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Posted: 8/27/2005 12:39:01 PM EDT
[#1]
I use 20 guage for small game and deer effectively. 12 is better for waterfowl, but in the lead shot days 20 held its own there too.
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Posted: 8/27/2005 3:10:55 PM EDT
[#2]
I killed damned near everything that walks, crawls or flys...including many turkey and ducks, but no geese... in N. Florida and S. Georgia with an old 20ga. Ithaca 37 choked modified many years ago, but never hunted deer with the 20...for that I always used the 12ga. or. more often, (and my preference) rifles.
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Posted: 8/27/2005 3:15:28 PM EDT
[#3]
+1 My first gun was a Savage single shot youth model 20ga. Growing up in Maine, I hunted everything from rabbit, squirrel, partridge, deer and bear (never did see a bear which is probably a good thing!). Choose the size of your shot and you can damn near take down anything. |
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Posted: 8/27/2005 7:45:04 PM EDT
[#4]
My first gun was also a 20ga. H&R Topper single shot with full choke. I have used it for about everything (rabbit, squire, turkey, pheasant, quail, duck, ferrel hog) at some time or another except geese. I have used it on occasion for deer, all between 30-60yds. If you plan to use it for this, you need to practice your loads so as to know how much drop you get at range. I still use it some as its a LOT lighter to carry through the woods than ANY 12ga, much less a pump or auto.
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Posted: 8/27/2005 7:52:52 PM EDT
[#5]
First deer I ever shot/killed was with a 20 ga. slug gun, did the job quite well. -Todd
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Posted: 8/27/2005 7:59:12 PM EDT
[#6]
Nothing wrong with a 20ga for hunting, save for longer shots for ducks or geese. Everybody is going the "MORE POWER" route with Mags, Super Mags, 10ga....they have their place, but it's not always the best.
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Posted: 8/27/2005 8:05:56 PM EDT
[#7]
IMO the 20ga. is a perfect midpoint for youth between the .22 rifle and the 12ga. shotgun.
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Posted: 8/27/2005 8:39:02 PM EDT
[#8]
The 20 has a little less recoil, but it's not a beginner's gun -- It's an expert's gun.
It will kill almost as reliably as a 12, but only with a solid hit. If you are pretty good with a scatter gun, you can get by with one. I saw a guy fill three grocery bags with quail and pheasant one day using the 20. I also saw him shoot three empty beer bottles by throwing the bottle high and behind him, then turning to shoot twice: 'Pop Pop'. The first shot neatly took the neck off the bottle, and the second turned the remainder to dust.  As for me, I remain a dedicated 12 guage shooter. 
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Posted: 8/27/2005 8:54:20 PM EDT
[#9]
I used a 20 ga exclusively when growing up.
Killed everything with it... deer, ducks, geese, phesants, clays, assorted rodents. good old side by side 20. Best way to start. Learn to make those two shots count. Then,m when you get an auto, you're a lean, mean, killing machine. |
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Posted: 8/27/2005 11:44:05 PM EDT
[#10]
I have, up until now, used a 20ga only for my shotgun hunting.
Dove hunting- mod choke and 7.5 or 8 shot Quail hunting- imp cyl choke and 7.5 or 8 shot Deer- 3/4oz rifled slug I've vaporized a quail before with a 20, shooting it at very close range (kinda by accident) when it suprised me. IMO, a 12ga is overkill for small game at closer ranges such as quail, woodcock, etc usually are unless you are shooting very light loads. |
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Posted: 8/27/2005 11:58:47 PM EDT
[#11]
There's a wierd progression that happens to hunters, especially upland game and dove hunters through stages in their lives.
They start hunting with a 20 gauge, then they get a 12 gauge and they feel like an adult, then finally the switch back to the 20 gauge because it's a bit more of a challenge and a slim SXS 20 gauge is just a pleasure to carry in the field. |
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Posted: 8/28/2005 12:36:26 AM EDT
[#12]
You said it. Best darn "one size fits all" firearm out there as far as I'm concerned. That quail part makes me laugh too - been there, done that (about 45 years ago). I was a little kid and my dad cracked up... "<snort, giggle, snort, guffaw> Not worth picking it up son. I told you to let them fly for a while. They aren't turtle doves". Jeeze I miss my dad. |
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Posted: 8/28/2005 7:44:53 AM EDT
[#13]
Yeah, I've vaporized grouse, and a few other things before with my 20ga.
BOOM! @%$#$ (*)(&) (*&&*(*$% !!!!! |
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Posted: 8/28/2005 8:43:55 AM EDT
[#14]
Myself, I run 20 or 28 gauge tubes in the O/U's when hunting upland birds that are going to be shot close. Have even gone to the point of using the tubes for release pheasants for the same reason.
And, if the shooting is being down in tight area's, nothing beats a 20 gauge 870 youth model for ability to swing around in the trees. Nothing wrong with a 12 gauge, but a lot of time it's just too much and you end up wasting more game than needed. Since you listed NY, my guess is that most of the time your going to be shooting birds, and the 20 really fits the bill, and even as a slug gun when the shots are going to be inside of 50 yards. |
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Posted: 8/28/2005 9:59:23 AM EDT
[#15]
My first shotgun was a 20 ga.
Took a number of small birds and even some ducks. No go on larger foul like Geese. |
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Posted: 8/28/2005 1:22:01 PM EDT
[#16]
I went fron a 20 to a 12 to a 20 to a 28 and now a .410 when I can for birds on the wing. 12 or 20 for deer. 12 for turkeys, ducks and geese. . MIKE. |
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Posted: 8/29/2005 12:53:29 PM EDT
[#18]
Remington, Mossberg and Winchester offer combo's in their pump's, 870/500/1300 that have both a deer barrel and a bird barrel for less than $400. MIKE.
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Posted: 8/30/2005 1:15:24 PM EDT
[#19]
For bird hunting, I prefer a 20 gauge. I still have my first gun, an Ithaca 37 20ga. I now use a Remington 1100 20ga Left Hand (extremely hard to come by) for bird shooting. I used an 11-87 lefty 12ga for awhile as well as an Ithaca Mag 10 Roadblocker, but I miss a lot, and three or four boxes of 10ga is a bit punishing. I could never tell the difference in more birds hit with the 20 or the 12, but I sure as hell dropped more doves with the RoadBlocker than the other two guns. I was loading 2-1/2oz of #8 shot, that thing would drop 2 or 3 at a time when a group flew by.
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