[Peake]

This past X-Mas my wife got me a sweet litl' O/U 20 Gauge. I've never owned or even shot a twenty so curious if this litl' upland gun can do double duty for waterfowl? If so any experience on non-tox loads to try? Or just trade it for a new 12ga.??
Thanks,
Peake
________
GAY STUDS

 

[Terry Thomas]

My wife hunts waterfowl with a 20ga all the time. She favors the Kent Tungsten Matrix in #5 for ducks and #3 for geese. I started this season shooting ducks witha 28ga. only non toxic non steal was Bismuth so I shot #6. Shoot them in the head and they go down stone dead.

 

[Rick Hall]

Dave, I've gone full circle on 20ga waterfowling. Deciding the 20 I'd used successfully for turkeys and deer somehow wasn't enough gun for ducks, even in those lead shot days, I stepped up first to a 16 but soon after to a 12. And when 3 1/2" 12s came along, I bought one of the early HK imported Benelli SBEs, which I still use more often than not for geese. But having shot thousands of 'em, I don't care if I ever run another 3 1/2" shell through it.

And the past two seasons have seen me doing virtually all of my duck hunting and a fair bit of goose shooting with a little 20ga I'd been toying with for my personal playtime waterfowling for the past several years. Have pretty well convinced myself that even for shooting behind our guest guns, the 20's handiness and low recoil offer advantages outweighing its smaller shot charge. And it's dang sure more fun to shoot than my 12s.

As for non-tox loads, I like everything about tungsten-matrix but its price, couldn't get confident with Bismuth, and was glad when my self-imposed ten box trial of Hevi-Shot was over and I could get back to hitting more close birds with steel. (HS patterns tight in my gun.) In fact, I've never managed to get mad at steel and actually finished this past season shooting 2 3/4" steel 4s, because they were the only 20s left in the shell room. Birds didn't seem to think I was under-gunned.

 

[lablover]

Within the limits of the 20 ga's range, you can kill ducks, geese without a problem. For pheasants, using # 6 lead, in 3", it's deadly.

For ducks & geese I use 3" magnum, # 4 Hevi-shot.

Mine's a 20 ga Benelli Montefeltro and a joy to carry and shoot.

 

[2 tollers]

I use 3 inch - #2 or #3 steel for geese, 2 3/4 #4 steel for ducks and #6 lead for upland. Great shooting gun and have no problems with waterfowl or upland.

I went the route of a 20 then for years shot only a 12. The I had very major shoulder surgery and had to go back to the 20 for less recoil. That was 2 seasons ago and I am seriously looking at selling one of my 12 gage and getting another 20.

These are some birds from this last fall with the 20

 

[Richard Finch]

Pics

Nice pics man!!! Good lookin Red Dawg...



Richard

 

[David Maddox]

I have an older brother that shoots nothing but his 20ga pump on both upland and ducks. He shoots 3in 2s/4s on ducks. He has done this for over 20 years. He refuses to change , as he would put it, "a good thing"

 

[ltsolwhat]

My 20 guage Browning Citori with 3 inch chambers is the only gun I use anymore. With the variety of choke tubes and ammo available it seems to work for every circumstance that I have encountered.

Besides, I think that using a gun that is comfortable and fits correctly more than offsets the fewer number of shot in the string. The weight factor is a big plus as I get older.

 

[Dale]

Hey Peake, Use the 20 man. You'll love it. Buy some Kent Fast Steel for and get a out and kill some ducks.




I've taken ducks with a 410 regards.

 

[larrynogaj]

20

Way back, when steel shot was being introduced, because of the limited supply and availablility of steel loads, it was law that only 12 ga shooters had to comply with the restrictions on lead shot. I promptly went out and bought a Mag 20 Browning Auto 5, a real sweetheart. That was before interchangeable chokes were commonplace and it has a fixed modified choke. When my son was about 11, I made a new stock for it so it would fit him. Over the past 10 years, he's popped A LOT of ducks with that gun. My preferred choke is IC and I'm thinking to upgrade it so it will accept interchangeable chokes so I can enjoy it too.

