Who also shoots smaller gauges?

[Firebird]

For some of us that easily blows the budget

 

[Firebird]

My 20 gauge has become HER 20 gauge but she is older now (than when this pic was taken) and likes a youth model Winchester 12 gauge when we hunt waterfowl. She still carries the 20 for everything else. Even little Girls like some silver and fold on their guns !

 

[camperx]

Of the 5 shotguns I've bought in the last few years, all are subgauge - 16, 20, two 28 ga. Only one is 12 ga - a side by side with 30" bbls. The only reason I bought that was because I shoot flyers at retriever field trials and I'm a traditionalist.* Historically, double guns were used. Other than that, I rarely shoot 12 ga anymore, even duck hunting. I'm going to be shooting a round of sporting clays this coming Saturday and I'm shooting my Browning XS Ultra .410 O/U with 30" tubes. I did that for the first time about 6 weeks ago and shot a 31/50.

*Most ducks/pheasants in retriever field trials are pre-killed, but there are always "flyers"; birds that are live, thrown upon being signaled by the judges and allowed to fly, then shot by two gunners. The other shotgun I use for flyers is my 12 ga Beretta 686 Onyx Sporting Clays model with 30" tubes.

 

[RedTag]

16 gauge is vastly under rated. There are two shotguns that I actually regret trading away over the years: a 20 gauge Ruger Red Label and a 16 gauge Remington 870…

 

[Altitude sickness]

There you have it. A consensus.

Buy a triple barreled O/U 28,20,12 gauge with a semi auto selector switch.

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

For "smaller" gauges, I prefer........what else? A 16 gauge (on a 16 gauge frame}

Having said that, I would not recommend that anyone get a 16 gauge nowadays; Nobody that I know of makes "inexpensive" 16 gauges on a 16 gauge frame, and shells are ridiculously expensive (over a$1/rd in my neck of the woods)!

I recently (in the past 6 years) have acquired 3 20 gauges: A CZ bobwhite side by side, a Weatherby Element semi auto, and a Legacy Pointer O/U that I won at a DU raffle this spring.
I like all three guns: I've hunted with the CZ and Weatherby, and hope to take the Legacy afield this fall some time. I have great fun hitting clays with them, and think they would make great starter guns for a youngster. They all come with choke tubes. My only "gripe" with the Legacy is that the choke tubes extend beyond the end of the barrel, making it butt ugly........but I have NO problem hitting clay pigeons with it. The Weatherby has a synthetic stock, making it lighter, so carrying it around all day is not a problem.
Good luck in your quest..............

 

[264]

Used a 20 gauge AYA box lock last week on pheasants. Fit well and handled beautifully. Borrowed for the shoot. Currently looking for a 20 sxs ATM.
Walk up shooting over springers.

 

[Shotgun Coach]

My wife and I shoot the sub gauges quite a lot at NSSA Skeet & NSCA Sporting Clays 20,28 & 410.
When teaching young shooters for the first time we both use our 28 ga. teaching shotgun a Browning / Beretta O/U. We have found over the years when teaching the youth, it is imperative to get the recoil out the way first. The 28 ga. does that the best. Way too many kids have been turned off the shooting sports by recoil. Shooting Dad's 12 ga. duck gun with 11/8 3 dr. loads is defeating too many would be shooters. In our experience start them off without the recoil issue is the best way for success.

P.S. Especially little 8th grade girls that weigh less than 90 lbs.

 

[Schüler Jumbo]

Smaller gauges, especially the .410 which is classified as a caliber not a gauge are expert shot gunners’ chamberings. There are low recoil 12 ga loads that are truly low recoil. However, those are reliable in O/U or SxS. Gas operated systems have a softer recoil impulse. The key is stock fitting for youth and small frame adults. The butt stock is the aiming system for a shotgun so a crossover stock works on trap, skeet, sporting clays, and hunting. Not optimized but good general option. If you decide on 12 ga O/U or SxS there are tubes available for 20, 28, .410. Not sure of 16 ga availability.

 

[steve white]

Tungsten shot upgrades the performance of smaller gauges by at least 200%. No such thing as ineffective with that stuff. A fellow at "Show Me Birds" in Kansas set the new record dead pheasant distance...121 yards!

