Shotguns

[morley.tyler]

Beretta 390 or 391.

 

[morley.tyler]

If I were in the 20 gauge market, I'd also be test fitting a Browning A5. Most important factor is to find what fits. That will help your shooting and your shoulder well beyond what roll stamp is on the shotgun or what type of action it has.

When the stated reason for the new gun is to reduce recoil, an inertia-driven gun, like the A5, would not be a tier-one choice for me.

 

[Salmonchaser]

When properly fitted you will be accurately pointing a shotgun instead of aiming the shotgun. Then you can shoot with both eyes open and really start crushing the birds.

 

[marksjeep]

I'll take a properly fitted inertia gun over poorly fitted gas gun all day long. Fit is what matters, hence the entirety of the post.

 

[MNElkNut]

View attachment 351416

No love for the 390? It is, perhaps, the best gas semi-auto ever made! I like the 391 as well. I have both. I have multiple 390s.

 

[IDFireLass]

I know where to shoulder and anchor but it usually hits the top of the bicep. It feels shouldered then I get the wonder bruised muscle.
We will see how it all comes out in the wash. Never had a fitted or new shotgun.
Started out with my dad's old Winchester pump. That thing kicked like a mule. Then used his silver pigeon 12 for a while. Then I bought the Bretta 303A which I really like.
Getting old and being old SUCKS!!

 

[morley.tyler]

No love for the 390? It is, perhaps, the best gas semi-auto ever made! I like the 391 as well. I have both. I have multiple 390s.

The 390 was very good, but I find the 391 to be as near a perfect gas gun as has ever been made. I was very active, both shooting and working, in the shotgun sports world (Targets and hunting) at the peak of the 391 run and saw multiple, and owned a 391 with over 250k rounds through them and little more than a squirt of brake cleaner or CLP as a form of maintenance.

 

[SilentBirdHunter]

I can't think of a better reason to go the O/U route personally. Ruger red label fits the bill for you nicely. I need to practice what I preach and use the one I have sitting in the safe one of these days.

I bought a used Browning Citori 26" 20 gauge 40 years ago and it is still my go-to upland gun.
I hunt with it most weekdays Sept until upland ends the last day of December.
Then I shoot skeet with it every Sunday, typically 100 targets.
I've had zero problems with in 40 years of fairly heavy use.

 

[Salmonchaser]

I know where to shoulder and anchor but it usually hits the top of the bicep. It feels shouldered then I get the wonder bruised muscle.
We will see how it all comes out in the wash. Never had a fitted or new shotgun.
Started out with my dad's old Winchester pump. That thing kicked like a mule. Then used his silver pigeon 12 for a while. Then I bought the Bretta 303A which I really like.
Getting old and being old SUCKS!!

Getting old ain’t for sissy’s, reads as if the stocks you are using are too long.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Try two things next time you’re looking at shotguns. A shorter stock if available and when you’re mounting the gun bring it up to your cheek and then simultaneously back into the shoulder pocket. I think the cheek first is a British gun fitting thing, but it worked wonders getting consistent. The idea is to keep your head more upright so your brain is making a better assessment of what your eye is seeing and your hands are pointing at trying to track.
I think you’ll find that everyone on here who hunts upland birds a lot has a favorite shotgun. That gun is their favorite not because of name or action style it is because when their feet are misplaced, the wind is blowing the wrong direction, the dogs bumped a bird and it’s snowing hard, they still kill the bird. They will consistently kill the bird because the gun “fits” and shoots to where their eye is telling the brain where to point. It’s not rocket surgery, but improbable to achieve a good fit without some understanding.
Good luck, if you ever get the chance to get fitted using a “try gun” it will change your life. That does open up a whole new rabbit hole however.

 

[IDFireLass]

My biggest fear is dislocating the shoulder. That is the problem with a total reversed replacement. Why I can only shoot rifles with muzzle brakes or .243's to .22's.
Forgot about a 20 ga Remington Wingmaster in the safe. Took it out and it and shouldered it fits perfect. We went out but didn't see anything to shoot at today.
Maybe in a few days I'll get back out and find something to sling some pellets at. The shotgun was kind of an inherited one on the husbands side of the family. Never thought much about it.

 

[Salmonchaser]

A true workhorse shotgun that has stood the test of time. I have several of them.

 

[Tradewind]

Avoid inertia automatics (e.g. new Browning A5 ... not to be confused with old long recoil A5). Felt recoil for inertia action is comparable to fixed breech (e.g. O/U or pump action). You want lightweight AND light recoil = gas shotgun. Weatherby Orion is worth a look. Or ATA. I believe they are essentially the same shotgun. Very high quality Turkish made (ATA is the best of the Turkish batch in my opinion) and very affordable. The ATA autos do seem to have a slightly longer stock but that's easily remedied by gunsmith. I'm hearing good things about new Winchester auto shotguns but I don't see many in twenty gauge.

I caution you about sharing a shotgun unless both of you are same size. Wingshooting requires a shotgun that fits perfectly. Anyone can make a poor fitting shotgun work shooting trap or turkeys. But going from carry to shoulder and shooting at a moving target (i.e. wingshooting birds) is different. Very different. You both should have your own gun.

Fixed breech O/U or pump will thump you. If you don't have the weight to mitigate, those guns can thump hard. I also need to reduce recoil due to physical limitations ... retina detachments. So I chose probably the heaviest auto shotgun ever made, an old Browning A5 magnum twelve gauge with 31" barrel (1100 Remington in 3" 12 gauge may be heavier). Every once in a while when the weather is bad, I will shoot trap league with my former goose gun, an 870 twelve gauge pump. After one round I ask myself how the hell did I put up with that recoil for forty years. And sometimes I'll shoot skeet with the twelve gauge Citori I picked up a few years ago. Same thing. Immediately I notice the big difference in felt recoil. I don't shoot it very often because I don't shoot it nearly as well as my old A5 Magnum. The Citori has a slightly thicker stock than the plastic my A5 now wears. I shoot skeet low gun (shotgun held at field carry position when target is pulled, then mounted and fired). Proper fit for me can be the difference of five or more targets per round!
View attachment 351286
Three roosters last week in as many shots. Several times this year. Fit is paramount.

Love my old A5

 

[timber_hunter]

Have you considered learning to shoot left-handed ? I had a right shoulder injury and shot left-handed for a season. Pretty easy to get used to, especially the shotgun compared to the rifle.

 

[smw110136]

I bought a Benelli M2 20ga last year in August and it has been the only gun I've taken out of the safe for any bird hunting since. I use bismuth loads to shoot geese and even those don't have much of a punch to them. It's my favorite shotgun by far.