[John Davis]

Been reading this thread with some interest and it got me to thinking. As they say, the only thing constant is everything changes. I began life with a single shot .410. Graduated to a 12 gauge auto and stuck with it until I discovered the joys of a side by side, in 12 gauge. Worked my way through the 16’s, 20’s, 28’s, and back to a .410 (even tried a big 10), each time believing I had finally discovered the Holy Grail of shotguns. They were all great and bagged lots of birds. These days 99% of my shooting is done on a trap field instead of a dove field etc., so I’ve circled back around to the 12 bore. Have never found recoil to be an issue (I won’t be 65 until April) and I keep my loads within reason. Although not a popular assertion, for my money the 12 is the most versatile of all gauges. Of course variety is the spice of life, so I still keep a few sub-gauges around for when I'm feeling frisky.