Because most people already have a 12 ga and that works for literally everything tbh. I love my 20ga for inland bird and rabbit hunting, it’s way more comfortable in the field
>Big and tall soldiers are more likely to survive battle - ResearchGate
www.researchgate.net › publication › 59...
Recently, Kanazawa (2007) proposed that as taller and bigger men are more likely to survive from the battle and perhaps more likely to sire sons, an increment
taller people are also put under halo effect, and as such, are less likely to be killed as POWs. taller people are much better at hand-to-hand fighting, which is also of good use in warfare. In the cold war era, obviously strong soldiers have tactical advantag
Yep. Same reason the .32h&r/,.327fed never took off like they should have. At least we got away from the .45 or bust days and with S&Ws new .32 j frame, we might get a .32 revival too.
20 is a great gauge, but there's just so so much more ammo options and avability for 12 gauge, including reduced recoil loads. Plus I like how 12 gauge shoots faster. Literally looking at the same Winchester Super X Upland and Small Game box of ammo on my shelf but it's in 12 gauge, 1-1/4oz, 2-3/4inch, number 4 shot and it's box velocity says 1330fps. I still say an over under 20 for bird hunting is a great combo, but for everything else from self defense to medium/large game hunting the 12 gauge outclasses the 20 bigtime.
You can get faster 20s, but the point I was making is that if you buy the same type of ammo, but in different gauges the 12 gauge will typically have a slight speed advantage over the same load in 20 gauge. So even if you bought a faster 20 gauge round that runs at 1330 the same round in 12 gauge will run something like 1440. Honestly I would of assumed the 20 would run a little faster than 12 but I find the opposite to be true. And while velocity boost might not seem much but an extra 100 fps for better tracking and effect on target is nice.
>f you buy the same type of ammo, but in different gauges the 12 gauge will typically have a slight speed advantage
I haven't really noticed that.
And I also wouldn't say speed is necessarily an advantage. Higher velocity means much more recoil but the increase in range is rather small. It's a diminishing return for sure. Now in some cases that tradeoff makes sense but not most of the time.
> And while velocity boost might not seem much but an extra 100 fps for better tracking and effect on target is nice.
I haven't noticed much difference other than recoil.
They are typically similar, but I swear just look for it next time your shopping and compare the two. In similar loadings the 12 guge will usually have the 20 beat by 25 to 100fps. Does it really make a difference? Not really. Just something I've noticed when shopping.
Could you imagine something like an AA-12 with the drum mag chambered for 20 gauge? Wonder how many more shells you could pack into it compared to 12 gauge.
12 is simply more versatile. I have had good success using a 20 gauge 870 as a slug gun for deer, but my 12 gauge Auto 5 is better. I like my 20 gauge Shockwave tho. Fun range toy
12 ga has traditionally been capable of use against all game types due to the shell capacities. We used to shoot lead, but when the laws came out to require non-toxic shot, steel was the immediate reaction. Steel lacks the performance of lead, and is not suitable for all barrels. To compensate for the lack of performance, you might use either bigger shot, or a larger powder charge, both of which the 12ga shell has more room for than on a smaller gauge shotgun. The larger weight of the gun also generally means less felt recoil, especially on hotter loads such as 3 or 3.5" magnum.
A 20 gauge shotgun is generally lighter, and generally has a smaller load. The saami pressure specs for a 12 vs 20 are essentially the same, so you can load a 20 shell hot, but with a lighter gun it's going to kick more and be less pleasant. If you are shooting pheasant/quail/dove loads you don't need as much power and the gun will feel more pleasant.
If you really dig into the load comparison, while a 3.5" 12ga may be able to push higher velocities than a 20ga, in general the velocities between the two will be roughly equal. The biggest difference is the total weight of shot. You will not have a difference in the pattern, only the number of pellets will differ. A 60% pattern at 25yds is the same choke whether it is 12ga or 20ga, but 60% of 200 pellets is a greater number than 60% of 100.
I mentioned early that one of the big changes was to require non-toxic shot and the push towards steel. Well modern advancements have moved towards heavy metals like bismuth or tungsten that retain their effectiveness with smaller shot sizes out to longer distances. Before you needed lets say, #2 steel shot to be effective at 30yds, now you can get away with #6 or even #8 in tungsten, but have more pellets because it's smaller shot in a given volume. As a consequence you are seeing more lighter shotguns being used for waterfowl and turkey. Lighter guns, cheaper ammo (comparing "heavy" ammo).
A maxed out 12ga in 3.5" will shoot a larger load faster than a 20ga in 3.5" in the same pattern for a given choke, however with things like bismuth or tungsten, you don't have to do that. You don't even have to go with the hottest 20ga shell you can find either, so the 20ga doesn't hurt to shoot. For similar effectiveness, you can carry around a gun around a pound lighter. That gun will be easier to walk a field in, and faster to swing in a blind.
If you are trying to be cost effective, a 12ga shooting steel will cost significantly less money than shooting tungsten or bismuth, and you can still hunt everything with the 12, while I wouldn't really want to start pushing waterfowl or turkey with a 20 and steel. It's doable, but you are less effective shooting steel than the heavy stuff. I don't intend on shooting more than once to get my turkey though, and I can use cheaper ammo for the range.
16ga and up are really sweet guns that I encourage you to try if you get the chance.
Because most people already have a 12 ga and that works for literally everything tbh. I love my 20ga for inland bird and rabbit hunting, it’s way more comfortable in the field
It's not underrated. It's just.... rated.
It is what it is.
Use .410 tungsten turkey shot and be even weirder.
morons think bigger=better.
