12 Gauge vs 20 Gauge for Turkey Hunting: An Honest Look at the Data

Earlier than I ever received severe about patterning turkey weapons, chokes, and hundreds, I believed the 12 gauge was the king of the turkey woods — and all the time could be. Like many turkey hunters, I killed my first birds with lead hundreds and easily figured that greater was higher. However then a number of years in the past I began capturing patterns and thoroughly evaluating the outcomes. I interviewed shotshell engineers about their knowledge on Tungsten Tremendous Shot.

By this I realized that the 12 gauge vs 20 gauge turkey gun debate is a little more sophisticated. In actual fact, in some circumstances a 20 gauge can out-perform a 12 gauge, ecspecially when each platforms are capturing TSS. 

If you happen to actually need to optimize your setup for lethality, the gauge you select is just a part of the equation. What issues most is discovering a gun/choke/load mixture that works nicely collectively.

What follows is a have a look at what hunters must learn about turkey weapons, gauges, and hundreds together with some patterning outcomes I’ve seen via the years. We’ll additionally tackle among the outdated turkey gun myths. 

12 Gauge vs 20 Gauge Turkey Gun Fundamentals

Earlier than we dive into the main points, it’s finest to determine the fundamentals. To begin with, turkey searching is finest when it’s a close-range recreation. Each 12 and 20 gauges plus 28 gauges and .410s are adequate for ethically killing turkeys at 30 yards and in. However at 40, 50, and 60 yards, there’s much more variation when it comes to lethality. The principle variations between 12 and 20 gauges come all the way down to bore diameter and chamber size. 

• 12 Gauge Bore Diameter: .729 inches
• 20 Gauge Bore Diameter: .615 inches
• 12 Gauge Max Chamber Size: 3.5 inches
• 20 Gauge Max Chamber Size: 3 inches 

Understanding Payloads

The specs above basically imply that 12 gauges can shoot bigger shells with heavier payloads. Keep in mind the payload is the load of the shot contained within the shell. A heavier payload theoretically means placing extra pellets heading in the right direction (extra on this later). Right here’s a have a look at how that breaks down with the perfect lead turkey load we’ve examined, the Winchester Longbeard XR.

When capturing conventional lead turkey hundreds, the 12-gauge has a severe benefit. However this all will get way more attention-grabbing after we dive into the rising and various world of TSS turkey hundreds. Right here ammo makers are loading quite a lot of shot sizes (typically stacked in the identical shell) together with hefty payloads. In some circumstances, you’ll be able to shoot a 12-gauge sized payload out of a 20-gauge sized shell. 

Under is a pattern of standard TSS turkey hundreds, ranked by the approximate variety of pellets they maintain per shell.

After all, all issues being equal, a 12-gauge (particularly with a 3.5-inch chamber) permits you to shoot a bigger payload and extra pellets per shell. However by tweaking shot sizes and choosing heavy TSS payloads, the 20-gauge may be aggressive. 

Patterning Actuality Verify

In the end it’s not what number of pellets you’ve within the shell, however what number of you’ll be able to placed on goal. The usual for measuring turkey patterns is to depend what number of pellets strike inside a 10-inch diameter circle drawn across the core of the sample. Patterns are shot from 40 yards. As a result of there may be important variation in sample density from shot to shot, it’s necessary to shoot a number of patterns and common them to get an actual understanding of how a gun/choke/load carry out. 

In case your setup places an excellent sample of 100 pellets inside a 10-inch circle persistently, you’ve an appropriate, turkey-killing rig at that given vary. From our expertise testing turkey guns and turkey loads at Outside Life, just about all 12-gauge and 20-gauge turkey weapons paired with TSS hundreds will put greater than 100 pellets inside a 10-inch circle at 40 yards. 

Nonetheless not all gun/load/choke combos sample tightly sufficient to ethically kill gobblers at 50 or 60 yards. And curiously, deciding on the correct choke/load combo for tight patterns is often extra necessary than merely going with the larger gauge. Listed here are a pair examples the place 20 gauges shot simply as nicely, and even considerably higher than 12 gauges utilizing the identical hundreds and shot sizes (and smaller payloads).

After a number of years of diligently patterning turkey weapons (and capturing as many turkeys as I’m legally allowed) I don’t assume that both of the 12-gauge gun/load examples above could be appropriate for capturing turkeys a lot past 50 yards. On the flip aspect, I’m very assured that the 20-gauge Retay/Federal combo could be succesful at 50-plus (after all we’d have to check to substantiate max vary). 

The purpose right here is that simply because you’ve a 12-gauge turkey gun and costly TSS hundreds doesn’t imply that your setup is robotically adequate for persistently or ethically killing gobblers at 50 yards and past.

The 20-gauge examples above aren’t even the perfect sub-gauge patterns we’ve shot. In my evaluate of the best 20 gauge turkey loads I used to be in a position to common 301 pellets inside a 10-inch circle with Boss Tom No. 9 and 259 pellets with Apex Greenleaf. (All of those hundreds have been shot with the Retay Gordion Turkey at 40 yards). 

Now to be truthful, dense patterns of 250-plus pellets heading in the right direction are most simply achieved with a 12 gauge. If you happen to search round boards and YouTube you’ll see every kind of examples of loopy dense patterns. The perfect sample we’ve shot not too long ago was from a Remington 870 with a Primos Jellyhead choke (.660) and Apex’s Greenleaf load (No. 9 and No. 10s).

