Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Browning Double Automatic Question

I have become intrigued with the Browning Double Automatic.

What I would like to know is what is different between a Twelvette and a Twentyweight? I know that a Twentyweight is about half a pound lighter, but why?

How do you all like your Double Automatics? It seems to me a Twentyweight with a IC barrell would be an ideal dove and quail gun.

I understand that they have a "short recoil" system. Is the recoil harsh on these?

I have two, one Twelvette and one Lightweight, which is the same gun for all intents and purposes. I love them both very much.

As I understand it the Twentyweight had slimmer wood and a narrow profile barrel. Probably had some extra hollow areas in the wood where possible.

The recoil impulse is different than about anything I've ever shot. But they don't kick badly, I don't even mind pheasant loads in mine. And I will not buy one that has had a pad put on it. Not so much that I'm a snob for originality, but they fit me perfectly with the factory plate.

My Twelvette is a black one with a 26" IC vent rib. The other is grey with a 28" plain Mod barrel. Barrel lengths are actually some oddball in between length but close enough.

Watch for cracked buttstocks and don't oil the insides. The owners manual states that they are to be run dry and not taken apart. If you oil them they will cycle too fast and jam. I run mine dry and blow them out with compressed air to get dust out.
Great guns and I find the Twelvette to be the right weight for upland hunting and will have a hard time taking any of my other guns to the pheasant fields.

I have two; a standard (steel receiver) and a Twelvette (autumn brown).

I think the barrels are the same and/or interchangeable. I've read that the wood was where they made the weight difference on the Twentyweight.

Have only shot mine at clay targets with ~light loads. Recoil is on par with most A5's but a tad more felt than a gas auto system. Certainly a bit more spread out than a pump gun.

I'm into a variety of shotguns of the 1930's to 60's era. I like the unique mechanical/function aspect of these. The design kind of solve a problem that didn't exist, but they sure did it up in fashion!

Get your checkbook out if you want a pristine version in one of the funny colors; they came in variety of colors like blue, green, red-ish. Find a good 'shooter' and have fun with it.

By the way, if you need any work done on these I highly recommend Art's Gun Shop in Hillsboro Missouri. They do good work and get stuff back in a timely fashion.