What does 12 gauge mean

This is not the case with other types of shot like BB and buckshot. That being said, while there are exceptions, those other shot sizes larger than. Reference the table below to see the diameter of some of the most common shot sizes as well as the approximate number of lead pellets of that size that weigh one ounce.

As you can see, the number of individual pellets in an ounce decreases as the pellets increase in size. Some boxes of shotgun shells state the composition of the pellets. For instance, lead free, non-toxic shot is mandated for waterfowl hunting in North America.

Of the materials commonly used to produce shot, lead is the most dense with a handful of exceptions, like tungsten. This means that a given number of individual lead pellets will weigh more than the same number of pellets of the same diameter made out of some other material.

A dram is a unit of mass from the British Avoirdupois weight system that still remains in varying degrees of use in some of the former colonies. Back in the days of black powder, drams were commonly used to measure the amount of black powder in a particular load. Most people probably know that there are 16 ounces in a pound.

Well, there are 16 drams in an ounce. So therefore, there are drams in a pound. Additionally, many gun enthusiasts know that there are 7, grains in a pound. This means that there are For that reason, companies are making the transition away from listing dram equivalents on shotgun shells and instead publishing the actual velocity of the load like on the boxes below. Lets be clear here: dram equivalents should only be used for a general comparison between two different shotgun loads. ONLY reload shells in accordance with the data supplied by a good reloading manual.

Of all the shotguns in the United States, 12 gauge guns are by far the most popular. The 20 gauge comes in second, followed by the 28 gauge and the. The 10 gauge and 16 gauge are much less common than the rest, but are by no means rare.

The shot pattern of a shotgun gradually expands as range increases. This makes it easier to hit a target, particularly one that is moving, out to a certain range. Hunters can tighten up the shot spread to a certain extent by using a choke, which is a constriction on the muzzle of the shotgun.

However, there always eventually comes a point where the shot pattern is too spread out to guarantee a hit on an object that passes through the shot column. Additionally, the individual pellets all slow down as they leave the barrel. In general, heavier pellets retain more velocity at longer range and cause more damage than smaller and lighter pellets. However, increasing the size of shot results in fewer individual pellets.

So, increasing the shot size comes at the expense of a thinner shot pattern if the total shot weight remains the same. Certain shotguns pattern better with particular loads. However, the shot weight can only be increased to a certain degree for a particular gauge and shell length. This is further complicated for North American waterfowl hunters when using steel shot. Remember when we talked about how lead is more dense than steel earlier in the article?

Well, this is why that matters. Since individual steel pellets weigh less than lead pellets of the same size, hunters must typically use larger diameter steel shot or suffer degraded terminal performance. However, using larger diameter shot results in thinner shot patters. All other things being equal, a larger bore shotgun with a heavier load of shot will throw more pellets and therefore produce a denser shot pattern at a given range than a smaller bore shotgun with a lighter load of shot.

Hunting larger game animals, like turkey and goose, usually requires heavier loads of larger sized shot. The same goes for taking longer range shots. However, there is such a thing as overkill though and hitting a small creature with a heavy load of shot will cause substantial damage resulting in the loss of much or all the meat. At the same time, the heavier load fired from a larger bore shotgun comes at the price of more recoil.

The skill level of the hunter also plays into the equation. The gauge of the gun is an index to the ability of the man to prove his manhood…If it is a gauge, he is so-so. If it is a 16, he is pretty good. With all that being said, below are the recommended uses for each of the most popular shotgun gauges. This is because of the previously discussed advantages of the larger bore and longer shell length offered by the 10 gauge when using non-toxic shot compared to all other shotgun gauges in common use.

Its stout recoil coupled with the heavy weight of most 10 gauge shotguns also limits the appeal of that bore size to most hunters. While there are a few turkey loads currently offered in 10 gauge using 4, 5, or 6 size shot, non-toxic ammo intended for use on ducks size 2 or geese BB, BBB, or T size shot makes up the vast majority of all 10 gauge ammunition currently manufactured.

Produced in just about every type of shotgun from semi-automatics to pump actions and everything in between, the 12 gauge is the shotgun of choice for big game, turkey, waterfowl, upland, and small game hunters.

