I know a lady who enjoys running her rabbit dogs and at times does hunt. She is presently shooting her husbands 12 gauge and dislikes the weight/recoil. Can anyone here suggest a 20 gauge semi that would deliver the least recoil? I will forward your information on to her. Thank you, smoker1

A Browning Gold 20 ga. You can barely feel the gun working with 7/8 oz. loads.

Thanks Randy...my smokeless compadre. The Browning sounds good. I'll send the info on. smoker

It seems like people always want to go to a 20 ga. because they think it kicks less than a 12 ga. THIS ISN'T TRUE! With equal loads, 20 gauges KICK MORE! Think about it, shooting a 1 oz. 12 ga. load and a 1 oz. 20 ga. load with the same amount of powder, the 20 ga. will kick MORE because it is a smaller shell, producing more pressure. I have a 12 ga. Browning Citori Feather XS and a 12 ga. Beretta 391 Urika. The Beretta doesn't kick at all with 7/8 oz loads. I really don't see why anyone would shoot a 20 ga.

Don't know if she ever bought a 20 ga. but seeing a recoil analysis would be interesting. Felt recoil and actual can be very different. Never owned/shot a 20. smoker

I agree with Eland Slayer. You didn't say wether the 12 gauge sh'es using is an auto or not. My wife tried a 20 gauge beretta over and under, but then changed to a 12 gauge semi auto beretta. She much prefers the 12 gauge semi auto

Randy suggested a Browning Gold Hunter which I assume is a semi. I have never shot a 20 but have heard they do have quite some recoil. I never did hear from this lady. smoker

Just came across this info as I was interested myself considering a 20 gauge for skeet.
20ga 3" 1 1/4oz@1185 6.5lb gun = 31.0 ft lbs
12ga 3" 1 7/8oz@1210 7.5lb gun = 60.1 ft lbs

The following link provides the formula and a generic table:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/shotgun_recoil_table.htm

Smoker1,

Hopefully you're not planning on shooting 3" 1 7/8 oz. loads for skeet. OUCH!

Eland Slayer, at my age less is better. I'm a trap shooter, or I should say I shoot at trap. Use a 12 for that with varying results depending on how I hold my mouth. I'm thinking about trying skeet this summer with a 28 gauge I've had for quite a while and never got serious with. Clay shooting is great fun. smoker.

Smoker1,

Yes, clay shooting is a BLAST! I used to shoot competition sporting clays. In my opinion, sporting clays is hands down the most fun clay shooting sport. It is addicting and it can also get quite expensive.

Eland Slayer, you are absolutly correct....addicting. One thing I can say without reservation....It will humble the best shooters in the world....if you think you're good, step up.

Clay shooting can really be addictive.I used to do it a lot and in fact was the national skeet shooting champion in 1995,but then as End Slayer said it got very expensive and time consuming so I gave it up.But every now and then the urge surfaces and I go to the club and do a few rounds.

Speaking of sporting clays, last weekend I shot in a tournament for The Marine Technology Society. I shot on my dad's team as a backup because one of their guys cancelled at the last minute. I hadn't even picked up my shotgun in 9 months. I ended up shooting a 91 and I got 4th place overall out of 350 shooters. I was surprised! That's not my highest score, but it's the second highest score I've ever shot in a tournament (highest is a 92).

You guy's are something else. At the rate I'm going I would have had to start shooting clays at 6 or 7 years old . Once in a while they break but it smells good EVERYTIME!!!

Clays , after all ,were developed as training for hunting !! The 20 ga guns are often lighter so the weight difference negates the lower charge ! Make sure the gun fit s!! A poorly fitting stock accentuates recoil !

My suggestion would be to check out the Remington 1100 in 20g they're very reliable shotguns and pleasant to shoot.I started my son out with a 20g Rem 870 Wingmaster with trap & skeet barrels he graduated to a 12g rapidly then I bought him a Rem 870 TB 30" with a full choked barrel.

The softest shooting shotgun I've ever owned is a 12 gauge Beretta 391 using 1 oz target loads. I use 1 oz of #9's for skeet and 1oz of #8's for trap. The combination is a real pussy-cat --- recycles thru the gun fine and the recoil is almost non-existant. Similar 1 oz loads are available with #6 shot that should do very well on rabbits.

I've also owned the same gun in 20ga and didn't care for the "snappy" recoil even using 7/8 oz target loads ---- the recoil is more noticable than with the 12 ga.

If all she's going to shoot are rabbits, especially being driven by dogs, a 28 gage will do fine. In an auto, like a 1100 the recoil is negligible and both shells and gun are light.

A 20g is fine shooting an oz or preferably less. Any more than that and I cant see the point. A 20g shooting 12g loads is just plain nasty to shoot and defies all logic.

Leeboy

Any 20 I've ever shot has always been easier on the shoulder than a 12.

There are so many other things that will impact felt recoil, than just calibre or shotweight.

Stock shape, length of forcing cones, weight of gun and each individual shell powder content will be more important than the actual weight of shot in either gun.

I wouldn't reccomend a 20 for skeet shooting as I don't think they are stable enough on the swing. You have to be a very disciplined shot to make one work for you at a high level.

Anyway most of it is academic as all Skeet (and Trap for that matter) shot under Olympic rules will be using a 24g shell anyway.

Rgds,
FB