16 gauge or 20? Whats better...

wpage

June 05, 2011 13:53

My shoulder is getting tired of the old 10 and 12 ga...

Whats a better choice 16 or 20 gauge for birds and game?

Thanks!

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  GuvamintCheese

  June 05, 2011 14:33

  20 guage is all you need IMO. And the shells are much easier to come by.

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  spas12

  June 05, 2011 14:34

  16 gauge is better, but 20 gauge is much more common
  A simpler solution would be to get some sort of recoil reducer.

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  perry shooter

  June 05, 2011 15:02

  IMHO get a 20 Ga. that is chambered for 3 inch shells then shoot 2&3/4 inch light loads for small game hunting but have backup of 3 inch shells for water fowl and the NEW thing is 20 Ga. slugs for big game. You have much more in the choice of loads in a 20 Ga. then 16 Ga. and many places don't even carry 16 Ga. shells or if they do they are at much higher prices. The 20 Ga. shotguns are lighter and will bring more $$ if you ever decide to sell.

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  22hipower

  June 05, 2011 16:15

  If you're going to go to one other gauge in addition to your 12, I agree with the advice to get a 3 inch chamber 20 gauge. However, if you think having a couple more shotguns is ok, then I'd get a 16 gauge too. I only use it for one purpose, but in my opinion there's nothing more classic than a Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen when hunting pheasants. If you like the old A5, the Sweet Sixteen doesn't seem any heavier in the field to me than the A5 20 gauge and seems to hit harder. If you're mostly hunting dove and upland game the 20 is fine. For waterfowl though, in most cases, I'll stick with the 12 gauge.

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  beantownshootah

  June 05, 2011 16:36

  A 20 is a better complement to a 12, I think, plus shells are a lot easier to find.
  
  If the issue is recoil with your 12, I'd start with a recoil pad and lower recoil shells (ie smaller payload) first.

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  slumlord44

  June 05, 2011 17:59

  Ammo for the 20 is cheaper and easier to find. It is a great quail gun and an adequate phesant gun. I prefer the 16 for phesant. There is no right or wrong choice here. I have both and love them both. If I had to limit myself to one I guess it would be the 20.

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  charliemeyer007

  June 05, 2011 19:24

  I also don't enjoy the recoil of a good load in a 12 anymore. A superlite 7/8 oz. load is on par with the 20 for me. I think you get better patterns with the shorter shot strings and you get to keep using your favorite 12.

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  tsr1965

  June 06, 2011 01:40

  The 20 gauge is capable of most things the 12 gauge is. Even taking turkey and deer, with todays improvements in the ammunition field. If you can find a scaled down 20, that is not built on a 12 frame, you are miles ahead too.
  
  Best

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  Michibay

  June 06, 2011 04:43

  From a technical viewpoint...a 16ga is better than a 20. Sadly, the 16 has faded from popularity. my favorite field load of 1 1/8oz of lead and 2 3/4 dr. of powder is no longer produced by the major ammo co's. The 16 will do anything a 12 will do within 30-45 yds. A 20 is also a very good ga...depending on its use. If you are a skeet shooter...a 20 is more common with plenty of ammmo available..the 16 was never a popular skeet gun. For upland hunting it's hard to beat a light 16 double!

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  wpage

  June 06, 2011 08:59

  Thanks for the feedback. As always lots of good info here.

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