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Is a 10 gauge really needed if I have a 3.5 inch 12 gauge?
utbrowningman
Member Posts: 2,757 ✭✭✭
Picked up a Winchester SXP 12 for my eldest's upcoming 21st birthday as he and I have discussed in the past. I heard him tell a friend today that he wants a 10 gauge. Is there really much of an improvement of a 10 gauge vs. a 3.5" 12 gauge? I can only imagine that a 3.5" shell itself is a real boneshaker.
Comments
Nope.
Most often same payload.
IMHO, there isn't much benefit with the 10ga. In the old days, the 10 would pattern better with lead, but with steel or other nontoxic shot they pattern about the same. The 10 suffers from not being very versatile. A 3 1/2" 12 can use any and all 12 gauge ammo, from itty-bitty target loads to full power goose and deer killers.
Yes a 10ga kicks like a mule but the guns are usually heavier and that helps a bit. I have never felt under gunned with one of my 12's and can carry it comfortably a lot longer. Just my 2 cents. Bob
No!
3" with the right loads should be sufficient for most game.
Those 3.5" turkey loads will sure get your attention.
NO!
I have a Browning 10 gauge. Got it mainly for turkey hunting. People thinks them 10 gauges are deadly, but not so. I just let them think it's a really killer. The Browning Gold 10 gauge looks mean with a 2x7 Leupold mounted. Most people think the scope is for long range, but not so. The scope is for up close shots where the pattern is really tight and need to be dead on target, especially inside 25 yards. I've seen quite a few guys completely miss a turkey using iron sights at close range.
I also have a really old H&R single barrel 10 gauge, about 34 inch barrel and it kicks like a bay mule that is using both hind feet to your face. I like to watch others test shoot the gun. It also seems to crack ribs.
Your 12 gauge with proper chokes and 3 inch shells is A ok. Most guys I know that are turk hunters do not even use the 3.5 inch shells. Just more kick and money out the barrel.
3.5 inch shell might give you a smart kick but if the gun is heavy the felt recoil is less.
This 10 gauge Browning gold is heavy, like carrying a railroad iron through the woods.
No felt recoil though.
I have two really nice Belgium made Browning A5 Magnum shotguns that take 3 inch shells that I have retired from the turk woods due to being collectors items now days. The got too nice to take to the turkey woods. The 10 Gauge Browning gold is a matte black with synthetic stock and built for rough handling. I do have to take it apart about every 3 years for a good cleaning.
I would not buy another 10 gauge, shells high priced and hard to find now days.
Only thing the 21 year old is missing is being able to stick out his chest and say, it's a 10 gauge. (and he thinks he is running with the big dogs)
Stick with your 12 gauge, he is not missing a thing by NOT OWNING a 10 gauge.
Try a slug ! 😲
I have a SP-10, not bad at all.
With the new fangled loads shooting number 9's of some rare earth materials, a 20 gauge is all you need.
Just for fun I have some of that stuff in 10 gauge 3 1/2 inches. According to reports it should stop a charging rhino.
I will just disagree so maybe I can get one. I have a double 10 gauge that shoots 3.1/2" shells and it's a hoot even in my sunsetting years. So there, plus it's like lifting weights so I do get a workout just not very often.
be careful disagreeing here! You might get hammered.
No. Save your $…it’ll just sit in the safe.
What does need have to do with guns?
In a normal year I sell about 3-4 cases of 10ga steel loads. I probably sell 60-70 cases of 12 ga waterfowl loads. 12ga 3.5" almost always are 25 year Old or less, everyone older shoots 3".
10ga is becoming more obsolete every year.
I bought a Browning A-5 2 3/4 inch 12 gauge in 1962. It still drops birds like a two inch punt gun if I do my part. When I was younger it did a pretty good job on chukar and quail too. But, alas, I cannot keep up with them ennymore.
