doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun weight and the 3" 20 gauge magnum.

A few years ago in a rather upscale gunshop I found a Thomas Bland 2.5" 20 ga SxS that tipped the scales at no more than 5 lbs, a well balanced "wand" with 28" or 30" barrels that moved and swung with the grace few modern, production-line guns could even come close to matching. One explanation, of course, was the pedigree. But as far as the weight per se was concerned, I couldn't help but notice how slender the receiver was when compared with "modern" 3" guns. In comparison with an SKB, Winchester Model 21 or even a Merkel 20 ga SxS, the Bland receiver was much trimmer, which translated into a much lighter, better proportioned gun.
Several years later, I bought a 2.5" 20 ga Cogswell & Harrison side lever single barrel "hammer gun" with an English stock that weighed all of 3.5 lbs--an Everyman's gun in every way but remarkably light and well-proportioned.
A few days ago I had the opportunity to purchase a 20 ga Model 23 Winchester that must weigh at least 6.5 lbs and has 3" chambers. Like the modern Merkel and the Win Model 21, this gun is nearly as wide across the bbl flats as are the OD of the barrels themselves, which naturally translates into a heavier gun.
Considering that, with a little assiduous searching, one can find a decent 2.75" 12 ga double weighing 6.5 lbs or thereabouts, it makes you wonder what the price of the 3" 20 ga has been. If we (meaning we Americans, I guess) weren't so wrapped up in having an all-around gun, capable of handling everything from woodcock to late-season wild pheasants to maybe ducks over decoys, maybe our treks afield would be a lot less "weighed down", a consideration that becomes more important by the year in my senior dotage!

Granby

Granby,
Currently being in the market for a very light gun, I would be remiss in calling the kettle black. ....but.... having humped up and down very steep hills all season, I will say; I wouldn't mind carrying a 7 or even 7 1/2 lb gun on the flats. It makes you shoot better anyway. But when the going gets hilly, lighter makes a big difference. It seems to be a balancing act of steady shooting ability vs. the fatigue of carrying a given weight.

Horses for courses,

you cannot expect an "all round" gun to do every job perfectly. I would rather have a battery of guns, each fit for their own individual purpose - and oh what fun amassing such a collection.

Lightweight doubles of 12 and 20 for walked up / rough / upland shooting, mid weight 7 lb O/U game guns for high driven pheasant, 6 1/2 lb sxs for normal driven days, heavy auto's for wilfowling / sporting clays, boys .410" for you guessed it... the list goes on. You wouldn't play a round of golf with one club ;-)

Jonty

Always wanted a 20 ga. 3" mag until I helped a buddy pattern one. Found the same things wrong with it that I found when I first got my Rem 870 3" for use on Canada geese and stuffed it with the most powerful ammo I could get - 3" mag 1 7/8 oz. loads. Tremendous recoil, noisy as hell, but the worst patterns I've ever seen (mine was choked IM). Big gaps in the patterns especially at medium to long ranges and lots of clumping of shot. The long narrow cartridge way overloaded with shot and combined with a powder necessary to get the whole mass moving makes for lousy patterns in either gauge. KBM

Instead of running around looking for a gun that will be one pound lighter, spend the money on a treadmill and lose 20 pounds.

While a lighter gun argument can be made for balance and shootability, the argument that a lighter gun will make a difference 'at the end of the day' vs. getting in shape is BS.

I owned a Ruger Red Label 3" 20 in the very early 1980s, and found the EXACT same thing with regard to patterns with 3" ammunition, along with a special added bonus of the gun not shooting to where I aimed it. Did I mention I got rid of it?

Hell, if you keep looking about, you can find 6lb 12s (my Darne R10 with sling is just a bit over 6lbs) and with light loads, these are especially sweet guns for extended carry. I also own an Italian "Companion" folding single shot hammerless 12 gauge that is about 5 lbs-it has a 3" chamber, but, coward that I am, I've never touched one off in it. I prefer my retinas attached. I use it as my snowshoe grouse hunting gun, with 30" tube it is a bit like a highwire artists balance pole, and the shots on grouse are out there a ways in winter.

Never underestimate how much of a friend a 7 1/2-8lb lb 12 is when you have 100 rounds of clay birds to shoot at trap league, however. The "one gun" religion often fails to mention the "one type" of shooting they participate, and, expect success in.
Best,
Ted

My experience with SKB model 500 20ga IC/M has been particularly rewarding with three-inch Kent 1 1/8 TM Impact on ducks over decoys.

I give all gauges and makers their turn during the season, sometimes choosing for choke alone, but more and more the 20 3" is the go-to gun.

I couldn't agree more with Halvey. I'm six-foot, 220 pounds, keep in good shape with forest and vineyard operations, and can't say gun weight is a burden.

It seems the little 20 fits right in any season; no complaint about patterns.

Halvey,
You're absolutely right about getting in shape. But, even those in shape will want for certain weight guns. I know some small framed hunters that when in good shape, they are 135 lbs. and can walk/run the feet off of anyone else. But they get arm fatigue carrying a 7.5 lb 12ga Citori all day. O.K., they can do it, they just prefer to find lighter guns. It's not about "need" but more about "want".

Sometimes I wonder if the 3" 20 bashers have ever hunted with one. The secret, folks, is to not overchoke. Interchangeable chokes are a big plus for figuring this out of course. Any gun with the necessary heft to shoot a 3" 20 is stout enough to have screw chokes anyway...

I use a Beretta 687L at 6.25lbs. With 3" XX or GP loads through the SK and IC tubes it ices pheasants. The patterns are plenty tight with buffered plated shot, and I'm not giving up a thing not lugging a 12.

Anything lighter requires finesse I personally don't have. A gun needs 'feel' which means it needs to have SOME mass. The lower limit for me is 6.25lbs.

My wife's little Beretta 686 3" 20 weighs 5 pounds 14 ounces. She shoots it with target loads without complaint. It beats me to death. I can't imagine shooting a WW 1 1/4 ounce lead load in it.