old blackpowder guns

[Mortblanc]

(31 January 2014, 22:19)Midnitemo Wrote: Ive considered a 20 gauge in the past but i've never ever found any factory shells availble in 00buck AAA or any of the larger shot types.....its difficult enough buying bulk quantities of those shot types in 12 gauge in 20 its damn near impossible in the UK....i'd love a handier package but for me it's not practical with +20% dearer to buy and run a 20

The reason you do not find large sizes of buckshot in 20 gauge is simple.

!2 gauge and larger allow the large pellets to lie in rows inside the shell, 3 shot in each layer and 3-4 layers deep.

In 20 gauge one must drop down to #3 buck (.28 caliber) for the pellets to lie in layers of three.

The only advantage of these smaller shot is that instead of the 9/.35 caliber pellets of a 000 buck 12 ga load, the 20 ga provides 15 .28 caliber pellets.

As for the debate between 12ga/20ga/.410 bore you can go on into infinity.

The best answer to the unasked question is in the form of sub-caliber inserts that allow one to shot either 20 ga or .410 bore from the 12 ga gun. That ay one can use any shells one can scrounge.

I own .410 bores but can not remember the last time I used one! In contrast, I have either a 12 or 20 in my paws on a daily basis. And while 12 and 20 bore shells are 2 pounds/box over here, .410 bore sells for 4 pounds.

There are other detractions from the .410 as a survival gun, but you use what you got in many cases. If all I had was a .410 I could get by, but I would long for my 12 bore.

Do not mistake the larger bore as being of more power! It does not work that way. All bores send their charge out at almost the same speed, it is the number of shot in the charge that varies, meaning one has a better chance of getting the two or three pellets that kill into the target.

Range capabilities of the gun are determined by the choke, not by the gauge. As in how many shot stay in a usable cluster out to the target. The more shot the cartridge carries at discharge and the choke efficiency being the #1 factor in success.

One can load both 12 and 20gauge guns with a one ounce load and performance will be similar, but the lowly .410 will never be able to carry much more than 5/8 ounce of shot, making it very anemic in shot coverage of the pattern.

---

http://www.gunadapters.com/categories/Sh.../12-gauge/

---

http://www.gunadapters.com/categories/Shotgun-Adapters/