True. I have been liking my new 6 lb. 686, though. The weight distribution is different from a semi. And my friend's Monte is all right, with a 26" barrel. I would not go 24". A Cordoba 20 with a 28" barrel swings quite well -- maybe a little too well for flushing birds as opposed to the passing doves it's designed for.
Benelli 20 gauges: Montefeltro vs. UltraLight
- Thread starter Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow
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True. I have been liking my new 6 lb. 686, though. The weight distribution is different from a semi. And my friend's Monte is all right, with a 26" barrel. I would not go 24". A Cordoba 20 with a 28" barrel swings quite well -- maybe a little too well for flushing birds as opposed to the passing doves it's designed for.
oneounceload
member
Agreed - shorter than Churchill's beloved 25" for birds gets insanely difficult. If possible I like them about 5-14 to 6-2 with long barrels - in the 28-30" range - keeps the swing smoother without added weight
Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow
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You guys won't believe this - a guy on another board just put up a Franchi Veloce, pristine/like-new O/U 20 ga 28" 5.5 lbs, for sale for $900. I said I'll take it, but then noticed the SPF post right above - too late! 
JimKirk
Member
Doc
I've owned a 1100 20 ga, I now own a 1187 20 ga and I now own a Montefeltro 20 ga.
If you want to change springs and o-ring and have to clean it often get one of the Remingtons.
If you like to shoot and tote a gun get the Monte. Clean when you get ready.
If you're used to swinging a 8 lbs gun and you pickup a 6 lbs gun, you gonna swing it to fast. You will have to adjust your swing, but that is YOU not the gun. It would be no different than Babe Ruth picking up a 26" - 26 oz baseball bat. He would over swing for a short time but any good batter can change up his swing.
If I could not own the Monte... it would be the 391 or an over & under... of course in 20 ga.
Jimmy K
I've owned a 1100 20 ga, I now own a 1187 20 ga and I now own a Montefeltro 20 ga.
If you want to change springs and o-ring and have to clean it often get one of the Remingtons.
If you like to shoot and tote a gun get the Monte. Clean when you get ready.
If you're used to swinging a 8 lbs gun and you pickup a 6 lbs gun, you gonna swing it to fast. You will have to adjust your swing, but that is YOU not the gun. It would be no different than Babe Ruth picking up a 26" - 26 oz baseball bat. He would over swing for a short time but any good batter can change up his swing.
If I could not own the Monte... it would be the 391 or an over & under... of course in 20 ga.
Jimmy K
I hear this said often. I used the same O ring in an 1100 from about 1980 to 2005. The only stoppage the gun ever had was when I let the gas port holes get totally clogged up. I finally replaced the O rings in 2005 after reading on the internet that these were prone to wear out and break. The O rings looked terrible when I took them off, they had no stretch, were pretty brittle, but they were still intact and functional. I have never changed springs in an 1100. What springs need changing? I surely need to change main, they have been in use since 1980 and certainly must be getting worn by now.
That said, I have no doubt the Montefeltro would theoretically be more reliable.
I agree with you on that, and that is no doubt the problem I was having with the Ultra Light.
I'd like to add something to this: if you match the gun to the application, you don't really consciously adjust at all.
If I use my favorite quail gun for Sporting Clays, where the clays fly smooth arcs over longer distances, I have to force myself to swing. If I use a long, heavy gun for quail, I have to force myself to snap-shoot with a gun that wants to swing more slowly and steadily.
If, however, I shoot the quail gun at quail, and a Sporting Clays gun at clays, there's no such adjustment. The gun naturally wants to do what I need it to do.
But... I'm right there with Balrog on this one: there isn't much that the Benelli Ultralight does naturally very well, since it's so butt-heavy and muzzle light. Even an ultralight gun can be butt-heavy; it's all about balance, not just overall weight.
oneounceload
member
Which is exactly why I added the weight to my 1100. After shooting a 8.5# Gti with 32" barrels, the weight and different MOI were so totally off, I couldn't hit the barn from the inside.
Every now and then when I want to mess with my head, I'll take my 32" 12 O/U, a 26" 20 SxS, and my 25" 28 gauge semi to the range and switch between rounds of 5-stand. Talk about making you concentrate!
JimKirk
Member
I could see the swing problem with the ultra lite. I guess I've always been a fast swinger anyways. I grew up hunting quail in South GA, being a short guy(now short & round), I had to get on the birds quick or I couldn't see over the bushes. So I busted butts as so as they got up. I carried that over to sporting clays too, shoot at first sight.
As far a o-rings, I had to replace several on my 1100 before someone stole it, along with a magazine spring and a trigger spring. Maybe I got a lemon! I did kill lots of quail with it though.
I'm sure Benelli and Beretta all makes some lemon too.
Jimmy K
As far a o-rings, I had to replace several on my 1100 before someone stole it, along with a magazine spring and a trigger spring. Maybe I got a lemon! I did kill lots of quail with it though.
I'm sure Benelli and Beretta all makes some lemon too.
Jimmy K
I have a 20ga Montefeltro 28 inch that is a perfect grouse gun for me. Personally that is about as light as I would like to go. For me it balances well and is a joy to carry all day.
I may have the record on the O rings on a 1100, 36 years between changes, but I only hunted with it and shot on average about 200 shells per year.
The 1100 is a 12ga so the Monty feels like a feather in comparison.
I may have the record on the O rings on a 1100, 36 years between changes, but I only hunted with it and shot on average about 200 shells per year.
The 1100 is a 12ga so the Monty feels like a feather in comparison.
45crittergitter
Member
I also have a 20 Monte and a 20 391. I absolutely love the Monte and really really like the 391. I would go with the longer barrel.
It is my opinion that these very light guns (<6#) are very well suited to smaller people with less muscle and arm length. A 300# linebacker may find them a bit wispy to swing, while a 125# teenager may find them far easier to hit with than dad's 8.5# duck gun. I'm a little guy, and I hit about 2 to 3 TIMES as many birds with my 20 ga. Monte than with any 12 ga.
It is my opinion that these very light guns (<6#) are very well suited to smaller people with less muscle and arm length. A 300# linebacker may find them a bit wispy to swing, while a 125# teenager may find them far easier to hit with than dad's 8.5# duck gun. I'm a little guy, and I hit about 2 to 3 TIMES as many birds with my 20 ga. Monte than with any 12 ga.
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