[dakotasin]

fellas, i am in the market for a lightweight bird gun. i am hoping to find something in 20 ga w/ 26" barrel(s) and screw in chokes. i am very drawn to side-by-sides, but also need a good autoloader - and the auto will probably come first because they are easier to find and significantly less expensive.

i've been kind of eyeballing the benelli montefeltro, but wanted to know what else might be available... i'd like something that is not recoil-operated, and is as light as possible. how does the montefeltro stack up here? what other options are available? thanks for any help!

also, i am a little out of touch w/ the shotgun market, and recently discovered there are several types of autoloaders. i know what recoil operated is, know what gas operated is, but do not know what 'inertia' operated is... thanks, fellas!

[txgolfer45]

Beretta AL391 is a very nice semi-auto. I own one and it is nice and light for upland hunting.

[RetiredLawman]

Franchi 48. Tote it all day and never know it's there. The 20 gauge weighs less than 6 lbs and is very reliable. It has been on the market for 60 years and still a very popular bird gun.

[Two Cold Soakers]

Yes, Franchi. A buddy shoots one and speaks highly of it.

It's a go-to answer on the subject of lightweight autoloaders.

Now on gunbroker.com $450-650

I own a 391 12ga 30" bbl and have used it sucessfully on grouse and woodcock, not that it's the right way to roll, but the 391, in my opinion, is the perfect autoloading shotgun.

[viking72]

Remington 1100 LT20 Special Field.

Later,
Doug

[ArmedBear]

Too bad you don't want a recoil-operated gun, for some reason.

Many would say that the best gun for what you want is the Franchi 48, which is recoil-operated.

I use a 20 Gauge SKB O/U for that, but now that I'm hunting where there's no limit on capacity, the Franchi is looking pretty good. (I found a gorgeous used on in the shop in 20 for $375, but I went home and thought about whether I should spend the money. When I went back, someone already had.) The 48AL in 20 Gauge weighs just over 5 1/2 lbs.!

http://www.franchiusa.com/firearms/images/48al_field_20ga.jpg

The 3901 is a good option in gas-operated, as is the 391. The 391 is lighter than the 3901; many people prefer the 3901's gas system, though, which comes from the 390. The 3901 is also less expensive.

Remington seems to have forgotten how to make a lightweight gun, or given up even trying for some reason. Their 11-87 Upland Special in 20 would fit your needs well, but it is no longer made, and very rare on used racks. So is the LT 20 Special Field, which was the older version of the same thing. Good luck finding one.

The Browning Silver is definitely worth a look. Might be the best gas-operated option out there. It's light, and available with a Prince of Wales grip for easier all-day carry. The Franchi used to, but appears to come with a conventional PG now. The Browning is good-looking, too.

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/images/011368m.jpg

The Benellis are nice, well-balanced, great-shooting guns. But their prices are getting downright silly. Might as well get a real gun, once you get up into that range.:) Franchi makes some nice SxS by the way, and not too expensive. And these fine Basque SxS guns are in the Benelli autoloader ballpark, price-wise: http://www.doubleshotguns.com/ugartechea.htm

[JimKirk]

The Benelli Montefeltro 20 ga is one fine gun! I use mine for Sporting Clays and dove hunting. I had only one hangup out of many many boxes of factory and many many boxes of reloads, that was with a Activ plastic base hull that had the plastic rim burred from too many reloadings. I pull out the pocket knife and trimmed the burr... shot it too! The Benelli is lite and handy, they are expensive now, I've had mine 15+ yrs now.

Jimmy K

[Pete409]

The Franchi 48AL recoil operated autoloader in 20 gauge is my choice. It weighs 5 1/8 pounds. Very easy to carry one-handed. I've never found anything better (or as good) for carrying all day for bird hunts or rabbit hunts.

I had the barrel on mine chopped off to 21" and had a polychoke device installed on the end. Overall weight remained about the same, but now it is about 5" shorter in length which makes it really maneuverable in heavy brush.

Also I can change chokes in about 2 seconds with a simple twist of the wrist. I don't have to carry extra choke tubes or a wrench or anything like that. All I need to change chokes is my thumb and forefinger which I have with me at all times. :D

[RetiredLawman]

My 48 has a Polychoke. Can't beat it for an all around uplands gun.

