I plan to buy on line a 500 all purpose hunting wood. I hesitate between a 12 or 20. To buy a 20 ga I would like it to have a smaller receiver than the 12 ga. If they are of the same size I'll go for the 12.
So is the 20 in a smaller frame than the 12?

Yes, many people know that the 20 gauge receiver is smaller than the 12 gauge receiver, but the interesting thing to me was when I tried to find out how much smaller. After examining many potential internet sources, I only found one fellow who claimed that the 20 gauge receiver is 33mm wide and the 12 gauge receiver is 37mm wide.

Would someone with calipers and a Mossberg 500C and a Mossberg 500A please measure the widths of the receivers? Thanks...

Good luck, pow1.

My 500Atp 12gauge is 1.410 which is 35.814mm or close 36mm

Here are the numbers I got when I measured a couple of my 500s...

12 gauge Height - 2.465" Width - 1.403"
20 gauge Height - 2.403" Width - 1.302"

A couple things to consider in choosing a 12 ga or 20 ga would be what you plan to hunt or shoot and what ammo you plan to use.

There is nothing wrong with a 20 ga on a 12 ga frame when it comes to recoil as long as a 20 ga will do everything you need it to. There is also nothing wrong with a 20 ga that weighs less than a 12 ga if you are going to carry it a long ways.

Thank you, BC45 and boray.