>Big and tall soldiers are more likely to survive battle - ResearchGate
www.researchgate.net › publication › 59...
Recently, Kanazawa (2007) proposed that as taller and bigger men are more likely to survive from the battle and perhaps more likely to sire sons, an increment
taller people are also put under halo effect, and as such, are less likely to be killed as POWs. taller people are much better at hand-to-hand fighting, which is also of good use in warfare. In the cold war era, obviously strong soldiers have tactical advantag
Yep. Same reason the .32h&r/,.327fed never took off like they should have. At least we got away from the .45 or bust days and with S&Ws new .32 j frame, we might get a .32 revival too.
20 is a great gauge, but there's just so so much more ammo options and avability for 12 gauge, including reduced recoil loads. Plus I like how 12 gauge shoots faster. Literally looking at the same Winchester Super X Upland and Small Game box of ammo on my shelf but it's in 12 gauge, 1-1/4oz, 2-3/4inch, number 4 shot and it's box velocity says 1330fps. I still say an over under 20 for bird hunting is a great combo, but for everything else from self defense to medium/large game hunting the 12 gauge outclasses the 20 bigtime.
>Plus I like how 12 gauge shoots faster.
It doesn't necessarily. You can get faster or slower loads in either gauge.
You can get faster 20s, but the point I was making is that if you buy the same type of ammo, but in different gauges the 12 gauge will typically have a slight speed advantage over the same load in 20 gauge. So even if you bought a faster 20 gauge round that runs at 1330 the same round in 12 gauge will run something like 1440. Honestly I would of assumed the 20 would run a little faster than 12 but I find the opposite to be true. And while velocity boost might not seem much but an extra 100 fps for better tracking and effect on target is nice.
>f you buy the same type of ammo, but in different gauges the 12 gauge will typically have a slight speed advantage
I haven't really noticed that.
And I also wouldn't say speed is necessarily an advantage. Higher velocity means much more recoil but the increase in range is rather small. It's a diminishing return for sure. Now in some cases that tradeoff makes sense but not most of the time.
> And while velocity boost might not seem much but an extra 100 fps for better tracking and effect on target is nice.
I haven't noticed much difference other than recoil.
12 and 20 are the same velocity, as a rule. payload size is the start and stop of the difference.
Again, as a rule. Not universally, but overarchingly.
They are typically similar, but I swear just look for it next time your shopping and compare the two. In similar loadings the 12 guge will usually have the 20 beat by 25 to 100fps. Does it really make a difference? Not really. Just something I've noticed when shopping.
Could you imagine something like an AA-12 with the drum mag chambered for 20 gauge? Wonder how many more shells you could pack into it compared to 12 gauge.
16 gauge, 12 gauge, and 10 gauge are what every one needs
12 is simply more versatile. I have had good success using a 20 gauge 870 as a slug gun for deer, but my 12 gauge Auto 5 is better. I like my 20 gauge Shockwave tho. Fun range toy
12 ga has traditionally been capable of use against all game types due to the shell capacities. We used to shoot lead, but when the laws came out to require non-toxic shot, steel was the immediate reaction. Steel lacks the performance of lead, and is not suitable for all barrels. To compensate for the lack of performance, you might use either bigger shot, or a larger powder charge, both of which the 12ga shell has more room for than on a smaller gauge shotgun. The larger weight of the gun also generally means less felt recoil, especially on hotter loads such as 3 or 3.5" magnum.
A 20 gauge shotgun is generally lighter, and generally has a smaller load. The saami pressure specs for a 12 vs 20 are essentially the same, so you can load a 20 shell hot, but with a lighter gun it's going to kick more and be less pleasant. If you are shooting pheasant/quail/dove loads you don't need as much power and the gun will feel more pleasant.
If you really dig into the load comparison, while a 3.5" 12ga may be able to push higher velocities than a 20ga, in general the velocities between the two will be roughly equal. The biggest difference is the total weight of shot. You will not have a difference in the pattern, only the number of pellets will differ. A 60% pattern at 25yds is the same choke whether it is 12ga or 20ga, but 60% of 200 pellets is a greater number than 60% of 100.
I mentioned early that one of the big changes was to require non-toxic shot and the push towards steel. Well modern advancements have moved towards heavy metals like bismuth or tungsten that retain their effectiveness with smaller shot sizes out to longer distances. Before you needed lets say, #2 steel shot to be effective at 30yds, now you can get away with #6 or even #8 in tungsten, but have more pellets because it's smaller shot in a given volume. As a consequence you are seeing more lighter shotguns being used for waterfowl and turkey. Lighter guns, cheaper ammo (comparing "heavy" ammo).
A maxed out 12ga in 3.5" will shoot a larger load faster than a 20ga in 3.5" in the same pattern for a given choke, however with things like bismuth or tungsten, you don't have to do that. You don't even have to go with the hottest 20ga shell you can find either, so the 20ga doesn't hurt to shoot. For similar effectiveness, you can carry around a gun around a pound lighter. That gun will be easier to walk a field in, and faster to swing in a blind.
If you are trying to be cost effective, a 12ga shooting steel will cost significantly less money than shooting tungsten or bismuth, and you can still hunt everything with the 12, while I wouldn't really want to start pushing waterfowl or turkey with a 20 and steel. It's doable, but you are less effective shooting steel than the heavy stuff. I don't intend on shooting more than once to get my turkey though, and I can use cheaper ammo for the range.
16ga and up are really sweet guns that I encourage you to try if you get the chance.
16ga is the real underrated bore
real