20 ga. O/U for skeet?

[DaleCooper51]

Check out the SKB GC7 linked above. I have the 12 ga version, but have shot the 20 ga gun. Real nice feel to it and it comes with a 14 5/8" LOP. There are online sales and rebates with them and you could get a fixed comb grade one gun from Jaquas for under $1300 delivered.

 

[ArmedBear]

A 20ga. O/U is what I originally wanted for skeet but most manufactures drop from 7.5lbs on average in 12ga. down to just over 6lbs on the same gun in 20ga.

You're looking at field guns. Some people (like me) like a lighter 20 for hunting fast birds that flush out and give you very little time to acquire and shoot. But... I've been using the same box of 25 pheasant loads for a good number of weeks, now, during which time the fridge has always had some pheasant in it. So cumulative recoil isn't a serious issue.

If you look at "Sporting" guns, you'll see something more like 8.5 lbs./7.5 lbs. for averages. See the page I linked above to SKB.

(FYI unlike rifle catalogs, where "Sporter" means "hunting rifle", in shotgun catalogs, "Sporting" means "clays shotgun".)

 

[USMC - Retired]

Get a Briley or kolar 20 ga tube set for your 12 ga. You shoot the same gun your accustomed to but get the bennifit of less felt recoil.

 

[atblis]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=150527821
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=150592966
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=150715752

 

[SWMO]

Get a Briley or kolar 20 ga tube set for your 12 ga. You shoot the same gun your accustomed to but get the bennifit of less felt recoil.

I don't have a 12ga. or I would just get tubes.

 

[oneounceload]

You'll be better off with a heavy 12 shooting light loads to reduce recoil. Don't look at field guns and their weights; look at target-grade guns - you'll find that most Brownings, Berettas, etc. that are target guns will weigh somewhere about 8# or more. Using light 12 loads, your recoil - both actual and perceived, will be less than a 20

 

[distra]

1100 is not a O/U, is it?

No it is not an O/U, but a semi auto will reduce recoil significantly. Beretta 390/391 are also good and priced reasonably. If you are set on an O/U, then one of the "B" (Browning or Beretta) guns would be my first choice. Lighter loads will also reduce recoil. There are a lot of options out there.

 

[ArmedBear]

Note that some of the newest 391s are very light in 20 Gauge, and even the Sporting models are 6.9 lbs. A 391 Sporting 20 or a used 390 will probably make a better low-recoil range gun than the <6 lb. 391 20 Gauge field guns -- though I really do like the 20 Gauge 391 field guns in the field.

 

[TomADC]

Not an O/U but felt recoil is very low.
My daughters have shot this and it fit them & myself just fine I'm 6 ft.
Main drawback of a semi auto is if you reload you have to bendover and pick up the empties.

 

[ArmedBear]

Main drawback of a semi auto is if you reload you have to bendover and pick up the empties.

Or if you shoot at a range that doesn't pick them up.

Also, you'll have to fiddle with the damned thing a lot more than with an O/U. When shooting Trap or even Sporting Clays? Not a big deal. For Skeet, it can be a PITA and cut into concentration.

 

[oneounceload]

Main drawback of a semi auto is if you reload you have to bendover and pick up the empties.

Not with something like this:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBMQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

Our local club has 2 of them at the 5-stand so folks can pick up their empties without bending over.

 

[ArmedBear]

At a busy 5-stand range, the whole next squad is waiting for someone to pick up empties.

 

[oneounceload]

We're a little more liad-back here in FL - and most of the folks are retired so this is a social event as well.....

Half the time we never shoot from inside the actual 5-stand but we have hoops on the ground in front where we shoot 1 person at a time shooting from one hoop at a time - sort of a cross between 5-stand and FITASC - makes getting the empties afterwards nice and easy

 

[ilmonster]

Recoil is based on science, not much opinion there. Recoil increased/decreased by three things - weight of gun, speed of shot, amount of shot. Doesn't matter what guage you're using. Lower recoil is achieved by increasing gun weight, using a lighter load, and slowing the speed of the shot coming out of the gun. A fourth variable might be using a gas operated semi-auto as it spreads the recoil event over a longer period of time.

To minimize recoil shooting skeet, I shoot a Citori XT weighing 8.5 lbs and reload 12 ga. loads of 7/8 oz. of #8.5 shot at 1200 fps (essentially, a 20 ga. load in a heavier 12 ga. gun). If you reload, you can craft a top quality load for light recoil and save money too.

So to answer your question, get the heaviest gun in whatever guage you choose and shoot the lightest loads you can (as it doesn't take a 1 1/8 oz. 1300 fps. load to break a clay!)

 

[SWMO]

ilmonster

I think you sum it all up to someone like myself who is not very experienced when it comes to shotguns.

Thank you one and all for all the great advice through out this thread.

PS: Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all

 

[oneounceload]

See my post Number 12 - if you reduce your load to 3/4, even less recoil than a 7/8

 

[TomADC]

Awhile back I had a bunch of Bullseye powder that a shooting buddy & I used in 38' etc for light target loads, he died and now I had all this bulleye powder I knew I'd never use up, then I saw an article in American Rifleman using Bullseye in light 12 ga loads, I was shooting 7/8 oz loads thru my 12's and recoil was zip, plus my Remington 11-87 sporting clays gun would cycle them just fine, but it was a very dirty powder.
I do the 3/4 20 ga loads also.

 

[ilmonster]

One other element I forgot to mention, gun fit with a shotgun is very important too in making sure recoil doesn't beat you up. Make sure the SG you look at fits you. You can shoot a $15K Krieghoff, and if it doesn't fit you (the two beads don't "figure eight" when you look down the barrel, you get "face slap", LOP is too long or short, etc.) it is just an expensive railroad tie you're swinging around. If a $400 used Remington 1100 does fit you on the other hand, you will shoot it better than the most expensive gun that doesn't fit.

The only reason I shoot a Citori XT vs. the 20 other Citori models is that the stock with the Monte Carlo stock fits my body. Good luck, skeet is a whole lot of fun!

p.s. Oneounceload above is correct too. I once shot a 3/4 oz load in a 12 ga., and what a pleasure it was to shoot.

 

[oldrevolverguy]

I recently purchased a Huglu 103DE 20ga with 28" barrels and screw-in chokes. It weights approximately 7 .5 pounds. With typical 7/8 oz cheap loads it is a pussycat to shoot. I own two Remington 1100 20 ga shotguns. If recoil is the issue go for the 1100s. If you want to shoot an o/u you could do a lot worse than the Huglu. The receivers are steel not aluminum and with 28" barrels there is plenty of weight to dampen the recoil.