Discovery while shooting skeet

[wildcard]

So I own a Browning BPS 12 ga and a Remington SPR-100 20 ga I bought for $100 simply because I bought the wrong ammo and need a 20 ga to use it.

What happened was that I took both my shotguns to the range for a session of skeet. While I can hit most of what's thrown with my 12 ga.. I was simply able to do it faster and with a higher percentage using my 20 ga. It was weird cause I was expecting it to suck. But oddly enough.. I'm just able to control it faster. Don't get me wrong.. the Browning with a 26" vent rib barel is a wonderful gun.. but my cheap Remington performed MUCH better than I expected.

[wilit]

How heavy is your SPR-100? I've been wanting to get my wife out there with me, but my SPR-310 still has a tad too much recoil for her, and my 500A is out of the question. Since she doesn't go out with me all that often, I'm not looking to spend the cash for a 20ga auto-loader.

[ivanimal]

A lot of competition shooters practice with 20 Ga. easier on the shoulder Im told. I am sure there are other benefits.

[sargenv]

There are also those competition shooters with tubed barrels (tubed meaning sub gauge tubes adapted to larger gauges, ie 20, 28, or 410 in a 12 gauge barrel set) that fire the 20 gauge tube for 12 gauge competition. Since they likely reload their ammo, the 20 is cheaper to shoot once reloaded than the 12 is. Another way to make a direct comparison is to have equivalent ballistics loads between the 12 and 20. Say a 7/8 ounce load of shot at 1200 fps. Yes you can find a 7/8 ounce 12 gauge load, or roll your own as there is data for it. I've been using that light load for many years. Nice light recoil in my standard gun.

[wildcard]

How heavy is your SPR-100? I've been wanting to get my wife out there with me, but my SPR-310 still has a tad too much recoil for her, and my 500A is out of the question. Since she doesn't go out with me all that often, I'm not looking to spend the cash for a 20ga auto-loader.

6.5 lbs with a 26" barrel.. so it's light. The recoil will be a bit sharp since it's so light so slap a good recoil pad on it. Here's a review of the gun: http://www.gunhuntermag.com/features/060215Ear.htm

[maxicon]

A good wife's gun is a Remington 1100 20 gauge. They're not real expensive, have very light recoil (even the 1100 12 gauge is relatively light recoil), they handle well and aren't super heavy (mine's 7 lb 4 oz), and there are lots of parts for them if you need to tweak the stock.

If you want to spend more, there are better semi-auto shotguns, but for the money, it's hard to beat the 1100.

[Fjold]

The stock dimensions are different also and 20 guage might fit you better.

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Lighter gun with shorter barrel will swing faster to get on the clays.
It could be other things said also.

[Gnote]

I think it's because of the lighter gun and your ability to swing it faster as well. I wouldn't worry about whether it's a 12 or 20 gauge. The felt recoil is going to depend on the weight of the gun, the dram and the oz of shot anyway. A shot 20 gauge shotshell with the same load as a 12 gauge is going to feel very similar if the shotgun weight is the same.

[wildcard]

Y'all are right. I think the smaller barrel with no vent rib and thinner barrel wall allowed me to simply move it faster and easier with the difference in weight. It could also be due to where the weight is centered since the SPR is a single shot.

[12gauge12]

Ive got a 870 and a spr100. The spr seems quicker than the 870 because of the overall length. The spr recoil is pretty harsh, but I spent a few bucks on a good recoil pad. $150 total for a decent new shotgun aint a bad deal.