 

[rookhawk]

I think a lot of people choose small gauge guns that are the wrong ones, and for the wrong reasons.

It's a much more complicated topic than people understand and running off to Cabelas isn't going to solve the problem for most people.

First, I'll tell you my solution having trained a number of youth wingshooters. I start little kids with 12 gauges. Always a break action, usually a SxS but occasionally an O/U. It doesn't matter. It's not the size of the bore that is the problem, its the PAYLOAD OF THE SHELL. There is zero reason you cannot use a 2.5" subsonic 1050fps 12 gauge shell in a 3" chambered 12 bore shotgun. Recoil aversion isn't about the gauge, its about the recoil impulse. I remember teaching my six year old this way and of course on Turkey hunt day, I slipped in a more powerful load which she of course did not notice in the heat of the moment, and the success.

Next thing to remember is 99% of sub-gauge shotguns available in America suck really, really bad. In the modern era of mass manufacturing and the desire to reduce parts, most companies only make two shotgun actions: 12 gauge and 20 gauge. If you buy the 16 gauge, its a heavy turd on a 12 gauge action. If you buy the .410 or 28 gauge, its a disgusting, unusable, overweight beast built on a 20 gauge action which then requires insanely heavy barrels to be big enough to mate up to the frame. You're not doing yourself or anyone else a favor by purchasing one of these. It's just a punishment of low quality, high price, and carrying an overweight, unpleasant gun needlessly.

The third thing to remember is women are ruined for shooting by being handed a man's gun. Women have necks, men do not. Their drop at comb and heel requirements are much different, so they usually cannot hit the broadside of a barn with a man's gun and that's instant frustration. Women also don't want to appear weak, so they endure pain and smile, only to never touch a shotgun again. A woman's shotgun is cast at the toe of the stock, bending it away from their breasts so they aren't punching themselves in the bust during recoil. Men do not appreciate this whatsoever and I assure you, women do not like getting punched in the ta-tas.

The problem then lies in finding a properly weighted and balanced smallbore that A.) Weighs the right amount, B.) That balances, C.) that can be shaved down for correct drops at heel and comb, and D.) Can be cast (bent) to accommodate the shooter)

There are two guns I'm aware of for under $3000 that can accomplish these goals 1.) A vintage Orvis Uplander Beretta in 20 gauge with a Straight English grip. They weight 6lbs, can be cast, can be shaped, and they are balanced. 2.) The Dickinson's Arms (Turkish) SxS in 28 gauge is built on a true 28 gauge frame and are less than $2000. These two guns can be manipulated correctly and are low-recoil.

 

[Surgeon1]

Hunt almost exclusively with 20 & 28 O/U
Love the older Browning, Winchester 101, and the small frame Rugers!

 

[Tintin]

Used a 20 gauge AYA box lock last week on pheasants. Fit well and handled beautifully. Borrowed for the shoot. Currently looking for a 20 sxs ATM.
Walk up shooting over springers.

I'm with @264 on 'needing' an AyA box lock after our last shoot together.

In the meantime, the Beretta Silver Pigeon O/U 20 bore does well.

I've also shot a friend's Browning 525 20 bore that was excellent - a bit heavier which I liked.

 

[Paul K]

I have 3 Browning 525's, 410 bore 28ga and a 20ga that serve all my needs. 410 for doves, 28ga for pheasants and my 20ga for rabbits with a load of 1oz of copper #4's.

Paul

 

[Woodcarver]

The most abusive shotgun I've ever shot (and just one round because of it), was a Rossi Partner youth 20ga. It was painful. I started my Grandson with my Grandpa's cut down (shortened stock) Model 11 20ga with light loads & he handled that well, despite being rather small in stature. The added weight of the Model 11 coupled with the semi action, pretty much negates any recoil. My Granddaughter used a TriStar 20ga simply because she couldn't manage the weight of the Model 11; amazing what a 1.5 pound difference makes.
Virtually all of my bird hunting is done with a 20ga or 28ga Beretta 686 these days. Big ducks and geese still find a 12ga pointed at them most of the time. Just returned home from a 3 week jaunt to North Carolina to hunt deer & ducks with one of my nephews. Only reason I used a 12ga for these wood ducks is I had no 20ga non-toxic shells with me.
The 7 rounds of sporting clays I shot at the Nashville Gun Club with my oldest brother on that same trip saw all 3 gauges used, just because they came with me. Most of the rounds were shot with the 28ga Beretta 686 though. Btw, the MEC course there is humbling, lol.
@rookhawk is spot on with coupling light loads in a properly fitted shotgun to start, and keep, new shooters into wing shooting. The tradeoff of quality for affordability is where some of us make concessions. It's easier (mentally) to cut the stock on a $600 gun than a $2000 one. Reliability is still mandated.
Woodies are one of the prettiest ducks. Got lucky as the second flew into the pattern shooting the lead drake....

