12 gauge vs 10 gauge

3macs1 said:
Agree somewhat. I'm normally on the same page with BEN but not this time. There is nothing delivers like a 10ga even with steel shot.I have been reloading all my own steel since a year after it 1st became law and with my duplex reloads around 1700 and the right choke I kill almost like I did with lead.
In fact this year for the 1st time I started using the 12ga 3 1/2 again for just duck hunting since the 10 was just tearing them apart over decoys.
No 12 ga 3 1/2 will ever pattern as nice as a 10ga.
I have two browning gold, a BPS and a rem sp-10 in 10ga and two 3 1/2 browning gold 12ga 3 1/2, plus my maxus,etc and have done a ton of testing since the mid 90's with different chokes , guns and both factory and RSI reloads. The 10ga gold with a briley IM diana choke will kill 65 -70 yards if I want to try no problem and has when I hunted snow geese out west.
Like I said it can be real hard on ducks under 35 yards if you can hit them. Ammo unless you reload is more expensive and hard to find at least down this way.
Some reading from BP. Try a 10ga once like they say and I know you will buy one if you are a goose hunter and don't mind the weight and shooting last in the blind
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/bpi/articleindex/articles/312inch1/GA1235K1.html
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I agree with twotone and 3macs1. I shoot an SP-10 a big percentage of waterfowl season. The 10 gauge is amazing. When my two boys hunt with me, they always want to shoot the 10 gauge.
 
3macs1 said:
To me it is very simple. Anyone that cannot see the advantage of a 10ga over any 12ga don't care of it is 3" or 3 1/2" has never used one for pass shooting or shared a blind with a guy that knows how to shoot one.
One morning pass shooting over 40 yards, chasing snow geese or sea ducks and I would have you using your 12ga for a boat paddle on the way home and out buying a 10ga. That is what happened to me over 20 years ago and I have never looked back.
Back then .I went hunting with two different outfitters in PEI and both guides were shooting sp-10's and ithaca's. The next year I had my 1st 10ga..
If you are hunting over decoys and under 40 yards yes you can do a lot of damage with the 10 and the 12 is a better selection to save some meat at least for me.
Buy hey to each their own use what ever works for the hunting you do.
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Well said. I like watching my buddies speed up the lil bluebills and ruddies with there jamomatic 3.5" 12gas just to see me cancel their flights with the 10ga. Sure it might cost more to shoot but I don't duck hunt enough to cry over an extra $.50 a shot. When a single goose comes in high they all look at me and say well you gunna take it? That's why I love my 10
 
I realy enjoy my S-P 10. I do have to think the best way to get the most out of it is to reload your shells I am just getting in loading steel shot for my 10 gauge. I do like to watch the WOW look on the faces of the 12 gauge shooters seeing the Canadas rain lol
 
red-oak said:
I realy enjoy my S-P 10. I do have to think the best way to get the most out of it is to reload your shells I am just getting in loading steel shot for my 10 gauge. I do like to watch the WOW look on the faces of the 12 gauge shooters seeing the Canadas rain lol
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A way back in the good old days of lead;), most of what a few of us were loading was 2oz and 2 1/4oz loads with a granulated poly to cushion the shot. Some of the best patterns I got was with the 2oz copper plated Federal Premium factory loads. This is why I'm very reluctant to open the chokes on my double to use steel. I'll have to, pardon the expression, bite the expense bullet and get some ITX shot.

Some of our best shooting locally on the 'flats' at the river mouth, was usually between Christmas and New Years when most of the more inland ponds etc were frozen over. If it was crowded and we 'happened' to position in amongst the 12 bore shooters, after pulling birds down from a ways out, it wasn't long until the other shooters thinned out. Using big 'duces for Gooses' loads and once used to the amount of lead required, you could bring them down from a long ways out.
 
I have heard and it's not personal experience, that because of the larger bore size the 10ga pattern better with fuller chokes for more reach. Kinda like a 12ga with large buck or shot may actually group tighter with with modified over full because of less shot deformation/ pressure. That being said if the 10 ga shoots 2oz or larger pay loads with a larger shot size with full chokes......well could be somthing to it with the right set up. But I may just be overthinking the subject.
 
I shoot 1 5/8oz federal steel bb's from a 34" 10ga barrels choked f/m and the full patterns well out a long way the mod patterns perfectly at 30 yards. They're fixed chokes
 
Jay said:
Agreed 110%!!! ben is bang on! It's why I run with a 3.5 inch chambered 12 gauge!



Again, bang on! pacobillie has it!!!



I'm gonna take a guess that you're just a better shooter than your buddies & you drop birds more effectively with the 10 ga as a result... (A compliment, even though I don't agree with your saying the 10 ga is a better waterfowl gun...) ;)

I'll finish by saying what I have been saying for the last little while... I used to use a 3 inch shell with #4 steel going 1550 fps, dropped ducks like nobody's business... Switched to a 3 inch shell with #2 steel going 1550 fps for geese...

Started getting into more & more geese, so 'being prepared' for a mix of geese & ducks soon saw me going to a 3.5 inch shell loaded with #2 steel & going 1550 fps. This allowed me to be ready for ducks or geese & has become my go to shell for waterfowl in any situation.

A 12 ga with a 3.5 inch chamber is my personal choice for a waterfowl shotgun!!! Not to mention IT IS CHEAPER to shoot the 12 ga...

Cheers
Jay
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That's where a double barrel with twin triggers comes in handy.
Where I generally hunt, it's a huge mix of ducks and geese so I have one of each load ready to go
 
12 year old thread but I still stand by my comments on the 10ga and I use a double with dual triggers in the 10ga. I've converted several friends to 10s after they try a couple hunts with my 10s. Seems most prefer my browning pump over my sxs but I'm partial to the sxs
 
brybenn said:
12 year old thread but I still stand by my comments on the 10ga and I use a double with dual triggers in the 10ga. I've converted several friends to 10s after they try a couple hunts with my 10s. Seems most prefer my browning pump over my sxs but I'm partial to the sxs
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100%... 10ga for me - expcially on the bigger birds when they get a bit wilder... like engines, no replacement for displacement..
 
I was in a store during a big sale 3-4 years ago, and actually considered a Browning 10 gauge semi auto at $1200 new. I looked at ammunition prices, thought it over, and bought a Maxus Wicked Wings Bronze Edition for $1300 instead. For field shooting over decoys, I just can't justify 3-1/2" loads in the 12 gauge, let alone a 10 gauge. The number one way to increase your shooting percentage is to improve your wingshooting, rather than throwing more shot. The hunters that kill the most birds, with the fewest shots, are the hunters that do well at skeet and sporting clays. So if you have extra cash, spend it on clays and target ammunition, not on a new 10 gauge.
 
I hunt pressured geese over fields in south west Ontario and geese and divers on the big water. Getting geese into dekes at 25 to 30 yards can be difficult so pass shooting is very common. Alot of shots on geese I take are at 50 yards. That's where the 10s denser pattern with BB or BBB or even t shot really shine

I do agree skeet and sporting clays shooters make better wing shots
 
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