Got a call last night from a very close friend asking if i was still looking for a 20ga. He is trading a dog for a Benelli Super Nova and wants to sell a Stoeger 3020.
Main reason i wanted a 20ga was for rabbit hunting but he is down sizing on his rabbit dogs and rabbits seem to be disappearing. I already have an O/U 20ga but i think i’d like a semi auto more.
These stupid i want a new gun just because bugs are terrible lol.
I like over/unders mostly because I shot competitive skeet for a while.
I have a Beretta A400 in 12 ga and 28 ga but they do not get shot much.
Around our hobby horse farm, I have 12 ga Rem 870 for critter control. A bit more shot and I'm not worried about damage to the target.
I'm not a big bird hunter but done a bit here and there. Back in the early 1990's I went to Callaway Gardens in west Georgia for a quail hunt and did well with a 20 ga Browning Citori.
The first pheasant that I shot when hunting with my Dad in the early 1990's was with a 28 ga side by side. I don't recommend that for a larger bird like a pheasant, my shot was a lucky head shot that shut the pheasant's lights out. At the time, 28 ga ammunition that was regularly available was mainly #9 shot target loads as it was mostly used for skeet competition.
Now a days, more appropriate shot loads are available fir 28 ga for bird hunting.
As an aside, my competition skeet averages were better with a 20 ga gun than with a 12 ga gun. So, I shot 20 ga in the 12 ga events. To shooters that would not have those limitations, they are top shooters for a reason.
Just one data point to consider.