What is the Best Gauge for Sporting Clays and Why?

I’m not sure that there is a specific gauge for sporting clays. If the amount of shot you’re shooting is the same as the next person, the gauge you’re using won’t necessarily matter.

I always think that an ounce of shot out of a 20 bore would probably pattern better than it would do out of a 12 gauge. So it’s very subjective and very open to each person’s preference.

Twenty gauges are popular among some bird hunters who also use them as they train on clays. While you can find one-ounce 20 gauge loads that are suitable for targets, it’s far more common to find 20-gauge target shells with 7/8 oz. of shot.

If you’re shooting for fun and not for competition, you might try the little 28 gauge. It throws only ¾ oz. of shot, and as a result, its recoil is minimal. There’s no better gauge for beginners or smaller shooters. Will it break as many targets as larger bores? Perhaps not, but you’d be amazed and how the little gun can punch above its weight.

The tiny .410 holds only ½ oz. of shot and should be considered an expert’s gun. Sometimes well-meaning folk buy children a .410 for their first shotgun, but they are setting the youngsters up for frustration. I’d far rather see them shoot a 28 – the recoil isn’t much more, yet the results are far better.

In the US, larger competitions often offer sub-gauge competitions in both sporting and FITASC. The targets are generally set closer and are not so tricky as the ones in the main event, but they’re still challenging – and the scores are very high.

That being said, the vast majority of competitive shooters use a 12 gauge. I think that is partially because most people find that they shoot better with a heavier gun, and partially because there is a broader spectrum of 12-gauge cartridges to choose from. If you show up at a shooting ground in need of cartridges, your odds of finding a 12-gauge load that you like is much better than finding a suitable small-gauge load.