The same principle applied to 8 pounders, 6 pounders, 4 pounders, etc. For instance, a 12 pound cannon (aka a 12 pounder) shot a round ball that weighed approximately 12 pounds.

To really understand the naming convention of shotgun gauges, we need to head back to the days of black powder.īack then, cannons were named in accordance with the mass of the projectile they shot, not by their bore diameter. Shotgun Gauge PodcastĪpple | Google | iHeart | Spotify | Stitcher Shotgun Gauges: History & Naming Convention If you’d rather listen than read, click the appropriate link below to listen to this episode on your preferred podcasting service.

Thanks for your support.Īdditionally, I recorded an entire podcast episode on this exact subject. This helps support the blog and allows me to continue to create free content that’s useful to hunters like yourself. This means I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase. Some of the links below are affiliate links. I’ll go over the history of shotshells, how they got their naming convention, compare and contrast some of the more popular shotgun gauges (the 12 gauge vs 20 gauge in particular), and provide some recommendations on the best uses for each.īefore we get started, I have an administrative note: Not surprisingly, there are even more misunderstandings and misconceptions regarding shotgun gauges than most other subjects concerning firearms and ammunition.įor that reason, I’m going to discuss the ins and outs of shotgun gauges in detail in this article. The end result is something of a convoluted mess that the average hunter can really struggle to make heads or tails out of. It’s also based on an old, outdated measuring system that has gradually evolved over the years. That’s perfectly understandable because the way shotgun gauges are classified is counterintuitive at first glance. While many hunters know a little bit about shotgun gauges, I think that most people would likely agree the subject can be really confusing. Here’s an in-depth guide containing everything you need to know about shotgun gauges, to include the differences between 12 gauge vs 20 gauge and other popular bore sizes.

410 vs 12 gauge recoil