RTF Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Only if your sky busting which most of us do not. Your 3 1/2 12 guage will get the job done. Just find out what shot type and size will be good for you. How are you hunting them ? Over water or fields ? Using decoys ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Hunter Derek Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 It is all personal preferance. IMO, a 12 ga. 3 1/2 gun is just as deadly on decoying birds as a 10 ga., yet the gun is 10X more versital. I'll take my 3 1/2 12's any day. I can run the lightest of loads through them for upland birds, clear up to shoulder busting turkey loads. My buddy I goose hunt with uses a 10 ga Browning for everything; geese, ducks, turkeys, pheasant, you name it. It works for him. The gun is a cannon and is HEAVY. I've shot it many times and it is not for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lostiniowa Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 stay with what you got! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 I've hunted with a 10 since I was a young teen. I love it. My brother uses a 3.5" 12. We both kill geese with them. RTF's comment about "skybusting" is a little prejudiced as, if my memory serves me correct, he hunts ducks and geese with a 2.75". His frame of reference is for killing geese cleanly within a range for the loads he shoots. Let me explain what I mean... I have a confident kill zone with my 10 ga. that is beyond what is acceptible for a short 12 ga load. In fact, I have a problem readjusting my percieved kill zone when I switch to a 12. I've found myself missing shots at ranges that I would cleanly make with my 10. When I've hunted with the 12 shoulder-to-shoulder with my brother, he's asked why I was taking such long shots. The fact is, I wasn't taking shots that were any farther out than I would with my 10. It turns out I was hunting "in a 10 ga state of mind", with a gun not capable of cleanly reaching the 10 ga range I was comfortable hunting in. I don't believe that what I am doing is "skybusting," but with a 2.75" 12 at those ranges "skybusting" would be an appropriate description. Does that make any sense??? You can look at all sorts of data about shot sizes, shot weight, powder charges, feet-per-second data, etc. Much of the data will show similar results between the 3.5" 12ga and the 3.5" 10. But on an apples to apples comparison the 10 is a little bit better. My best advice to you is to take a look at your style of hunting. The snow goose hunting we do is largely pass shooting as the biords are moving from water out to feed; between feeding fields; and from feeding fields back to water. In this pass shooting scenario the 10 is ideal. I've hunted snows over decoys successfully with my 10 as well. I just switch up the loads from BBB for pass shooting to BB for the closer range shots you can get from decoying birds. But, typically decoy hunts are way different than pass shooting, because the object is to get the birds to commit to land in your decoys. Most Canada geese taken over decoys are killed within 30 yards or less. For this there is no logistical reason to need a 10 ga. You can just as cleanly take any birds with a 2.75" 12 as you can with a 3" 12, or a 3.5" 12 or a 10ga. Also take into consideration the price of ammo. If you are a wise shopper you can find some deals on case prices for 10ga ammo. But depending on the brand and the quality of the load, you are looking at $15.00-$22.00/box for 10ga steel loads. ($15 is mostly a sale price. Non-sale prices are closer to $18-22/box.) You can certainly pay that much for 3.5" 12 loads, but they are typically less expensive than 10ga loads. If you're looking for something a little bit different then why not buy a 10? If you don't like it you can always get rid of it. You may not NEED another gun, but another gun sure is fun to have and to shoot even if you only shoot it once-in-a-while. When my wife asks me "how many guns do you need?" I like to reply with the question "How many pairs of black shoes do you need??" - - now that's comparing "apples to apples" in my house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gastj Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 I have a Browning BPS 10 and it makes a difference in my opinion in recoil in the 3.5. It is simple physics. The heavier the object the less push back on your shoulder. There are formulas that you can figure your ft/lbs of recoil, but I can never remember the things. I have shot 12 ga. 3.5 and the extra weight is worth it to me on geese and ducks, but maybe it wouldn't be on turkey's. In 12 ga. there is not much selections for us South Paws(I'm left eye dominant, but write right handed). The BPS is bottom eject which is great for me. I'll never part with a 10ga. for them KS geese! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil hunter Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 I say get a mossberg 835 or 935. There you have the versatility of the 12 gauge, and the bore size of the 10 gauge. It's a win win situation if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 The barrel of the 10 is bigger in diameter than the 12, which means that when the gun is fired, pellets have more room to go down the 10's barrel without bunching up and blowing holes in the pattern like they sometimes do in the narrower tubes of the 12 making the 10 producing short shot-strings, less shot-jamming and more even patterns. I know I would get rid of all of my guns before I let my 10 go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebobhunter4 Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 keep the 12 guage... 10 guage is for dropin em wayyyyyyyyyy up there... 12 guage will get the job done for geese crane and ducks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Hunter Derek Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 Learn to call and decoy birds and you will never pass shoot again. Learn that and there is no need for a 10 ga. Not knocking pass shooting, but there is nothing quite like wings locked and feet down 10 feet off the ground. I honestly haven't taken a pass shot at a duck or goose in a few years now. Just no fun in it. I'll take one decoying bird over a limit of pass shooting any day of the year. Fortunately it is often a limit of decoying birds. 12 ga. is all you'll ever need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Hunter Derek Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 Congrat's on the new gun. The SX2's are sweet. Good choice in the auto loader category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Iambenelliguy Posted October 7, 2005 Report Share Posted October 7, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 If it was me, I would have got the SBE or SBEII. I had a SX2 and I didn't like the way it fit me and it seemed to jam alot. Hey it may work perfect for you though. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Re: 12 31/2 or 10 [ QUOTE ] You can look at all sorts of data about shot sizes, shot weight, powder charges, feet-per-second data, etc. Much of the data will show similar results between the 3.5" 12ga and the 3.5" 10. But on an apples to apples comparison the 10 is a little bit better. [/ QUOTE ] Exactly!! I shoot a BPS 10 at gooses and it's the best tool for the job I've seen, to date. I have shot beside 3 1/2" 12's in the 835, H&R, SBE........they don't compare. I also shoot an SX2. It's a great waterfowl gun. But it ain't a 10 ga. Somebody can argue figures with me 'til he's blue in the face if he wants. But numbers mean nothing along side actual field performance. That being said.............you did well to get an SX2. It is an excellent gun and very capeable in the goose field. Just don't go shooting it against a 10 ga. for pink slips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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