i started the thread about the pardners and got some good ideas about the gun, however they (like any other gun) come in multiple guages. several have suggested the 10 guage. all i have ever messed with is 12 guages. my question is what is the big differences that i would see between the two guns except for the shell size. which is preferable and what are going to be the differences in the gun and shot selection?

The 10 gauge and 3 1/2 12 gauge have similar ballistics on the charts. Have never shot one of the 3 1/2 12' s but hear they kick. I own a 10- and they kick and are loud. You can blister a turkey at 70-80 yards with the 10 and 6' s. There is no comparison between the 10 and a regular 3 inch 12. With the ten gauge you get a lot of power, range, noise and kick. If you don' t plan on shooting over 40 yards there is no adavantage to the 10, IMO. I bought mine for geese and just shot a few turkeys to see how it did. It is not my gun of choice.

I don' t think you' d see that big of a difference btween the 10 gauge and the 3 1/2" 12 gauge,One big difference between the 2 (talking about the pardners)is the weight the 10 i think weighs about 3lbs. more than the 12.the 10 weighs 9lbs. and the 12 weighs 6lbs.

While I own a couple of ten gauges, if I had to choose between a 10 and a 12 gauge I wouldn' t have to think twice. I would pick a twelve gauge with a 3" chamber. Ammo is easy to find and generally cheaper too.

I was looking at single shots again yesterday. Interestingly enough I see that this year Stoeger has come out with a hammerless single shot with screw-in chokes, which has a rib on the barrel that is grooved so one can attach sights to it. For turkey hunting that is a million dollar idea. My only concern would be this; I see that they list the gun at 5.4 pounds which would mean it would pack quite a punch as far as recoil is concerned. MSR was $119.00, not to bad!