Quote:
Originally Posted by John Davis
Yes, sub-gauges are fun to shoot and easy to carry. Yes, many of today's put and take quail preserves don't allow anything bigger than a 20 gauge. Why would you when you've either got to literally kick the bird up or send in a flushing dog to get something even close to a covey rise? And yes, sub-gauges seem to be the latest rage among collectors these day's.
But the fact remains that the 12 is and has been for the past 150 years the most popular gauge to shoot. It overtook and supplanted the 10 and it withstood the advent of all other smaller gauges. There is a reason that 99% of all guns used for trap are 12's. If you didn't have sub-gauge events in skeet and sporting clays, the same would be true for those disciplines as well. And with the opening day of dove season just around the corner, a vast majority of the guns you'll see in the field will be 12's.
So to be clear, I love a 16, 20 and 28 gauge as much as anyone. I enjoy shooting them in pursuit of most upland game. But if I'm going to travel a thousand miles to shoot wild birds in South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas or anywhere else, I'm probably going to be shooting a 12 gauge.
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Hard to make that argument for skeet when the TOP skeet shooters are averaging .99% plus with the sub gauges....even with the .410..
International Olympic skeet is shot with a 24gram load and the averages didn't change when they dropped down from the 28gram load..
The target distance for skeet more frequently represents chances in the field.
For the most part it is one pointing ability that determines their success and not the gauge...
And, for those that are willing to pay the additional for TSS shot, any advantage the 12 had is gone. With TSS some are stoning Turkey’s at 40 yards with the 410.. it isn’t you Grandad’s uplands any more..
Trap is a different situation in that the distance is further, which gives an edge to the 12..