20ga Over/Under Input

Electrod47 said:

My fav 20 gauge is my Ruger Red Label O/U. Has counted for many South Dakota Pheasant and Arizona Gambels Quail. Purchased in 2005 at Academy for 999.00 bucks. It always draws interest from other hunters. A few years ago they went a less labor intense manner of production and gave up due to lack of interest because??

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Because round two had more problems than round one. Numerous instances of doubling, cracked castings, broken firing pins.

Roverguy said:

Because round two had more problems than round one. Numerous instances of doubling, cracked castings, broken firing pins.

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That second round certainly had teething issues. Not to mention, around the time that gen 2 Red Label came out the turkish O/U's were starting to become pretty good at a lower price point. Ruger has a reputation for making things right but I think they realized a $1500 O/U would never compete with $800 turkish gun sitting next to it on the gun rack, and if someone WAS willing to pay that much, they probably were OK paying a tad more for a Beretta or Browning.

Well you got your Berettas and you have your Brownings, and then there is everything else. There's plenty of decent guns in the "everything else" pile, but there's a few stinkers too.

For $1,000, I'd be looking to a decent used Beretta or Browning, most likely in 12 ga with 28" or 30" barrels.

If you just have to have a 20 ga, the Ithaca/SKB model 500 was a great field gun, light rugged and naturally pointing. Maybe you can find a decent used one.

Barnfixer said:

I ended up getting a Franchi instinct sl. Actually I didn’t get it yet but it’s in route. The price was right and if it doesn’t pan out I shouldn’t lose my butt if I trade it off. I’ve shouldered them in the stores and they felt good. Being this will primarily be a hunting gun the lite weight factor played a big part in my choice aside from the price. Thank everyone for your input!

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Good choice. You should enjoy.

Barnfixer said:

I ended up getting a Franchi instinct sl. Actually I didn’t get it yet but it’s in route. The price was right and if it doesn’t pan out I shouldn’t lose my butt if I trade it off. I’ve shouldered them in the stores and they felt good. Being this will primarily be a hunting gun the lite weight factor played a big part in my choice aside from the price. Thank everyone for your input!

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Excellent choice. If for whatever reason it doesn't work out try the Yildiz.

Cant go wrong with Italian. I have a Benelli 828U field 20ga Love it.

Have had good results every time with SKBs.

Ditto experience with SKB.....

I really like my Beretta 686 Onyx with 26 inch barrels. I've shot alot of quail and pheasants with it.

About a year ago, I bought a new Citori Hunter 20ga--28in barrels for $1749---it's a little on the plain side but I don't care because I bought it to be a hunting gun and dings and scrapes are going to happen, no matter how much I baby it. Would have preferred 26in barrels but 28 is what they had and it still handles quite well.

I've also added CYL and SKEET chokes to round out the set.

The Beretta was high on my list too, but it was a little more money and the stock was a little long and I really didn't want to deal with getting it cut and refinished so you couldn't tell any work was done.

I like and shoot a Beretta O/U in 12 gauge but I much prefer a Citori in 20 gauge. I looked at and shot the Beretta 20 gauge and went with the Citori instead.

About 6 months ago, I had a similar dilemma to the OP's.
I ended up with the Citori Hunter in 16 ga. and 26" barrels. Shot 25 trap birds and scored 21 for 25. First time shooting it so either it or I are showing some promise.

I really like the feel of the 16 ga. and the 26" barrels. Points quickly and swings very well. For me, anyway. YMMV, of course.

I took a different approach. I found a Beretta 686 Essential (think "Express" but with good internals) in 12 ga. Light, selective trigger and ejectors. I load both 7/8 and 3/4 ounce loads and, being light, can't tell it from my much missed old Breda 20 that was the best pheasant gun I ever owned.
BTW, cost was $750 plus $35 for a pad and $10 for a Numrich aluminum add-on rib to get the sitting plane a little higher than the low rib it has. (3M automotive trim tape does the job)

Some good quality Beretta and Browning guns used online.
I bought a Beretta 686 Onyx Field gun for about $1200