Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Over/Under 20 Gauges - for hunting...best value?

Curious what you folks use/recommend for a good quality hunting O/U in 20?

What barrel length is preferred, for rabbits, possible dove, etc? Guessing 28 but any downside to 26?

3" Recommended? What choke tubes. Seen some 'Value priced' off brands which come in less than the Beretta's and Browning's, etc.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

I would much rather buy a good condition used Browning, Beretta, SKB, ect. than a value priced off brand. For the small game you mentioned a 28" barrel length would be about right and 2.75" field loads get it done.

30" for me and 32' DON'T SCARE ME!

You can't go wrong with a cared for used Beretta.

There are low end (cheaper) options out there, however I always prefer a well made gun. This is my preference, others will vary.
There's an old, but very true saying or adage, "when you buy quality you only cry once".

The want ads / classifieds/gunbroker are filled with used guns that have probems.


When SKB first came to populaity they were frowned upon by many for not being a remington/browning (haha)/ etc.

I buy used very frequently, but that used "better" gun you buy has a far better chance of being someones lemon than the gun they kept.


"Hey, I bought this gun and it had problems, but I kept it"

" I bought it, it had problems, so I moved it down the road."

You tell me which is most likely.


All that said, lots of new stuff is to a rpice point. You can take advantage of wage disparity if you like. Its real.

I do both.

Beretta would be a no-go for me due to their lack of concern for customer issues.

Browning has always been my preferred line of smokepoles with Remington second. There has never been a shotgunning need that either of those two brands could not meet.

I used a Citori 12 ga for many years, then I learned from the haters it was junk because it would break after 50,000 rounds...
rofl. I figure I had used 5% of that in all the years I had it, so the guy I sold it too has 45K rounds left before it melts down.

I think the very best 20ga O/U I've shot was my Browning Superposed Lightning 20ga, for me it was quick, light and just a pheasant killing machine with 2 3/4" 1oz #5's, second had to be a Win 101 20ga Skeet gun. Both are long gone but remembered fondly.

For me there is no downside to the 26", the upside is they can be found cheaper now as they are out of fashion. My favorite bird gun has 25" barrels. Doves might be a little better with a 28" but the 26" would be the way to go in the rabbit woods.

That is funny! I have bought probably close to 100 used shotguns. Not a problem with a single one of them. The first used shotgun I ever bought was a Winchester Model 21 Duck Grade back in 1985. I have bought at least 20 used Beretta's ranging from the 390 to a DT10. I have owned a bunch of old used Parker's, Lefever's, Ithaca NID's, AH Fox, and LC Smith's. As well as some British double guns. No problems! I have several used Benelli M1 Super 90's which happen to be my favorite Duck gun ever. All perform flawlessly.

This Lemon was so bad I decided to spend a bunch of money on a new custom stock!

Nice wood, and info folks, helps A Lot.......so a guy was hunting yesterday with a 101 he bought back in the 70s or 80s.....it was a 28" 20, IIRC, and he had an IC and perhaps a MC.

I was thinking perhaps the O/U design was fairly robust and would last with little trouble - even the off brands, but I may have assumed wrong.

So are the 101s less money than a similar Browning? I assume they are both solid guns? I've heard issues about Customer service before with Beretta since buying Sako.........too bad given their long history.

So not many folks seem to feel a need for a 3" in a 20 O/U for what they use it for it seems. Thanks everyone!

Yep, obviously a POS SxS only good for firewood....Laffin!
😎
MCH,
Who did your stock work?

Since my Bud MCH is playing....

Was going to let two things go since it was early Christmas morning. However, while still in the spirit, I have not bought 100, but a few and have yet to get something I didn't want or was broke. Second there is a good chance I may have spent more time in the Grouse woods than almost all here. Gave up on the thought a short 26inch SxS or O/U was any advantage a long time ago.

