If your talking about home defence I would think the 20ga. is plenty. I don't think it would matter much to the perp if it's 12 or 20 if it's a 10 or 15 ft. shot. Even 10 or 15 yards ain't gonna make a hill of beans difference. IMO if your more comfortable with the 20ga. recoil, then get get it. In a real emergency situation you probably won't be worrying about recoil but it'd be one less thing on your mind. Practice, practice , practice. If you have a wife, have her practice too. She'll probably like the 20ga. also.
Shok is right. You shouldn't goof around too much reloading. We were young and indestructable, remember those days? We once found some ball bearings that were just perfect size to roll down a 20ga. barrel. A little extry red-dot and those things would sail right through a 16" tree. I had an old H&R single around for our "experimental" stuff. I wouldn't recomend this, sure was fun back then.
Oops. The reloading comment came from a different thread.
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bullet placement is gun control
[This message has been edited by muleshoe (edited February 18, 2000).]