This combo put 439 pellets in a 10-inch circle. That may be overkill in most conventional searching conditions, however should you’re on the lookout for most sample density at vary, it’s exhausting to argue with these outcomes.

The 12-Gauge Knockdown Energy Delusion

There’s a prevalent line of considering on the market that the 12 gauge has extra “knockdown energy” than sub-gauge shotguns. However that comes from a misunderstanding of how a shotgun sample kills birds. Shotgun lethality outcomes from sample density (which we’ve coated above) and pellet penetration. 

In my interview with Federal Premium ammunition engineer Adam Moser final 12 months, he instructed turkey hunters to think about penetration power greater than kinetic power. Penetration power is the measure of pellet power per cross-sectional space, Moser says. In different phrases, it’s the kinetic power of the pellet divided by its floor space, additionally known as the 2D space of the pellet (Ke=1/2 mv²).

Right here’s a pattern of penetration power generated from 1200 FPS muzzle velocity at 40 yards.

• No. 7 TSS pellet: 535 ft-lb/in²
• No. 9 TSS pellet: 374 ft-lb/in² 
• No. 5 lead pellet: 241 ft-lb/in² 
• No. 6 lead pellet: 205 ft-lb/in² 

When it comes to the 12 gauge vs 20 gauge turkey gun debate, the important thing right here is that it doesn’t matter which gauge a No. 9 pellet is fired from. It would have the identical quantity of penetration power as long as velocity is similar. And should you evaluate 12 gauge vs 20 gauge turkey hundreds from any given producer, you’ll discover that they’ve very related (or the identical) muzzle velocities.  

So don’t fall for the concept that as a result of 12 gauge shells are greater, their particular person pellets are in some way extra deadly.

Shotgun Weight and Recoil

One of many true advantages of the 20-gauge platform is that it weighs much less. Twenty gauges are typically virtually a pound lighter than their large brothers. Lighter weapons are simpler to hold and maneuver within the woods. They’re additionally simpler to carry regular in a capturing place whilst you’re ready for that gobbler to lastly strut into vary. Listed here are some weight comparisons for standard turkey weapons.

• Mossberg 835 Turkey, 12 Gauge: 7.5 kilos 
• Mossberg 500 Turkey, 20 Gauge: 6.75 kilos
• Benelli SBE 3 Turkey, 12 Gauge: 6.8 kilos 
• Benelli M2 Turkey, 20 Gauge: 5.9 kilos
• Remington 870 Fieldmaster, 12 Gauge: 7.25 kilos
• Remington 870 Fieldmaster 20 Gauge:  6.25 kilos

Nonetheless, one of many half-myths about 20 gauge turkey weapons is that they’ve gentle recoil. Sure, it’s true they are often much less punishing than a 12 gauge gun and three.5-inch hundreds, which is able to recoil like a sledge hammer.

However it’s additionally true that if you shoot payloads over 1 ½ ounces in just a little, short-barreled 20 gauge you can see that the recoil is something however gentle. I might not advocate giving a compact pump 20 gauge loaded up with 2 1/16-ounce Boss Tom hundreds to little Jimmy for his first turkey hunt. 

To essentially restrict recoil, contemplate capturing a .410 or 28 gauge (there are many good turkey hundreds for these weapons now) or look into Hevi Shot’s Reduced Recoil hundreds. And, preserve photographs shut. 

The Gun/Choke/Load Dynamic

The true takeaway right here is that each 20-gauge and 12-gauge turkey weapons may be efficient at longer ranges. But in addition, each gauges may be ineffective at lengthy vary. The hot button is to search out the correct mixture of gun/choke/load for the kind of turkey capturing you’re planning on doing. 

If you happen to hunt within the woods and solely intend to shoot turkeys at 40 yards and in, then a 12 gauge paired with respectable lead hundreds or a 20 gauge with virtually any TSS load will probably be simply fantastic (assuming you’re utilizing turkey chokes). If you happen to plan on capturing at 50 and even 60 yards, then you definately’ll want to do a little analysis and a few patterning work (no matter which gauge you select). 

You don’t need to find yourself searching with a turkey rig and TSS load that’s full of 700 pellets however will solely put 120 within the circle at 40 yards should you plan to shoot turkeys at 50 yards.   

Many TSS ammo producers make suggestions on the perfect choke dimension for his or her hundreds. That’s a very good place to begin. It’s also possible to try our evaluate of the best turkey chokes to see which hundreds are likely to shoot the perfect via totally different aftermarket chokes. If you happen to’re on the lookout for some cheat codes, listed below are a number of take aways from my experiences:

• The 20-gauge Retay Gordion Turkey throws stellar TSS patterns with each its manufacturing facility full choke and aftermarket Jebs Headhunter choke (.565). 
• Boss Tom is the last word 20 gauge load for max patterns. Beneficial choke dimension is .565 to .575. 
• Tremendous-short 20-inch barreled turkey weapons are typically just a little trickier to get nice patterns from at lengthy ranges.
• A Remington 870 with a Primos Jellyhead choke will usually outperform its (inexpensive) value vary.  
• Apex TSS and Indian Creek chokes are typically a wonderful mixture. 

If you happen to’re a severe turkey hunter, it’s price experimenting with totally different chokes and hundreds. Sure, you’ll need to burn some cash on a pair packing containers of very costly TSS hundreds and certain an aftermarket choke or two. However the finish consequence will probably be a way more environment friendly and efficient turkey killing rig.