Why do people go with smaller guage shotguns and light loads for hunting?

LeviSS

LeviSS

New member
I was doing some reading in my "ABC's of Reloading" manual, as I am getting ready to start reloading for shotgun.

There was a section for making light loads for hunting. The author kept referring to the 28 guage as "everyone's favorite guage". He told of hunting with them for various game.

I don't really get it.

If the shells are firing at the same velocity, they hit just as hard. There is just more shot with the larger guages. It seems to me if you are hunting you want as good of a chance that you can get of making clean, reliable kills. The more lead heading at a dove, quail, or pheasant, the better chance of hitting vitals.

I understand that less lead means less chance of biting into one later.

I understand the challenge that might be involved. It seems to me that the challenge should be saved for the clays, where cripples aren't a concern.

I understand less recoil from the smaller guages and they typically weigh less, so they are easier on a person to shoot and carry.

I'm not a "bigger is always better" person. I love rimfires and small caliber rifles.

I'm not trying to knock anyone for using anything other than a 12 guage, I sometimes use a 20 guage for bird hunting. I really would like to know. I have an open mind about it...you should be able to shoot what you want, I just want to know if there's something to it that I haven't considered. Maybe I just want to be talked into wanting another gun.
smile.gif
 
well I have been hunting with a .410 that I bought recently, I used one as a kid that my grandpa had (he died and my cousin got it
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)

I used it for rabbits and squirrels. and have yet to have a cripple this season. I plan on using it on doves a couple times next year and I doubt itll be a problem.

here are 2 rabbits that I shot with the tamer.

rabbit-1.jpg


rabbit.png


and three squirrels from the other day

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shots were brutal on the rabbits, both running shots, one had 2 much lead as you can see, the other just blew a huge hole into the middle of the rabbit, all the guts were falling out of it.

For small game, and a hunter who has restraint. the 28 and .410 are awesome shotguns.
 
yeah I need to buy some more 2.5" #6 shells, All I have left is 3" #4's and its way to much for the rabbits, and even a little much for the squirrels. Im not worried about saving the meat though, all the rabbits here have those boils so I am not risking it, they go right into the coyote bait area.
 
IMHO there can bee times when too much gun is not a good thing. Using a 12g on doves or smaller game can mangle them pretty good compared to some of the sub gauges. Weight and recoil can also be a factor, especially with O/U guns where you have an extra barrel and no auto mechanism to reduce recoil.

In the end you can really make a strong case for either perspective. I know personally that I got very used to a 12g Auto loaded with Federal Wing Shok 1 1/2 oz buffered 5 shot but then I took out a 20g O/U (I swore I would never hunt with one of those) that I won at a PF banquet and low and behold, I squeezed the trigger and the birds were just as dead. I then decided the O/U thing was cool and since I had promised my son that would be his gun I needed to buy my own. Seeing the wife would not be impressed with me buying a 12g since I already had 4 I decided a 16g was necessary. I really like shooting those purple shells.

Back to the topic there are many times where a bird gets up a bit closer than normal and you can really tear up the animal with too big of a payload.
 
Originally Posted By: denjahn
Back to the topic there are many times where a bird gets up a bit closer than normal and you can really tear up the animal with too big of a payload.

exactly imagine what those 2 rabbits would have looked like had they been shot with a 12 gauge, heck even a 20 gauge.
 
its all about weight and fast handling on upland game.

There should never be hardly any pellets in the meat. you should use a shot size large enough to pass thru the game.

a 12 is just too heavy and not needed for most upland game.

I can carry my 5lb 10 oz franchi 20 gauge all day up and down mtns getting to the chukar. A 7LB + 12 gauge gets heavy REAL fast and the ammo weighs more too. Even though you have more payload it may not be usefull when your arms are on fire and you are all tired. Shooter fatigue or rather lack of it makes the sub gauges just as effective as 12 GA IMHO. Heck especialy if your so tired you go back to the truck!

The 12 has its place. That place is late season pheasants and possibly late season chukar. Jackrabbits, coyote, or big game. It also is good if you have to use steel shot like waterfowl. However don't think for a minute the 20 ga isn't going to do all those things pretty dang well especialy with the new hevi-shot etc.

not sure I will ever own another 12 ga.
 

For me sub gauges are about weight, having something to
eat left after a killing shot, and not having to absorb recoil
that isn't necessary.

I hunt ruffed grouse and woodcock. The shots for woodcock
are somewhere between 4 yards
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, and 30 yards. And
for early season grouse, it will be between 10 yards and
maybe 35 yards. My little 28 ga. is perfect.

As for effective killing it is all about pattern boards,
and what that shows you about effective ranges. With
proper chokes and my 7/8oz hand load, the board shows I
can put nicely distributed pellets in a lethal pattern
out to 35 to 40 yards. My 20 ga. 1 1/8oz loads are good out
to 40 to 45 yards. My 12 ga. 1 1/2oz loads are good out to
45 to 50 yards, and my 10 ga. 1 7/8oz loads out to 60 yards.
Also as the need for larger pellet size goes up, so does the bore.

I pick the shotgun for the situation. Spooky Toms out to
60 yards, means the 10 ga. with 2 oz Hevi-Shot loads are
the choice. Pheasants, early season, the 20 ga. 3" 1 1/4oz
loads get in the game. Small upland game birds means the
28 ga. is going hunting, etc.

Can you do it all with a 12 ga.? Sure, but I know some
guys that can do it all with a 28 ga. And cripples are
not an issue if you know your limits by skills, and gun.
Cripples happen regardless of the bore size. If one is
getting too many cripples with sub gauges, I submit that
they don't know the limits of their gun, their shooting
skills need work, or they are making poor decisions about
shooting at game out of their effective range. Cripples
are about the shooter, not the shotgun.

