Standard
Modern Shotgun Gauges
-- by Rob Ramsdale
--
So how did we start calling shotguns
10 gauges or 12 gauges? The nomenclature has been
around a long time and it is based on a simple formula.
The gauge number is determined by the number of solid
spheres of a diameter equal to the inside diameter
of the barrel that could be made from a pound of lead.
For example, if you take 12 lead balls that have the
same diameter as the bore size of a 12 gauge, their
combined weight would be 1 lb. Therefore, it would
take 20 balls of 20 gauge diameter to make one pound,
and so forth. The .410 is not actually a gauge at
all but instead a measurement of its nominal bore
size. In essence, it is basically like a caliber for
a rifle. If it were a gauge, it would be listed as
a 67 ga.
As time has gone by, many of the gauges
fell out of favor and were gradually eliminated. Partly
because it was much easier for the shell manufacturers
to make shells for a few gauges instead of a dozen.
Nowadays, by far the two most common gauges are 12
and 20. One of my favorites, the 16 ga., is holding
on as an upland gun especially. The 10 ga. and the
.410 are still fairly popular and the 28 ga. sees
some time in the field as well. The rest of them are
essentially history as far as shooting goes since
you can no longer buy shells for them.
Nominal
Bore Sizes Of The Various Shotgun Gauges
|
Gauge
|
Inches
|
.410
(or 67 ga.)
|
0.410
|
32
|
0.526
|
28
|
0.550
|
24
|
0.580
|
20
|
0.615
|
16
|
0.662
|
14
|
0.693
|
13
|
0.710
|
12
|
0.729
|
11
|
0.751
|
10
|
0.775
|
8
|
0.835
|
4
|
1.052
|
|