds that I could tell. The 10 gauge did a way better job. So it felt like the 10 gauge made a noticeable amount of difference. Outside of that I don't have any other experience with it. My buddy says he's killed coyotes out past 60 yards with that 10 gauge and they just dropped stone dead.

I figured if I got one it'd be between the Browning Gold or the Remington SP-10. Although I gotta say a big side by side 10 gauge is pretty dang sweet. When you're packing one of those suckers you know you've got some serious firepower. I don't know how good a quality the Kassnar double barrel 10 gauges are but they're awesome either way.
 
Last edited:
I've stone dead dropped yotes past 60 with lead classic bb and HD BBs shot with 3" 12 gauge loads. I broke both rear legs on one at 108 yards last year with HD BB. I had to walk up and finish it off. Just depends on the choke. Ive dropped a duck or two close to a 100 yards with a pattern master in my 30" browning 10 gauge...I'm sure it was luck. The browning is the way to go if you pull the trigger.
 
Last edited:
I am a big fan of the 10 ga. but two things jump out at me .....

How much gun do you want to walk into a stand with?

How is a 10 ga. going to work on close action?

If you are happy packing that much gun and longer shots are more common for you then I would suggest the Mighty Ten!

Best regards

Three44s
 
Back in the 1980's and 1990's I hunted geese and coyotes with a Ithaca Mag 10. I sold it when we had to start shooting steel shot at waterfowl. It was fun to shoot but I didn't miss it after I sold it.

If you reload shotgun shells you can reload HW13 BB shot or TSS shot in 12 ga 3" or 3-1/2" and it will work better on coyotes than any 10 ga lead factory loads will.

When I was younger I didn't have any problems shooting the bigger, heavier and longer Ithaca Mag 10 but I could tell I wasn't as quick with it as I was with my 12 ga 3" Rem 1100.
 
I hunted with two Ithaca Auto Mag 10ga, and a Browning Gold 10 ga.

If you are starting from scratch, then heavy shot in a 3" 12ga is the way to go.
 
The 10 gauge market is and has been extremely soft since the introduction of the 3.5" 12 gauge so you can find some really good deals on them used. The ammo is more expensive as well. I have a box of 25 wing shot lead BBs I bought about 8 years ago for $39 from midway. To bad they don't make them anymore.I've seen used browing golds for as low as $550 on and off the last few years and the should busting pumps for $300/$350. There were three or four browning 10g pumps on the used rack last time I went to the LGS. I'd tell you auto for lighter recoiling.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: DultimatpredatorThe 10 gauge market is and has been extremely soft since the introduction of the 3.5" 12 gauge so you can find some really good deals on them used. The ammo is more expensive as well. I have a box of 25 wing shot lead BBs I bought about 8 years ago for $39 from midway. To bad they don't make them anymore.I've seen used browing golds for $550 on and off the last few years and the should busing pumps for $350. I'd tell you auto for lighter recoiling.

Boy! If I could find a Gold for that I would jump on it. Around here you will pay that much or more for a pump
 
The shotgun I carry a lot is a Benelli Nova which is fairly heavy too so I'm not too worried about weight. There's nothing wrong with the killing capabilities of 3" BB out of a 12 gauge. I really don't need a 10 gauge necessarily but I think it'd be cool to have one. I have a lot of stuff I don't need. If it performs better and I see a noticeable difference in killing power on critters that's even better.

I don't know many people that use a 10 gauge either. I might as well be one of those people. You never know I might be a trend setter. It's about time the 10 gauge made a come back.lol
 
Trend setting with them was around 90'...it's been down hill since about 95' lol

Make sure to splurge on a pattern master choke they do really good in the browning 10's. There's nothing cheap about the 10.
 
Last edited:
I have both a Browning Gold 10, and a Browning Maxus, in 3.5", and the 10 gauge out patterns the 12 ga. easily, with most loads. And the longer shot string, in the 3.5" 12 ga. isn't helpful for fast moving targets, like ducks, in stout winds. No problem with stationary targets like coyotes and turkeys, where regardless of the shot string, the pellets fill in the pattern before the target moves. As for which one to git, the 10 gauges are a load. My older Browning Gold 10 has a steel receiver, and tips the scales at 10.4 lbs empty. But I use mine primarily for waterfowl, out of a boat blind, so I am not hauling it over hill and dale. I used to use it for turkey hunting, as evident, in the following photo. But now with Winchesters Longbeard XR 3.5" 12 ga. shotshells, there is no advantage found on the pattern boards. So I carry the 7 lb shotgun, versus the 10 lb shotgun. But for some situations, like waterfowl, and hunting with buckshot, the 10 ga. still out shoots the long 12 ga., and IMHO the best 10 ga. on the market, is the Browning Gold 10.

eljW3vx.jpg



Squeeze
 
My third gold, the short 23" barreled NWTF edition. I had a 30" metal reviewer and traded it for a 30" lighter aluminum model, then this one. I traded off my 30" browning pump because it was just obnoxious and kicked too much.

Here it is...

ykWNtkT.jpg


Vyeh9zN.jpg



It's taken a few coyotes that have crime into my hen yelps with 2oz of number fives and I've dusted a couple red fox with it turkey hunting in the fall comming in to turkey calls as well. I have a Tasso pdp2 camo red dot on it and a see through mount in case the battery dies. I believe that's a jelly head choke tube if I remember. Not a lot of turkey choke options out there for these cannons. As stated it dose throw a tighter pattern with number 5's and bb's than mine or my friends 12's....and hits harder to boot.

And my 1890's Charles Daly 10 gauge 2 7/8" chamber with 30" or 32" barrels...can't remember. I bought at a rummage sale for $45 about 20 years ago. It's at the smith getting a pair of matching hammers.

kYijuIq.jpg
 
Last edited:
Used a Ithaca mag 10 for
many years. Long and heavy, but that's an advantage when swinging on long shots. With common sense maintenance, never a hiccup.
 
Last edited:
Well I think I'm pretty well sold on the Browning Gold. My only concern is ammunition availability for coyotes. There is gobs of steel shot available but as far as a dedicated lead coyote loads and stuff I haven't seen much.
 
Federal makes a run of BB every so often. Seems like Midway sometimes has it in stock. Have called and killed exactly 1 coyote with it.
 
Your probably going to have to find someone to reload for you. Federal discontinued the wingshot lead BB line in 12 and 10 guage a few years ago, I bought a case of 12 guage from a member here and I have one box of 10 guage BB I bought years ago and never used...n wouldn't part with. I killed a couple of yotes with 2oz federal #5 turkey loads while calling turkeys. I've got nume buck number 4 Laying around as well but I don't know if anyone makes it anymore either.
 
Last edited:
I figured it'd be pretty tough to find. I suppose a guy could kill a coyote with steel shot if all else fails. I know it's not a real great option but I shoot for the head on anything with fur when I'm shootin a shotgun anyways. I've never tried steel on anything except a turkey I killed with a duck load I found laying on the ground while coyote huntin.

That turkey didn't go far. Figured I'd mention that.lol But then again that may defeat the purpose of using the 10 gauge. I feel like that is putting the 12 gauge in the lead when comparing killing capabilities.
 
Last edited:


Write your reply...
Back
Top