Pennsylvania Game News - June 2011 - 63

or auto action provides the extra length needed to keep that 26-inch barrel swinging smoothly. Returning to the use of heavy shotshell loads, now is a good time to relate the harm done to shooting because of the recoil caused by heavy loads. On one hand, a heavy gun, such as many 12-gauge guns, helps reduce recoil by absorbing it with the gun’s weight. On the other hand, many of the heavy loads used by today’s hunters using 12-gauge shotguns kick like a Missouri mule. That is no joke, and that heavy recoil can result in flinching, which in turn results in missing your mark. Velocity and the weight of the pellet load primarily determine recoil. The easiest way to reduce recoil is to reduce one’s pellet load. Immediately upon changing to a 20-gauge shotgun using 2 3/ 4-inch shotshells, one will reduce recoil. (A 20 shooting 3-inch shells has too many negatives to discuss here.) The standard shot load for a 12-gauge, 23/4-inch upland shotshell is 11/4 ounces of lead. The 23/4-inch 20-gauge shotshell carries 1 ounce or 7/8 of an ounce of shot. Given equal velocity, the 20-gauge shotshell has less recoil than the 12. Velocities of 12- and 20-gauge shotshells are, or can be, equal. (Fact is, velocities today are all over the place, with many being quite high and, in fact, excessive and unnecessary, but that is another article.) Let’s consider an 8-pound 12-gauge shotgun shooting 11/8 ounces of shot at 1,200 feet per second — it has nearly 20 foot-pounds of recoil. Drop down to a 61/2-pound, 20-gauge propelling a 7/8- ounce load of shot at 1,200 fps, and recoil drops Fun Game answers: OPOSSUM, RACCOON, CHIPMUNK, MINK, BOBCAT, SKUNK, BLACK BEAR, WOODCHUCK; WOODCHUCK
june 2011

to 15.4 ft. lbs. Give that 20-gauge shotshell only 3/4-ounce of lead and the same velocity, and it drops to a mere 11.5 ft. lbs of recoil. That is a very worthwhile reduction in recoil. That reduction is even more important to target shooters than to hunters, but it can still matter to hunters. By the way, how many readers remember the amount of shot that can be carried by a 12-gauge, 3-inch shell and a 12-gauge, 31/2-inch shell as given in the second paragraph of this column? The 3-inch shell can carry two ounces of lead and the 31/2-inch shell can carry 21/2 ounces. What do you think that does to recoil? Don’t even think about it. So far I’ve tried to remain fairly objective, using facts to suggest hunting with a 20-gauge is better than a 12. Now we will consider some subjective aspects. The reality is that subjective opinions are extremely important to shotgunners. If what we “liked” about shotguns was not important, there would be no sweet little 20- or 28-gauge S/Ss or O/Us, no engraving on our guns, no stocks with wood so beautiful that it can nearly bring a tear to your eye, and no deep, richly blued barrels and actions. While I know that pumps and semiautomatics are very effective, something about side-by-sides and over/unders stir me. That is doubly true of 20-gauge smoothbores that seem the perfect size and shape to carry almost lovingly about the fields we love, following the dogs we certainly love. The side-by-side is especially lovely in 20-gauge, with modest engraving and a weight that seemingly becomes part of you. The gun’s lines are graceful and smooth, and looking at it we understand that in addition to its beauty, our little 20-gauge can effectively do the job in a sporting way. Carrying and shooting a 20-gauge shotgun afield is just plain sweet. The 20 is lighter and has less recoil than a 12-gauge, while still having the velocity and energy to handle most upland game very effectively. 
63

Pennsylvania Game News - June 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - June 2011