Are 20 gauge shotguns useless?

Around here, 20 ga. and 12 ga. shells are the same price. Of course, there is more variety in 12 ga loadings but I reload both so it really doesn't affect me on way or the other. In fact, reloading the 20ga is a little cheaper.

I inherited my love for the 20 ga. from my father and grandfather. They both hunted everything from doves to ducks and never saw a need for a 12 ga. (pre-steel days) When I started hunting, a 20 ga. was the natural choice since I was young and we wanted to be able to share ammo. They have both since passed and I have inherited both of those guns.

Like many young men before me, I grew up and bought a 12 ga. I've been happy with the switch but I often go back to the 20 ga for doves, rabbits and squirrels. When my own son is old enough to hunt, he will go afield with a 20ga. and I'll probably be carrying one too. There is an 1100 LT-20 in my safe just for him.

This past dove season, I was promised a seat on a really hot field. Just minutes before the hunt, I was cleaning the gas rings on my 11-87 and I dropped one. It hit the concrete floor in my shop and broke! I thought about it for a minute and picked up my Dad's Winchester pump. I got a decent spot on the field and proceeded to put on a clinic. I killed a 16 bird limit in under two hours with 27 shells. This year, it will be the gun I reach for first.
 
A 20 gauge is useless only if you think it is. Yeah, they don't pack the absolute 'power' of a 12 ga. but in the right hands they're quite effective.
 
20's are great for those who don't want to carry the excess amount of weight when doing a bunch of walking on their hunts. The rounds are lighter (weight) and the guns generally are lighter. I have a few 20's and take them out on occassion but really prefer hunting small game and bird (excluding waterfowl and turkey with my 410's. Of my Saiga's the 20 is the only one I converted, just could not see myself using a converted 12 in an early morning/middle of the night wake up call.
 
all my shotguns are and will be 12 gauge only. i personally dont have a use for a 20 gauge. if i want 1oz loads, i'll buy them in 12 gauge...factory loaded. and if i want a light, quick shooting/pointing gun, i'll use my H&R single shot, 12 gauge.

many tout the lack of recoil from the 20 gauge, which isn't really true most of the time. due to a (usually) lighter overall weight and about the same payload, at the same speed as a 12 gauge (field loads). infact, technically many times the recoil is more.

The only advantage i see of a 20 gauge, is one that is BUILT on a real 20 gauge frame. that makes it a bit lighter and trimmer, and more 'snappy' to put into action. however there are a good number of 20 gauges that are built on a 12 gauge frame, which to me makes that whole setup totally pointless.

So to me the gauge isn't so much about the gauge itself but more about the size/weight gun they are usually put in. So if you are looking for something that is smaller/lighter/faster, check out some 20 gauges.

Personally i stay with the 12 gauge for cost/availability/versatility and that for MY OWN use, when i want a light/fast gun, my single shot is plenty.
 
however there are a good number of 20 gauges that are built on a 12 gauge frame, which to me makes that whole setup totally pointless.
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Have never seen that myself. I have seen 20, 28 and 410 all on the same size frame.

I guess it depends on what you use it for. Chukar hunting out West means LOTS of uphill hiking - every extra ounce gets to you after a while - carrying a 20 in lieu of a 12 makes sense. Shooting preserve quail with a 12 is a tad overkill, if you want to eat them.

For targets, I haven't found a 5-stand, sporting clays, or FITASC target that can't be broken by a 20.
 
a big ol LOL for anyone who thinks a .410 0r .20 gauge are useless. get hit with one and you'll be screaming in agony for hours - if you do not die. that covers the defense side of it.

they are both very adept at taking certain game and offer less recoil doing it.


they are not useless. would i rather have a .12? of course. would i feel like i had a useless toy if i had only a .410 or .20? lol no
 
12 vs 20 vs 28 vs 410

Lets say someone is pointing a shotgun at you. It is a 28 gauge with a load of eight shot. The distance to you is such that the pellets will hit you but won't even penetrate your clothes. If one hits flesh it won't be hardly felt. Then the person switches over to a 12 gauge with eight shot. Do you realize the effect on you will be exactly the same as with the 28 gauge?
 
