10 ga. vs. 12 ga. ?

M

metalmangeler

New member
I have used 10 ga. shotguns for years. the only 12ga that I have are 2 3/4 inch guns I am wondering how the 3 1/2 inch 12ga compare to the 10s? the 12s are intresting me in the price of shells and the greater selection of aftermarket chokes, and reloading componets, like wads. I can see in my reloading manuel that they appear very similar. But I am wondering how they worked for people who really tried them. I have great confidenc that someone here can help me out, thanks.
 
I've never felt the need to abuse myself with a 10
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12ga is by far the most popular with the widest variety of rounds. If I had to guess a 10 might give you another 10 yards but probably more geese have fallen to a 2 3/4 12ga than just about anything else. Larger rounds give more shot but no additional range. I usually shoot clays with the short rounds but go to the longer ones for hunting.

I reloaded shotshells for a year or so, mainly for clay shooting but found I was actually breaking even with the remington bulk cases. Loading at that point wasn't worth my time. By the same token I wasn't hunting enough to justify loading them either so it's been manufactured ammo for quite a while.
 
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My 12's will handle the 3 1/2" but I very rarely shoot them. The 3" pack enough shot without tearing your arm off. It does not seem like the 10 is as popular since the 3 1/2" 12 was introduced. Most people I know bought the 3 1/2 for the variety of loads to choose from, but most are now shooting a 2 3/4" or 3". What were you mainly going to use the gun for?
 
I actually feel the 12 gauge 3 1/2 kicks worse than the 10 gauge due to the fact the 10 gauges are usually a heavier gun that would help soak up some of the punishment. Any way, I, like you metalmangler, asked myself this same question and looked into the ballistics of each and found that there seems to be no advantage over the 12 gauge 3 1/2, except the cool factor of course. But as you know, coolness comes at a price.
 
I ran a remington sp10 for several years and it killed just fine with minimal recoil,due to it being very heavy.
I only found only minimal performance gains over the 3 or 3.5 inch 12 gauge,but huge differences in carried weight,also the lack of good available factory rounds is a real pain in the a$$.
I do know that substantial performance gains can be acheived by handloading the ten,but it was more than i wanted to undertake.
My biggest issue with the ten was the weight both carried and shouldered,the pros didnt out weigh the cons so i sold the ten and have gone back to the 12s exclusivly,i dont feel im missing a thing except about 5 pounds.
 
Had a 10ga for exactly as long as it took to pattern it along side one of my 12's. I saw no real advantage other than a few (very few in the 10 ring) more pellets for the punishment it dished out as compared to the 12 and couldn't wait to get rid of it. In addition to the pounding it handed out it was heavy and expensive to shoot. Personally I would get a decent 12 and run as many different brands of shells or reloads through it until I found out what it performed best with. A sufficient amount of pellets in the kill zone regardless of the ga. will do the job. If you can get the job done with less abuse, weight and expense then that's the way to go in my opinion. I totally agree with Ontario Caller on this one. I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised with the performance of a good 12.
 
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The two really do part ways once the reloading starts.

Now, Im not saying that a 12 gauge doesnt make a great coyote gun. It does, especially with the availability of great off the shelf ammo.

In my experience larger shot can be pushed faster with better pattern results from a fine tuned 10.

Is it worth all the effort of reloading vs. picking stuff off the shelf? that ones up to you. But dont ever feel like takin your ten out is a bad choice.

BTW, check out ballistic products website before you give up on your ten. Everything you need including great reloading data.
 
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Thanks for the input guys, I am still thinking about this, if I believed that the 10 would really give me an extra ten yards there would not be any question. You are right the wieght of the guns are significantly different. I have just been using my Lyman manuals so I will look at the Ballistic Products site maybe that will help me deside. My curent 10 is a BPS and it does not seem to fit me right and slams me under the cheek bone so it is not really fun to shoot. I was thinking of upgrading to a Browning Gold, but there seem to be some really good reasons to look at the 12s.
When I hunt with a shotgun this will be the gun I plan to use for ducks, geese, cranes, fox, lynx, and coyote. Everything except grouse and ptarmigan. Thanks again.
 
I shoot a bps 10 on geese, but I just carry it on a sling to the blind and only pick it up to shoot.It actually kicks less than 3 and 3 1/2 12's I've shot due to it's weight.The only reason I bought it was because my son started goose hunting with me when he was 12 and really liked my 3 in. 12 ga.391 berretta urika,which gave me an excuse to buy another gun.But that thing does kill geese dead!!!!But I wouldn't want to carry it very far.It is also low maintenance synthetic stock shadow grass camo,Ideal for the abuse a waterfowl gun gets.I really can't see an advantage predator hunting the 12 has more load options.
 
Oh I almost forgot I also had a gunsmith take a half an In. off the stock.All of those bps's seemed a little to long for me(14 1/4 In. pull) with hunting clothes on.
 

I have a Browning Gold 10. I also have 12, 20, and 28 ga.
shotguns. I hand load for all of them.

