doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com best all around gauge?

I am in the market for a new SxS - my first of any real quality. Would I be better off with a 20, 16 or 12? I mainly hunt quail, grouse, woodcock and occasionally pheasants. Eventually, I want to own one of each!

By best, if you mean most versatile and the most firepower, the smaller gauges can't match a 12 gauge. However, when personal prefernces and biases are considered it is the last of the three I would choose.

Skip

12ga, No question. Anyone who says other wise is speaking from personal whim & prejudice.
My Favotite!! (Personal Whim & Prejudice) 16ga
12ga can be had from light weight field/game guns up through very heavy magnums & with loads to match either extreme. The same can be said of no other gauge.

grouse-man, for the birds you mentioned, any gauge is fine. That said, unless you want a heavy gun to shoot big loads (not necessary with any of the birds you mentioned, except maybe long shots at late season, wild pheasants, which I don't try anyway), I'd suggest a 20 or 28 ga, with the 20 being a bit more versatile.
FWIW, Joe

G-man,
I think you also need to consider the make and model in the mix and your personal experience with gauges other than 12g. Some guns may be very attractive to you but may be excessively heavy or light in the gauge you want it in, so if you're stuck on a make/model, the gauge may be a fallout of the other features you want. The most important thing is gun fit, then other things like gauge, weight, etc.. If you know your dimensions, great! If not, get a fitting.

There's no question, a 12g has the capability of taking more game due to the ability to carry a heavier payload. I have a pile of them. But, an upland gun is not all about the payload. It's also about weight, fit (with hunting clothing), versatility, and what makes you feel good.

So, for an upland gun, my preference is the 20g over the 12g in most situations. Last yr in SoDak, I shot only 20g guns and never reached for one of the 12g guns in my truck. I never felt I could have made a shot better with a 12g on that hunt.

For your uses, I'd look for a 6 to 6 1/4 lb 20g capable of handling modern 2 3/4" ammo. If you lean toward the 12g, I'd look for a 6 1/2 - 6 3/4 lb gun capable of handling modern 2 3/4" ammo.

I'm in the 12 bore group for the gun that can do it all but relize not all hunters do it all.The 16 is great and better if you handload.The twenty can come close to the twelve in loads but then you wish your light gamegun weighed abit more.The 12 gauge target loads are wonderfull for the game you shoot most and alot of times will cost less than the Wally world loads in the other guages.When starting out with a new gun type (Good SxS)I believe you are better served getting the twelve and then start on finding your niche guns

Oh yes, I picked up 7lb4oz 3" EuroMag clunker with 30" barrels for all around use. One can shoot anything from 2" Pygmie shell to 3" CIP rated Magnum. The trick is to pick one with exceptional weight distribution so it doesn't feel like a typical made for US market crowbar.

While I own and use shotguns in all gauges if I had to pare back to only one gun it would be a 12 gauge. A 12 will do anything the smaller qauges can do. I agree with the comments above that another choice as the most versital is just a personal whim. IMO there is an elitist aura that has entered this hobby over the past decade where only "commoners" use 12 gauges.
Jim

12. As others said, it can do anything the others can do and do it better. It will also properly equip you for all the clay target games , better than the smaller gauges.

No doubt 12ga best all-round gun but for most of my shooting the 20ga gets the nod. I go along with Miller on the 16ga and am trying to bring a couple around to the go-to magic fit, weight, chokes of the my 20s.