20 gage shotguns

[SovDog]

I might be able to help…PM me.

BTW, where are you?

Probably not buying anything til after rifle season here in MT but when I get to that point I can reach out.

 

[Breck]

From what I’ve seen, most people who are serious about shooting skeet and trap don’t shoot anything with a barrel length less than 28”. Not that you can’t but it’s less common.

I used to shoot trap pretty regularly at the Renton Fish & Game Club. There was frequently a guy there that shot with a 12ga tactical pump shotgun with an 18.5" cylinder bore. He did reasonably well with it somehow. The constant ridicule from other members seemed to roll right off his back.

 

[SurfnFish]

Hard to beat Stoeger shotguns for their price point quality.

 

[Breck]

Hard to beat Stoeger shotguns for their price point quality.

Yep. Stoeger is essentially a "poor man's" Benelli, manufactured in Turkey.

 

[Merle]

Are your guns over and under or auto loaders? If over and under you can open up a new part of the sport..."reloading!" You can buy a cheap Mec 600Jr single stage loader for the 12G. Then for example 7/8 oz of shot puts it at 20G level in the heavier 12G gun makes for super pleasant shooting all day long. Autoloaders work better with a better reloader and more precise hull resizing and I'm not sure if the lighter load and lighter grains of powder would have cycling issues....that's above my pay grade....I'm an over and under guy. I use that light load for skeet and sporting clays.

I love the 20g but yeah my first thought was to go with light loads in the heavier 12g to make it mild mannered.

I got a 20g REM 870 compact a few years back and the first time I took it out I was expecting a nice mild recoil, like I had remembered from shooting a friends gun way way back. But I wasn’t even thinking and loaded it up with 3” 1550fps steel and man that was a wallop in that lightweight gun!

 

[fatbillybob]

Theyre both side by sides break action and pieces of art, TBH I should hang them on the wall.

Then think about a simple mec jr. Even with target loads and heavy 12G shooting clays all day long got punishing. Once I went to 7/8 oz shot and minimum powder it was like magic.

 

[wanderingrichard]

For those who want a better, more adult sized, stock, on their 20 ga small from 870, brownells sells a synthetic stock, expansion adapter, and hardware that allows you to add a full size stock. Made a huge difference in ours.