Squeeze
 
I hunt birds over pointing dogs and never shoot a bird I walk up. I used a 12 years ago with 1 1/8oz loads to control recoil; I also trained with it. Then I got a 16 SxS and never went back to the 12. Today I'm using a 28 SxS and save the big 16 for pheasants. Also have a 410 SxS that is gonna be a fine rabbit and squirrel gun.
 
For quail over dogs, early season doves, rabbits, etc., a 28 is as much gun as you'll ever need. You match the gun to the game. You wouldn't shoot a 50BMG for called-in coyote would you?
 
No I wouldn't, but I've never had a bird that looked anything like the rabbit above. As long as the distance isn't too close or your choke isn't too tight, I don't think many will turn out like that.

I've used a .410 for hunting squirrel when I was a kid. It does fine, but they are usually not moving that fast, so you can "aim" more than point like you do with birds.
 
i dont understand when people say a 12 gauge is too much gun for such and such animal use a diffrent load ! i can shoot 7/8 oz for quail (or what have you) in my 12 or a 1 oz load just change your shells i understand if people want to hunt with diffrent gauges thats fine ive got 4 .410's. i just dont get it my 870 weighs a little over 7lbs i dont consider that heavy and matching your gun to your game matters more with a rifle than a shotgun within reason
 
I like .410's but other than shootin rattlesnakes,rats and the occasional skunk I dont shoot my .410 that much.Mainly because I can shoot a 12 or 20 gauge for cheaper and still get rid of the critter I'm shootin at.I've never tore a rabbit up with a 20 gauge or a 12 gauge.Just made alot of holes in them is about all that happened.I use 7 1/2 shot out of my 20 gauge and 12 gauge when I'm shootin rabbits or anything like that.If you're shootin quail or dove I could see where you might not tear them up as bad with a .410 as you would with a 20 or a 12 gauge.But you also have to be a really good shot with a .410 if you plan on shootin things that are flying.I miss enough with a 20 gauge so I dont wanna shoot a whole box of .410 shells and only kill a few birds.Those shells aint cheap so thats why I'd rather use a 20 or a 12 gauge instead.
 
started w/ a 20g. when i was 10 and couldn't wait till i could get a 12g. g-pa deemed me worhty at age 12 and its all i have hunted w/ since, now i have 3 12g.'s, and i can't wait till i have the money to get a smaller gauge. got 1 pump and 2 autos, now i want a decent over /under in 20 or 28, funny the stuff you appreciate older vs. younger.
 
I'd like an O/U too. I fell in love with a Citori recently. That's kinda what got me thinking about this. I really like how the smaller guages look and feel. I think they are cool, I'm just not sure I would be really useful to me.

I haven't had trouble tearing stuff up with a 12 guage either. I think it depends on what choke you're using and the distance involved. I like having the extra lead while quail hunting for that pheasant that pops up every once in a while.
 
went clay shooting a couple yrs. ago and did good w/ my 12g.guns , then 1 of the guys said "try this 1" it was a ruger red label in 20g., it was like i couldn't miss! since then the 3 shots on dove or the five you could get on quail w/ regular scatters went clean out the window!
 
Originally Posted By: LeviSSI was doing some reading in my "ABC's of Reloading" manual, as I am getting ready to start reloading for shotgun.

There was a section for making light loads for hunting. The author kept referring to the 28 guage as "everyone's favorite guage". He told of hunting with them for various game.

I don't really get it.

If the shells are firing at the same velocity, they hit just as hard. There is just more shot with the larger guages. It seems to me if you are hunting you want as good of a chance that you can get of making clean, reliable kills. The more lead heading at a dove, quail, or pheasant, the better chance of hitting vitals.

I understand that less lead means less chance of biting into one later.

I understand the challenge that might be involved. It seems to me that the challenge should be saved for the clays, where cripples aren't a concern.

I understand less recoil from the smaller guages and they typically weigh less, so they are easier on a person to shoot and carry.

I'm not a "bigger is always better" person. I love rimfires and small caliber rifles.

I'm not trying to knock anyone for using anything other than a 12 guage, I sometimes use a 20 guage for bird hunting. I really would like to know. I have an open mind about it...you should be able to shoot what you want, I just want to know if there's something to it that I haven't considered. Maybe I just want to be talked into wanting another gun.
smile.gif


When I was young 8 or so dad give me a 410.... I had fun, learned how to shoot and when to shoot.
I got a 20'ga later on then quit squirel and rabbit hunting, got into deer and turkey I had a nice
12 ga winchester 12.....at 18 I thought I would go back in the woods for some squirel.One cut across
between 2 trees to my right at about 25 yds I shoulder the 12ga (Bam) perfect hit????? I picked it
up it looked like it had beed ran through a sausage grinder....Darn I guess that full choke was a bit
much, I spent the rest of the hunt putting distance between me and the animals I was going to shoot..
from then on I took my choke tubes with me, but mostly used IC or open.....a few years later I got
hold of a rattlely old mossberg pump in a 20.ga it fit my hunting style to a tee.I loved that gun..

So it is really what one likes, not which one is the best. I'd rather have a few good pellets in a
sq or bird rather than a bunch of soso's.....and trust me onone wants to bite into a pellet, with
the cost to keep your teeth these days....

And because it's about fun, and being outside, and I'm sure noone on here wants to injure game,
and not get the kill.....If any one can get it done with a 410 to 12 or any other my hats off to
you.....
Also you should know there's not many things much sweeter that taking game with a new gun.....
 
satchel357, sure, I could cook up some 3/4oz. or 7/8oz. loads and lug one of my 12ga. 870s quail hunting, and I've done just. But carrying a fine European 28ga. O/U, weighing about 5 1/2 lbs., on a quail hunt is far more pleasant experience.
 
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