Monty said:
Doesn't a 20 ga in 3" Magnum do anything a 16 ga in 2 3/4 can?
Sure does - at the business end. The difference is in the recoil. You're all but guaranteed that the 20 will be lighter than a 12 or 16. If all you had was a 20 ga., you could certainly find loads suitable for tougher prey like pheasants or sharptail. But, you'd take more of a kicking in the effort (for some, the reduced weight of gun and ammo combined would be worth the difference in pounding).
Since Matt already has a 12 ga., it makes good sense to add a little versatility to his gun cabinet. 16 guages are a great alternative, but as has been mentioned before, the ammunition tends to be much harder to find and more expensive when you can find it. Still, shot shells are such a small portion of the cost of hunting (not the same deal for skeet, though), the cost of ammo alone shouldn't be a major determining factor in any purchase decision. Availability is another story.
One of the reasons proponents of 16 ga always have a good case is because of the superior patterning of most rounds through that bore. Any discussion of advantages and disadvantages of various gauges becomes moot unless we assume that, whatever gun is selected, it will be patterned to learn how alternative loads from different suppliers perform. If you don't pattern your ammo with your guns, you really don't know what the shot stream looks like at any given distance.
BTW, I suggested Walmart only as a source of cheap shells for general purpose shooting, such as skeet, ruffies, and rabbits. The largest shot size they carry is 7 1/2, so you wouldn't get the sustained energy you need for longer shots or tougher game. Still, as others have pointed out, there's no shortage of other shot sizes and loads at decent prices.
SS
