Definitely a 20ga.

More versatility for hunting and in most all cases a 20ga is more readily available and cheaper too.

Your wife should be able to handle a 20ga. I started my son when he was 11 with an 870 youth model. He weighed less than 100lbs.

Get a shotgun with a good recoil pad

 

410 can be pretty stout while 20GA can be very manageable in a heavier gun. I'd go with 20GA, I've squirrel hunted with both and the 410 just can't compete. It seems to lose energy fast.

 

20s dont have much recoil unless you are using a very light gun like a single barrel.

20 ga ammo is more redily available and cheaper than .410 bore ammo and available in more shot sizes.

My vote is definitely for the 20.

 

Not many are gonna say 410 over a 20. You can almost buy 2 boxes of 20ga for the price of 1 box of 410. And 20 is way more effective.

 

20g.

you say you dont have a 22 rifle.... THIS IS A MUST HAVE

 

Thanks for the replies everyone! It sounds like a 20 gauge is the best fit for my main purpose - small game.



This raises another question, and one touched on by zemio - should I consider getting a 22 rifle before the 20 gauge? Yes, the searched purpose for this long gun is small game hunting survival when SHTF. The shotgun wasn't intended for self defense (though it very well could aid in that), as we have our other carry pistols for that. I was looking at single shot shotguns that fell in our budget - along the lines of the Baikal MP18 and NEF Pardner. Perhaps the 22 rifle should come first?...

 

20 gauge and buy a 410 chamber adapter for $30 if you get a single shot or double barrel and could use both. I have one for a single shot and it works great.

 

20ga slugs work well at closer range tho the recoil can be...robust, at least it was popping them out of my Savage VA-24. Not the end of the world, just a good reason to practice a good stance. Entirely my own fault, I squeezed off without getting set and it sucker punched me on the joint between my shoulder and collar bone, hurt like a hurty thing. As I said, my fault, no sympathy asked for.

I guess it boils down to just what you want it to do. Protection? Yeah sure, I can see how a shorter pump with rifle sights would make a fine camp gun with the option of being useful firing slugs at deer etc as needed.

Just forage? Sir, buy a good .22lr bolt action with a good low light scope! CZ make some crackers tho there are many others nearly as good. Bolts don't care what brand of ammo you feed them and quite a few will cheerfull accept short, long and long rifle cartridges. Add a slip over suppressor for use with subsonic rounds and you have one of the best forage weapons going. Just to explain my pref for slip-over vs threaded, slip overs only add an inch or two to over all length and are not prone to misalignment if you knock it. I've seen a screw-on type full of bullets after it was knocked, the chap took it back to the gun shop complaining that he kept shooting but nothing came out! OMG........besides it would mean milling a thread onto the end of the barrel and that something I have trouble with, it just doesn't seem....right...somehow.....

My .2 cents, anyway.

 

how about a NEF trifecta 22/243/20

 

^^ Thanks for the tips guys!

 

The Pardner Pump Youth Model, in 20 gauge, is a wonderful shotgun. I got mine for $179 at Wally World.

 

A Mossberge 20 Gauge pump is my bedside home defense system.

#3 buckshot, 2 3/4 "

 

Short 12 gauge shells.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gun-nuts/2013/07/shotgun-ammo-review-aguila-12-gauge-shells

Look around for a "revelation" knock off of a Winchester 1300, it'll have the rotary bolt of the 1300 but no Winchester identifying marks. The article says the 1300 handles the short shells.

 

totally agree with the need for a 22 cal rifle ....

in regard to the shotgun ... forget about a 410 because of the shell $$ & overall availability/versatility .... your wife isn't going to notice that much difference between a 20 or 12 gauge (have her try out both) ... she can handle both and again the 12ga is more versatile with the ammo ... don't be limiting yourself to a hunting role for the shotgun .... for close-in combat nothing does the job better

 

A lot of great information here - thanks to everyone!

 

20 gauge. Much more versatile than a .410 and recoil isn't that much worse. My girlfriend can handle it no problem.

 

I would first and foremost get the .22 rifle that is probably the most important general purpose rifle you can own.
I can say nothing against the 20 gauge it is a great round. And I am one of the few that prefer a .410 the ammo is not that much more and I have never had a problem finding any size shot I want or need for them. And I have had zero issue using them for hunting.
That said the .410 is not every ones cup o tea.

 

I find 410 has more recoil less shot then a 20ga. The 20 is much better for birds and stuff like that just pick the right shotgun ammo. I like the 410 as it makes it harder to hit clays as you have to make your shot count but for some people they just want easy.

I didn't buy a 20ga for 1 simple reason I already have a 12ga and don't want to have shells that can cause a kaboom if your not careful.

Light shotgun rounds even in 12ga are nothing slugs they kick in all of them.


The 2 guns that people must have for farming ect are a 22lr rifle and a shotgun that covers everything for the least amount of money.

For a first gun I would recommend a 22lr rifle for 1 simple reason you can shoot further out after a while shotguns tend to be closer range unless you do long barrels with chokes ect.

