Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns 20 ga semi-auto recommendations????

You couldn't give me an 1100.

And nobody has mentioned THE upland gun. Which is the Benelli M2 in 20 gauge.




Dave

That's because its expensive!

Buy once, cry once.

The Franchi Affinity is darn close to it in awesomeness and much cheaper. I just saw one for $699.

The magazine cut off alone makes them well worth it.



Dave

Might look for a deal on a good condition used one. Can't wear them out, there's not much to break and have chrome lined bores so cosmetics is the only issue if it matters to you.

tarzan,

You might also want to take a look at the SX3 if your primary purpose is clay targets. They're a bit heavier but no so bad you can't hump it all day without problems. The only thing I don't like about them is the lack of a magazine cut off.

I prefer the lighter guns but all we do is hunt so the lighter the better for us. The SX3 we have has seen a lot of dirt and shells and has never had a single malfunction.

Same for the Franchi Affinity and my M2. But that goes without saying...




Travis

The Weatherby has a "benelli-style" magazine cutoff also.

The Mossberg and Tristar have an intergrated magazine cutoff that works simply by depressing the shell carrier up into the gun halfway while emptying the chamber.

*Tristar warranty is for 1-year they do all the parts and service for free, and 4 more years of free parts but you pay to fix it or fix it yourself.
*Mossberg is a 1 year limited warranty (not sure what that really means).
*Weatherby has no express warranty (but are known for having good customer service if it is their fault).

Buy them an 1100 LT Magnum in modified or full.
Then get them a 2 3/4" Remchoke bbl.

The Magnums come with recoil pads. Kinda nice.

The diffs between mag and standard are

1, Gas ports .............(on a 12 ga mag they have a single port-only had one LT 20 standard, don't remember what it had). On a standard 12 they run 2 gas ports (again 12 ga). Gas ports are of diff dim depending on target or field bbl and length.

2. Action sleeve............on mags they are heavier.

Yup, the 1100 won't let you shoot every type of shell with one barrel. Big whoop. Who does that crap anyway?

Buy a 2 3/4" bbl if not shooting hot stuff (my magnums cycle 1300 fps target stuff fine).
A different action sleeve if wanting to run super wimp loads is an easy swap.

Can buy a little tool for it or make one.
Gotta be sure you put the heavy sleeve on it to run mags.

I bet some mags have been sold used with wrong action sleeve in place. Nobody ever checks for that. Well some of us do.
Can buy standard action sleeves new. Magnums Big Green won't sell.

Numrich's gets them now and then, $60 for a 12 ga used.

I could swap stuff around. I'm too lazy even for an extra bbl. I run three 1100's and one 870.

I'd get a youth model LT for smaller shooters.
Could get youth stock for a reg 12 ga 1100 for those that will get bigger sized.

Buddy had a Montefeltro 20.......felt great. Might be a dandy dove rig.
Never know.............he sold it

Yrs ago some folks would drill a 2nd gas port on a magnum bbl, and tap the hole for a set screw.
Run both ports open for reg shells, and put the screw in and run as a magnum.
Read that Cabelas offered that yrs back.

I got a Remchoke magnum bbl the prev owner had drilled a 2nd gas port (not threaded). The original port was left alone, so I tapped the offending change and epoxied a set screw in it. Ran 10 turkey loads through it and the set screw is fine.

If the repair doesn't hold, I can send the bbl off and have a new bbl ring soldered on for around $100 (putting it back to factory spec).
New Remington bbls now say "designed by Remington". Nice bluing, proper choke tube machining, but the rib anti glare doesn't match that on the receiver.

This bbl is an older Remington made Remchoke (done right). so would be worth the $ to restore if need be. Bastardized, 3 inch chamber and two ports..........somebody not knowing could have run it and bashed their gun. I got it for $40 bucks LOL.

Getting back to the original quest, get a gun that fits them, not you. 20 ga Lightweight, gas operated, 24" barrels, shorter stock.

This is what a goat fugk sounds like ^^^^




Dave

How short should it be for a kid that's 5' 10"?




Dave

Turkey and bunnies..............short bbl fine.
Dove, geese and clays..............26" seems kinda short.

What a kid prefers at the start, may not be what they like after getting a little experience.

Magnum vs standard...............if hunting big birds and busting clays, might need two guns.
Simplifies things.

Some folks need it really simple.

Simple is a O/U, SxS or pump.

Maybe. Inertia trigger or double triggers?
Buddy's GF had a turkish youth 20 ga auto................got into skeet.
She runs a Citori now.

Funny, way back Remington advertised buying a Magnum 1100 and getting a 2 3/4" extra bbl as a "do all" combo.
I think it still a sound concept.

I'd like to find a deal on an LT20 mag, and try some steel dove loads in a standard bbl, see if it'll run. If not, swap in standard sleeve.
Not a big deal IMHO.

If it works, buy a youth stock and let my youngest run it.

3-5" -3.75"

Ramblings of a genius.




Dave