Good OU 20 gauge for Sporing clays

[bas402]

Shotgun shooting is vastly different from Rifle shooting. To shoot a shotgun well it has to fit you perfectly. You eyes have to meet the rib, it has to flow with your movement. No other person can recommend a shotgun for you. You will need to go to a large sporting goods store or gun store and pick up every single one you can get your hands on. It has to fit and I mean well or you will never be happy with the results. I have probably close to 50,000 targets shot in sporting clay's between practice and competition and I think Sporting Clays is the best shooting sport in the world. There are a plethora of shotgun on the market that I would love to own but many just simply do not fit me. If you are looking at a over and under then I would suggest that you look at Browning, Beretta maybe even Guerini. If you have the money Kolar and Kreighoff are exceptional and they will work with you to get the gun to fit. If you cant find and over and under that fits your eye then you might want to look into a semi auto. I am currently shooting a Benelli M2 in 20 ga that fits me like a glove. It is an outstanding little shotgun and it wont break the bank. It also passes as a wonderful gun in the field for upland bird. Just my opinion, have a great day.

Good info and suggestions, thanks!

 

[hunterhank]

You are on the threshold of becoming addicted. Your financial resources will be in danger.
No one can tell you which gun will be right. A lot of clubs have loaners. You will know what feels good.
Get lessons up front from reputable instructors. Money well spent.

 

[bas402]

I didn't see them mentioned yet- but Caesar Guerini would be another brand worth looking at. They build a nice gun in the range above the Beretta 687 but well below the Perazzi and K Guns. Autoloaders are great- but at 63 I don't relish scrounging for hulls on the ground;^)

I would echo what some others say about sticking with a 12ga. Especially now when 12 gauge is the only ammo on the shelves. It's very easy to get 7/8 & 3/4oz 12 gauge wads if you load your own. With the weight of the gun and the light loads it will kick less than a 20.
We have a lot of youth trapshooting in the area and all but the tiniest kids shoot 12 gauge guns. That's due more to gun weight/dimensions than recoil.
Also, you can buy small gauge tubes for the 12 gauge- more weight and less recoil. And when other ammo comes back on the scene you can shoot the small gauge events.

Also good information here, thanks. The biggest issue I think I'm going to run into is being able to find and handle something local. Selection and availability is very poor in my area. I was hoping I could get something to start with that I could adapt or get comfortable with without being able to put my hands on it but from some of the discussions here that is not advisable. Got to be a good balance point somehow I would think.

 

[bas402]

You are on the threshold of becoming addicted. Your financial resources will be in danger.
No one can tell you which gun will be right. A lot of clubs have loaners. You will know what feels good.
Get lessons up front from reputable instructors. Money well spent.

Working on the lessons for sure and talking to my local club as well. I am well aware of what I'm getting into as I have yrs of custom precision CF builds under my belt. I will say shotguns seem to be pricey though, never give them much mind but now that I have gotten older they seem to call my name and I have observed several Sporting Clay matches and it fits my interest and follows my tactical CF matches I love so much.

 

[Pwbergen]

I suggest you consider the used Browning Citori and target variants (i.e., 525, 725, etc.). They are solidly built, have more weight in the barrels (than Berretas) for good follow-through, and are reasonably priced.

 

[bas402]

If you can find one, the Browning Citori is a light quick handling gun. I talking about a used one to save some money.

Thanks for the suggestion, I have been looking at the 725 sporting and when I do decide I think I will buy new since I would know that to look for in a used one.

 

[Biebs]

Yes, buying new is a good suggestion. Target shotguns are shot more in a weekend than most upland guns are shot in several years. A friend is in the same boat as you, and I just found him a good deal on a Beretta Silver Pigeon.

 

[bas402]

I suggest you consider the used Browning Citori and target variants (i.e., 525, 725, etc.). They are solidly built, have more weight in the barrels (than Berretas) for good follow-through, and are reasonably priced.

Thank you sir!

 

[bas402]

Yes, buying new is a good suggestion. Target shotguns are shot more in a weekend than most upland guns are shot in several years. I firend is in the same boat as you, and I just found him a good deal on a Beretta Silver Pigeon.

Seems to be a Chevy vs Ford thing with shotguns just like the CF side of things.

 

[jeb405]

+1 on suggesting you consider the gas gun. Much easier to get perfect fit with shim adjustable stocks you don't get with OU. I think 30" is perfect, and if you opt for 32" later you only need a barrel not a whole gun. For low recoil must be gas, not inertia operated and as mentioned there are many way to minimize recoil if still too much from adding weight to the gun, porting, to using 1 oz or 7/8 oz loads, etc. Plus 12 ga more available as already and usually cheaper as already mentioned. And my arguments are not really related to any performance comparison of the gauges. I will tell you for sure my Win 101 26" 20ga with target loads recoils way more than my Beretta 391 28" 12 ga with 1 1/8 target loads, the 101 is very light and therefore a great upland gun. But also doesn't' swing well on clays due to lack of weight.

Quick story for perspective, years ago I was a member of a clays only club. The gun racks had many Krieghoffs, Perazzi's, Kohler's, etc. (days before Ceasar G). Not only were they all each worth more than my car, none were mine. When sporting clays got big even the guys with tons of money got on the gas gun buss. Almost amazingly they then spent a lot of money on upgrades they didn't really need like custom stocks, crazy chokes, barrel work, etc. IMHO it really bugged them to shoot cheap guns better. For sure part of the issue in those days were the super long barrels typical of sporting OU were not very well balanced for clays which is not the case today. But also remember much like golf, the best may shoot a lot of OU's but often they also get their guns for free or with some kind of sponsorship assistance based on the brand. I think you could shoot for many years before you reach the limits of the gas gun.

