What is the difference between a 12 and 20 gauge shotgun

The Remington, with its longer barrel, weighs 6. The higher weight on average of a 12 gauge vs 20 gauge shotguns helps tame recoil, and suddenly many of the advantages of a smaller shotgun seem to fade away.

To get a better understanding of how the differences of 12 gauge vs 20 gauge play out in the real world, I reached out to Tim Chandler and Ashton Ray of Performance Shooting.

Tim and Ashton are acknowledged experts in the defensive shotgun, and Ashton also has extensive experience hunting with a shotgun. The lighter 20 Gauge Remington was easy to carry around, but it also had more recoil.

So now we have smaller people shooting smaller guns, and the shells those guns shoot are almost as powerful as a 12 gauge shell.

The heavier weight of the 12 gauge Mossberg helped it soak up recoil. One of the best things about shotguns is how they are useful in so many situations.

You can use them for hunting to the clay sports to self defense. Both Ashton Ray and Tim Chandler had thoughts on how 12 gauge fares versus 20 gauge in each of those areas. They throw a similar amount of lead downrange using birdshot, so their effectiveness as a hunting gun is almost the same as a 12 gauge shotgun.

Things change, however, when you look at 12 gauge vs. This means that the latest and most-effective developments are applied to 12 gauge shotguns and 12 gauge ammunition. Recent innovations, like Federal FliteControl buckshot, are available only in 12 gauge. As a result, 20 gauge shotguns lag significantly behind 12 gauge shotguns when it comes to potential upgrades for defensive uses. Good defensive ammo, with tight patterns that stay on target, is far more common for 12 gauge vs.

This is another reason why both Ashton and I really prefer the 12 gauge for any kind of defensive usage. We took our test guns to the range to see what the differences between a 12 gauge vs 20 gauge shotgun would be in a defensive situation. This is where we can talk about the many benefits of a silencer. Not only do suppressors make your shotgun quieter, but they also help mitigate recoil. Less punch in the shoulder makes for a more pleasant shooting experience no matter the gauge — period!

Give us a call or email and we can help you pick the right one. Because a 12 gauge shotgun shell has more volume than a 20 gauge shotgun shell, it fits more powder and bigger projectiles. This means you will get a harder-hitting shot at a greater effective distance with a 12 gauge than you will with a 20 gauge.

In this scenario, a 12 gauge shotgun will have better overall performance than a 20 gauge. In a scenario like this, you might get better performance from a 20 gauge shotgun.

Performance is subjective and it has a lot of variables, which leads us to our next topic: applications. Because of this, there may or may not be some crossover. The bad news: you might need to buy more than one shotgun. The good news: you might need to buy more than one shotgun. This is the same as it is with handgun or rifle hunting. At the end of the day, the goal is an ethical and humane hunt. Choose appropriately and responsibly. Plus, with the reduced energy of a 20 gauge versus a 12 gauge, you run a higher risk of wounding the animal instead of harvesting it.

Generally speaking, 12 gauge shotguns are the most popular for use in sporting clays. However, there are plenty of people who play the game with a 20 gauge shotgun, too. A lot of it really comes down to personal preference and situation. In practice we see either shell capable of reaching the same distances as effectively as the other. Yet the 12 Gauge has a trick up its sleeve. To put it simply, as more shot exits the muzzle, more shot is going to make its way to the target.

Finally, the 20 Gauge gets a leg up in this face-off! By sheer virtue of its lighter projectile s , the smaller shell exerts significantly less recoil back against its shooter. Less recoil makes the 20 Gauge better in two important ways. Second, lesser recoil helps a shooter line up their follow-up shots more quickly.

Whether you want to fire two shots in rapid succession while target shooting or dump a whole magazine into an advancing threat, a 20 Gauge will make the endeavor easier than a 12 Gauge could have.

Surprisingly enough, analogous 12 Gauge and 20 Gauge shotshells are comparably priced. You would expect a 12 Gauge shell which contains more lead, brass, plastic and propellant to cost more, but perhaps its greater popularity compensates for that disparity. This is its greater popularity at work again — manufacturers have more incentive to cater to the bigger audience.

The 12 Gauge and the 20 Gauge are the most popular shotguns for good reason. Either will let you hunt deer and birds, play trap and skeet, and make a home invader wish he picked a different home. If you would prefer a shotgun with less recoil for better comfort, easier follow-up shots, or to train a younger shooter, then the 20 Gauge is your shell. What about gas discharge type,will help kickback would make combarlng the 12 ga.

For home defense, 1 buck has been shown to be the most effective with sufficient penetration and a bigger wound channel than larger buck loads will create. I use a 20 gauge tactical pump with 2 buck for defense and I feel that a 12 with 00 is just not necessary. Its more pain recoil without any real gain, IMHO. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.