Conversational bores
David Turner looks at the reasons for choosing a 20-bore over a 12. Will it divide opinion?
For years there has been debate over whether a 20-bore or 12-bore shotgun is best for general shooting in the field. This is less of an issue for clay shooting, where we tend to spend more time carrying our gun around the ground in a slip rather than with it over our arm, so weight is less significant. It’s interesting to note that a lot of new, younger shooters and female shooters start with a 20 then move onto a 12, only to come back to the 20 later in their lives. Or, in the case of many women, shoot to a very high standard with their 20s.
I want to look at the pros and cons of shooting with a 20 and offer a clear understanding of the benefits. Newcomers would do well to develop their knowledge of the sport, in terms of the effect of barrel length, stock length, gun weight and so on. However, one fundamental aspect is bore size, which is all too often taken for granted as ‘the way it’s done around here’ rather than viewed as the key to performance.
Considerations
One of the first factors to consider is the height, size and weight of a shooter, whether he or she is new to the sport or a seasoned shot. For example, a 5ft 2in woman of slight build would probably struggle with most 12-bore guns, finding them too heavy to move around to follow a target. If you couple that with a punchy 32gm load, she is unlikely to enjoy the experience.
The doability factor
Some years ago my wife announced that she would like to take up shooting. I thought that this could herald the end of a loving relationship. We started with my 32in trap gun as it was all we had it to hand. She complained instantly about it being too long and heavy for her. It was, and thus cumbersome and awkward, my wife being just 5ft 3in. Exactly what I expected.
So off we went to the gun shop to get her something lighter, shorter and more suitable. We found a used Beretta 20-bore with 26in barrels weighing a little over 6lb. Bingo! It was just the job and exactly right for her. She loved it and pronounced that it was all now ‘doable’. So the doability factor was born.
Less is more
Some years ago I swapped to a 20-bore, as the extra weight of a 12-bore was exacerbating an arthritis problem in my wrists. The result was astonishing and a big turning point in my shooting career. Most significantly, the reduced weight – about 2lb – represented a 25% reduction in the overall weight and I experienced a new freedom and ability to swing and move the gun effortlessly and with more fluidity. This in turn resulted
in a huge improvement in my hit rate and, I think it’s fair to say, I had never shot better, and continue to do so.
I have found the most profound and significant handling characteristic to be the ease of movement, making the gun far easier to swing and helping me ‘through’ and in front of targets, particularly faster birds, thus improving my hit rate by a significant margin. These improvements very quickly lift confidence levels and the next thing we know is that we are shooting like a ‘god’ and being congratulated on our ‘good shooting’ from fellow Guns.
In summary
So in summary, it’s easy to use and swing, easy on your shoulder (given the use of an appropriate cartridge, which we’ll talk about in a future article) lighter to carry over your arm, let alone in a slip, and you hit more. What’s not to like?
So when and where should you use a 20-bore? It is just about right for most driven game shoots with average height birds,
“A lighter gun is an advantage for walked-up or rough shooting”
particularly partridge shoots where the birds tend to be lower and faster. I would usually use 28g 6s as my go-to load on this type of shoot but I have also done well with 25g of 7½ size shot, which will also give a little less recoil and seems to do the job just fine. I would also use 6s for most of my pheasant shooting.
Pigeon decoying is another great place for a 20-bore. We can often fire many many more cartridges on a good day decoying than we would on a good day’s driven pheasant shooting, which is when we may be glad of a lighter, faster-handling gun with less recoil. A friend of mine uses a 20-bore semi-auto for all his decoying with 28g 7s, which gives him a much more pleasurable experience shooting big bags, when he would typically fire 200 to 300 shots easily and quite frequently t’boot. Not that I’m jealous, you understand…
Dove days
If you were to treat yourself to a trip to Argentina to go white wing dove shooting, you would be issued with a 20-bore semiauto and shoot 500-plus cartridges in a day. That would be a tough experience with a heavy 12-bore, and most people I know who have been out there to shoot are only to pleased to surrender their beloved 12 for a 20 auto.
Walked-up or rough shooting is an obvious occasion when a lighter gun is a great advantage. I was lucky enough to shoot some grouse over pointers a few years ago on the Isle of Lewis and, thankfully, took my 20-bore. Walking through dense, tall heather made the going arduous and testing; a heavy 12-bore soon became a serious burden, as my partner found to his cost.
Give it a try and get yourself a 20. I think you’ll be amazed how well you get on.