Sell me on why 20ga?

Huntaholic

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Messages
4,250
Location
Fer Tick
I hope y'all know I'm not judging what anyone shoots or doesn't shoot. It was just an interesting topic some friends and I've been discussing this season. It's cool there's effective loads for the smaller gauges and I Don't question their lethality.

It is clear who wears skirts to hunt in though, as they can't handle the recoil of a real gun 🤣🤣🤣🤣
LMAO! :D You and I are generally on the same page, but recoil aint got jack diddly shat to do with me carrying a 20. At 59 yrs old Im tired of carrying the extra weight around, plain and simple. Give me a holler sometime and you can swing by the house and shoot some of my hunting rifles, you will see PDQ that recoil isnt a factor with me.
 

knightrider

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2010
Messages
10,897
Location
tn
LMAO! :D You and I are generally on the same page, but recoil aint got jack diddly shat to do with me carrying a 20. At 59 yrs old Im tired of carrying the extra weight around, plain and simple. Give me a holler sometime and you can swing by the house and shoot some of my hunting rifles, you will see PDQ that recoil isnt a factor with me.
If its that big a deal, loose 2lbs😂 if 1-2lbs makes that much difference than you dont need to be in the woods to start with, you gonna have a stroke or heart attack carrying a bird out😂 and yes i tote a 20 most days😂😂
 
Last edited:

TheLBLman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2002
Messages
38,154
Location
Knoxville-Dover-Union City, TN
stevens single shot turkey gun
Yep. If you think you might need a 2nd shot, you probably shouldn't be pulling the trigger.
Where else do you go to shoot a turkey other than the head and neck?
No where else for me, but many are just going for whatever the pellets will hit. I've passed up several "easy" kills already this year, just because I couldn't get a clean head/neck shot.
I eat my birds, don't want any pellets in the breast.
 

Rakkin6

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
7,270
Location
Clarksville
I switch back and forth between the 12 and 20. But these are my patterns with hand loaded 20 gauge out of a Stevens 301 and an Indian Creek .562. It weighs 5.75 pounds amd throws a wicked pattern. I bought my first 20 gauge last year, so it took a little bit to hop on the train and I don't mind the weight or recoil of my 12 gauges at all but to answer @Setterman, you have an excuse to tell your wife why you need another gun. Lol

I also purchased a Stoeger 3020 about a month ago and won't have it patterned until after the season. Just acquired a Sumtoy Choke for it waiting to get a red dot and get it out.
132826-686f377aaed2bc05697b563943ea0898~2.jpg
 
Last edited:

Setterman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
5,049
Location
Knoxville, TN
LMAO! :D You and I are generally on the same page, but recoil aint got jack diddly shat to do with me carrying a 20. At 59 yrs old Im tired of carrying the extra weight around, plain and simple. Give me a holler sometime and you can swing by the house and shoot some of my hunting rifles, you will see PDQ that recoil isnt a factor with me.
Just giving you yugo! I'm good on a recoil pissing contest
 

Gravey

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2005
Messages
39,534
Location
Christiana (Rutherford County)
I switch back and forth between the 12 and 20. But these are my patterns with hand loaded 20 gauge out of a Stevens 301 and an Indian Creek .562. It weighs 5.75 pounds amd throws a wicked pattern. I bought my first 20 gauge last year, so it took a little bit to hop on the train and I don't mind the weight or recoil of my 12 gauges at all but to answer @Setterman, you have an excuse to tell your wife why you need another gun. Lol

I also purchased a Stoeger 3020 about a month ago and won't have it patterned until after the season. Just acquired a Sumtoy Choke for it waiting to get a red dot and get it out.
View attachment 226625
Check out the Burris FF3 in the Deals forum. I've got one on my 3020 and really like it.
 
Last edited:

Lilbuckgetter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2008
Messages
82
Location
Middle TN SouthWest of cookeville
Go buy a box of 12 gauge 2 3/4" lead copper plated 1 1/8oz # 6 or 7 1/2 and you've got your 20 ga challenge, saved $1000.00 and don't have another gun to store. If you're gonna shoot tss in the 20 you're turning it into a 3.5" 12 ga lead gun, It don't matter to me what people spend they money on/ none of my business but I'm not gonna do it.
Agreed, I've stoeger 3020 turkey and 2 Rem 870 super mag 12ga.Shoot Longbeard XRs through all guns, the lighter 20ga recoil is sweet! It comes down to which most confident in
 

Rakkin6

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
7,270
Location
Clarksville
Check out the Burris FF3 in the Deals forum. I've got one on my 3020 and really like it.
Thanks for the heads up I got one on my Mossberg 535 Turkey Thug and really like it, only thing I am not a fan of is the battery cap. Other than that a great reflex sight.
 

fairchaser

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Messages
8,899
Location
TN, USA
If I was starting from scratch, I'd buy a 20 gauge but I ain't so I won't. The 12 gauge works just fine and it's a turkey killing machine out to 60 yds. If I had to climb the hills of East TN, I'd retire the 12 and try to lose 20 lbs. off my gut. If you think a pound doesn't matter, take a 1 lb dumbbell and curl it 20,000 times! That's about the most steps I've walked.
 

Rakkin6

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Messages
7,270
Location
Clarksville
If I was starting from scratch, I'd buy a 20 gauge but I ain't so I won't. The 12 gauge works just fine and it's a turkey killing machine out to 60 yds. If I had to climb the hills of East TN, I'd retire the 12 and try to lose 20 lbs. off my gut. If you think a pound doesn't matter, take a 1 lb dumbbell and curl it 20,000 times! That's about the most steps I've walked.
Ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain. That was my motto when I was packing my rucksack that I would have to carry for days while I was in the Army.
 

Iglow

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2021
Messages
2,462
Location
Occupied Tennessee
stevens single shot turkey gun
That's what I've got in 12ga and love it. I taped a comb on it with gorilla duct tape to make it shoot where I'm looking and raise the pattern where I want it. It's a good safe gun. Rattle can camo job and good to go. If I was to want an extra challenge I can handload 3/4 oz of 7.5 lead and bingo! I'm hunting with a 410 or I can get max 3" TSS and go full technocrap. My load I use is 2 3/4" #5 Super X or handloaded 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz coppered #7.5. It's pretty light , about 5 3/4 lbs I think, another thing I like is it's real muzzle light ,that makes holding it pointed for a long time easier.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3862.jpeg
    IMG_3862.jpeg
    711 KB · Views: 16
Last edited:

Benelli 4 Life

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
340
Location
Bledsoe Co. TN
There ain't any advantage to a 20 other than being lighter. I started shooting TSS and a 20 in 2013 and hunted with that combo the majority of the time since then. Last 2 years I have went back to my M1 12 and that's probably what I'll shoot from now on
 

rem270

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2002
Messages
38,715
Location
#sfmafia
I wanted to explore with a red dot. Did not want to have my Super X3 drilled and tapped because I squirrel and duck hunt with it as well. So thought what the heck, I'll look into a 20 gauge. Liked the feel of the Tri Star Viper G2 with pistol grip and it was already drilled and tapped and had picatinny rail on it. That's really the only reason why. But it was nice when I was patterning the red dot that I wasn't getting my shoulder blown off with the 12 ga 3.5's. Hunting I never feel it. Shooting at a target I always feel it.
 

Latest posts

Top