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Define a squared load, personally I don't believe you will find it in the 2" 12 gauge. Also personally I "Do Not" put much stock in a square load.

As to the 3/4 oz load in a 12 vs a .410 one is much more apt to find a higher central thickening in the .410 pattern than the 12. This would give a slight ranged advantage to the .410 but a slightly wider killing pattern with the 12. I do not believe this has much to do with either shot scrubbing or set back but more to the fact that a far higher percentage of the shot is influenced by the choke in the longer, slimmer column of the small bore. As has been said many times. "There Is No Free Lunch".

Miller why did you not copy my comment in its entirety.

A black man I worked with thought the foe tin shot farther and harder than a twelve because he said "it just goes to figure the foe tin would shoot father and tighter than a twelve guage because the barrel is smaller so it's gots to shoot tighter".

I gave up shooting and thinking about .410s long before I reached puberty.

I know you're a smart man but do you really think what you find and what gun makers like Purdey and others found a 100 years ago equal comparison ?

Joe;
I have no problem with quoting the entire answer. I was only questioning the statement concerning the 'Square Load". Through the years I have seen three definitions of a square load.
#1; It is a load in which the shot load is equal to the weight of the round ball of gauge size.
#2; It is a load in which the shot & powder occupy an equal volume.
#3; It is a load in which the shot column has a length equal to its diameter.

"ANY" gauge gun Can be loaded to any one of these three conditions, though very few standard loads fit any of these definitions.
In the 12 gauge the shot load = the round ball would be 1 1/3 oz. I have no knowledge of this shot load having ever been used as they normally go in 1/8 oz increments, with an occasional 1/16 oz increment.
#3 condition with the shot column in the 12 gauge having a bore diameter length (729") would be a load of 1 1/16oz, which was a standard British load from WWI forward for the 2�" shell, not the 2" one.
For the #2 load of equal volume, this can be in any gauge with any load which will fit the case, This, of course, requires either Black or Bulk smokeless powder. Definitely would not recommend using a shot measure for Red Dot or even Blue Dot.

Personally, I believe the "Reason" for the 2" 12was strictly because the Brits were a Nation of 12 "Bore" (Their term) shooters & for the most part had little use for a smaller gauge. The 2"12 was their answer for a "20" gauge being of 20 weight & firing a 20 load, but they didn't want to be seen afield carrying a "Woman's or Kid's gun".
As it was not designed to shoot with a square load, with the exception possibly of loads of bulk smokeless, I do not see this as being a reason for its existence.
PS; I do not see "Boredom" as a reason either John, just an expansion of the market.

When one gets down to the nitty-gritty, with 12 gauge guns having been made from under 6 lbs to as much as 10 or even more & firing from 3/4 oz to more than 2 oz there is truly not much "Need" for anything else in a Sporting Gun.

That's because like us they were once a nation of men.

In those days I don't think they thought in terms of marketing in gun design like we've witnessed.

"Need" Too true. I think that way, even though I enjoy 16g, I can do what it does & each side of that with a 12g.
Here in Australia the 12g is king & you are sort of wildly eccentric to shoot any other gauge or even other than 2 3/4 shells.

O.M

You are lucky you can have any kind of gun.

I have a couple of under 6# 12ga sxs's although neither of them are 2" they are really handy to hunt upland birds with, so much so that I have sold all my 20ga shotguns but one for shooting steel shot. I have a number of 12ga shotguns with 2 1/2"-2 3/4" chambers and haven't shot any load larger than 1 oz except 1 1/4oz of NP BB's in my coyote hunting combo gun. I could see where a 2" 12ga would be a very nice hunting shotgun.



Bernardelli 12ga 5 lb 15 oz

I've known and hunted over the years with serious bird hunters,
"men" who fought and survived WWII and preferred 16 gauges to hunt "pahtrijes" here in Georgia. Show up now with a 12 gauge at a SW Ga. quail property and see how far you get pulling out a 12 gauge of any description before you are told "no".

Oskar,
I realize you said you had a specific coyote combo gun, but, it bares mentioning that a 1 1/4 oz load of large shot in a light double might lead to a ring bulge.

People forget that there were guns with ring bulges before steel came along.

Best,
Ted

Gee whiz that is a tough crowd Gil. I do not even own a shotgun that is not a 12 bore. I only have two, both 2&1/2" British 12's. Never even considered that they could be "too much gun" for any upland situation. Different strokes for different folks I guess.