I say to each their own. I've used 12's, 16's and 20's and like them all.

Quite frankly, I see the bigger problem in bird hunting being the loss of good bird habitat throughout the country than choosing what shotgun to use.

Even the fanciest of shotguns (in any gauge) does you little good with no birds to hunt.

Jim

I must affirm Phil’s basic position on 12-ga use and opinions. Using a 12-ga makes Upland Life easier IF:

The 12-ga is light weight for the Uplands. E.g. Close to or under 7-lbs. Since I passed on my Beretta 686 EL to my son I’m using an 1100 12-ga for pheasants. This 1100’s heavy and is considerably slow to get on target for ruffed grouse. The small gauges have their position for the Uplands…..particularly in since I’ll be looking at the wrong side of 60 in a few days.

It’s been my experience and observation as a minimum 1-oz shot loads and IC Choke are needed for Upland success. I can find this criteria in 12, 16, 20, and 28, and if I can handle the shotgun well I’m very confident of dispatching any Upland game bird in a reasonable hunting situation.

"Bigger is better" seems to be the most logical reasoning for a hunting rifle or shotgun. I've never heard anyone suggest a .223 is adequate for elk; sure, it would work, but why try? The 12 gauge just makes sense. An expert might make a 20 or 28 (or even a .410) work in most situations, but a 12 gives the largest margin of error.

The same as with rifles, shotgun shooters need to be proficient with their weapon before heading into the field.
The few hunters I get to guide still cant hit a 20 yard pheasant over my pointer regardless of the gauge. Majority of the reasons are mounting the gun badly or not following thru on the shots.

Beekeeper

I hear you, man!

But at my age, not much is lightning fast!

This is the same trend that lead the fishing fraternity to the ultra-light tackle trend... and in my opinion it's a misguided and ethically poor direction for hunting.

In fishing, a broken line is the typical result of going too light. The fish will usually (but not always) swim off and throw the hook or the hook will corrode and the fish will be no worse for wear... again, usually. (In the extreme cases, as fishermen are learning, ultra-light tackle results in overfighting the fish and killing it... but most catch and release discussions tend to gloss that over and that's another topic for another place anyway.)

When it comes to hunting, though, going too light will too often result in a wounded animal that may or may not survive. What would often be a quick kill with adequate caliber will be a slow death when underpowered, and will often result in a lost animal because there are far too many hunters who couldn't follow a cable car on its own track.

With birds, you don't even get to track them. Most of the time you'll never know they're crippled.

Know the limitations of your chosen weapon and don't exceed them... there's nothing "sporting" about crippling game.

I shot doves in Argentina in April and used nothing by a 20ga Benelli auto. Another shooter used a 12ga 870 and he needed shoulder therapy for a week! I shot WILD pheasants in ND in October and used nothing by my 12ga Citori with 30" bbl. My feelling is that it is just as important to match the gun to the game when shooting winged game as it is to do so when shooting big game from deer to elephant.
We had two windy days in ND(imagine that). One of those days I was posting a large combination patch of cover and trees. Flushed birds had to immediately clear the treetops, then they turned downwind. When they reached me they were both high and going like hell. A 20ga, even in expert hands, would not have been adequate, but I killed birds regularly with my 12ga. On the other hand, shooting pointed pheasants in good cover where they flush at less than 20 yds makes a 20 pretty effective - especially if you have a very good retriever. I think, to some extent, there is the macho factor (hunters do have some of that) involved with using smaller guns. Both shotgun and rifle.

Proverbs,
You better get on the phone now and call every gun shop you can. From what I see on Federals web site all bullets from .30 cal and smaller will be made in Trophy Bonded Tipped. Not as sturdy as the Bear Claw. good luck.

12 ga does it all so it is the only shotgun bore size that I use.

Bourjaily
“They called YOU a girlie- man hunter because YOU shoot a 12 gauge AND “They said real men shoot 20 gauges?”

What a bunch of pussies!

Hell, when I was a 13 my right arm was in a full cast so I had to shoot doves left handed with a right handed 410 bolt gun and still out shot a lot of the adults using 12's.

I remember 2 of my friends at Holloman AFB wanted to go up to Cloudcroft NM and go squirrel hunting and didn’t have a single gun. So I let one use my 12 gauge and the other my Remington 22 Nylon 66 while I used my Ruger 22 pistol and shot 9 to their 7 combined.

I’ll still take my 12 gauge despite 20 gauge wimps think!
They have been drinking too much of that coffee derived by some animal dung pile!

Kopi Luwak beans are eaten, then passed, by the cat-like Asian palm civet, and sell for £324 a kilogram.

Who would be dumb enough to see someone holding a 12 ga, and call that person a "girlie man"?
YooperJack

I get tired of the same old phony purist attitudes. Guys try to push their opinions about shotguns, rifles, bows, fishing tackle, and anything else you can think of. I don't care if someone bowhunts with a longbow or a crossbow, fishes with a bamboo flyrod or an ugly stick, or shoots a flintlock or a magnum with a big scope. As long as it's legal and ethical, leave 'em alone. I find a lot of traditional archers and fly fishermen are especialy guilty of this. We need to support each other and save the arguments for the antis.

Well by the same reasoning I guess you should only carry a 22LR for all hunting seasons up to and including Deer, as it's enough to kill a deer is it not?

For those of us who can't afford a battery of shotguns a 12 is THE all-around shotgun, can shoot loads from 3/4 oz up to 2 oz and with slugs can even be used for large game, Deer, Bear, and even Elk hunting can be done with the right load.