Not surprisingly, 12 gauge ammunition is also widely available in virtually every shot size from 9 up to Buckshot and slugs. A 12 gauge shell also has advantage over the smaller gauges because it has a shorter shot column. Basically, the fatter 12 gauge shell can fit the same weight of shot into a shorter column, which results in less shot deformation as it travels down the barrel. This means that 12 gauge loads will generally pattern better with the same amount of shot when compared to a smaller gauge shotgun.

Most Americans looking for an all-purpose shotgun use the 12 gauge and those looking for a lighter shotgun use the 20 gauge. That being said, the 16 gauge can do just about everything else almost as good as the 12 gauge, but with a little bit less recoil. While the 20 gauge is on the light side for deer, turkey, and waterfowl hunting, it will work in a pinch for those situations.

Indeed, advances in non-toxic shotgun ammunition over the past few decades have dramatically improved the suitability of the 20 gauge for waterfowl hunting. However, the 20 gauge is widely used as an upland and small game shotgun and excels in those roles. The light recoil of the 20 gauge, combined with the fact that it has a much denser shot pattern than the.

Indeed, the relatively low felt recoil of the 20 gauge also makes it well suited for self defense and makes it easier to take a rapid follow-up shot. One final thing to keep in mind about 20 gauge shotgun shells is that, regardless of the manufacturer, current production 20 gauge shells are ALWAYS yellow.

For this reason, they are also the most likely to get mixed up. As you can see in the photo below comparing 12 gauge vs 20 gauge shells, 20 gauge shells are considerably smaller than 12 gauge shells. On the other hand, if you attempt to load a 20 gauge shell in a 12 gauge shotgun, the shell will drop through the chamber and get stuck in the barrel. This will obviously cause a barrel obstruction with potentially catastrophic results if the shotgun is subsequently fired without removing the obstruction.

You should never attempt to load any shells of a different gauge into any shotgun, but this is of particular importance with 20 gauge shells. So, 20 gauge shells are yellow in order to make them easy to identify and to minimize the chances of loading a 20 gauge shell in a 12 gauge shotgun. The 28 gauge is commonly available in a number of lightweight and easy to carry shotguns. While the. For that reason, the. That being said, the small size and extremely light recoil of the.

Though they are far from the only really good shotgun options, I personally prefer either a Remington Model or a Mossberg Both models are available in 12 gauge and 20 gauge variants. All of the other shotgun bore sizes certainly have their place for specific tasks, like goose hunting for the 10 gauge or small bore skeet shooting for the 28 gauge, but none can hold a candle to the versatility of the 12 and 20 gauge shotguns.

FYI, the early black powder cartridge rifles also used gauge and drams of powder. For example my. All my references show a. My Grandad told me that he had two double barrel shotguns when he was growing up, a 10 and an 8 guage which I never saw but wish I had , and that his father had a 4gauge double. I have no real knowledge of guns however. English-Ireland top end. It's not a golf club.

It's not a bore shotgun. It is a spoon, a utensil for eating with, manufactured from stainless steel. He has chosen to eat with the spoon made of gauge stainless steel.

The joke is, of course, in the allusion to a golfer selecting a particular club, or a surgeon a particular instrument, or a fisherman a particular fly, etc, etc.

Who would think it was a golf club!?!?! The joke is, of course, in the allusion to a golfer selecting a particular club , or a surgeon a particular instrument, or a fisherman a particular fly, etc, etc. Click to expand Hi The term "gauge" refers to the large diameter of a shotgun rifle barrel. In the comic, Heathcliff has decided to use a large diameter spoon, that's to say, a deadly, high-caliber weapon used during serious attacks on ice cream.

Thanks, my friends, but how wide is bore and gauge? I couldn't find it in my dictionary. The term gauge in this case is related to stainless steel.

It is a pun, because gauge also applies to shotguns. I don't know what the various thicknesses of stainless steel might be. Neither do I know the diameter of a gauge shotgun barrel. This will help all of us understand ice cream spoons: Gauge The "gauge" of a shotgun, as it refers to guns and shells, originated from the number of lead balls the diameter of the barrel needed to make a pound. For example, a guage shotgun had a bore that, without a choke, would be able to take one ball, 12 of which would weigh a pound.

Referring to current day shotguns , the smaller the number means the larger the gauge. You must log in or register to reply here.