What About The 20 Gauge?...

I happen to love my 20ga 870, an Express model given to me by father when I was 12-13.

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Heeeyyyyy!! I gave MY kid an 870 20 ga youth express when HE was 12!! He's 22 now and has no safe so it's still in mine I take it out once in a while and can shoot a fairly respectable skeet score with it as long as somebody brushes me up on the hints. It's VERY easy to swing on target.

Well, I'm convinced! I'll use my 14 year old as the excuse to pick up a Benelli Nova 20 ga. my local store has on sale. I see quail hunting in the future.

So, what's the consensus favorite quail load and choke? They're never further than 25 yards, usually 15.

So what are the limits here?

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I noticed you didn't list any limitations in regards to clay games other than lack of available loads.
Yesterday I got a chance to get out with a couple friends for some casual clays. Nothing formal, just a thrower in the field.
One had a Stevens 311 in 20. I found that I had to be much more agressive as the only loads he brought were #6's.
Odd part was, I was able to get on 'em quicker and the little Stevens pointed and shot incredibly. Fit was a bit short but not uncomfortable at all.

I have a 870 in 20 but didn't take it. I'm afraid that little SxS planted a bad seed. If I find one for the right price, my 870 might be relegated to HD, Turkey, and Deer.

Was out today busting clays up at the club over the little Trius One-Step trap. Way, way fun. I had both the 20ga 870 and the 12ga. While it was satisfying to smash clays with the 12, after a few with the 20 the 12 feels like a sloth swinging! The 20 was in my shoulder that much sooner from low-gun, making it necessary for me to slow down. With the 12 I felt rushed to get the shot off before the clays were out of range. With the 20 I had to slow down!

Duck season starts in two days here. It looks like the 20 gets to go for the opening morning festivities up on "my" brook/swamps. Have some #2 and 4 steel left over from last year. Can't come up with a better excuse to burn some of it off!

Love the 20 ga, esp. in a single shot, where the reduced recoil relative to a 12 ga is quite noticeable. I like .410 or 20 ga for wabbits and such.

I had an off-line discussion with Dr. Dave this weekend after discovering that my 870 20ga is older than I thought. It is old enough that it has an "X" suffix serial number and is built on the 12ga frame. Conseqently, I can't find a shorter barrel and the Wilson Combat/Scatterguns extended mag I bought won't fit. The mag tube diameter of my gun is larger than the current rendition. Has anyone else run into this "problem"? Will a 12ga mag tube fit? If anyone has an answer to this quandry, I would sure like to hear about it. Thanks!!

AMEN. If you're shooting 4 oz birds, do you really need more than 1 oz of shot? Besides, I hit literally twice as many birds with my 20 as with my 12...

I started working with an 1100 LT20 Youth as a defense-type shotgun this Summer.

The back condition/injury I've had for 15 years is apparently not going to go away, and just holding up any long gun for a practice session can cause pain for days.
By going to a 20, I shaved a full pound of gun weight.

I was afraid that it might be TOO light, and that any gain there would be offset by increased recoil- which is a back buster also. But it felt like it recoiled less than a 12 with standard buckshot and slug loads. It may even feel gentler than a 12 with reduced-recoil buck/slugs.

I'm still not nuts over being limited to #3 buck (#2 buck in a 3" gun, which mine isn't). But, with the Mod tube in, it easily puts all 20 pellets into an 8" circle at 15 yards.

I'm not dumping my 12s for that purpose, but it will probably do.

Will a 12ga mag tube fit? If anyone has an answer to this quandry, I would sure like to hear about it. Thanks!!

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The 12 ga. extension will fit just fine. I have had the standard weight 20 ga. guns in both the 870 & the 1100 and the tubes are the same size as the 12 ga.

I called Wilson Combat and my 20ga extension is on its way back to be replaced with a 12ga extension. No hassle, no fuss, no muss. Great folks to deal with. The only potential problem I see is that I can't use a mag tube support bracket since the barrel diameter is so much smaller than the mag tube diameter. Some folks, Dfarriswheel in particular, have made good arguments as to the necessity this support. Any suggestions from the collective?

Choat

I called Wilson Combat and my 20ga extension is on its way back to be replaced with a 12ga extension. No hassle, no fuss, no muss. Great folks to deal with. The only potential problem I see is that I can't use a mag tube support bracket since the barrel diameter is so much smaller than the mag tube diameter. Some folks, Dfarriswheel in particular, have made good arguments as to the necessity this support. Any suggestions from the collective?

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Yeppers! I put a Choate extension on my 20 ga 870 express. The mag tube support they supplied works fine.

Choate: http://www.riflestock.com/

I could swear the extension is a smaller diameter 20 ga size cuz it's about the same diameter as the barrel. I can't tell you for sure because it's at the other house right now and I'm not.