Useless?.....Hardly, by any stretch. While I love my 12 gauges, there will always be a place for the 20 gauge in my gun lineup. Loaded properly, the 20 does just about everything I ask my 12 to do, while doing so in a much more friendly package. At the end of the day I can definitely tell the difference between carrying one of my 12's or one of my 20's.

While I don't find the recoil of the 12 to be too much, some loads can still be a bit on the heavy side (Turkey magnums anyone?). I sustained an injury to my shooting shoulder many years ago, and I gladly welcome any reduced recoil. Add to that the lighter weight of the gun itself, and I've found myself picking a 20 more often than I thought I would. The first deer I ever killed was with a 20 gauge, and the last deer I shot (with a shotgun) was with a 20 gauge......so no, for me at least, the 20 gauge is not anywhere near useless. As these things go, YMMV. :)
 
I Love 20 ga. the only time I have had one close to useless was an LT 20 that ONLY functions with 3 inch shells. Even it is not useless. Just a specialty tool.
 
silly

This is a troll thread, right?
over a pound and a half lighter than my 12 ga
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Right there a 20 ga. is worth owning. Walk all day on an upland hunt - over, under, and through the thick stuff where the ruffs are and you'll soon appreciate just that difference.
As for power, every single pellet fired from a 20 ga. has exactly the same amount of energy as the same pellets fired from a 12 ga. Same choke - same size pattern. Yes, there are some what fewer shot but at typical PA grouse distance, you'll never notice.
Pete
 
Useless for what? Apparently bigger and cheaper makes something inherently more useful in the OP's eyes, but I reiterate, useless for what?
 
Love my 20, especially at the end of a long day in the uplands and a late pointed grouse is about to take flight. Or when its time to point shoot at a woodcock coming up in the alders. Or at the end of the day and my shorthair has a pheasant pinned in a ditch 200 yards away.
I have a couple 12s and a wonderful old 16 gauge too, but for my do it all hunting and skeet shooting gun I always reach for my 20.
 
Weight Is Not the problem.Power Is

I have a M88 12ga and im so use to its weght it feels like 2 pounds when it is close to 8 pounds.20ga shotguns are not useless they are made for small people and youth shooters also people that are scared of 12ga recoil.20ga are good for hours of shooting.so are 12ga's if you are useing the right ammo that you like.
so their good for fun and combat.i like 12ga and 20ga the same.They both have great knockdown power and are easy to find ammo for,it matters where you live...strong ammo laws and not so strong ammo laws because due to theft of firearms increasing,sellers have to keep the ammo out of reach of criminals thats all.

My point is 12ga and 20ga are both beasts.
 
I started my hunting with a 410, graduated to a 20, then to a 12 now I'm back with the 20 and on occasion the 410. The 20 will do 95% of what I need done and is much nicer to carry and I shoot it better than my 12s. The last 2 years I have hunted almost exclusively with the 20 and killed more waterfowl and upland game than I have for years. The 20 has it's limitations but if you understand them it's generally not an issue.
 
A lot of discussion about the different gauges, but I see no mention of a 16 GA. I shoot my 12's the most, but I also have a 20 and a 16 (both been in the family a long time). Any argument for the uselessness of a 16? I like to shoot it once in a while, but I don't use it for hunting (steel shot is hard on the older barrel) and shells are harder to find with less variety than a 12.
 
correct me if i'm wrong but doesn't the 3" 20 gauge shoot the same payload as the 2 3/4" 16 gauge? there isn't a 3" 16 gauge... i think. so that would be one reason...
 
Using the same type of loads the 20 has a lower pellet count than the 12 so it takes more skill to hit the targets with a 20. Just think of the 20 as a slill builder. Anyone can hit with a 12 a lot of things you may not with a 20. Try doves with low base 8's.
 
In a gun built on a proper 20ga frame like my old Sears branded High Standard Flite King, the 20ga loaded with 3" shells will do most of what a non-magnum 2 3/4" 12ga will in a lighter, handier package. If the 20ga is built on the same reciever as the 12ga, then no there isn't much point.
 
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