10ga vs. 12ga
 

Which would be your choice in a 10ga 3.5" vs. 12ga 3.5"

Assume for turkey, but doubling for goose consider.


Already have a turkey 12ga 3", would like to add some diversity in the form of a 10ga.

Unless you can talk me out of a 10ga or really into a 12ga, if it was just pick 1, I'd pick the 10.

Bless you my son. You must be young ?!?!

A 10 ga. is a shoulder pounder for sure. I tried one many, many years back. A pump action, hunting ducks and geese in the La. march. I was about 30 years old, and had 220# of "much man" on my 6'1" frame at the time. I kid you not, that evening, long after dinner was done ... I still hurt. Go ahead .... but for me a 3", high powered 12 ga. is plenty gun enough for turkeys in my book.

getting older ;)

from what I gather a 10ga 3.5" actually kicks less than a 12ga 3.5" although perhaps that's splitting hairs?

my understanding is most 10ga weigh more and are slightly lower pressure.

I guess I just want a 10ga, but honestly i think that 12ga 3" can do everything I need it to for turkey, and probably goose too.

it would be a semi-auto btw.

"Assume for turkey, but doubling for goose consider." Salukipv1


Yes if: Goose gun which doubles as a turkey rig.

Otherwise 12 gauge with 3" shells is fine !


BTW - I use Beretta Extrema 12 gauge with 3.5" mags for both (and love it !).

If you have more money than common sense, buy the 10. But once you do, don't cry for the cost of the shells when you put them side by side and compare the obviously similar loads but better than 50% more cost, not too mention the limited use of said such weapon. Thats why I don't own my Ithacia Big Mag 10 anymore.
And as far as recoil goes, shoot a Rem. 10 or Ithacia 10 next to a Browning Gold 3.5 or Winchester X2 or X3 and you tell me!!!:bash::bash:

Secondchance beat me to it!

I have a 12 3.5" and don't use it. More of a novelty at the time as I use 3" 12 Ga for everything from ducks to geese to turkeys.......and pheasant.....Change the choke tube...

JW

I have a 10ga bps for waterfowl and love to hunt with it. Use a 12ga 11-87 for turkeys and love it. 12ga shells are cheaper, kicks alot less, and the reason why I dont use it tutkey hunting is the weight. To much to carry up and down those ridges and long walks looking for turkeys. Just get what you want. Good luck

12 Gauge with either Magnum Blend or Hevi13 shells from
Hevishot...........that is a lethal recipe for a weary
turkey

As JW said, that and the extra trade off of using a 12 over a 10 is, ever try shooting doves or quail with a 10ga!?!??!?!??!

Id use the 10ga 3.5 for turkeys and stick with the stoeger 3" for everything else.
GE

Ask any ole' timer; what is a "goose gun" and see what they tell you.

I'd opt for the 12 gauge. Stores usually keep a much better selection of 12 gauge ammo on the shelves in any length, be it 2 3/4, 3, or 3 1/2 inch. Same goes for choke tubes.

Both have the same amount of pellets and they both are going the same fps... Weres the advantage???

I have both... The only difference is the 10ga weighs a lot more...

All BS'ing aside. I have done pattern testing where we have loaded the same charge in both 10 and 12 ga, 2oz of 6's and 5's, fired side by side targets at equal distance with equal chokes, full. The 10 more times than not out performed the 12 with a standard bore diameter.
NOW. Throw in an overbored barrell on the 12 and things change, AGAIN!!! They performed almost identical!!!! A 12 ga with an overbored barrell is the same diameter as a 10ga.
Then throw in a Turkey designated choke for either and we are off to yet another race. So you go from a 10ga bore diameter to down just that of a 16ga and and it really starts to get interesting. The 12 choked down to almost that of a 20ga. The big trade off is weight, recoil, and price of shells. Not to mention another weapon. So you can do the math of all the above and those who replied as well. I will stay with my 12ga 3.5's and not have to worry. Just change choke tubes.

I suspect that many people have never had an opportunity to shoot a 10 gauge and so it would be difficult to vote a 10 over a 12 if that's the case. I have shot quite a few turkeys with a 3.5 12. I started out with a Mossberg 835 3.5" 12 gauge. Thing kicked like a mule even with a new recoil pad. And after shooting it (even with only 1 shot) it would give me a headache (not kidding either). Dumped probably 10 birds with that thing over a 12 year period and I don't remember ever not killing the bird dead in its tracks. I would limit my shot to around 35-37 yards max with that gun. Beyond that the pattern became erratic. After a while, I got tired of getting kicked around by that gun and the headaches it caused, so I sold it and bought a Browning Gold 3.5" 10 gauge. I can tell you that it was the best thing I ever did. Now I can reliably shoot 42-45 yards (with an aftermarket super full turkey choke), and like with the Mossberg, I have never failed to kill the bird I am shooting at...all with one shot. So while I would vote the Browning the hands down winner for my gun of choice, both of the guns have equal kill results. And after all, isn't that what we all want in the end?
Moral: Pattern your gun with as many different types of shells and pellet size as you can afford. I have found that only a very few shell types and shot size pattern well in either gun. Use of any other shell in a hunting situation might very well have resulted in a missed opportunity and possibly a wounded bird. And if that happens, we are likely to blame the gun when in reality it was simply the incorrect choice of shells.