now lets just wait minute here... the only thing a 12 ga has over a 16 or 20 ga or any of the others for that matter is a heavier shot load... the velocities are the same or higher with the smaller gauges... the patterns are the same at the various distances with shot just a little denser pattern with the 12 because of the higher pellet count... when lead shot was still legal for ducks and geese I killed as many with my 20 ga and good loads as I ever did with the 12 ga... since steel shot, I went to the 10 ga to compensate for the lighter weight with larger shot, and again pattern density... but all in all when it comes to the majority of hunting I'll stick with my 20's to include deer with slugs... the Encore with slugs in the 20 is hard to beat...