[ArmedBear]

I'm looking for a lightweight, probably synthetic, relatively inexpensive 20 Gauge semiauto for hunting in the mountains (grouse, quail, chukar).

Conditions are really hard on shotguns, so I really don't want to get a Urika 2, as nice as it is to carry and shoot. I would like a gun that feels decent in the hands, though, and won't fall apart inside the first time I shoot it... I don't want a piece of unreliable junk, but the reality is that a halfway-decent gun used for this purpose will probably be destroyed from the outside in, before the innards wear out.

Has anyone tried the SA-08?

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas for this purpose? Can the Turks make autoloaders any better than O/Us? (I'd guess that an ugly autoloader for $450-600 could be of much better quality than a pretty O/U for the same price range...)

The 3901 in 20/26" seems to be nonexistent -- though if someone has a source I'd like to know about that, too.:)

[DaleCooper51]

I don't have any experience with it, but it looks like the same gun as the Mossberg SA-20.

http://www.weatherby.com/product/shotguns/semiauto/sa08_synthetic

http://www.mossberg.com/products/default.asp?id=37&section=products

If it actually is the same gun, I know Smitty in CT has posted a few reviews of the mossberg.

[Smitty in CT]

I bought one of the Mossberg SA-20 youth models for my son and it has turned out to be a great shotgun.

Here's a link to an ongoing review:

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=143986

[Snarlingiron]

Not to disparage the SA-08 or the SA-20. The Turks can make good auto loader shotguns. I have a Stoeger M2000 that has never given me a moments trouble.

However, this is what I opted for:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=132774161

I also just got a Cabelas catalog that showed these for $569.00, IIRC.

Old well proven design. Boringly reliable. Stock adjustable for cast and drop. In my opinion, one of the best values in auto loading shotguns available.

Just a thought. I know I couldn't be happier with mine, even though it is a 12 ga.

BTW, although I haven't shot one of the SA guns, I have looked at one closely, and from what I could see without dismantling it, it appears to pretty much be a close copy of the Beretta AL 390.

[ArmedBear]

Smitty- What's the balance like?

(Like you I was hoping for a 920...)

[Virginian]

If you are climbing mountains, get a Franchi AL48 20 gauge. Been around since 1948. It works. It is light.

[Smitty in CT]

Smitty- What's the balance like?

(Like you I was hoping for a 920...)

Proportionally, it balances very well, my idea was as my son outgrew the gun to buy a longer barrel and langer stock, but so far...., Mossberg isn't offereing them.

BUT, the gun has performed so well, I'm thinking about getting him the full sized version in a couple of years....

I did want to see a 20 GA version of the 930, but I also understand that there isn't as large a market for 20GA autoloaders, and since Smith & Wesson already did all of the "refinement" work, there doesn't seem to be much risk in getting one...