20 gage shotguns

[SovDog]

My oldest son and I have been doing some trap and little bit of bird hunting. He is a stout almost 13 yr old and we’ve been using a couple mid-20th century european made guns one a 12 and the other a 16 gage. Both are fine guns but the 12 is on the light side and has alot of kick even with target rounds, and ammo isn’t readily available for the 16 to shoot at the club. Now I’m not a huge gun guy and TBH I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes these things. Also the other siblings will be old enough to shoot soon so I was thinking of adding a 20gage to the lineup. With everything being crazy with costs these days are there any classic 20’s I should look for used that would hold up? There’s probably a million options out there so was hoping the collective wisdom on this forum might be able to give me a starting place. Much appreciated.

 

[Evan B]

When I was his age I got my first shotgun. It was a New England breakdown 20ga. Perfect for target shooting. They're on the lightweight side, but I was a very skinny, pretty small 13yr old and I loved shooting it.

 

[Pink Nighty]

My oldest son and I have been doing some trap and little bit of bird hunting. He is a stout almost 13 yr old and we’ve been using a couple mid-20th century european made guns one a 12 and the other a 16 gage. Both are fine guns but the 12 is on the light side and has alot of kick even with target rounds, and ammo isn’t readily available for the 16 to shoot at the club. Now I’m not a huge gun guy and TBH I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes these things. Also the other siblings will be old enough to shoot soon so I was thinking of adding a 20gage to the lineup. With everything being crazy with costs these days are there any classic 20’s I should look for used that would hold up? There’s probably a million options out there so was hoping the collective wisdom on this forum might be able to give me a starting place. Much appreciated.

If you can find a youth model 20g 870 your kids (and you) will love it. In terms of upland bird hunting it is still my stick of choice, especially with a aftermarket 22" barrel. Pheasant, grouse, chukar.... it's the quick point that drops the bird, and that little gun can swing as fast as you want. Once you're used to it everything else feels like swinging through cement.

 

[Evan B]

If you can find a youth model 20g 870 your kids (and you) will love it. In terms of upland bird hunting it is still my stick of choice, especially with a aftermarket 22" barrel. Pheasant, grouse, chukar.... it's the quick point that drops the bird, and that little gun can swing as fast as you want. Once you're used to it everything else feels like swinging through cement.

That was my second gun in my teenage years. Loved that thing.