Newbie shotgun questions

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ump45

New member
I have some newbie shotgun questions.

*What is the difference between all the different "calibers"Next up, offer up a compact and sub-compact .45, improve the SIG PRO line of ammo? What does #0 or #00 mean? What is birdshot?

*What is the difference between the different "gauges" of shotguns? What does a "gauge" mean?
 
Buckshot is large pellets for large game or defense. For instance, 00 buckshot has 9 pellets that are approximately .30 caliber in size. Birdshot is very small pellets that are used for shooting birds and game.

The gauge is the diameter of the barrel. .410 is the smallest and it is actually called .410 bore. Then you have 28, 20, 16, 12, and 10 gauge in order from small to large. The most popular are 20 and 12.
 
How many different "cartridges" are there for the 12-gauge? Just the main ones (I don't really need to learn anything exotic, yet).
 
ump45,
Let me take a crack at this.
There are basically three lengths of "shells" for a 12 Ga.
2 3/4" - this is the most common
3" - commonly called Magnums
3 1/2" - commonly called Super Mag.
There some special short shells but I would not worry about those right now.
Now, in those three sizes, you've got three basic types of load.
Bird shot, Buck shot and slugs.
I won't go into the details because I can not type that fast and there is plenty of info on this in the Archives. Use the search function.
Also, on the Remington Web page, there is an excellent (and free) printable book that describes all the ammo for SG's and the purpose for each.
Check it out. It will answer every question that you may have about SG ammo.
Mike
 
Gauge is determined by how many pure lead balls of that diameter equal a pound. Old-style measurement system ....

A 12 gauge takes 12 balls of .7(mumble) diameter to equal a pound. 20 gauge takes 20 & so on. .410 is actually the inside diameter of the bore in inches - it's the oddball.

Buckshot is the larger lead round balls. The smaller the number, the larger the ball size. With 0 size buck, 000 is larger than 0

Bird shot is the tiny (in comparison to buckshot) lead balls in a shotshell. The larger the number, the smaller the shot. 6 is bigger around than 8

For each category, the smaller the actual ahot size, the more actual pellets you get in any same given size of volume.
 
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