Who knows about Shotgun guages?

Question

They have 12, 20, 24, and all that. What do the different guages mean? I want to buy one, but I just wanted to know which to buy for home defense. Are there more pellets the higher the number? Please explain this to me...

Answer 1

the size of a shotgun barrel's inner diameter nominally expressed as the number of lead balls each just fitting that diameter required to make a pound. 12 lead balls inside the dia. of a 12 ga. = 1 lb. It takes 10 balls to = a lb. in a 10 ga. 28 lead balls the dia. of a 28 ga. = 1 lb. etc.
True for all but .410 as that's actually a caliber.

Answer 2

The guage determines the size of the shell, the lower the guage, the larger the shell. The most common are 12 and 20 guage. Other guages are 10, 16, & 410.
The number of shot is determined by the size of the shot. The higher the number, the smaller the shot. Common sizes are 6 & 8. As for home defense, a 20 guage with 6 shot (Duck & pheasant load) would be more than sufficiant.

Answer 3

The higher the gauge numbers, the narrower the barrel and the lighter the powder load per round. There are, at the large end, 10-gauge, and at the small end, 410-guage shotguns.
The standard seems to be the 12-gauge, and that's also the most popular. For home defense, though, you may be better off with a good handgun. Easier to use, and since they're small, you can bring one to bear quicker than a long, unwieldy shotgun. That extra second or two that it takes to aim a shotgun can make the difference between life and death.

Answer 4

The guage of a shotgun basically tells you the inside diameter of the barrel.12 is big and kicks hard but with the right ammunition,can do a lot of damage. a 16 guage is slightly smaller,a 20 gauge is smaller yet, and a .410 guage is the smallest.For home defense,you could use a legal pistol grip style 12 guage as it is easy to handle,but,you will be well aware when it goes off.Your sporting goods retailer can offer a lot of info on this subject-good luck

Answer 5

Good job Bferg there have been books written on the subject and not gotten it right. Now the other measurement you need to be concerned about is length. The length of a shotgun shell is measured with the crimp unfolded {opened upped}. Most shotgun shells are 2 ¾” {70mm} 3” {76mm} and 3 ½” {?} there are some shorter one but that is not an issue at this point. Here is how length works you can shoot a shorter shell in a shotgun made for a longer but you CAN NOT shot a longer one in a shotgun made for a shorter one. It will tell you one the barrel what length shell the shotgun takes. As fare as what to buy you can not go wrong with a Mossberg 12ga pump with a 18 ½” barrel with out a pistol grip.

Answer 6

Both 12 and 20 gauge shotguns are good choices. I currently
have a 12 gauge pump with a pistol grip and 18 1/2 inch barrel.
This allows a lot of maneuverability and firepower.
A shotgun is good choice for home defense. I would stick with number 8 or 9, so as to reduce the risk of penetrating an interior wall and harming someone unintentionally.

Answer 7

As the number gets bigger the powder charge and payload gets smaller. a 12 gauge might hold an ounce or and ounce and a quarter of pellets and a 20 will only hold 7/8 of an ounce or so.
Number of pellets in a shell varies by the size of the pellet 00 buck being big and holding maybe 20 pellets and going down to #7 shot or #8 shot. Larger shot will penetrate better but has a less dense pattern on the target than smaller shot. They call like #7 shot bird shot because it puts several hundred pieces of shot in the pattern and a bird has trouble flying through it with out getting hit and buckshot might only have 20 larges pieces of shot but for a larger target.
Size of pattern is dictated by the "choke" of the barrel. Full choke being a tight pattern, modified choke less so and improved cylinder or cylinder being the largest.

Answer 8

The gauge is the bore of the gun and has nothing to do with the number of pellets...The higher the gauge, the smaller the bore. Starting at 10 gauge (being the largest) and 410 being the smallest. Your question on home defense, there are more models to choose from in 12 gauge for your particular physical ability. My suggestion would be to find a shooting range near you to try some different models to see what fits you.

Answer 9

The different guages has to do with the size of the shot pattern and the different power a 12 gauge is plenty of power but if you just want it for home defense buy a cheaper 20 guage shot gun it kicks less and will do the job just as good! really if you are at close range it dosent matter they all will do the job get it in a strait slug barrel amd you can shoot slugs buck shot any tipe of load and it will not hurt the barrel! there are 10,12,16,20,24,28,or the 4/10 guage just pick they will all do the job or even if you use it to scare the hell out of them!

Answer 10

Gauge is the size of the bore, 8,10,12,16,20,28 and 410.

For self defense I would use a 10 or 12ga with a full choke (tighter pattern) and use 00 buck. a 3 inch shell with 00 buckshot will have 8 00 sized pellets in it that are meant for deer hunting but for self defense will but 8 projectiles into an intruder.

Answer 11

I would have to say for home defense, you're on the right track in thinking about a shotgun. In a bad situation your nerves may not hold up to the task of accurate firing with a handgun. I would also recommend a 12 GA. as they are the most common, ammo is plentiful and reasonably priced. Also, a shotgun is one of the most vestal weapons ever made. With the ability to change barrels and chokes to suit whatever you may want to do with it. there are also many models and action types to choose from. There are very few sounds as intimidating as the sound of a pump action shotgun being worked in the dark.