Nope
Love my Light 12 Auto-5. Married into an Auto-5 family so I just had to find one. Sits next to a Feather Citori 20 in my safe.
Because it is a 10!💪
Makes me think of a friend around 10-12 years ago, that was obsessed with getting a 3 1/2" 12 gauge mag. For whatever reason, he had to wait a while, as everywhere he looked, there were none in stock. He finally gets one, a Remington Super Mag pump. First thing he does is decide the length of pull is way too long. He chops 2 or 3 inches off the stock, butchers it in the process, and tosses on the cheapest, loosest slip-on pad at the store. Then, had to purchase the nastiest, hottest 3 1/2" loads on the market at the time. First shot, he pulls up, the pad slips off without him noticing, and he gets absolutely pasted by a stock not only too short, but also uncovered, with two sharp little tacks pointing back at him. The dance he did would've made any Indian proud, and surprisingly didn't cause major flooding for 50 miles around.
i owned and used both a Win SuperX2 3.5 inch and a Browning gold 10 gauge. when i goose hunted it would be over decoys in the field or pass shooting the fields the birds were coming over to a field i didn't have permission.i took the 10 on the days when the birds didn't want to work in as tight [to land] and i had shots up to 50 yards away. as i had a selection of choke tubes i could taylor my choke tube to the shell i was using for a reliable killing combination for the possible distances.
ducks and geese on water sets, i used the Super X2 with a light modified tube and 3-1/2 in Fasteel #2s. this gave me an excellent round for the expectation of seeing both birds on the public land water sets/camoed boat blind.
as the duck season closed but goose remained open for a couple weeks, my water set/boat blind i took my 10 gauge exclusively.the 10 is a goose killing dynamo, with few competitors in the 12 gauge variety. when you reload specifically the hot steel loads for the 10, pushing 1-3/8 on steel 1s or BBs at 1700 fps, there is nothing comparable in 12 gauge.
btw. you may want to check out what a lot of alaskan bear guides carry as a last ditch back up gun. a 10 ga pump with 2 ounce slugs, 1300 fps. you can do the foot lbs math
Now when rolling your own 10 gauge ammo and can stand the jar. It will leave the 12 in the dust.
My 2 cents
Personally, I dont think there is a turkey worth a ten guage shell! Legs dont hardly make good soup, breast is all there is worth saving.
Do you need a 10 ga.? No. But if you want one, get it.
10 ga. guns are so rare around here that I don't know anybody that has one. Well, when I was a kid a neighbor boy and classmate was showing me his dad's guns (no one was home, of course) and he had a Winchester lever action shotgun. It was a big old brute and the ugliest lever action I'd ever seen. It was a 10 ga. if I remember right. I saw the guy at a class reunion some years ago and asked him if he'd got his dad's guns and he said when his folks split up the guns were sold. I was pretty bummed out to hear that.
I need as many guns as I can afford and maybe more. I imagine the situation there is similar. Get both.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Dad had one of those old Marlin Bolt action goose guns when I has shooting on the high school trap team I brought it in and shot a round of trap with it. Had a blast with it that day shoulder was blue for about 2 weeks
I bought my 12 gauge Benelli Super Black Eagle in '94. It shoots 2.75", 3", and 3.5". I have probably fired 125 3.5" over those 28 years. At first, I thought I needed them, and there might have been some merit to it when steel was king and lead-replacement was cost prohibitive on an already expensive load. Even though the SBE has a reputation for harder recoil due to its lighter weight and inertia system, the only shots I ever really noticed were high angle (near vertical) shots.
Now, I carry a box of 3.5" with every trip, but rarely ever use them. When the wind REALLY kicks up or other odd scenarios where distance will be further than usual, I'll go up in shot size for the range and then use 3.5" to make up the difference. With how little I see the need for the 3 to 3.5" jump, I'd imagine the jump from there to 10 gauge would even be less frequent.
Buying a gun had to be practical, we would all own 9mm Glocks!