Yes factory ammo for the 10 ga. sucks. I believe it is a
conspiracy to kill the 10 ga.
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The 12 ga. 3.5" round has a long shot string, and is difficult
to pattern well. It is a suitable turkey round, where the
critter is moving slowly, or standing. In windy conditions,
with fast moving targets, one would be better off with a good
12 ga. 3" round.

The 10 ga. has a shorter shot string, and handles large
pellet better. But one has to hand load to really get the
most out of that advantage. I use BPI wads and data to
load 1 and 7/8th oz Hevishot loads that put toms down easily
out to 55 yards. These same loads drop fast moving armor
plated diving ducks out to 50 yards, as well.

I also load .31 lead buck shot, for the 10 ga., and have
no problems putting Wiley in a pile at 60 yards. Choking
is critical, so I have spent a fair number of hours getting
a good choke for this buckshot load.

Yes 10 gauges are heavy. My Browning weighs 10 lbs. empty.
Guys don't seem to mind hauling a near 10 lb AR-15(with all
of the crap on it) for predators, but that is too much for
a shotgun? I ski with mine slung up, and an AR-15 carbine
hanging off my chest in a single point sling...And I am 57
years old...Cry babies...Need a tissue?
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Squeeze
 
+1 on 12ga 3.5 only because of off the shelf ammo choices for the 12ga.
And also a +1 on the pattern ability of the 10Ga.
If you are a reloader I would have both only because of the long walks if you dont like to carry any extra weight then you have the 12ga to fall back on.
Bigger is better-LOL
 
I really do like my 10 gauge shotguns. My coyote shotgun is a BP-10 with a cast corrected stock (and shortened stock). I am a big boy, and the gun fits me well. With a good selection of Briley chokes, there are not many loads I can not turn into a 100% pattern at 40 yards. Once I learned to load for the over-bore Browning barrel (this also goes for my BP-12) good patterns are not that difficult to obtain. My favorite lead loads are in the 1 7/8 oz. range at about 1350fps.

The big question is: can you get that kind of performance from a 12 gauge. My answer is: no, I can not. At least not with that much shot, at that velocity. If I drop the velocity back to around 1200 fps or drop the shot weight back to around 1 1/2 oz. then I can.

What about the 3.5" 12 gauge? We beat this horse to death a while back. My opinion of lead (or heavier than lead) loads loads in the 3.5" hull is sub-par to say the least. What good is all the extra space if you are going to fill it up with cardboard.
John
 
I have an SP-10 and as stated above shot string ins the key on a 10ga.
On standing targets the results of a 10 vs 12 can't really be noticed IMHO.
As the range gets longer 40+ and a target is moving the 10 really shines. I am no scientist but it was explained to me and I beleive it to be true, the big ten lands more pellets on target at the same time ( shorter shot string ).
I like my BIG 10 for what I bought it for, yes its heavy, yes it kicks, and ammo is harder to get.
I still like it......kills coyotes dead
 
I dropped a coyote stone dead at 65 yds with my SP-10 loaded with #4 buckshot, five hits on the body.

I hunted duck and geese for many years and have experience with most of the high power 12ga and 10ga loads that are out there. I believe you have to set up the shotgun for its intended use as you do the rifle you shoot. My SP-10 has a 24in pro-ported barrel that has had the forcing cone lengthened and is wearing a Pattern Master choke tube. This gun kicks less than my 870 Police with 3in buckshot.

Hand loaded 10ga has no equal
 
squeeze would you roll some for someone else? if so shoot me a pm. mn blaster where are you gettin your 4 buck for the ten? i'm stuck with copperplated lead right now
 
i have a h7r 10 ga 23" barrel new model with screw in invector + choke . i hade a 6.4 lb pump 12 ga 3.5 -86 ft lbs of recoil with 2.25 oz -9 lb 10 ga same load -54 ft lbs ........

i carried a 10 lb gun around for 3 hr's the other day it wasnt bad you can adjust to it dont be lazy . and far as the 10 vs 12 . well shooting a 10 is funner and its not no more expensive than a 12 ga 3.5 so dont compare prices to 12 ga 2.75" . dunnssporting goods or shopdunns.com has 10 ga for 6$ per box . here is a picture of mine . 12 ga just feels funny and not funny haha . i am about to start buying 00b hevi shot for my 10 ga. oh yeah a 10 ga is louder than a 10 . if you want to know some 10 ga experts got to duckhunting chat forum . they have every thing you want to know

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i have that same gun, love it.

has a buck kicker choke and is my main pest cruncher.

I like the 10, but dont see much reason for the 3.5 12ga, I think the 3" is fine, even the 2 3/4 is pretty good, my 870 shoots the short shells far better than the 3"

try your 12ga, see how it patterns, cant hurt, if you havent already done so.

Dave
 
I'll take a 10 over a 3 1/2" 12 any day...

With a 3 1/2" essentially, you're running a 10 gauge shot charge through a smaller diameter barrel which = higher pressures, longer shot strings and more felt recoil...
 


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