12 or 20 for clay pigeons????????

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h8ns8n

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shot skeet for the 1st time at OSA cookout and loved it. I have a 12 (18 inch) for HD but want to get another for skeet shootin. i would like the wife to try and think she might go for the 20 over the 12 but wanted to know if a 12 is better for this purpose?
 

dennishoddy

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Skeet is a 4 gun competition if you get serious about it. .410, 28, 20 and 12.

I was at work the day of the GT, and not sure if you shot true skeet or shot clay birds thrown over an open field.

For about any guage, or bore size(the .410 is a bore size, not a guage) the level of difficulty increases with the smaller diameters.

In a perfect world, a modified choke .410 would have the same diameter or "spread" as a modified choke 12 ga., at say 30 yds. Most shotgun chokes are patterned at 30 yds with a 30" circle to see how many shot are within the circle.
The difference being that there would be more shot in the pattern of the 12 ga ensuring more hits on the clay bird.
In the real world a person patterning any shotgun on paper will find that some chokes for whatever reason will leave an area in the 30" circle with almost no shot at all. Change chokes and the pattern becomes even. Its machining defects or something. I don't think any body can really point a finger at a specific cause.

Turkey hunters are notorious about patterning their shotguns as they are shooting at a small target at long ranges. (the neck of the turkey).

To answer your question, I have a 12 and a 20 I shoot at registered trap, skeet, and just for fun throwing clay birds in the field. For me, starting out with a sporting gun, I'd go with the 12. You can get light loads that don't kick much and its easier to make the target turn into a black cloud in the sky. Kind of builds up your confidence. Nothing worse starting out than to bang a bunch of rounds and see nothing break up in the sky.
When shooting my 20, sometimes I KNOW it hit it, and when we go out and pick up the clay birds that don't break we will find lots with one or two pellet hits in them. Good enough for a hit, but it still didn't break the bird.

Shooting clays has got to be one of the things I really like to do. The skeet and trap ranges are really fun, but regimented. I much prefer getting out with the friends in a field, with a couple of thowers getting two birds in the sky at the same time, and trying different shooting scenario's like the clays coming over your back, or at right angles, whatever is safe. Makes it like getting in on a great quail hunt.:D
 

ProBusiness

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for a woman, i would definitely recommend a 20 for a woman.

i think to answer your question, it does not take much to break a clay bird.

if the power of the gun is your question, for the same shells, both the 12 or 20 will shoot at the same fps. so you are shooting the same size lead, at the same speed, but with the 12 are are shooting more pellets and more recoil becaue it takes more powder to move 250 pellets at 1250 fps (12) than it does 150 pellets at 1250 fps (20).

a 20 is more than enough to break clay targets.

i teach women who are beginning shooters to shoot skeet. for most women, a 12 will hurt them. they won't say so in front of their husbands or on the range, but if you really ask them, it is too much gun for a lot of women and the result is they do not enjoy the pain and they do not come back.

to successfully shoot a shotgun, you have to hold the stock/comb aganist your cheek. most women do not like to do this as it hurts. a smaller gauge with less recol such as a 20 will help them hold the gun to their face. the trade off is a smaller pattern.

a good 20 semi for lower recoil is good for a woman.

an o/u will have more recoil than a semi. for a woman that does not compete either gun will serve her purposes. you can buy a 1100 or 1187, shoot it for a while, and sell it for about what you paid for it. some cheaper o/u do not work well and break down.
 

jbarnett

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Skeet is a 4 gun competition if you get serious about it. .410, 28, 20 and 12.

I was at work the day of the GT, and not sure if you shot true skeet or shot clay birds thrown over an open field.

For about any guage, or bore size(the .410 is a bore size, not a guage) the level of difficulty increases with the smaller diameters.

In a perfect world, a modified choke .410 would have the same diameter or "spread" as a modified choke 12 ga., at say 30 yds. Most shotgun chokes are patterned at 30 yds with a 30" circle to see how many shot are within the circle.
The difference being that there would be more shot in the pattern of the 12 ga ensuring more hits on the clay bird.
In the real world a person patterning any shotgun on paper will find that some chokes for whatever reason will leave an area in the 30" circle with almost no shot at all. Change chokes and the pattern becomes even. Its machining defects or something. I don't think any body can really point a finger at a specific cause.

Turkey hunters are notorious about patterning their shotguns as they are shooting at a small target at long ranges. (the neck of the turkey).

To answer your question, I have a 12 and a 20 I shoot at registered trap, skeet, and just for fun throwing clay birds in the field. For me, starting out with a sporting gun, I'd go with the 12. You can get light loads that don't kick much and its easier to make the target turn into a black cloud in the sky. Kind of builds up your confidence. Nothing worse starting out than to bang a bunch of rounds and see nothing break up in the sky.
When shooting my 20, sometimes I KNOW it hit it, and when we go out and pick up the clay birds that don't break we will find lots with one or two pellet hits in them. Good enough for a hit, but it still didn't break the bird.

Shooting clays has got to be one of the things I really like to do. The skeet and trap ranges are really fun, but regimented. I much prefer getting out with the friends in a field, with a couple of thowers getting two birds in the sky at the same time, and trying different shooting scenario's like the clays coming over your back, or at right angles, whatever is safe. Makes it like getting in on a great quail hunt.:D

I learned a lot in your post. Thanks.

I say 12 gauge. I have shot clay with 410, 20, and 12.
Like Dennis said, get some confidence first and then try the others.
At the eat-n-shoot Badgebunny and glockgirl both shot lots of 12 gauge and did really good. For your wife it just depends on her. I have shot some 20's that felt like a 12.
 

h8ns8n

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Power to break the clay definately wasn't a concern. I was really more interested in spread pattern at clay pigeon distances. Thanks for the info!
 

Maverick21

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I personally have a 12 but miss my 20. Much more manageable recoil which increases chances if you are going for multiple targets. If you need more spread of the shot.... well a hacksaw does wonders.
 

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