different guages, loads

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gifted

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There are four guages I've seen, that get common use(from my limited perspective). 12, 20, 28 and .410 seem to be the most common. I've been wondering, you get others, like 10, 16, etc. exactly how common are they, and is there a niche for these?

On the other part, I've been interested in getting some detailed info on flechette loads. I know they're pretty much strictly LE and military use, but what kind of performance does it get? Good against body armor? How's the grouping and stopping power versus other loads available?
 
First, while research continues on flechette loads, they are generally regarded as less effective than standard loads of large,heavy shot. A modern "Serious" shotgun with buck and slug loads is an effective tool in TRAINED, capable hands out to 100 yards or more.

Besides the guages mentioned there were 24 and 32 gauges. For comparison's sake, a 410 is roughly 66 gauge.

The 10 gauge these days is for when one has to launch large quantities of shot, mostly non toxic stuff. Use is pretty much limited to waterfowl, turkey and some deer hunting with buck. A proper 10 gauge for the 3 1/2 howitzer loads should weigh 11 lbs or more.

The 16, alas, is little used these days. Its proper load, an oz, is nigh perfect for upland work. Unfortunately, the "One shotgun for everything" mentality has relegated the 16 to closets and the used gun racks.

And that's a shame. A 6 lb 16 carries nicely in the field, hits with plenty of moxie, and oft has the subtle and undefineable "Feel" we search for.

With modern components and hard shot, the 1 oz load of the 16 puts as many pellets into a target as the older ammo of the 60s did with 1 1/8 or even 1 1/4 oz.

Even so, the magnum craze still infects way too many of us, and the 16 just doesn't do it for these folks.

I killed my first 40 Canada Geese or so with a 16. Most with the old Western 1 1/8 oz load of either 3s or 2s. The same weight of Hevi Shot 4s in a 16 gauge hull oughta do well for decoyed Canadas and Mallards.
 
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I was thinking about 16, and whether the ammo would be common enough for use. I figured it would be a middle point with less recoil than the 12, but more shot than the 20. As I'm not going to be hunting, at least for a while, there's no real need for magnums for me. Pure skeet and such, I'd probably get a different gun for IPSA and such.
 
The 16 is making a comeback, with many new offerings from high end gunmakers and some old favorites back on the market. For many years ammo selection was slim, but my last trip to the local Gander Mountain found many new 16 ga offerings from all three domestic manufacturers.

The 16 is considered the ideal upland gun by the SXS snobs.

For Skeet you would have to shoot it in the 12 ga event in competition, but that would probably not be too much of a handicap.

I am glad to see it back, even though I do not plan to own one, Now if the 28 would only become more popular. :(
 
I use a 10ga BPS for wildfowling with steel shot, it RULES for this. I use various 12 ga for all antipersonell uses and some hunting and skeet and sporting clays. I have higher grade 16ga Darne that weighs 6lbs for snobby hunts where its uniqueness makes up for $10-20000 worth of value. I use a few 20 ga ALOT for general hunting of upland game birds. I just got a 28 ga. 870skeet , now if I can just find shells.,.... My wife uses a .410 around the garden, it rips gophers and squirells out of their holes to 20yards-quietlyand blasts starlings and jays if they eat fruit or seeds! :p
 
A Darne, classy gun! Have seen a couple, owners seem to like them for upland hunting. Only thing made by the French (besides Le Chameau boots) that I would consider owning.

Too bad you do not have a Gander Mountain store. they have a large selection of shotshells in all the popular gauges in the one near me. Everything from cheapie value packs to the premium ammo. They get a lot of business from me.

Need more people to shoot the 28. It will do everything the 410 will with much better patterns and no punishing recoil. Have fun chasing the hulls, cause if you don't you will have a lot of new friends. :D
 
A lot of 4 gauges were used as "punt guns" by commercial hunters early in the century. The gun would be secured to a small boat (the punt) and used to sluice large rafts of ducks on the water. Conservation efforts led to the end of the technique. There's a bit about it in Michener's "Chesapeake" IIRC.

I think some were also used in Africa for elephants and such but I may be misremembering my reading.
 
"Punt" guns are still legal in of all places Great Britian!

They are indeed a small cannon fixed to the front of a small boat and used to Harvest ducks. The basic hunting technique is to fire on a raft of ducks at night while they are resting.

Like most sport in merrie ole england it is anything but.

"Shooting Sportsman" mag actually had an article on punt gunning in england several years ago :barf:
 
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