12 or 20

[John Gryphon]

V8 or six? Take the .12 any day.

 

[Stalker-of-the-deer]

From a practical point of view a 12 is good can get cartridges anywhere near enough, can sometimes be hard to get a good selection of 20 or 28s

But if you want a nice gun with finesse then I don't think you can beat a 20 or 28 on a scaled action, they are just lovely to handle and are somthing a bit different, they are alot more elegant that a 12 bore over and under to use. Light, fast and very pointable.

Not saying there isn't some nice 12s about but if I had my pick purley for driven pheasant and partridge it would be a 20 bore. If it's a mixed bag with the potential to throw some steel at ducks and geese it would be a 12.

 

[enfieldspares]

Not saying there isn't some nice 12s about but if I had my pick purley for driven pheasant and partridge it would be a 20 bore. If it's a mixed bag with the potential to throw some steel at ducks and geese it would be a 12.

Years and years ago...coming now on at least thirty years I handled a Boss 20 bore. Sidelock, easy opening, single trigger blah, blah. Except they didn't make many and I was offered it for £5000 back then it was in the trade in Birmingham with Brendan Kelly. This was standard 28" barrels and chambered for 2 1/2" cartridges.

Truth was that, to me at even then six feet four inches and broad chested it was like a wispy wand. A nice gun no doubt to carry but for me, compared to a Boss 12 bore it was "too light" and "too thin" to suit me. I often wonder what became of it. My late father's G E Lewis 20 bore being built for 2 3/4" cartridges was a different animal even despite it being a boxlock as it was wider at the breech.

Also I have handled...being Birmingham you'd expect to...Powell's 12/20 guns. These being a 12 bore on a 20 bore action. Such that from behind it is like looking at Mickey Mouse's ears so pronounced are the fences. The other "joy" is the 2" 12 bore. But with steel I fear that the 12/20 and the 2" 12 bore is a species in danger of extinction as a day to day game gun.

 

[b 6.5 s]

I shoot with 28 bore 27g now, as good as any 12 bore.

I'm looking at doing more game days next season my browning xs Pro is a bit on the heavy side
thinking of a 20 bore either browning or similar

If it's to decrease the weight but a 28 bore can be carried all day and drop anything you should be firing at

 

[Snap-Cap]

There is a nice looking browning 725 hunter 20 bore at bamford guns

 

[Heym SR20]

Johnny has done a full video on exactly this subject. Pretty much the conclusion is it all comes down to length, weight and balance. Guage makes very little difference.

Take a 20 bore add barrel weighgts and stock weights do it weighs 8lbs it will shoot like a 12 bore clay gun