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Therefore with a 12-gauge, it would take 12 balls of lead of the same size as the 12 gauge shotgun's inner bore diameter to weigh 1 pound (454 grams). [1] The term is related to the measurement of cannons, which were also measured by the weight of their iron round shot; an eight-pounder would fire an 8 lb (3.6 kg) ball. Therefore, a 12 gauge is ...
The 20-gauge shotgun, also known as 20 bore, is a type of smoothbore shotgun. 20-gauge shotguns have a bore diameter of .615 in (15.6 mm), while the 12-gauge has a bore diameter of .729 in (18.5 mm). [ 2 ] 12-gauge and 20-gauge shotguns are the most popular gauges in the United States .
Thus, a 10-gauge shotgun has a larger-diameter barrel than a 12-gauge shotgun, which has a larger-diameter barrel than a 20-gauge shotgun, and so forth. M35 .410 shotgun cartridges for M-6 survival gun w/.22 long rifle for comparison. The most popular shotgun gauge by far is 12-gauge.
For example, the barrel of a 12-gauge shotgun is equal to the diameter of a 1/12 of a pound lead ball (0.729 in) and a 20-gauge can fit a 1/20 pound lead ball (0.615 in). Using this method, a .410 bore is equivalent to a (hypothetical) 67-gauge, instead of the incorrectly labeled 36 gauge (0.506) in Europe and South America. [14] [15]
The gauge number is determined by the weight, in fractions of a pound, of a solid sphere of lead with a diameter equal to the inside diameter of the barrel. So, a 10-gauge shotgun nominally should have an inside diameter equal to that of a sphere made from one-tenth of a pound of lead. Each gauge has a set caliber.
Barrels: Barrels have ultimately been offered in lengths from 18 inches (460 mm) to 30 inches (760 mm) in 2-inch (50 mm) increments. Barrels have been chambered for 12, 16, or 20-gauge with either a 2.75-inch (70 mm) or 3-inch (76 mm) chamber. They have been offered with fixed choke (IC, M, F, Skeet and CB) or with Winchoke attachments.
The exit end of a choke is smaller by some dimension than the actual bore of the barrel. This difference in diameter is the amount of constriction. For example, for a 12 gauge, the bore diameter of the barrel is nominally 18.5 mm (0.73 in), although different manufacturers do vary their as-manufactured bore from this diameter slightly.
Shotguns were developed as essentially small cannons, having been first named in Kentucky in the 18th Century; their size, expressed in gauge, is expressed in the fraction of a pound that a round shot of a diameter equal to their barrel bore diameter would be. Hence, a 12 gauge shotgun has a bore that is equivalent in diameter to a round shot ...