Bolt action 10 gauge shotguns, do they shoot to longer effective ranges than 12 gauge shotguns

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When I was a kid we used to see from time to time these bolt action, long barreled 10 gauge shotguns. We called them Goose Guns.

Do they allow you to hit targets at longer ranges compared to a similar tubed and choked 12 gauge or is it a myth?
 
Well I have an English 1875 break action 10ga water Fowler with a 42” barrel and it’ll outreach and out punch all my other guns in 12ga and smaller. And in Black powder to boot.
Kicks brutally too. It’s the sorta gun you take in the field on those days that you hate yourself a bit. I like it though.
 
Is a good question - it raises a few issues - in old days, with black powder - a longer barrel would produce higher velocity - I do not think that is the case with smokeless powder, these days. That longer barrel likely allows the shooter to aim slightly more accurately. So, those two notions together, might suggest that the longer barrel was better for really "reaching out" - yet the velocity thing is probably not actually true any more. I do recall a few folks with the 10 gauge - a double barrel and a bolt action "goose gun" - they were reputed to be awesome goose getters, although the guys that I knew that regularly got a lot of geese used 3" 12 gauge - was in the days of lead shot - so, is possible that steel shot may have changed the dynamic again? Saskatchewan grain field decoys and pits - I suspect the type of shooting and location might be relevant as well. If someone not too good at setting up decoys, probably going to have longer range shooting - versus I used 3 inch #2 lead shot in a Modified choked 12 gauge - seemed to kill enough birds.
 
The 10 throws a denser pattern with larger shot sizes. Each pellet would have the same ballistics no matter the headstamp.
The ability to hit a game bird multiple times at distance is based on pattern density. As shot size and weight increase the number of pellets decreases. The larger bore allows for more larger pellets which in turn increases the density of said pattern. That is what allows you to kill further as heavier pellets carry more energy and dig deeper. The length of the barrels doesn't change anything but the balance and swing of the gun. My 32" 10ga barrels patterned nearly the exact same as the 20" barreled 10ga I had.
There was more velocity change shell to shell than 20" vs 28" vs 32".
 
tula said:
Well I have an English 1875 break action 10ga water Fowler with a 42” barrel and it’ll outreach and out punch all my other guns in 12ga and smaller. And in Black powder to boot.
Kicks brutally too. It’s the sorta gun you take in the field on those days that you hate yourself a bit. I like it though.
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I really want a marlin goose gun with a 36" barrel, but now all of the sudden 36" sounds short and lame...
 
stubblejumper said:
Given the same velocity, and the same shot size, they don't shoot any farther, they just throw more shot, so a more dense pattern may make it more effective.
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I was thinking the exact same thing.
0faustus0 said:
Or ... given the same velocity ... they can shoot larger pellets while keeping the same pellet count .... and thus reaching out further ..... :)
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Then that begs the question, which comes first: Pellet velocity decreases below a lethal threshold, or pattern density decreases below a lethal threshold? Larger pellets are only going to help if your issue is the first one.
 
Suther said:
I was thinking the exact same thing.

Then that begs the question, which comes first: Pellet velocity decreases below a lethal threshold, or pattern density decreases below a lethal threshold? Larger pellets are only going to help if your issue is the first one.
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A single larger pellet say BBB or t shot can bring down a bird better than several hits of smaller pellets say #3. Inside 35 yards both are effective. At 60 yards those small pellets run out of energy while BBB or t shot are still very lethal. I generally have 3 or 4 hits with BBB on geese at 60 yards with my 10ga. That's not a shot I'd take with a 12ga with smaller shot even if the density was tighter.
I've yet to see a 12ga pattern steel t shot in any form of respective patterns at 50 yards where the tens pattern it well and hold a killing pattern density to 65 yards
 
brybenn said:
A single larger pellet say BBB or t shot can bring down a bird better than several hits of smaller pellets say #3. Inside 35 yards both are effective. At 60 yards those small pellets run out of energy while BBB or t shot are still very lethal. I generally have 3 or 4 hits with BBB on geese at 60 yards with my 10ga. That's not a shot I'd take with a 12ga with smaller shot even if the density was tighter.
I've yet to see a 12ga pattern steel t shot in any form of respective patterns at 50 yards where the tens pattern it well and hold a killing pattern density to 65 yards
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Using a Patternmaster Code Black goose, I get very good patterns at 50 yards with 3" 12 gauge and #2 Fasteel . After trying #2 and BB, I am a believer in the smaller shot, better chance at head/neck hits than with fewer larger pellets, and head/neck shots provide quicker kills than body hits. #2 has twice as many pellets per ounce as BBB, so you would need twice as many ounces to have the same pattern density. But I do trade a few pellets by going with the 1560fps load, as opposed to the 1450fps load.
 
