# Best 20 gauge



## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

I need all you 20 guys to chime in, I’m in the market for one right now and don’t really know where to start. I’m looking at either an over under or semi. What do you guys got? Recommend? Wish you would have gotten? 

Thanks! 


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

If you can't decide by looking and touching, then I'd let my wife decide for me. Pretty is everything in a gun.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I'm not going to say what is the best. Everyone has their own opinion on that. I will say that goosefreak and I went through this 20 gauge thing last year, and he picked up the SX3 and I went with the Weatherby SA-08. We are both happy with our guns.

Franchi Affinity
Winchester SX3
Weatherby SA-08
Stoeger M3020
Benelli M2

If you want a nice O/U look at the Browning Citori line. I wouldn't take one in the marsh though.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

CZ O/U. Cabelas has one on sale I think.


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

For whats on the market now in a gasser I'd go with a SX3. Inertia the Benelli M2.

There was a sweet Beretta 390 on utahgunchange but he wanted to much for it. It would of been mine lol


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Budget wasn’t mentioned so I’m assuming it’s decent due to o/u being considered. 

I’d take a good look at a Browning Citori and a Benelli M2 (or Ethos if you wanna spend a little more).


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## Steve G (Nov 29, 2016)

Very much depends on budget. I shoot an o/u (Ruger Red Label), and an inertia driven auto gun (Franchi Affinity) I would say the Ruger is a better balanced, engineered and prettier gun but I prefer the auto loader particularly for hunting ducks. The draw back on my Affinity is that the barrel rusts like nothing I've ever seen before, and the inertia drive feels clunky compared to a gas gun, in my opinion.

I think its a very personal choice.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Steve G said:


> . The draw back on my Affinity is that the barrel rusts like nothing I've ever seen before, and the inertia drive feels clunky compared to a gas gun, in my opinion.


My daughter purchased the Franchi Affinity, and we found the same thing with rust, especially in wet weather. I wish she would have went with the camo version. Other than that it is a solid gun.


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## Steve G (Nov 29, 2016)

Fowlmouth said:


> My daughter purchased the Franchi Affinity, and we found the same thing with rust, especially in wet weather. I wish she would have went with the camo version. Other than that it is a solid gun.


I agree. Solid gun. Good value. Get the camo.

As far as my comment about the inertia system is concerned, that is just my opinion of inertia drives compared to gas. Not a judgement against Franchi.


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## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

My 12 is a stoeger 3000 and I love it! So the 3020 is going to get some consideration. I think I’ve got it down to:
SX3
3020
M2 
Franchi affinity

I though O/U because I’ve gotten more into upland hunting but I’m still 70/30 waterfowl so I think I’ll stick with the Semi

I’ll go shoulder them this week and see how they all feel. 


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## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

But budget I have around $1500. I got the blessing from the boss so I’d like to not push it to its limits. 


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## sketch21 (Jul 11, 2013)

JerryH said:


> For whats on the market now in a gasser I'd go with a SX3. Inertia the Benelli M2.
> 
> There was a sweet Beretta 390 on utahgunchange but he wanted to much for it. It would of been mine lol


Found a new 3901 a few years ago at my local gun shop. They found it in the back room and had just been sitting for years. So far I have loved it. That my only experience with a 20ga auto.

I had intended on buying an SX3 20ga before I found the 3901

Good luck!


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

quackaddict35 said:


> But budget I have around $1500. I got the blessing from the boss so I'd like to not push it to its limits.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I am a Benelli guy through and through, so my opinion is biased. With the $1500 budget, I'd go with a Benelli M2. However, you could get one of the less expensive guns and spend the rest of your budget on decoys or gear.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

CPAjeff said:


> However, you could get one of the less expensive guns and spend the rest of your budget on decoys or gear.


^This^. The Weatherby SA-08 is a solid gun for a good price. We've shot ours a bunch and have had zero issues with it. We also have a Beretta AL391 Urika Gold, which is 2x's the price and the SA-08 gets pulled out of the safe before it on most outings.


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## Stimmy (Sep 10, 2007)

another vote for the Benelli. I have been shooting the M2 for years in the 20. Low maintenance, goes bang every time. Welcome to the club.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)




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## Family Man (Dec 8, 2011)

I had the chance to shoulder the Berreta A400 Lite 20 gauge. It is quick to the shoulder and light. It is barely over 6#. It will be my next gun for sure


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## fish-n-fool (May 26, 2009)

Fowlmouth said:


>


I was going to post this but you beat me to it. affinity and the M2 are the same gun. If your into buying the name then go spend $1700.00. LOL.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

Skip the M2 and get the benelli montefeltro in 20ga. Same guts, but under 1k and you can get it in wood and doesn't have the raised rib, both big advantages to me.


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

sketch21 said:


> Found a new 3901 a few years ago at my local gun shop. They found it in the back room and had just been sitting for years. So far I have loved it. That my only experience with a 20ga auto.
> 
> I had intended on buying an SX3 20ga before I found the 3901
> 
> Good luck!


