20 gauge for 3 gun?

[LStevens]

I want my wife to start coming to the 3 gun matches with me. The more involved she gets, the more involved I get to get!!!
So I was thinking... can she use a 20 or does it have to be 12? If she can use a 20, any suggestions on a semiauto that wont break the bank. The Mossberg International SA20 looks like the Benelli but is only around $350-400 vs $1200. Remember, just getting the equipment for her is enough, it doesn't have to be better than what I have!!!!!

 

[folly]

I've seen a few competitors using 20g for 3gun, including Tim Ubl from Nordic shooting his Benelli 20. You've got a little less shot and a little less power, but you can hold more in your hand to load!

 

[jtischauser]

No recommendations here other than make sure it has the option to install a full choke. Those plates can be tough with a 12 gauge sometimes so a 20 may not always get it down despite the fact that everything us supposed to be calibrated for 20 gauge.

 

[dennishoddy]

No recommendations here other than make sure it has the option to install a full choke. Those plates can be tough with a 12 gauge sometimes so a 20 may not always get it down despite the fact that everything us supposed to be calibrated for 20 gauge.

I haven't got into the 3 gun yet, but from what I'm reading on here, most have recomended the light loads in 12 ga to work for the matches.

In 20 ga you can go up to 1oz in the mag loads for 3", same as a 12 ga light load in 2 3/4.
So, is the calibration for a mag load in 20 ga. or standard loads?

 

[jtischauser]

To be quite honest the local matches are never calibrated. I'd bet money that the majority of the big matches aren't either.

 

[Chambers]

I shoot light slugs/buck but I generally want the baddest shot I can get. Most of the time it's Nitro Sporting Clays or AA's going 1,300 FPS.

At big matches I will always bring a box or two of high brass 6's for long steel, so I wouldn't recommend 20 gauge...though it would probably be just fine at our local matches.

Key phrase in Jesse's post is "supposed to be" calibrated.

 

[Chambers]

Btw...steel, even when it's calibrated, can be held up by wind.

It's frustrating to drill a pepper popper dead center with a 12 gauge shotgun and watch the wind hold it up. I had to double tap one at TX multigun this year.

Hence the high brass 6's.

 

[dennishoddy]

Since I came from the shotgun world to here, I have 2 3/4 loads that hit 1400fps. I don't like to lead.
Sounds like a cannon when I shoot. Load with a RCBS Grand progressive. A guy in town that I shoot with on occasion, buys lead shot by the pallet. He is way up in the world of trap shooting.

 

[Burk Cornelius]

So a person COULD get by with a 20 ga (full choke) to see if he/she is going to like 3G?

 

[[email protected]]

So a person COULD get by with a 20 ga (full choke) to see if he/she is going to like 3G?

You'll like it.

 

[dennishoddy]

I would think so if one had a gun chambered in 3".

then again, they do make heavy loads in 2 3/4.
In my thinking, it has to be about how hard the shot hits the steel and how light the steel is set.
Faster velocity has to be a key, as well as how many shot hit the steel.

 

[Spiff]

It's all momentum. Mass x Velocity. You lose the mass, you need an equal proportion of velocity to make up for it.

I run 1 1/8 oz of 7.5s at 1250 fps and have never had a problem that wasn't my fault. I'm occasionally pleasantly surprised too.

 

[jtischauser]

I would think a 20 gauge would be fine even if it didn't have a choke at all most of the time. Some hard hitting ammo may be good to have around though.

 

[benjamin-benjamin]

So a person COULD get by with a 20 ga (full choke) to see if he/she is going to like 3G?

i don't believe there is a such thing as "not liking 3gun"...

 

[folly]

The choke matters a lot, though. At BRM3G last year I was shooting AAs with a cylinder choke and put 12 good hits on a star at 15 feet before I cleared it, then dropped a 6" plate at 30 yds...on the same stage. The star was heavy and the pattern was too light, even that close. With a light mod I wouldn't have had an issue with the star.

 

[LStevens]

i don't believe there is a such thing as "not liking 3gun"...

Here Here!, I don't see my wife shooting at more than a local match, She likes to shoot but sometimes the long guns are "too heavy". I believe the pounding of a 12 may take the fun out of it for her so if 20 is acceptable for 3gun, I just need to decide which one. There is a sweet 20 gauge Benelli race rig at Heartland for 1800+ !! Sorry honey, you cant have a shotty better than mine. You have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[benjamin-benjamin]

why don't you have her come to a 3gun and borrow a M2 12 gauge, i am pretty dainty and they don't bother me... better to have her try it out before you drop cash...

 

[folly]

Or, and forgive the heresy...get her a gas gun? Much softer...

 

[jtischauser]

If weight is an issue then a Benelli is the answer.

 

[Wall]

So a person COULD get by with a 20 ga (full choke) to see if he/she is going to like 3G?

Burk, the name says it all. You get to shoot 3 guns......what's not to like?
Come out sometime, use my shotgun.

Here Here!, I don't see my wife shooting at more than a local match, She likes to shoot but sometimes the long guns are "too heavy". I believe the pounding of a 12 may take the fun out of it for her so if 20 is acceptable for 3gun, I just need to decide which one. There is a sweet 20 gauge Benelli race rig at Heartland for 1800+ !! Sorry honey, you cant have a shotty better than mine. You have to draw the line somewhere.

There's a little girl on the pro 3gun circuit named Katie Harris, I think she's one of Kurt's teamates. Anyhow, she shoots a benelli 12 ga. Maybe Kurt can fill you in on any ammo she uses or mods done to the gun for her.