 

[Patrick Johndrow]

If you are an exceptional shot with a shogun keep the 20 but if you are not trade it for a 12.


Lots of ducks killed with 20s every year...and a lot of ducks crippled with 12s every year.

 

[Rick Hall]

If men were machines shot load might well make all the difference between clean kills and fly-off cripples. That we're not brings the gun's handling and recoil into play, as well. And I know that I'm not shooting a 20 because I'm a particularly fine shot or wishing to give the birds a sporting chance. I'd much prefer that nothing got out of one of my spreads educated, much less crippled, and have concluded over time that I can contribute to that goal as well with a 20 as a 12.

Here's another long time guide's take on the topic that I recently read:

The first thing I point out to hunters who are having a hard time hitting the birds is to make sure the gun is well mounted. Then you will need to make sure you head is down on the stock. This insures you are looking right down the barrel If not, you will be shooting over every bird. The next item is recoil, I see a lot of hunters trying to make up for lack of shooting skills by shooting the biggest load and gun they can get their hands on!! A lot of misses are under the birds and I know this by the number of decoys I have with pellet hole in them. The guy doesn't even realise it, but as he goes to pull the trigger on a real heavy load, his mind tells his body to lean forward. If the gun is delayed just a small fraction of a second from the time the trigger is pulled to the time the gun actually goes off, The hunter will shoot "low".

Hadn't occured to me that they'd be more likely to miss low, rather than simply flinching and missing all over the map, but it sure hasn't been lost on me that relatively few of our hunters can put heavy loads to good use.

 

[Bob Gutermuth]

I shoot a 28 primarily for upland and would use it for ducks if I could get notox shot at a decent price. (28 ammo of any kind is high priced). My duck gun is a 20, as most of the duckin I do is on puddle ducks that are decoying. I use the 12 only for Canada Geese. The older I get the more I like the minor gauge guns for their light weight and less recoil. The shotguns I use most are all Ruger Red Label O/U

 

[Aaron Homburg]

20

I hunt everything with my 20 gauge Benelli and love it. I do break out the 12 gauge Benelli on some goose hunts but not many.

Aaron

 

[El General]

Shoot the 20.

It ain't the car, it's the driver.

 

[Josh Conrad]

funny looking labs Hugh. LOL.

shoot the 20g. I have been thinking of getting myself a 20g. for ducks.

It will all depend on how you like to shoot your ducks. If you shoot em close up 30yrds and under, the 20 will work fine.

 

[2 tollers]

Re: Pics

Nice pics man!!! Good lookin Red Dawg...
Richard

Richard --- Thanks - they are both pretty good dogs and have worked out well in the field. Tests are going ok --- if they got a better handler they would be further ahead

Besides, I think that using a gun that is comfortable and fits correctly more than offsets the fewer number of shot in the string. The weight factor is a big plus as I get older.

I agree on this 100%. A few years back a friend accidently left his 12 gage at home. Normally from his shooting ability I was always a firm believer he that he was either not a meat eater or was a closet PETA member. I loaned him my back up gun for the trip - my 20 ga O/U. This was the best he ever shot - got his limit of geese and missed very few. The gun fit him well, he could swing it with eaze and I believe he was not flinching.

funny looking labs Hugh. LOL.

Josh --- I really do keep trying -- but they keep washing off the black paint. By the way nice looking boat -- that project turned out real well.

 

[goldeneye]

20 ga. will not work.

Send it to me along with all the shells you have.

 

[Devlin]

I've shot ducks with a 20 (a Belgian Browning O/U, and a Browning Citori chambered 3") using #6 shot with good success...but I prefer my Beretta 12 gauge O/U for waterfowl: Bismuth shot, #4 for ducks & #2 for geese...I must be getting older! :lol:

The 20 was plenty of gun, especially with 3" #6s, when the birds were in tight. It was a bit light, though, when the distances were greater...thus the 12 now.