doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Will a 6 lb. 2oz 20 ga. be unpleasant to shoot ?

Hi:

Being a 20 ga. lover, the best that I can say is it depends on pure magic. Some ofthe guns were very mild and some were very wild.

I will rank them in order of increasing percevied recoil:

1. Franchi Al 48, 5lbs 4 oz. Recoil operated auto
2. Beretta 303 6lbs 4 oz. Gas operated auto
3. Franchi Falconet 6.03 lbs O/U
4. Kasner American Arms Ultra Light.5lbs.12 oz.O/U

The weight seems to have little effect on the felt recoil. All of the gns have about the same stock dimensions. None of the guns had recoil pads on them.

For upland hunting use, I do not think that you will be bothered by the recoil. I use heavy field loads in all of my guns when pheasant hunting but use AA Skeet loads for chuckar. The Skeet loads are very pleasant on the shoulder!

I used my Beretta 303 to shoot many rounds of skeet with skeet loads with no pain.

Now a round of skeet with a 4.5 pound 12 ga. will make you think that you have had enough for that day.

You will just have to experiment with various loads until you find a load that will not mistreat you. When field shooting, I never notice the recoil. Face slap, that is another story.

Go for the 20,

Franchi

Gentlemen, Thank you for all for your responses and good information. It's exactly what I needed to hear. My question originated from trying my friend's SKB 20 ga. model 100 with 26" bbls. two weeks ago at some easy clay birds and being real surprised at the unpleasant recoil experience. However, that gun was way too short for me and I wondered how much that effected the experience. I'm looking at an AOC/SG model Ugartechea, but didn't want to buy something that kicked like that little SKB.

If possible, find someone with a gun closer to what you want and one that fits...to try.

I have two 20 ga M21s and a M12 in that weight range. The 21s have checkered butts, and the 12 has the usual plastic plate. I can shoot 100 7/8 oz loads in a session through these, but prefer my 3/4 oz loads. In the field I feed them fast 15/16 oz or 1 oz B&Ps and never notice the recoil.

I do have a 5# ASEL that brings tears to my eyes with 7/8 oz loads, and about knocked me unconscious when I patterned a single 1 oz B&P for kicks (pardon the atrocious pun). A 5 3/4 oz 20 ga Brit BLE "feels best" with 3/4 oz loads at the range. I'm not inclined to run 1 oz fields loads through this one. Same goes for a 6# 12 ga Daly.

I think 6 1/4# (fixed breech gun) is the ideal weight for field use with 1 oz loads, irrespective of gauge.

Sam

No.

My RBL is less than six pounds and after I added a recoil pad it is OK. I have shot skeet and doves with it and have no problems.
bill

My RBL is less than six pounds and after I added a recoil pad it is OK. I have shot skeet and doves with it and have no problems.
bill

London Guns in Santa Barbara had a nice red pad that was about .5-.6" thick and looks right on vintage guns, but last time I checked they were out of production. There seems to be a steady demand, so would be worth checking again.

Jeff's Outfitters carries a 1/2" brown pad that looks nice on just about anything. I had one fitted to an 1885 Parker hammer gun to lengthen the LOP and it's very nice. It is a firm pad.

Jim, gotta disagree with you on this one. Plenty of old guns are too short for current shooters, and I hate to see the butt of a Smith or Parker (with or without the spur) squared up for a modern pad just to lengthen the LOP. If the pad is correctly fitted to the curved butt and the spur mortise is properly filled with black epoxy, the pad looks factory and the stock has not been damaged in any way. The process is completely reversible and the butt plate can be reinstalled later if desired. I have done this to a couple of my older guns, and plan to do it to several more. I'll try to post a couple of pictures this weekend.

The traditional "ideal" shot/weight ratio for English guns is 96/1 - 96 ounces of gun for every 1 ounce of shot, regardless of gauge. For 1 ounce loads, 6 pounds is considered the "ideal" weight.