In full disclosure it's been many years since I have been on a sporting course so I am not aware how important it is to have different chokes. I will tell you that when I competed I found not changing chokes to let me score better by focusing on the shot plan and execution not worrying about the choke. Typically where I shot light mod the whole way. The idea I could not break close fast targets with a tight choke was all in my head. It's as much about the shot string length (or arguably more about) than the pattern diameter.

Also +1 on recommendation to find a good coach. Missing clays can be very frustrating until you learn enough to realize what you did wrong since you don't really know high, low, behind, in front, etc. Knowing doesn't mean you will always do it right but when you learn what it should look like for me at least makes it so much more enjoyable.

Good luck.

YMMV

John.

 

[rickjoty]

Shotgun shooting is vastly different from Rifle shooting. To shoot a shotgun well it has to fit you perfectly. You eyes have to meet the rib, it has to flow with your movement. No other person can recommend a shotgun for you. You will need to go to a large sporting goods store or gun store and pick up every single one you can get your hands on. It has to fit and I mean well or you will never be happy with the results. I have probably close to 50,000 targets shot in sporting clay's between practice and competition and I think Sporting Clays is the best shooting sport in the world. There are a plethora of shotgun on the market that I would love to own but many just simply do not fit me. If you are looking at a over and under then I would suggest that you look at Browning, Beretta maybe even Guerini. If you have the money Kolar and Kreighoff are exceptional and they will work with you to get the gun to fit. If you cant find and over and under that fits your eye then you might want to look into a semi auto. I am currently shooting a Benelli M2 in 20 ga that fits me like a glove. It is an outstanding little shotgun and it wont break the bank. It also passes as a wonderful gun in the field for upland bird. Just my opinion, have a great day.

I love my O/Us. Browning and B. Rizzini. Guerini split off from B. Rizzini cousins and are similarly made guns. I shoot 28ga, 20ga, 16ga and 12ga. All have 28" barrels. Maybe a little short for sporting clays but a good compromise if you also hunt with it. I reload and with today's components I frequently reload my 12 ga with 3/4 oz shot. Great for practice, and very low recoil. You can't do that with an autoloader. I'll also load my 28 with 1/2 oz mimicking a .410. Fun stuff. I compete mostly with an old B. Rizzini 12. I'll load it up with 3/4, 7/8, 1, and 1-1/8. Practice with the light stuff and complete with the heavier. I don't have adjust combs but I found that Brownings fit me very well and B. Rizzini stocks are cut very much the same. I got enamored with side by sides. Bought a Barretta. Shot 34 out of 100. Got ****ed. Borrowed my dad's Citori 20ga o/u and shot a 77 on the same course. Been using o/u ever since. Well I still have Browning Auto 5s in 12, 16, and 20.

 

[Lionel Boyd Johnson]

Just as the title says. I am a small guy so don't want the recoil of a 12 and I'm just getting started.

If you plan to reload the empty hulls, I recommend an O/U. Either Beretta or Browning with 30"-32" barrels. If you don't plan to reload, I recommend a Beretta 400 with a 28" or 30" barrel. The long receiver on a semi-auto makes the shorter barrels that I recommend add up to at least as long a shotgun (for good balance) as the longer O/U barrel guns.

 

[Eric H]

Here you go and it won't kill your wallet and hopefully you can find one.

Condor Competition Shotguns | Stoeger Shotguns Pistols and Airguns

stoegerindustries.com

 

[bas402]

+1 on suggesting you consider the gas gun. Much easier to get perfect fit with shim adjustable stocks you don't get with OU. I think 30" is perfect, and if you opt for 32" later you only need a barrel not a whole gun. For low recoil must be gas, not inertia operated and as mentioned there are many way to minimize recoil if still too much from adding weight to the gun, porting, to using 1 oz or 7/8 oz loads, etc. Plus 12 ga more available as already and usually cheaper as already mentioned. And my arguments are not really related to any performance comparison of the gauges. I will tell you for sure my Win 101 26" 20ga with target loads recoils way more than my Beretta 391 28" 12 ga with 1 1/8 target loads, the 101 is very light and therefore a great upland gun. But also doesn't' swing well on clays due to lack of weight.

Quick story for perspective, years ago I was a member of a clays only club. The gun racks had many Krieghoffs, Perazzi's, Kohler's, etc. (days before Ceasar G). Not only were they all each worth more than my car, none were mine. When sporting clays got big even the guys with tons of money got on the gas gun buss. Almost amazingly they then spent a lot of money on upgrades they didn't really need like custom stocks, crazy chokes, barrel work, etc. IMHO it really bugged them to shoot cheap guns better. For sure part of the issue in those days were the super long barrels typical of sporting OU were not very well balanced for clays which is not the case today. But also remember much like golf, the best may shoot a lot of OU's but often they also get their guns for free or with some kind of sponsorship assistance based on the brand. I think you could shoot for many years before you reach the limits of the gas gun.

In full disclosure it's been many years since I have been on a sporting course so I am not aware how important it is to have different chokes. I will tell you that when I competed I found not changing chokes to let me score better by focusing on the shot plan and execution not worrying about the choke. Typically where I shot light mod the whole way. The idea I could not break close fast targets with a tight choke was all in my head. It's as much about the shot string length (or arguably more about) than the pattern diameter.

Also +1 on recommendation to find a good coach. Missing clays can be very frustrating until you learn enough to realize what you did wrong since you don't really know high, low, behind, in front, etc. Knowing doesn't mean you will always do it right but when you learn what it should look like for me at least makes it so much more enjoyable.

Good luck.

YMMV

John.

Great advise thank you sir!