[Birdhunter1]

Beretta 391, Benelli anything or the Franchi 48 will be your three lightest weight autoloaders with then Beretta being softest on recoil due to it being a gas operated gun, the Benneli being the next softest adn teh Franchi being the hardest recoil of the three. Those three things I can tell you from thousands of rounds personal experience with each one (the Benelli I used was a Legacy 20 gauge). I also listed them heaviest weight to lightest weight but My 319 Beretta is still in the 6 1/2 lbs range.

[ArmedBear]

BTW Franchi's O/Us are also a really good choice.

http://www.franchiusa.com/firearms/images/renaissance_field_12ga.jpg

Under 6 lbs. and under $1500 in 20 Gauge.

Guerini's ultralight versions are really nice, but the Franchis are a good deal less expensive.

[dakotasin]

no real good reason for not wanting a recoil operated gun aside from i had a remington recoil gun in the days of yore and it felt sluggish and clunky in chambering and ejecting unless the thing was pristine clean...

i do appreciate the input, though on the franchi, but unless i can try one (highly unlikely) i will probably pass because of the remington experience.

jim kirk - what'cha shoot the knife for? seems to me the shell was misbehaving, not the knife...?!

thanks again, fellas!

[JimKirk]

Dako
Knives are bad ...almost as bad as Guns :)
Sorry ....... I had removed the burr from.the shell...with the knife...that I held with my right hand...the shell in my left hand ....while the gun lay in my lap...in which I placed the trimmed shell and killed the next dove that came by in range.... with both hands .... and both eyes...while sitting in the middle of a field...on a bucket! The knife lived only to be lost at Walmart out of a hole in my pocket! Sorry again.

Jimmy K

[RKrumland]

Beretta 391, Benelli anything or the Franchi 48 will be your three lightest weight autoloaders ... I also listed them heaviest weight to lightest weight but My 319 Beretta is still in the 6 1/2 lbs range.

Benelli advertises that their UltraLight 20 is the lightest autoloader made. Is that not true? Their website has it at abut 5.2 lbs. -- feels like a popgun to me when I heft it at Gander Mt. store.

[Birdhunter1]

It might be, haven't researched them alot in the last two years or so and that is a newer one. But being a guide at an upland hunting preserve I get teh chance to shoulder and get the feel of alot of customers guns and often get to shoot them too. Most of what I say on the recoil will never be noticed in lighter target loads or mild field loads, but chamber some of my heavy hot loads or factory 3" mags and you can see the difference. When we went to Kansas pheasant hunting last year I was shooting Fiocchi Golden Pheasant 3" #4 NP Golden Pheasant loads and my dad noticed they kicked a bit harder in his Benelli.... but they sure put the smackdown on roosters at any range!

[VA27]

Franchi or the Benelli Field model, depending on your budget. BOTH are 'recoil' operated, (long recoil vs. inertia) but BOTH are LIGHT. I'd be happy with either, though the Benelli is a little softer to shoot than the Franchi, neither comes close to any 12ga gun.

[Fred Fuller]

Bird hunters at home used to favor Ithaca 37s in 20 gauge for just that reason.

lpl

[BENELLIMONTE]

I had a Benelli Montefeltro Camo in 20 gauge. I used it for hunting Chukars, Huns, Quail, and forest grouse in Idaho. Its lightweight and balance was appreciated in the uplands of S.W Idaho. I sold to a buddy who made me a monetary offer I couldn't refuse. I now use my Browning Gold Hunter
in 12 gauge for most of my bird hunting. Browning definitely reduces recoil better than the "monte". But the monte was much more pleasant to carry due to it's lite wt and balance.

[huntershooter]

Benelli Montefeltro.
AYA SXS.

[Liberty1776]

For my all-day lightweight 20 ga, I bought a synthetic stocked Charles Daly semi-auto. It weighs near nothing, I don't care if it gets a scratch, and it was under $200.

Yes, I know - you get what you pay for, but it hasn't broke yet, and if I'd waited to get enough money for a Benelli or Franchi, I'd still be sittin' home, not bird, rabbit and squirrel hunting....

[sohcgt2]

I'm with RetiredLawman and everyone who echoed his thought. I have a 48 AL and it functions flawlessly, is easy to carry all day (less than six Lbs.), and has less recoil than any other centerfire gun I own.

[earlthegoat2]

Ugartechea

http://www.doubleshotguns.com/ugartechea.htm

[sbarkowski]

Held a Browning Silver 20ga the other day that I found to be very light, well ballanced, slim forearm and beautiful gloss finished barrel and walnut. about $1000 here in canada :S but still "cheap" by our standards.