12 vs 20

[jrbdad]

I am looking at getting my son (15) new shotgun for x-mas. It will be for all around use. Really like the CZ's. He like to shoot clays and has shown some interest in trap. Will be used for dove too. My question is what is advantage of 12 over 20 gauge? He shoots my 12 gauge just fine. But wont
20 be easyer on shoulder after long day?

Thanks

[CSACANNONEER]

My suggestion is to stick with 12g. You can always load real light loads or buy AA Xtra lites for him if standard target loads get to be too much. With 12g he'll have more lead in the air and a better chance at connecting with his target. Many people get stuck on the 12g vs. 20g thing and just don't realize that the way a gun fits an individual is far more important than the size of the round. A properly fitted 12g is going to be far more comfortable and easier to shoot than an poorly fitted 20g will.

[Nathan Krynn]

My suggestion is to stick with 12g. You can always load real light loads or buy AA Xtra lites for him if standard target loads get to be too much. With 12g he'll have more lead in the air and a better chance at connecting with his target. Many people get stuck on the 12g vs. 20g thing and just don't realize that the way a gun fits an individual is far more important than the size of the round. A properly fitted 12g is going to be far more comfortable and easier to shoot than an poorly fitted 20g will.

Absolutely.

When I got my wife to shoot trap/skeet I thought a 20ga would be better but she preferred 12ga by far as the gun fit her better. As for recoil she said she really didn't notice much difference.

I personally started with 12ga as a kid and never looked back.

[Coyotegunner]

What CSA said.When people start going down in size,they better be getting good.There are a lot of light loads made for the 12 gauge,also many heavy when you need all you can get.Rarely you see a 20 at a trap range,other than beginners.The 12 is just more versatile in my thinking.

[joefreas]

My vote is for the 12. My Dad started me with a 20 and a year later I begged and begged for a 12g. Then when I finally got one I was a bit disappointed it wasnt chambered for 3" mags.

Now 15 years later, I buy my own guns and have many 12g with 3.5" chambers. My GF actually shoots that origional 20 that my pops got me. I remember the day we got it, there was no waiting period.

[lugar]

Here is an article by M Ayoob called Consider the 20-gauge shotgun.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob120.

I have 20 and a 12. The 20 is our primary HD gun for the reasons Massad states but mostly because my wife is 5' 2" and recoil and sound sensitive.

You will get reasonable arguments here for 12 or 20. These folks know of what they speak but only you can decide what's right for you.

[jrbdad]

thanks guys. That goes along with my train of thought..

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Lugar, linky no worky.

I have to disagree with the 20 over 12 because of less recoil/noise. The laws of physics tend to agree with me. If you use loads that put out the same amount of shot, like a light 12 ga. load vs. a standard 20 ga load, the one that is trying to force the shot down a tighter hole is going to recoil more. If you go with the 12, you can always go with the light loads, and you will have less recoil than a 20 ga every time. And you always have the option of using full-powered 12 ga shells if you need to. One other thing to consider. If you ever are using a shotgun in a defensive situation, I will guarantee you that you won't feel the recoil. You are going to be so hopped up on adrenaline that you aren't going to feel a thing.

-Mb

[redrex]

If recoil is the main issue get a semi auto and a good but pad.

[foxtrotuniformlima]

12 GA all the way.

[xrMike]

When I was 15, I would have wanted a 12 over a 20 all day long (my thinking being: "a 12 guage is a MAN'S shotgun...").

[sargenv]

It's not really so much 12 vs 20, it's "light gun vs heavy gun". A light 20 loaded with standard ammo will never feel as light in recoil as heavy 12 with ballistically similar ammo. I've fired the 12 gauge Super Black Eagle II, which is at least a pound lighter than my 12 gauge Gold hunter and I can't stand the recoil it gives.. I have an 11 pound 10 gauge Gold that kicks less shooting it's standard load of steel shot than that Super Black Eagle II shooting it's requisite 3.5" load..

It goes back to heavy gun with standard ammo and light gun with standard ammo.. the light gun will always kick more since there is less weight there to absorb the recoil produced by X ammo. That is unless you have some sort of shock absorbing system..

[callmetom04]

Either one is good, and in my personal experience a 20 generally does kick less than a 12, but it just depends on what you (or your son) want: There is a perception out there that a 12 is a REAL shotgun, and that a 20 is somehow something less than that, but if you ever had to shoot somebody with a 20, you'd find that the 20 will do the job just fine...The best shooter that I've personally ever seen up close (the guy that taught me how to shoot) swears by the 20 gauge shotgun...And for a little piece of history, the famous outlaw Bonnie Parker (Bonnie and Clyde) carried a sawed off 20 gauge autoloader (a Remington) as her personal weapon, and once blew a wounded cops head off with it at point blank range in front of witnesses.

And incidentally. I've got a brand new (never fired) 20 gauge Escort autoloader for sale on this board right now...

[BigDogatPlay]

There's nothing wrong, IMO, with a 20 gauge gun. But if he can handle a 12 in a gun that feels good to him, that he mounts and points well, then there is something to be said for that as well. In clays, weight is good. Out all morning or afternoon hunting dove or quail then weight may not be so good.

FWIW... one of my bosses at work bought a 20 gauge semi-auto for his early teen son to learn on clays. Now the boss likes that gun so much it's his own go to pheasant gun. He gets tired of packing around his own 12 gauge all day long in the field.

[Saym14]

is your 15 year old 105 pounds or 185 pounds. that is the answer.