10 gauge shotgun - Does it serve a purpose

If I had to knock down wild geese from a marsh blind and they were leery of the decoy spread, I'd want a 10-ga. There was a time when a 12-ga was all the shotgun a hunter needed. Then non-toxic shot rules came in, and steel shot was reportedly just bouncing off the high fliers. Ammo technology, chokes and recoil absorption tricks have changed since then. And you can use the same shotgun for turkeys for all the same reasons.
 
Does it deserve a purpose? The manufacturers think so ... they sell like crazy.

Its here, has been for decades ... and will be. 8 gauge became obsolete but not the ten.
 
8ga also became an assault style rifle to here in Canada.
I've used my 10s for duck goose and turkey and it sure works well. They are heavy guns though. For turkeys I've gone to 2.5" 12ga and 20ga guns. I've had to pass up shots on big toms due to that choice but I have no regrets.
The 10 is here to stay. Much like other gauges it has a loyal following
 
Thomas D'Arcy McGee said:
If so, then why do so few firearms manufacturers make 10g shotguns?
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Because the 12 is vastly more popular despite being inferior to the 10 for some things. Most people don't need to launch 2 1/4oz of shot each pull of the trigger. The 12 is more than sufficient and enjoys further popularity from being the standard for almost all LE and military.
 
I wonder what wonders an 8G would perform. Never know I guess, but meantime a 12 gives me more than adequate weight to carry around. I do know that when we're talking 10s, we're generally talking about waterfowl, but I had a high school friend who used one, a SXS, on rabbits. Being a thrifty Scots lad, he fired cheaper 12 G shells in it and carried a tool to pry them out after shooting.
 
Some 10s were built on smaller frames. The old chambers were less than 3". With black powder and a lighter load they'd make a great small game gun.

To bad 8ga falls under an assault rifle ban now. I was actively searching for a muzzleloading 8ga for deer season. I like to play with different things
 
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powerbaitron said:
The 10 is also way more difficult to source ammo for…
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It's in stock at every gun shop I have ever been in. You may not have the same selection as 12g 2 3/4" or 3" but comparing 3.5" I'd say you aren't much worse off looking for 10 than 12. Also a very minor problem for someone willing to just buy a bunch at once.
 
It's available here in the deep south west of Ontario but the price like everything have drastically risen. For years I was paying 32 to 35 a box now it's 57
 
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