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stubblejumper said:
Using a Patternmaster Code Black goose, I get very good patterns at 50 yards with 3" 12 gauge and #2 Fasteel . After trying #2 and BB, I am a believer in the smaller shot, better chance at head/neck hits than with fewer larger pellets, and head/neck shots provide quicker kills than body hits. #2 has twice as many pellets per ounce as BBB, so you would need twice as many ounces to have the same pattern density. But I do trade a few pellets by going with the 1560fps load, as opposed to the 1450fps load.
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I agree totally and use #2 steel in 12ga for ducks. For pass shooting geese over water or fields at 60 yards or beyond those #2 pellets don't have the energy to bring down big geese. The larger BBB and t shot does even with body hits or broken wing bones. That's where the 10s shine.
I'd prolly use my 10s for ducks if smaller shot sizes were available but it's hard to find anything smaller than #2 steel in 10.
For decoying ducks a 20ga with #4 steel works perfect. I can really crunch the head and necks on them. Not something I'd want to take 40 yard shots with though. I hunt primarily on the lakes shooting divers. Not to often I hunt ponds or ditches but when I do I use subgauge guns.

If you're ever bored and have shells to burn set up 2l pop bottles filled with water at various distances and see which shot sizes still punch thru. It has very little bearing on killing game but it is interesting how far the big steel pellets will reach. Also proves the smaller end for dove loads kinda suck. Wear glasses some of those #7 steel pellets can come back at you
 
brybenn said:
I agree totally and use #2 steel in 12ga for ducks. For pass shooting geese over water or fields at 60 yards or beyond those #2 pellets don't have the energy to bring down big geese. The larger BBB and t shot does even with body hits or broken wing bones. That's where the 10s shine.
I'd prolly use my 10s for ducks if smaller shot sizes were available but it's hard to find anything smaller than #2 steel in 10.
For decoying ducks a 20ga with #4 steel works perfect. I can really crunch the head and necks on them. Not something I'd want to take 40 yard shots with though. I hunt primarily on the lakes shooting divers. Not to often I hunt ponds or ditches but when I do I use subgauge guns.

If you're ever bored and have shells to burn set up 2l pop bottles filled with water at various distances and see which shot sizes still punch thru. It has very little bearing on killing game but it is interesting how far the big steel pellets will reach. Also proves the smaller end for dove loads kinda suck. Wear glasses some of those #7 steel pellets can come back at you
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I used a couple of pieces of plywood to pattern my hunting loads. It was interesting to look at the differences in penetration at 50 yards, the Browning #2 @1450fps were not fully buried in the plywood but the #2 Fasteel at 1560fps were fully buried and then some. We hunt fields over decoys, so most shots are close, but I have shot geese at 50+ yards with good results when they flared. As for 65 yards, I can't be bothered, the odds of a clean kill are too low for me with any guage using steel. Now if I was using TSS, that would change the situation.
 
i have read articles were the writer started out with a long barreled shotgun. he was getting more velocity than was stated on the ammo box. they cut the barrel an inch at a time with a loss of velocity except in one or two instances . i would expect that these extra long barrel ten guages would have more velocity leaving the barrel than shorter versions of the same gun. how that would effect the shot at distance is the question. it is my understanding that shot slows down to the same rate at distance even though it left the barrel at a higher velocity.
 
My 10 gauge BPS might not have shot *faster* but it had far more effective hitting power downrange than any other shotgun I've ever owned. Not even comparable. It smashed late-season sea ducks at twice the range I was used to shooting them, even with 3.5 inch 12ga.
 
TheCoachZed said:
My 10 gauge BPS might not have shot *faster* but it had far more effective hitting power downrange than any other shotgun I've ever owned. Not even comparable. It smashed late-season sea ducks at twice the range I was used to shooting them, even with 3.5 inch 12ga.
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If it was actually "twice the range" then I suspect that you shot that gun a lot better than any of your other shotguns. Twice the range would require the same energy delivered at twice the range, and the small difference in payload between a 3-1/2" 12 gauge and a 10 gauge, won't produce anywhere near that.
 
stubblejumper said:
If it was actually "twice the range" then I suspect that you shot that gun a lot better than any of your other shotguns. Twice the range would require the same energy delivered at twice the range, and the small difference in payload between a 3-1/2" 12 gauge and a 10 gauge, won't produce anywhere near that.
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I presumed the noticeable upgrade in hitting power was due to more pellets on-target at the right time due to a better shot string and pattern. It was not an easy gun to jump-shoot with due to its weight.
 
Patterning and penetration testing will tell the tail. Each pellet size 2 at 1400 fps will have the same energy regardless if 410 or 8 ga. How far can you put a killing number of pellets on the target?
 
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