Versatile.

[Mortblanc]

Been out doing load testing all afternoon. Fantastic day but a fierce wind blowing.

Testing the same load through the same barrel with 5 different choke tubes.

Testing both game loads and buckshot and getting some enlightening data.

Yep versatility is the name of the game with the shotgun.

.22 ammo might be lighter but it will never match the versatility, or the power, of a shotgun. In fact, the loads I was testing today were #4buckshot (.24 caliber) and a 12ga shell holds 18 of them. So each time I pull the trigger on that load I am sending the equal of 18 .22 bullets down range. My extra full choke tube put 16 of those 18 pellets inside an 15" circle at 40 yards and gave a 95% pattern with #8 shot.

That is food in the stew pot either big game or small, and deadly human deterrent out to at least 70 yards, even in less than skilled hands.