20-BORE LOADS FOR DIFFERING QUARRIES

You may think that there’s not a lot of difference between the loads and the benefits very marginal, but please remember: light gun, light load.

Partridge shooting

Partridge is probably my favourite quarry and most suitable for the use of a 20-bore. They are generally lower and faster than their cumbersome cousins. The redleg is the usual quarry on most driven shoots.

The 20-bore is great for these birds and very much in kilter with that whole shoot experience.

I am not going recommend a brand, but most UK-based cartridge manufactures have a wide range of loads and shot sizes. I would tend to use and recommend a 25gm or 26gm in a No 6 shot size through an over-and-under shotgun and 25gm through a 20-bore side-by-side, as they are usually lighter.

Pheasant shooting

For most average pheasant shoots I would use a 26gm or 28gm No 6 shot cartridge, depending on the topography. On most lowland shoots I would tend to go for the lighter of the those two options, but I do try to standardise on 26gm No 6 for all my driven game shooting and through a 30in over-and-under.

Pigeon shooting

Pigeon decoying is another activity for a 20-bore. We can often fire many more cartridges on a good day pigeon decoying than we would on day’s driven partridge or pheasant shoot, so would most likely be glad of a lighter, faster handling gun with less recoil.

I use my 20-bore semiauto for all my decoying with 28gm No 6s or No 7s. This is a much more pleasurable experience shooting big bags, when I would typically fire 200 to 300 shots. The recycling and reloading action of a semi-auto reduces recoil significantly.

With this, a slightly heavier

“The lighter the gun the more you will notice recoil”

28gm load can feel more like a 21gm and I hardly notice any recoil at all.

Sporting clays

I would invariably use a 21gm load for a standard round of Sporting clays.

I have found this load a delight to shoot and usually very effective. It has very low recoil and is, on the whole, the best load for beginners, women or young people. I also use this load in a 12-bore and I hardly feel any recoil.

So don’t buy a 20bore then use heavier loads, as you will find the experience unpleasant and detrimental to your shooting performance. Please remember, less is more.