Originally Posted by
hardcastonly
as will be all too common, the skill and experience of the person using the equipment has a huge effect on how effective it will be,
Ive used both an Ithaca 10 ga mag 10, and an benelli black eagle 12 ga 3" semi auto on dozens of hunts
the benelli has interchangeable chokes, its lighter and ammos cheaper
if you do your job as a hunter correctly either choice in shotguns works just fine,
but theres zero doubt the 10 ga throws a bit tighter /denser pattern and has measurably increased reach,
now that rarely is a huge factor, as I try very hard to get turkey into the 35-40 yard,max range before you fire,
yes the 10 ga is a larger gun and heavier and ammos at times harder to find,
but its not like you shoot several boxes of shells on a turkey hunt
I generally have a box of shells last a couple years.
so why would anyone want a 10 ga?
if youve ever had a turkey strutting around at 45-47 yards, and were reluctant
to risk wounding ,you know damn well the the reason,
and yeah its damn effective even at that range, and probably a lot further,
but I refuse to try stretching it past that.
having confidence in your equipment, and a well proven effective pattern, does mater.
theres also the shot size options, lots of the guys I hunt with use #2 shot in 2.25 oz 10 ga hand loads
and that will kill very well at 50 yards
btw I know from experience that both the powder charge and shot cup design DO have a noticeable effect on the shot pattern density
BLUE DOT POWDER and the ballistic products longer shot cups with the fed cases and 2.25 oz #2 shot is what Ive used on many hunts
IM NOT impressed with the MEC loader I use but it does work
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1013168287/mec-600-jr-mark-5-single-stage-shotshell-press-10-gauge-3-1-2
https://www.precisionreloading.com/cart.php#!ga=10%20Gauge
https://www.ballisticproducts.com/
https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Th...uctinfo/00M10/
http://www.eregulations.com/wp-conte...18FLHD-LR2.pdf
I'm going to add this, as this is a fact and an important part about ANY shotgun pattering
the Gauge of the shot gun doesn't mean it will shoot a better pattern
its a combination of a choke and load used in the gun
a LARGER gauge will MAYBE, ONLY have more shot in each round, that has NOTHING to do with how well or not it patterns out of the shotgun, the choke controls this'
a prime example is I have a die hard turkey hunter that uses a 10 gauge(rem)
he bought it 20+ yrs ago, wanting the biggest baddest shotgun in the woods LOL
his words! too by the way!
and then he shot it with the load he wanted to use
and the pattern was terrible, more OUT of a kill zone at 50 yards than in
we then shot several of our other 12 gauge , that others spent the time finding a load choke(many had custom chokes) and the 12 gauges held tighter patterns than his mighty 10 gauge
SURE the 10 gauge was throwing things down range with a LITTLE more power, but it just didn't pattern well AS IS<
he ended up buying a custom made choke tube and even goes as far as buying custom HIGH costing turkey loads, and it does shoot MUCH tighter patterns now(an added 250 bucks in costs for the choke and the ammo)
But to be honest, many guys in camp now with 12 ga 3.5 shells shoot patterns almost as tight, like maybe HE gets 10-12 extra BB's in a kill zone
and the basic 3 inch 12, are DARN close, with guys that have things dialed in!
the point again, here is NOT to bash the 10 gauge, just to say, its NOT the gauge that matters in HOW well a shotgun patterns, its all about the choke and ammo being fired thru it!
bigger gauge more powerful ?? doesn't matter if things don't hit the target!(and yes again 12 gauges and other shotguns might not pattern well here too in stock form with some loads in them)