Which upland bird gun?

[THE PILGRIM]

Was raised on 12s and do have a 20.
But a 28? I don’t think so!
Use to hunt with Buddies who had a Bolt 410.
I hated those before I got to High School!
Pretty boy at the Bernardo State Wildlife Refuge.
Probably from a nearby Hunting Club.

 

[Ameshawki]

Franchi Instinct. In o/u always go Italian.

 

[yaktamer]

Franchi Instinct. In o/u always go Italian.

There's a Sophia Loren joke to be had here, but I'll refrain so as to avoid the ding.

 

[Barbarosa99]

I shoot a lot of clays, since the mid 80’s. For your price point the Browning- Beretta are substantially a better choice than the Weatherby. I have seen Brownings and Berreta’s with over 150,000 rounds through them. Make sure whatever you get fits properly, because fit is what keeps you on the target.

 

[ruger 22]

The answer to your original question is NO.

 

[huntsman22]

Ruger Red Label 20ga is my go to, for everything....

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I know they are not on the list you ask about but i have two 20 gauge ruger red labels that i bought 25 years ago that have been excellent for dove and clays. With good shells its hard to miss even for me.

This. I have a 20 ga Ruger Red label sporting clays model with 30 inch barrels and I love it. Fits like a glove and something about those 30" barrels for the follow through.

 

[BE Mike]

I think that removable choke tubes are better than fixed. Changing choke tubes made a big difference in my patterns. English straight stocks look cool, but I prefer a pistol grip.

 

[gdogs]

If you aren't open to used shotguns, and are open to a side by side, I'd say look into the Dickinson Estate. They are Turkish imports, but beautifully made guns. IMHO much better than the current Weatherby Orion. I'm fairly certain they made the most recent Smith and Wesson sxs and o/u models.

If you change your mind on used guns, I'd vote a Red Label or Citori.

 

[chiefdave]

I have always avoided Browning's because of the inertia trigger system. The SxS and O/U's coming out of Turkey are well made, light weight in sub gauges and relatively inexpensive. My go to upland gun is an ugly as sin Mossberg Silver Reserve II 28 gauge SxS.

 

[mtgianni]

I have heard that the Turkish shotguns have softer steel parts and might wear out in as little as 2500 rounds. For me that is about 50 years of upland game hunting. For a trap or skeet shooter it is less than a year.

 

[mauser9]

Just grab a Remington 1100 3 inch 20 off the used gun rack. Light and shoots great.

 

[yaktamer]

Based on fit, price and features, I think I've narrowed it down to the Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I with 28-inch barrels. But I'm not a big fan of the automatic safety, so Citori may still be in the running. I briefly toyed with the idea of getting a Mossberg to save a bunch of money, but the extra weight was enough to put me off.

 

[CH4]

Can't go wrong with either a Browning or Beretta O/U. Fit is paramount if you want to hit anything.

 

[3S16]

I can't afford most of the beautiful shotguns mentioned above, but I do enjoy hunting Valley quail and Mountain quail (and the occasional bonus cottontail) in southern California.
I agree with Mauser9 and bought a used 20 gauge Remington 1100 Light Weight. I replaced the original barrel with a factory 18" barrel with choke tubes. Handles and swings beautifully.

 

[375hh1973]

Based on fit, price and features, I think I've narrowed it down to the Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon I with 28-inch barrels. But I'm not a big fan of the automatic safety, so Citori may still be in the running. I briefly toyed with the idea of getting a Mossberg to save a bunch of money, but the extra weight was enough to put me off.

Auto safety is easy fixed

 

[lscocoa]

I’m with Bill Bates on a Beretta BL3, mine has imp. mod. over/ modified and 20 ga.. I’ve had it quite a while and have seen them going for around 500 in VG condition. 20 ga. are a lot easier on the wallet then 28ga rounds. I’m not sure if Weatherby makes a 28 but you may want to check CZ, Franchi instinct for a28 . I used to have a Beretta A400 in 28 and loved the round , and the gauge is showing up more and more in the upland fields . Anyhow you get the gun that fits you and some of the new guns in 28 are coming out with 3” chambers . Happy gun hunting !

 

[TheTinMan]

The Browning O/Us have always been my favorites, particularly the Belgian Superposed but the Citoris I've had are fine guns too. The Brownings were the best fitting from a being "on" when pulled to the shoulder and just naturally pointed to the target. I'd be looking based on the fit and comfort and balance rather than any other factors. Lots of very nice used O/Us out there, some barely used. That said, these days I shoot most everything with my Benelli 20 gauge auto. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

^^^^ this

With any long gun - especially a shotgun - the first thing I want to know is “does it come up right on?” A few decades ago I was getting ready to go on a quail hunt. I’d used a 12 gauge the first time … that didn’t work out so well. I went to a store I’d visited more than once before and told Forrest that I was looking for a 20 gauge over and under. He got a sneaky smile, turned around and picked out a gun for me.
“That’s not 20 gauge.”
“Just try it - bring it up to your shoulder.”
…
“You bastid.”
A Beretta 686S Silver Pigeon 28 gauge was not in my budget but the hook was firmly set. I love that gun and hit nearly every bird I shot at on that hunt. I’m not saying that’s the gun for the OP. Just find the one that fits best - it might surprise you. Much more recently I wanted a Browning BLR and assumed that I wanted a pistol grip. Nope - the straight stocked version came up perfectly.

Chip

 

[Patrick L]

a Citori, preferably a Lightning model with the Prince of Wales stock, and in 20 gauge.

Choke tubes are nice to have, but I wouldn’t pass a good deal on a fixed-chokes gun. Likewise, the older Invector tubes are perfectly fine. Invector Plus models are great, but I doubt you would ever see any difference. I’d definitely want a 20 gauge with 28- or 30-inch barrels for pheasants. 26-inch barrels are no great handicap, so if a 26 comes along at a nice price, and I was happy with the gun otherwise, I wouldn’t be too upset.

This is spot on.

I have a 26 inch Lightning 20 I got in 1988 about a year after that model came out. In a perfect world now I wish it was a 28 inch or even 30, but back in the 80s 26 inch guns were IT. No matter, in real hunting situations you give up nothing. And in spite of many more shotguns now roosting in the barn, it is still just a stone dead killer on birds.

I do find Berettas just as appealing though!

 

[Buick]

The Turks make great guns and have for a long time. I recently bought my first Turkish shotgun, a Hatsan Escort 20 gauge auto. I love that gun! It came with length of pull and drop spacers (it's a youth model so I stacked up all the length of pull spacers) and 5 choke tubes. Runs like a sewing machine with skeet loads on up. Did I mention it was 300.00??