That's a Fausti Elegante Ducks Unlimited 12ga. I'm a fan of the Fausti made shotguns. Fit and finish far exceed what is normally found at their price level. Have several 12s, need to find one in 20, 28 and 410 now.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

I bought a cheap(ish) Boito U/O in 410 for the wife to shoot as my 12g is too heavy for her as she lost a lot of upper body strength after her cancer treatment and surgery. It swings and points well, but, as rookhawk pointed out, her neck position is a problem. I had planned to make another stock but haven’t had the time or energy.
The 410 is adequate for most of the game and pests that we are likely to encounter around here, I load everything from slugs to no.9 shot, just need to remember to grab the correct shells
Gumpy

 

[Woolley Bugger]

Years ago when my kids were small I bought them a vintage Remington 870 wing master in 20 gauge. I fitted a Hogue youth stock to it and it was perfect. Now that they’re full size, I’ve replaced the original stock.

Yesterday I took them to a preserve for their first ever pheasant hunt. I let them use my 2 12 gauges and used the 20 myself. I was pleasantly surprised at how elegant it felt and how effective it was.

We did a fair amount of walking, and I appreciated the reduced weight compared to the 12 gauge I’m used to carrying.

I will eventually cave and buy myself a nice O/U. I had assumed it would be a 12 but I’m now reconsidering that. Especially since I’m not getting any younger or stronger.

 

[dgr416]

A good old rem 870 20 ga will shoot as good and kill just as much or more than any $ 5000 shotgun .I never liked 12 ga when i was young kicked too hard too heavy to tote long ways .I used bikal russian sxs 20 ga shotguns in Alaaka through total hell beyond anything normal .I loved hunting grouse snow shoehares snd ptarmigsn with them .I didnt use sdmiautos becsause below -30 they ususlly dont work .I taught over 50 kids to hunt with those two 20 ga sxs shotguns .A rem 870 20 ga would work awesome too .There is no need to break the bank on their first shotgun just one that works good and they shoot well works best .

 

[steve white]

The most abusive shotgun I've ever shot (and just one round because of it), was a Rossi Partner youth 20ga. It was painful. I started my Grandson with my Grandpa's cut down (shortened stock) Model 11 20ga with light loads & he handled that well, despite being rather small in stature. The added weight of the Model 11 coupled with the semi action, pretty much negates any recoil. My Granddaughter used a TriStar 20ga simply because she couldn't manage the weight of the Model 11; amazing what a 1.5 pound difference makes.
Virtually all of my bird hunting is done with a 20ga or 28ga Beretta 686 these days. Big ducks and geese still find a 12ga pointed at them most of the time. Just returned home from a 3 week jaunt to North Carolina to hunt deer & ducks with one of my nephews. Only reason I used a 12ga for these wood ducks is I had no 20ga non-toxic shells with me.
The 7 rounds of sporting clays I shot at the Nashville Gun Club with my oldest brother on that same trip saw all 3 gauges used, just because they came with me. Most of the rounds were shot with the 28ga Beretta 686 though. Btw, the MEC course there is humbling, lol.
@rookhawk is spot on with coupling light loads in a properly fitted shotgun to start, and keep, new shooters into wing shooting. The tradeoff of quality for affordability is where some of us make concessions. It's easier (mentally) to cut the stock on a $600 gun than a $2000 one. Reliability is still mandated.
Woodies are one of the prettiest ducks. Got lucky as the second flew into the pattern shooting the lead drake....
View attachment 729304

That's a Fausti Elegante Ducks Unlimited 12ga. I'm a fan of the Fausti made shotguns. Fit and finish far exceed what is normally found at their price level. Have several 12s, need to find one in 20, 28 and 410 now.

And not bad eating either.