Switching to the 20 Gauge for Pheasant Hunting
The author with a vintage, and weighty, 12 ga. side x side. And no, I didn’t hunt with it…….are you crazy? I left my 20 ga. Ultra Light in the truck and used this gun for a prop.
When I first hunted pheasant with a 20 gauge, I would shoot, then pull the gun down to see if it did anything, like you do when bowling. I mean, I had no faith in the thing. I’d been a 12-banger all my life and knew what that gun would do to anything it hit, so why change?
Well, at age 56, lugging around a heavy 12 ga. and its heavier shells on a 6-8 hour hunt has lost its appeal……and, as editor of three conservation/hunting magazines (Pheasants Forever Journal, Quail Forever Journal and Upland Tales youth magazine), I find myself walking afield a lot.
So, two years ago I purchased not my first 20, but nicest: The very petite, yet rugged, Benelli Ultra Light 20 semi-auto.
You know what I found out about shooting a 20 at roosters? The gauge don’t matter as much as the aim. If my aim was true and I didn’t pick stupid shots, the roosters came down in a heap.
And at just 5.2 pounds, the Ultra Light is ultra easy to carry for as long as I hunt. Shoot, I’ve lugged around heavier hiking sticks. The lighter weight gives my usual fast pull up and swing even more speed….and speed is the name of the game wing shooting. I like a semi-auto for speed too. Sure aim is critical, obviously, but even a good aim is no good if you get up and on a bird too slow….and a lot of hunters are slow spotting game, getting their gun up and swinging through.
I’ll tell you what, my shooting goes south faster than a duck in a November blizzard when I’m tired, and arm fatigue just kills my percentage. A light gun is great, especially when there’s little kick. But, at 6’, 230 pounds, a little kick never bothered me anyway.
So, all you 12-bangers out there take your best shot at me over the virtues of the 20. All in good fun, of course!
The Nomad is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal and Quail Forever Journal. Email Mark at mherwig@pheasantsforever.org.
Tags: 20 gauge, Benelli Ultra Light, pheasant hunting, Pheasants, pheasants forever, Ultra Light
14 Responses to “Switching to the 20 Gauge for Pheasant Hunting”
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I agree 100%. I bought a Citori 20 10 years ago. It is just under 6# and a dream to carry. I turned 52 today and have never regreted that purchase!
Thumbs up! Been using a Franchi Falconette 20 o/u for over 40 years. It has been called a meatball shooter by some of the guys, but it kills just as good as a 12ga and is much easier to carry as it weighs 5 3/4 lbs loaded.
Next a 28 s/s.
I too have been carrying a Citori O/U with 26″ barrels (love putting fiocchi No 5′s thru the barrels) on pheasants for over 12 years now – my 12 ga is reserved for ducks & geese – just picked up a 28 ga O/U this year – will try it on the skeet range then hopefully on grouse in the fall – my 20 was making hamburger out of grouse
Well, I am a little tired of carrying my 7 1/2 pound Beretta. But I have confidence in it. I guess i’ll shoot a few sporting clays with that little 20 gauge SxS that’s been sitting in the gunsafe.
Been carrying a Browning Cynergy Feather in 20 the last four years. Why carry anything else? When I point at it it falls out of the sky. Never any doubt or hesitation on my part.
I’ve been shooting a 20 for Pheasant for a long time, I’m also a Grouse hunter (not many pheasants left in PA) and the lightweight 20 is a lot easier to carry around our mountains. I mostly use the 12 for turkey and sporting clays these days. Of course 90% of my pheasant hunting is over my Pointer, so there really are no long shots anyway.
I’ve actually been moving to lighter everything for years, as I get older. Lightening my load in any way I can, not just the guns.
I hunt with a Beretta O/U in 20 gauge and love it. You also become a better shot, because placement is important. Sure is nice to carry and shoot. Out west on wild birds it can reduce your distance a bit.
I love my 20 GA Red Label, my back-up is an old Remington Model 31 in 16 GA with a Poly-choke
My wife shoots a 12 gauge Beretta Urika2 but thinking we were going to go to a Beneli 12 ultra light 24″… Tried to get her to go to a 20 gauge but she says no!!! Thoughts?
I like a 20 gauge and get funny looks when I show up to a friendly skeet shoot with one (I don’t shoot competitions). I like the point about shot placement even with a shotgun it’s important to find the target quickly and lead it. I have a 12 gauge too that I take in the field with me. Just depends on my mood, but even though I am 36, I have fibromyalgia and after a day of shooting I feel better after shooting the 20 than I do the 12..
I do not hunt pheasant with the 20 gauge. The 20 gauge certainly will take pheasants cleanly. However, I prefer the 1 oz 16 gauge load, in either 2 1/2″ or 2 3/4″ lengths. There are plenty of beautiful 16′s that can still be found for sale. The Winchester Model 1912 is one such shotgun. For those who prefer a double if lucky you may find the Lefever 16/28. This was a 16 gauge built on a 28 gauge frame. Take a 16 afield and you may just realize why it’s called the sweet sixteen.
This article definitely brought a lot of insight to some of us here! Thank you for posting it!
I use a 20 gauge for most all my hunting except pheasants, I like the additional range the 12 provides. However I to have been attracted to the 16 gauge and just recently purchased a new Fausti round body in the 16 gauge from Cabela’s. From all the articles I have read about the 16 I have high hopes for it’s performance and I am looking forward to see the results this season.
I have used a 20 my whole life and I catch a lot of grief for taking my “pop gun” out phesant hunting every year. But after I knock down every thing that gets up in front of me and come home with the most birds, they don’t call it a “pop gun” on the way home. I firmly believe that if you aim is true, then you don’t need a cannon.