If you grow tired of the 3901 I'd love to have first right of refusal lol


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

as said before, Iv got the Winchester SX3 20ga and I absolutely love that gun! it points excellent, it shoulders excellent and the recoil is a dream to shoot..

I have shot anything from 2 3/4- 7/8oz dove loads to 3" waterfowl loads and everything has cycled perfectly. The action is fast and it is simple to clean..

When I got into the semiauto game, I bought a benelli M2 12ga and I couldnt get even a half a season out of it before I had to send it back to get fixed. Long story short, they fixed it and downplayed the problem it was having.

I bought a 12ga SX3 the day I sent my benelli back so I could finish out the season with an autoloader and the second I got my M2 back I sold it because my SX3 was out shooting my M2.

my SX3 12ga inspired my SX3 20ga. Haven't looked back

you can buy an SX3 and a sling, and a case and a choke for a little less then what you can buy a benelli M2 for.

honestly though, after what benelli told me was wrong with my M2 inspite of them fixing it, I wont back that company anymore which is sad in my case because I was a huge benelli guy. I do still think the Benelli Nova is one of the best pumps made.

M2-$1400 and some change out the door
SX3- $1070 out the door.

as far as "best"
if you compare price of gun, usability, work load etc, that SX3 will be hard to beat. one thing about the SX3 20ga, you might have to order yours if you get one, I had to order mine. your more than welcome to give it a look over and handle it.. If I can break away from the house we could go shoot it.

to you M2 guys, I defiantly had a lemon but, it left a sour taste in my mouth (pun intended)


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

I really like my M2 for waterfowl, but haven't seen or shot the SX3. For upland, the Beretta SP I can't be beat. 

Goose, what was the problem with your M2?


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## sketch21 (Jul 11, 2013)

JerryH said:


> If you grow tired of the 3901 I'd love to have first right of refusal lol


Jerry, you'll the first guy I call:grin:

Just cerakoted it and will be taking it out this upcoming season. Still need to pattern it but hoping Kent #2 or #4's will produce.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

paddler said:


> I really like my M2 for waterfowl, but haven't seen or shot the SX3. For upland, the Beretta SP I can't be beat.
> 
> Goose, what was the problem with your M2?


My M2 had a couple failure to eject, and a coupe failure to feed problems.. it got so bad that even with an empty gun, the action wouldn't latch close.

heres where I have a problem with benelli: I tried to identify the problem myself but, couldnt understand what the issue was so in my last attempt to fix the problem and avoiding sending my gun back in, I decided to clean the gun (again). I took the gun completely apart, top to bottom, front to back, and I blew every part out with an air compressor fallowed by a brush cleaning and oil, etc. I put the gun back together and it still wouldn't latch close. 
I thought, maybe I put a part in wrong?? maybe? so, I repeated the process. I stripped every part down, and again, brushed and cleaned each part, and carefully put each part back together and tried it again and it STILL wouldnt latch close...
So, That gun not even a year old, I sent it back and immediately bought an SX3 12ga... When I got my M2 back from Benelli, the service report said the extractor claw was dull so they resharpened it, and they also said the gun was DIRTY! I about lost my mind because as you recall, I cleaned that gun 2 times back to back in 1 sitting and boxed it up.. and they said the gun was dirty, BS!
that right there made me lose my faith in Benelli. I know how to clean a shotgun, I clean all my shot guns after a week or 2 of use, no matter what, strictly so I dont have a failure.

It was like a slap in the face. So, they basically resharpened the extractor tooth and sent it back.. it was having several problems and I doubt that the extractor tooth being dull was the culprit for all those problems..

OH, and all the grip and the butt pad were rotting away, and thet was after the first couple times out, and they way they addressed that issue was almost like they were putting blame on me..

I never wanted to buy a gas gun but, I took a leap of faith and bought that SX3 12ga and I have never looked back.
in fact when I got my M2 back, I immediately sold it and took that money and bought my SX3 20ga.

I bought the M2 because it was claimed to be benelli's "work Horse" and it wasn't in the least..
Fowlmouth and I were in a goose field on an invite from utahbigbull when my gun went into total failure, luckily I had enough sense to put my Benelli Nova in the truck for a backup gun. I always do when I'm hunting a field.

Anyways, thats is how I was able to break free from the Benelli tit.

my next inertia gun will be an A5


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

I hunted with an M2 12ga for several years with no problems. The gun worked great, I don't think I ever had a jam up in all those years. It has a raised rib didn't fit even with the stock shims, so I finally sold it. I did have to replace the pad on the stock a couple times because it was falling apart, but I would just call benelli and they would ship it out to me. My interaction with the customer service was good. 

