i had a semiauto 3.5'' 12, and bought a single 10 just for the sake of never having owned a ten. for the little waterfowling i do, i found i shoot the ten better, its a 150 dollar gun so I dont mind if it gets abused, and the shells are only a buck or so more locally, so the 12 got sold. mine is an old H&R.
12 ga or 10 ga
- Thread starter thepolinator
- Start date
I have a gold 10 the area around were i hunt theres at least another 12 10 ga's on the go we like the versatillty and long range abilitys of the gun.Shells are not that much more expensive than 3 1/2 12 ga ones personally i reload i use 1 1/2 load of #1 for ducks and the same recipe in bbb for geese the gun is dialed in for 60 yds and in, but i have taken birds a bit farther with steel.I use the gun everyday of the season theres less kick than most of my 3 1/2 12 ga's in fact there in my safe gatherin dust ....
I use a 10 gauge for geese at least some of the time. Part of that is because I prefer O/Us and a 3 1/2" 12 gauge can get pretty lively in a light double. I wish I would have got on the 10 back in the lead shot days, but at least with my precious Hevi-shot loads I can get a taste of what it was like back in the day. The rest of the time I just stumble along with my O/U 12s. One thing about it, when you switch back to the light shotguns you feel like an exhibition shooter.
If practicality has anything to do with it, I suppose a 3 1/2" 12 in one of those new fangled 3 shooters makes a certain amount of sense.
If practicality has anything to do with it, I suppose a 3 1/2" 12 in one of those new fangled 3 shooters makes a certain amount of sense.
But yours is a special one designed for under water driver ducks and shooting in deep water
Oh yes finally tried your relish this week. Excellent taste can see now why that is all you will use now
Take care
The 10ga in the lead days was unreal. I was shooting federal copper plated buffered BB for my third shot and nothing to rip them at 75 plus plus yards.
You're right, geese aren't armored. Using a 10 for geese seems to be more about increased range than anything else.
And at the same time, many guys don't do the necessary work needed to make their 12GA gun a 55+ yard gun. With the right load and choke combo, you can make it work out to those ranges real good.
With a Kick's High-Flyer FULL in my Browning Silver with Challenger 3.5" #1s, I can smash ducks and geese out to 60 yards all day long.
-Nick
Some good reading here
12 ga 3 1/2 vs the Mighty 10 ga
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/bpi/articleindex/articles/312inch1/GA1235K1.html
12 ga 3 1/2 vs the Mighty 10 ga
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/bpi/articleindex/articles/312inch1/GA1235K1.html
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
True enough. It's been a while since I've cranked out any ammo for it but as I recall, one of the loads we were using a number of years back was 2 1/4oz. Definately extends the effective pattern density out a 'few' more yards. Also, I seem to remember an article by Keith and his using the 10ga. on Geese, "Duces For Gooses".
I was lucky enough to get a few of those years in before the steel became mandatory. Of course back then, being just a poor kid out of school, the old full choked plain barrel 870 with 1 1/2oz handloads of #4 & #2 magnum shot is all I had to play with! Sometimes wish I could go back to those days!
That is true...unfortunately if the shooter doesn't have the skill to place that pattern on a goose all he's/she's accomplished is launching more expensive pellets further out into great emptiness! LOL!
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
That holds true for any distance. What showed some of us exactly how far you had to lead those that are further out is a spot between two islands down on the tidal flat. Pass shooting some of the low fast flyers going over the water between the islands and seeing the shot impact the water was a good instructor.
I had a Browning BPS in 10 years back.
Thought it would be a good Snow Goose buster , but found its heft to much for consistent follow through.
Ran 6 boxes through it and sold it for something else.
Your 870 is more than capable of taking care of business.
Have you tried smaller shot sizes for the geese.
Smaller pellets get into the feathers easier than the larger shot.
Try that and a more open choke, like say modified or the improved cylinder if they are in close, also when leading them do not have much daylight between the bead and their beak and follow through after the shot.
And of all things equally important use good quality ammo... I personally like Federal but others will dicker... I mean differ.
Good Hunting,
Rob
thepolinator
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Sudbury, ON
Thanks for the advice, I normally use bb through my 870 shooting pass. I found that remington bb works well with my gun, but I will have to try some higher end smaller shot ammo.
With out a doubt thats true but what what i get a laugh of is the amount of guys that can't judge distance i took my range finder out one day and i got my buddy to start estimatin range.Was he ever off anybody can with a 410 to a 10ga can knock a goose or duck down with a lucky shot but knowin your range and patterning your gun at the distance you hunt will greatly increase your success.In my opinion from owning both is that the only 12ga that comes close to performing like a 10ga is one that has an overbored barrel.Steel has its limits so for me my fav steel load is 1 1/2 ounce of bbb/f shot duplexed its deadly on high flyin geese because steel shot needs to be big in order to retain enough energy to kill out past the normal range's.Where i hunt we don't have 1000's of geese comin into farm feilds over decoys were a 20ga is fine we hunt small flocks that don't come into decoys alot and its 90% over water.So for me when i have one chance of gettin a goose i want the best tool for the job and thats a 10 ga because we are rarly gettin them in under 40 yds.And when we do its crazy lol....
Not to mention what the tar ponds have done to make everything down here bigger than normal including me and you.
I kinda learned the same way, only it was shooting salt water ducks along the shores of the St. Lawrence River! We had a strict rule of not shooting geese on water. On another note, anybody that thinks big Canadas are hard to bring down, should at least once in their life make it to either coast and go on an Eider hunt...those SOBs will make a guy think they actually are armoured! LOL!
swinginberrys
Regular
- Location
- Mallorytown
The long and the short of it is that even a twenty will wipe out the biggest honkers as long as you respect the range your gun has. Anyone with any experience will tell you a ten will have more range but there are a lot of other things to take into account. I don't think there is a black and white answer here.
10 is heavier, ammo isn't as easy to find, ammo is more expensive, wont be able to find the same selection of ammo
12 wont reach like a 10, 10 can help with maintaining swing (added weight of the gun should help with follow through) 3 1/2" 12 will kick worse then the 3 1/2" 10.
These are a few things to consider.
Honestly the only way to tell which gun is right for you is to try them out. Start with shouldering the guns, check out the over all feel and then start running shells through the gun of choice. You need to make the best set up with the gun that feels right for you.
If there was a black and white answer for this question there would one be one gun, one gauge, and one shell for it....
10 is heavier, ammo isn't as easy to find, ammo is more expensive, wont be able to find the same selection of ammo
12 wont reach like a 10, 10 can help with maintaining swing (added weight of the gun should help with follow through) 3 1/2" 12 will kick worse then the 3 1/2" 10.
These are a few things to consider.
Honestly the only way to tell which gun is right for you is to try them out. Start with shouldering the guns, check out the over all feel and then start running shells through the gun of choice. You need to make the best set up with the gun that feels right for you.
If there was a black and white answer for this question there would one be one gun, one gauge, and one shell for it....
