10 guage vs 12 guage for geese...

[Fishmaster19]

Originally Posted by saodma

What everyone forgets it is it is about pattern density. A .410, 28ga, 16ga, 12ga and 10ga all have the same pellet energy with the same size shot moving at the same speed. A 20ga shooting #4s at 1300 fps has the same down range energy per pellet as a 10ga shooting #4s at 1300 fps. The issue comes in with shot string and density. Pattern boards do not tell the whole story. Lets look at the 20ga and 12 ga. Say both are shooting #4s 1 oz of shot and modified chokes. The 20 ga will have a longer shot string. That equates to a better chance of crippling a crossing shot. The 12 ga has a much shorter shot string and will impart more energy on a crossing shot. This is simple physics. Now apply this to the 10 ga that hold 2 plus oz of shot and pattern density goes way up and it will have one of the shorter shot strings. This is why it appears to hit harder. With density you have a better chance of getting a pellet into a vital area. Lastly speed is something that needs to be looked at. The faster the pellet is traveling the more energy it will have. 10 ga shot shells tend to be on the slow side due to the lower chamber pressure that the guns are rated for.
Now all this is for nothing if you cannot hit what you are shooting at or if you do not like shooting that load or gun. So shoot what you like and have fun. For geese I prefer a fast moving load in 12 ga BB. I like Remington Hypersonic 3.5” 12g BB 1 3/8 oz loads over a slower 10 ga load. Now I did kills limit of specks with 2 ¾ in #6 Kents this year. Was shooting teal early in the morning had some geese slip in on us and the #6s did just fine. 6 geese in and 6 geese down. I also love shooting my SP10. Just my 2 cents.

Me and a buddy have been shooting the hypersonics this year and I do like them. But for some reason they do not always cycle well in my extrema 2...