1 guy I know hunts everything with a 12ga side by side shotgun with 33 inch barrels from little birds to deer. Simple reason it just works and it's fun to shoot.

 

I went to 28 gauge after a head trauma to reduce recoil. My vote is for 20 gauge. First look at the cost and availability of ammo. 20 gauge offers an edge for the beginning shooter as it put more lead in the pattern. light 20 gauge loads are not bad in the recoil area. 3" will offer more for larger birds at the cost of recoil and cash. My advice is to get a 20 gauge and a simple reloader. I've seen Lee loaders for $50.00 on the used market.
Don't forget the .22lr. It has a place in every home.
If you reload a 28 gauge is great, but in a time of chaos, ammo and components will be hard to find, 20 should be available.

 

I love a 28 ga, They kick a lot less than a 20 in a super light gun like a single barrel but have much more shot than a .410 bore, but unfortunately cost and availability are issues for 28 ga.

In older break action guns before they started putting everything on a heavier 12 ga sized frame 20s in a lighter 16/20 frame kicked every bit as hard as a 12 in a 12 sized frame, and 16s kicked WORSE than a 12.

 

I have an 870 & 1100 in 12 ga and a lite weight double and a single in 20 ga. I'm somewhat in the same boat as yourself as my wife has shoulder issues and the 20's are uncomfortable even with lite loads. Being raised in SE Texas at around 8 a young boys "rite of passage" was receiving his first .410 which allowed him to leave the deer camp and hunt "big game" deer with a slug/buck shot. Many a deer have been harvested with the mighty .410. Got my 9 year old grandson a .410 last Fall for squirrels and rabbits with plans for maybe a little Spring turkey. Maybe if he puts on another 8-10 lbs he'll move up to a 20 ga. I have the same delima as yourself with a delicate wife. Mine has sensitive shoulders and the 20 ga just doesn't work so I bought her an old .410 Springfield bolt action that fills the bill. The bolt gun has a bit more weight which lessens recoil even more consequently she enjoys shooting it which is the most important issue. True, the 20 ga is a better choice all around but not for the wife's shoulder. It is what it is so accuracy is more critical.

 

the bolt 410 is an interesting gun. I built one for my wife. 20" barrel, nice red front bead, an elastic goodie on the stock that holds a few rounds. She uses it for snakes in the yard. it is very good for dispatching rattlesnakes. I've used it to dispatch woodpeckers that wreak havoc on my house. It is very good. light, little recoil, but expensive to shoot. It is one of the few that I do not reload. I stashed 10 boxes of Rio shells. I assume that is a lifetime supply. I really like the 28 gauge, but it is impractical in times of chaos. I do reload it and it is incredible. The 20 gauge is more than enough for most work here. I watched my brother in law kill a 250# bear with 20 gauges slugs. One to take it down and another to finish it off. My vote is for the 20.

 

Thanks for all the wonderful replies! Yes, the wife is very delicate when it comes to recoil. Although she owns and shoots her Thunder .380, which was purchased for her carry weapon, she carries her little .22 more (which has proven to be very reliable). Her Thunder 380 gets shot very little at the range But, I am glad she is carrying something. It looks like the best thing to do is to let her shoot them all and she what she is comfortable with.

 

Get a 20 gauge, shells are cheap and recoil ain't that bad.

As for .410, it's good but the shells are too expensive.

 

I'd say 20 gauge for the reasons listed above but will add a few extra points.

In more remote areas 3-5 hours north of the city I hail from, game birds like grouse can be relatively tame and are often hunted with .410 gauge guns or even .22s. The older Savage 24s in that combo are popular and a case can be made that the size of .410 shells makes them attractive for many wilderness survival/BOB kits.

On the other hand, even the 20 gauge versions of the Savage are more popular when they can be found. But another factor to consider is that for break action shotguns, one could buy simple adapters to fire a smaller gauge from them. One Canadian dealer lists a 20ga to .410 adaptor for about $20, so it would make more sense to get a 20ga and use the adaptor if/when one desired to shoot .410. I might also add however that there's 12/20 adaptors out there, so if one finds an otherwise suitable break action shotgun in 12ga one might want to consider the adaptor option for that as well.

If the OP chooses a 20ga, I might suggest that he gets one with interchangeable choke tubes, or a modified choke gun that would be suitable for steel shot. That way the gun could shoot ducks over decoys in addition to other small and even bigger game like deer with a slug. There are combo packages out there in guns like the 870 Express in 20 gauge that would be suitable for all of those roles.

 

As a fan of the little .410 I have to concede that for what you want to do a 20 is the way to go. The .410 has its place, but that place is in experienced hands that reload for it. The shells cost an arm and a leg to buy but a pittance to reload as they're very thrifty on your components. (More shot makes for an easier hit, but if you're good with the .410 that bird or rabbit isn't any less dead, of course there's also the comparatively limited range of the .410 to consider...)

Whichever you choose, If you're going for the long haul I'll recommend looking into Magtech brass shells and learning to reload with black powder.