Anyway 29.5inch, and any shorter I wouldn't have bought it. Great for Doves and just a little heavy for Pheasants. Looking into having a set of light 16Gauge barrels made. Fixed chokes and 29.5 inch. Along with a field forearm it will be quick....








Addition: MCH, nice!!!!

Beretta has been working on improving their customer service reputation. While it used to be slow, they most often did good work. I would have little hesitation buying a Beretta.

SxS and O/U take a certain amount of care and skill to be done right. Not sure what you mean by off brands, but be careful how far you go down the hole.

Any opinions on the sauer apollon (sp) o/u......sportsmans ran a cyber sale recently marked down from $2200 to $1200.....is a 20 gauge in one of these something one should keep an eye out for in the future if a similar price occurs?

Sauer makes some great high end shotguns. The Apollon has gotten good reviews and seems to be a solid design. It is made by one of the Italian makers for Sauer.

Other than that, many try to come into the American O/U market and find it difficult when they often have success over in Europe.

In full disclosure of all things honest...I’ve owned four O/U....A Weatherby Orion, Browning Citori and a couple of Beretta’s over the years. I have sold all of them...Aside from me carrying a beautiful O/U shotgun into a field or duck blind. My O/U was basically a single shot in my hands.

I’m really not sure if it was physiological, improper fit and feel or just very poor shooting, but I surrendered more first shots into the wind that only served as a warning shot to the feathers I was trying to kill.

For that matter, I always struggled with any rounded receiver shaped shotgun, such as the legendary Remington 1100. If I have a shotgun with a squared receiver like a Benelli SBE or any Brownie A5 I’m deadly...Any idea why that is? I’m okay hearing “You Suck” as a reason too....🙄😎

You need to look into "fit" before anything else, if it doesn't point where you are looking it is nothing but a burden that you carry through the woods, improved and modified chokes will get you through most seasons and 3 " is nice for late season ringnecks .

SKB's 101"s and Charles Daily's are all Japanese made and great quality for the money, Brownings are nice, and Red labels are heavy, but it all still goes back to how it "fits you" that make the difference, in quick, clean killer or just a nice gun.

Wenig

The majority of people that say they like short barrels from my experience:

A) Are not very good shots with a shotgun.

B) do not understand what the length of the barrel does for the shooter!

With that said if you can't swing a 28" or 30" barrel because you claim the grouse or woodcock woods you hunt are too thick, you can't swing the 26" either!

Maine Grouse Hunting, 30" Ithaca Classic Doubles NID 4E. I hunted that gun from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, and Idaho before I sold it. Never had an issue with swinging it.


Battue I know you can shoot, and I know you can hit chit with a 26" barrel. As there are some others on here that I know can as well. But we are all better with longer barrels! If we weren't than the trend in Trap, Skeet, Sporting, FITASC, and Pigeons wouldn't be 29" and longer!

FIT ??????

Unless one does what MCH did and has a custom stock made, how does someone arrive at a great fit with the examples you mentioned? They are all essentially made to the same dimensions.

What are the odds of someone his size, finding something mass produced that fits him?

They are made for Mr 5’10”, short neck, 170lbs and size 38-40 chest. Almost all will have neutral cast. How many does that fit?

When they are made the same, what does Mr non-average do? Actually Mr Average doesn’t necessarily meet their standards either. They guess on dimensions, yet a good fit, is a fairly exact set of individual dimensions.

So how does one arrive with a mass produced shotgun that fits? For those that care, they go to the effort of making it fit. Most don’t, and with an off the shelf, close is about as good as they will get. Which may not be all that bad.

Additionally unless they a have a repeatable mount, any good shot gun fitter will be guessing on the numbers, or ideally tell them to come back when they do.



Fit: Length of pull, drop at comb, drop at heel, cast and pitch....throw in grip dimensions for small or big hands. Off the shelf field O/U SKB's, Brownings and whatever, are pretty much all the same. One may feel better than another, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is a better fit.