DMc and others are absolutely on the right track with the 1100 28 ga as far as recoil goes. I don't see them as being super light by today's standards. Daughter and SIL both shoot Benelli Legacys at about five pounds for quail, dove and informal trap. The only load they buy is the 3/4 oz. I don't see any great reduction in recoil over a 20 with 7/8 oz target loads. My Benelli Montefeltro 24" weighs well under six and my old Superposed 20 is not much over six. It seems to me that I can get the recoil down to 28 ga level for dove without investing in a new shotgun. The weight is not the problem for me. I can no longer follow the dogs or chase quail at eighty and with health issues. Of the two, soft recoil is paramount. I'm on blood thinners and heavy target loads out of my twenties leave me bruised.
For the last many years I have used heavy trap loads when I use my several 12 ga guns. Another answer for me may be light loaded 12s out of my Beretta 787. Until someone on this forum put a bug in my ear, I did not realize that 7/8 oz and 24 gram loads even existed. I intend to try a box or two of those next season.
I have the whole rap beat with a 42 Winchester .410. It is indeed a fun dove gun, but opening day (or two), before the doves get wary is about all I get out of it. Out to twenty yards or so, I do about as well with it as I do with the twenty, but forget shots much past twenty five yards.
When you find it, let us know.
Jack
Last edited by jt402; 12/01/17.
