The gauge is the first thing you’ll notice on a box of shotshells, and it’s crucial to match this number with your shotgun.

In my younger days, my buddies and I always went to a bar after work. Every now and then we’d get into arguments with a bar fly—from politics to our favorite bird gun—and suddenly were all in a fight.

Shotgun gauges are determined by the number of lead balls of a given diameter required to make one pound of that size ball. In other words 20 balls of 20-gauge diameter are needed to make one pound; ...

The quail burst from cover and peeled right. My little 28-gauge Remington hit my shoulder and the sight picture looked right. But when I pulled the trigger, there was nothing but a sickening “click.” ...