12, 16 or 20

[David Rase]

If you were going to build a fowler strictly for wing shooting, would you recommend a 12, 16 or 20 guage?  I know a lot of you like a 20 guage in order to have the capability to shoot round ball as well as shot.  I have a couple of 20's and a couple of 16's and want to build a 12 just for duck hunting.  What are your thoughts?
David

[bob in the woods]

?? " In order to have the capability of shooting round balls "  ?
Just for the record, I hunt ducks and geese with my 10 bore Chambers New England fowling piece all the time. It is my gun of choice and has brought many fine meals to the table. I also use round balls in the same gun for hunting deer and bear. So far 2 deer and 1 black bear have been put in the freezer with thanks to this gun. And turkey !!      So, if you are building a hunting gun, then I suggest that bigger is better.
If you mainly want to shoot at targets, a smaller bore will be easier on the shoulder than the larger, but....that is also up for debate , considering the loads that some shoot.  The same shot load in the larger bore as the smaller will give a shorter string and probably pattern better.  I have a 20 bore Chambers English fowler which is a fabulous gun, mainly dedicated to partridge. It is faster to handle than the New England.  However, if I could have only one, the N.E. Fowler would be it, hands down.
With shot or round balls it is an absolute dependable game getter.   

[Ranch13]

I had a 14 gauge that was a pleasure to shoot and deadly as could be on most everything from doves to geese, and was especially deadly on sage hens.

[Bull Shannon]

For a dedicated duck shooter then I would go with the 10 gauge. 

[James Rogers]

Hi Dave,

I see your interest is for a waterfowling gun. For that particular facet of wingshooting I would say a 12 bore as the minimum and a 10 or 8 for choice.

[Bill Paton]

I agree with James Rogers that bigger is better for water foul, but the Federal
Fish and Wildlife people won't like anything bigger than 10 gauge.

[WaterFowl]

Barbie at Chambers had some nice 10 and 12 ga .Rice barrels for sale in April might be worth a call.
I Prefer the bigger bore...
I went 10 ga because the the outside profile is the same for 10 or 12ga.  benefit less weight  better balance.
Feds allow nothing larger than 10 ga. for waterfowl.
Be prepared for sticker shock when buying Non-toxic shot.

10 ga. in the rain turkey hunting this early spring..

[Kermit]

20 for upland, 12 or 10 for waterfowl. I have a 12, and sometimes wished it was 10. If I was starting and was deciding on a first for do-it-all, I'd be thinking 10.

[Jerry V Lape]

As far as worrying about game and fish finding out you are using an 8 gauge instead of a 10, engrave 10ga on the barrel and they will never know the difference.  I asked the game wardens around here how they know if a gun is a 10 or 8ga considering an overbored 10 is pretty close to an 8ga.  They said they go by how the barrel is marked.  So mark it 10ga.  I asked because I was considering building an 8ga to wack coyotes  and lions with #4 buck and they could careless how I kill coyotes.  Decided I would rather use my .54 flintlock instead.  I am hoping to hunt with a guy who specializes in calling in cougars, gets one for himself every year and helps others he likes get a few more each year.  

[Osprey]

That's fine until you run into a warden that knows his stuff, but then the fines are pretty steep.  You can make enough mistakes by accident when waterfowling, why start out in the wrong?

For a dedicated duck BP gun I'd say 10 ga, but for all around wingshooting I love the 16's.  There is a 44" Colerain O/R barrel I use that is light, handles great and is a joy to shoot and swing on birds.

I'll put it this way.  Some of the guys I duck hunt with demand 3 1/2" magnum loads in their shotguns, I still shoot cheap 2 3/4" steel and kill more ducks - because whatever you use you still have to hit 'em.   

[bob in the woods]

I don't shoot magnum loads in my N E Fowling gun when duck, goose, or turkey hunting. Because it is a 10 bore, I don't need to      I see a lot more folks with 20 bores loadiing them heavy , in order to compensate for the smaller bore. Given that you have enough velocity for penetration, it's the pattern that counts.

[xring2245]

I own three 20s and a Matt Avance 12-bore.  The 20s are awesome for deer and pheasant.  Dead is dead!  The 12 is another story, in a positive sense.  It does well on pheasants as well and is a great turkey gun.  Although it is an accurate PRB shooter, I have not used it on deer, although I may use it next season.

I do not duck hunt and I do not own a 10-bore, so I cannot offer any comments here.

In summary, my experiences with the 20s and one 12 has been very positive so far and I get a lot of use out of them.

James

[David Rase]

Thanks for all the good input.  Sounds like bigger is better when it comes to shot loads in a smoothbore and hunting.  I will have to give the 10 gauge some thought.  For now it looks like at least a 12.
David

[James Rogers]

Bill is right about the 8 bore and legal restrictions. Type of shot is regulated as well so something to think about. Of course I wonder how a warden would react to a 10 bore with a relieved muzzle that looked like it would swallow a cow
I do think bigger bores help with shot stringing and deformation.
Looking forward as always as to what you come up with Dave.

[Tommy Bruce]

Dave, I think I would go with the 12 bore, especially since you mentioned that you have a 16 and 20.  Would you be shooting a choked barrel or leave it cylinder bored?

[Hungry Horse]

Dave;

  As you well know waterfowl take a lot of killing, and a twenty gauge won't do the job consistently, so my choice would be a twelve gauge. I say twelve mostly because the wads, and cards, are  more easily obtained, than ten gauge stuff. If you have access to ten gauge stuff, and can handle the abuse, go ten.

                         Hungry Horse

[Steve-In]

If you are going to shoot steel shot for waterfowl the 12 has more options in plastic wads to protect the bore.

[bob in the woods]

What's  "plastic" ?   

[P.W.Berkuta]

Dave, here is my take on the choice between the 12 and the 10. If you are a GOOD (not cripple but KILL birds 80% of the time) wing shot and shoot them over decoys close in then a 12 will do you well - but - pass shooting ducks and geese (and the ones that "flair" before getting to the decoys) are tough and FAST, I would go with the 10 . I also prefer a SXS - I just like the ability to have a second shot and I like the looks of them .

[smallpatch]

Dave,  I'm currently building my third Chamber's NE Fowler in 10g a. They make just GREAT guns for Turkey, with a jug choke, I put 11 to 19 pellets into the kill zone @ 50yd on those Turkey head targets.  YES 50 yards.  That's reaching out and touching them. 

I've not used them for waterfowl, but the results kind of indicate that they would work great.

I
That big .750 ball shoots great, and makes a really impressive hole as well. 

When I finish this one, I think I'm going to have to build one to keep.

[Daryl]

For a dedicated bird gun ie: water fowl and turkey's, I'm in the 10 bore school. 1 1/4 to 1 1/2ounce makes a nice square load.

[stuart cee dub]

Easy ,12 ga. for a shot only gun .
Simply because of the shorter shot string and less shot scrubbing .
If you ever had it in mind to hunt turkey as well as waterfowl ,12 ga is the minimum in a number of states.
   

[Daryl]

The larger the bore, the more shot there is in a square load - ie: the larger the bore, the more shot you can have in the shortest possible shot string.

[Steve-In]

What's  "plastic" ?

For waterfowl the use of non-toxic shot is required.  The bore needs to be protected from most non-tox shot.  Steel and  the heavy shot will eat up a barrel.  Even some areas are requiring the use of non-tox in shotguns for all game.  Bismoth and "Nice shot" are other non-tox options.  12 gauge offers the most options.

[Vomitus]

  NE in a ten bore, now your cooking with gas...er charcoal!