12 gauge 16 gauge question.

[Mike Franzen]

I guess what I am asking is, all things being equal, would one gauge have an advantage over the other?

[Reggie B]

The 16 would probably be considered more desirable because fewer were made. But sure would like to have a nice 26" barreled, straight stocked 12 for birds!

[B. Dudley]

Same amount of lead in the air, so I cannot say that I think there is any advantage to one or the other.

[Ron Scott]

16s are cool -- if you don't have one, you definitely need one

[Ron Scott]

He also says that the 8 foot shot string takes 0.0138 seconds from the 1st pellet strike to the last -- that means in the worse case scenario, a 20' long shot string would take 0.0345 seconds from first strike to last. 3 1/2 hundredths of a second is 10 times faster than a blink of an eye. So for all practical purposes, in either case, short or long, all the shot hits the target at virtually the same time.

[Mike Franzen]

But he also states that a duck flying 35 mph travels about 8 inches in .0138 seconds. That means it travels about 3’ according to your logic. That seems significant to me. BUT, my cyphering may be wrong.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Mike Franzen

But he also states that a duck flying 35 mph travels about 8 inches in .0138 seconds. That means it travels about 3’ according to your logic. That seems significant to me. BUT, my cyphering may be wrong.

Only the last 10% (arguably) of the pellets will arrive on the last inch or two of that 8 inch distance.





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[Ron Scott]

I used 2 1/2 times the 8’ long string to get to 20’ — 2.5 times 8” is 2’ not 3. I’m thinking the diameter of the pattern would cover at least 2 feet. So the bird is in the pattern the entire time from first strike to last

[Richard Flanders]

Anyone who has not done so should get Bristers book and read it through. He was a true pioneer with regards to this issue. I certainly changed my duck shooting after reading his book. I started leading ducks wayyy more than I ever had and it paid off bigtime for me in how many ducks I brought home.

[Big D]

I was going to mention Brister but Richard beat me to it. His book is the one truly creative one I have seen on shotgunning. (and his wife is a brave saint)