I had a horrible experience with Weatherby customer service and I will never buy another Weatherby even though I le my 28ga SA08. These companies need to realize that one poor service experience can black list them for life.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

goosefreak said:


> My M2 had a couple failure to eject, and a coupe failure to feed problems.. it got so bad that even with an empty gun, the action wouldn't latch close.
> 
> heres where I have a problem with benelli: I tried to identify the problem myself but, couldnt understand what the issue was so in my last attempt to fix the problem and avoiding sending my gun back in, I decided to clean the gun (again). I took the gun completely apart, top to bottom, front to back, and I blew every part out with an air compressor fallowed by a brush cleaning and oil, etc. I put the gun back together and it still wouldn't latch close.
> I thought, maybe I put a part in wrong?? maybe? so, I repeated the process. I stripped every part down, and again, brushed and cleaned each part, and carefully put each part back together and tried it again and it STILL wouldnt latch close...
> ...


When you got the written report back from Benelli, didn't they also mention something about scratches and gouges due to abuse? I know that was a bunch of BS as well.


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## Crndgs8 (Sep 14, 2013)

I ended up buying the Beretta a400 Xplor in 20 ga. It was right around 1,400.00 i have loved this gun. Geese, ducks, doves it’s been my favorite gun to shoot.


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## wagdog (Jan 6, 2009)

I don't have an SX3 in 20 gauge but I do have one in 12 gauge. I love that gun. It is not my most favorite to tote around chasing chukars but for waterfowl, it is great. I've shot an 20 gauge SX3 and it was excellent. The Weatherby SA-08 is an awesome shotgun for the money. I like my Tristar Viper G2 20 gauge for upland. Lots of options out there.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

toasty said:


> I hunted with an M2 12ga for several years with no problems. The gun worked great, I don't think I ever had a jam up in all those years. It has a raised rib didn't fit even with the stock shims, so I finally sold it. I did have to replace the pad on the stock a couple times because it was falling apart, but I would just call benelli and they would ship it out to me. My interaction with the customer service was good.
> 
> I had a horrible experience with Weatherby customer service and I will never buy another Weatherby even though I le my 28ga SA08. These companies need to realize that one poor service experience can black list them for life.


Agreed, I'm not saying Benelli is a bad company but, its hard to remain loyal when a rotten taste has been left in your mouth. I mean, if we were buying a gun based off of internet reviews then bo body would buy any gun because they all have good and bad.
I will say this, before I bought my M2 (it was my first autoloader) I read roughly 300-400 auto loader reviews and Benelli had the most mixed review, then the versamax, then berretta, then browning. I charted it all out because im OCD


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## utahbigbull (May 9, 2012)

goosefreak said:


> Fowlmouth and I were in a goose field on an invite from utahbigbull when my gun went into total failure, luckily I had enough sense to put my Benelli Nova in the truck for a backup gun. I always do when I'm hunting a field.
> 
> Anyways, thats is how I was able to break free from the Benelli tit.
> 
> my next inertia gun will be an A5


I remember that day! Thought that M2 was going to go sailing!! :shock:

Not so sure any of them are flawless these days Nate. That A5 of mine has left me high and dry getting repaired by Browning the last two consecutive goose seasons! Still love it, but man, it sure pisses a guy off when it runs flawless for two duck seasons and as soon as I go to a magnum load as the geese come to town it turns into a single shot.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

I think most of the big brands are good guns, all that have the occasional lemon. I also think there are some real gems that are made in turkey (Tristar Viper G2 and Sa08 and I think there are some real dogs made in turkey as well. A fun (and probably contentious) twist to this thread would be what is a 20ga you wouldn't buy.

I'll go first. I had a Turkish Charles Daly 20ga semi auto that was a single shot from the day I bought it. I also had a Turkish mossturd O/U 20ga that shot both barrel at the same time about 60% of the time. I had a browning gold 20ga that the gas piston kept sliding past e clip a couple times a season locking it up for the rest of the day until I got to a bench. That is when I learned to always have a backup with me.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

toasty said:


> A fun (and probably contentious) twist to this thread would be what is a 20ga you wouldn't buy.
> 
> I'll go first. I had a Turkish Charles Daly 20ga semi auto that was a single shot from the day I bought it. I also had a Turkish mossturd O/U 20ga that shot both barrel at the same time about 60% of the time. I had a browning gold 20ga that the gas piston kept sliding past e clip a couple times a season locking it up for the rest of the day until I got to a bench. That is when I learned to always have a backup with me.


Agree with the Charles Daley being a POS! I know of two that mechanically failed on waterfowl hunts, they were both out of the box new. One of them went home for repair, the other went flying through the air, and is probably still sitting in the mud at the bottom of Ogden Bay.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

utahbigbull said:


> I remember that day! Thought that M2 was going to go sailing!! :shock:
> 
> Not so sure any of them are flawless these days Nate. That A5 of mine has left me high and dry getting repaired by Browning the last two consecutive goose seasons! Still love it, but man, it sure pisses a guy off when it runs flawless for two duck seasons and as soon as I go to a magnum load as the geese come to town it turns into a single shot.


How could any of us forget about that day!


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## shaner (Nov 30, 2007)

My Benelli M1 peashooter has been a jewel and has become my favorite gun.
Paid $699 for it from Sportsmans and loved it so much I bought it's big brother about a month later số I could have a matching combo.
Paid $709 for the big one.
Man, have times changed.....


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