Is a 10 ga. overkill?

T

T in VA

New member
I live in central Virginia and hunt mostly whitetailed deer, turkeys and ducks. I am considering buying a new shotgun and was thinking about a 10 ga. Many people have told me this would be nothing but overkill. Is this true or would a 10 ga. be a good investment?
 
10 ga overkill

For deer it may be a little much, for ducks and turkey I would say overkill. I have tried the Browning 10 ga. and it kicks like a herd of mules. Shooting ducks would be a punishment on ones body. The shells are high dollar so economic wise I would would scale it back to a 3.5 inch 12 gauge with a varity of chokes, modified, full and turkey. I would shot 3 inch remington hevi-shot at the ducks since the 3.5 inch hevi-shot will rattle your bones also.
 
Imho

the only thing a 10 ga. might give you is a better "reach" on waterfowl...and you probably shouldn't take such long shots for fear of wounding. This is coming from a person who hunted for most of his life with a 20 ga....deer, birds, squirrels, rabbits....So YMMV
 
When gubbamint foisted steel shot on us I went to 10ga for wild fowling. Found it to be good for turkeys too! You could get a deer barrel and REALLY feel secure! Nothing like 18 000 buck or 2 oz slugs! The advantage over a 12 gauge is really in the outstanding 10 ga pattern , the 3 1/2 payload is the same. PS I DO reload for 10 ga , if I didn't.......... :cool:
 
Having hunted with a single shot 10ga as well as an Ithaca Mag-10 I can say that they are impressive to say the least.

The Ithaca recoiled less than the Mossy 3.5 12 guns and made Geese crumble at 50 yards. I think Hevi-shot would stretch the range of that gun a lonnggg way. With practice shooting long on waterfowl isn't any harder than short range shots. It's just a matter of a smooth lead on the target. With pass shooting you have a LOT of time to line up the shot.

For a goose or turkey gun the extra oomph would be very welcome. Hunting ducks over decoys would necessitate an open choke, but it would sure shine on pass shooting.
 
I have found my Browning 10 Auto to be very effective on large geese! The felt recoil is about the same as my Ruger Red Label 12 and it cycles great even in the worst weather conditions.( Yeah I know... hard to believe). The Browning is a great pit gun and a LOUSY field gun. It weighs a ton!!
 
New 835

I am kind of new to shotgunning so take what I say with a grain of salt. I just purchased a new Mossberg 835 (see thread Walmart 835 camo).
According to Mossberg, the new gun features "Overbore" which means that they have bored the 12ga to .775" compared to the normal .731" bore.
They advertise 10ga results while still getting the versatility of 12ga Ammo.
 
What are the cheapest 10 gauges going for? The only one I have ever seen is a remington semi auto and the price would cost me my arm.
 
I use the 10ga for deer here in the swamp area of Tidewater, I don't think its over kill when it comes to buck shot only, great on Turkey and geese also, little much for ducks,unless your pass shooting, I use an Auto-10,and its heavy,wears one down on drives,but its great for stand work
 
Party Guy

You can pick up a New England Arms, single shot, break action 10ga for about $150.00. The camo version is about $20.00 more. JUST BE WARNED!!!!!! They kick like a mule!! If you can get by with one shot at a time, it isn't a bad gun. Very reliable.

There is a RAGING debate about whether the Remington 10 ga or the Browning 10 ga Auto is better. I ended up with the Browning after speaking to a bunch of fellow goose hunters. I love it! They are selling for under $1000.00 now new. Good luck and have fun paying twice as much for ammo! Big boom=big bucks :)
 
I have the mossy 835 and for non-reloaders it offers more versatility than a 10ga in shot choices. I believe all the factory 10ga loads are the same as 12ga 3 1/2" offerings, the 835 has no forcing cone, with the backboring, and the bigger bore should mean better patterns, it also has factory porting. At 17yd trap on the corners, and the clay comes out on an angle towards you I ususally am able to really take my time and get the lead and drop, I don't "smoke it" but it is in a few pieces. For under $250 out the door, w/3 chokes, and a sling system for carrying, it works for me, . I do use a $6 recoil pad, as a cheap way to get 15 1/2" of LOP. It does come with a dual bead, most of the time it is love it or hate it, I like it. The problems come with not being abe to shoot slugs w/out a barrel change. With an overbored 12ga, or reloading a 10ga you can always tailor your loads for the game, and maybe not ruin meat, I though I heard that more areas are going to go to non-toxic loads. I am not sure if this is in the US, or Canada, or just a myth.
 
LOL Thanks for letting me know about the New England Arms, single shot. I don't care about the recoil or the price of shells. I just want one. I wonder how durable that gun is for only $150?
 
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