Canuck Hunter 20 gauge?

[TheCoachZed]

My father-in-law can no longer take the pounding of duck loads through his Franchi Renaissance and wants a low-recoil semi.

I would suggest a 12 gauge with 2.75-inch loads, but he doesn't like big-framed guns (which is why he liked the Franchi with its lightweight receiver and 26-inch barrels). I would suggest him a 3-inch 20 gauge, but they're all pretty pricey except for the Canuck Hunter.

I know what the 12 gauges are like - I had 2 of them. Cheaply made but they work. He would be lucky to put more than a couple of hundred rounds a year through it. I bet he'd only shoot a couple boxes of steel and maybe 4-5 boxes of clay target loads a year. So. Anyone had the 20 gauge?

 

[straightshooter]

The issue isn't so much the gauge as his aversion to "big-framed" guns. He liked his lightweight Franchi, but he probably didn't realize it was it's light weight characteristics that increased recoil.

You see, recoil is a factor of the weight of the shot in the shell vs. the weight of the gun. One way to look at this is, if you shoot the same 1 1/4 ounce load through three guns, the lightest gun will recoil the most; the heaviest will recoil the least. What he needs is probably a heavier gun. But, heavier doesn't have to mean clunkier. My Beretta U/O competition gun is heavier than most field guns, but it's still nimble and naturally-pointing.

Another way to look at it is, if you increase the shot load using the same gun, you increase the recoil. Following this approach, 1 1/4 ounce loads will recoil less than 1 1/2 ounce loads, etc.

Experienced hunters don't need huge numbers of pellets in a pattern to bring down a duck/goose. So long as he has the right size of pellets for the bird, super magnum (or whatever silly nonsense they come up with to sell shells) aren't needed.

 

[G_Alan]

Beretta A400 with the kick off will be softer than most 20's.

 

[ParantB]

Regardless of gauge, take a look at a few gas operated semis for him.

Beretta A400
Browning Maxus
Winchester sx4 to name a few

I personally love 20ga guns. Unless he plans on sky blasting geese, there isn't much need for a 12. Get him in to a shop to hold a few guns and see what fits nicely. Even better if there's a gun he's interested in, maybe you can connect with a member here to try one out.

 

[TheCoachZed]

The issue isn't so much the gauge as his aversion to "big-framed" guns. He liked his lightweight Franchi, but he probably didn't realize it was it's light weight characteristics that increased recoil.

You see, recoil is a factor of the weight of the shot in the shell vs. the weight of the gun. One way to look at this is, if you shoot the same 1 1/4 ounce load through three guns, the lightest gun will recoil the most; the heaviest will recoil the least. What he needs is probably a heavier gun. But, heavier doesn't have to mean clunkier. My Beretta U/O competition gun is heavier than most field guns, but it's still nimble and naturally-pointing.

Another way to look at it is, if you increase the shot load using the same gun, you increase the recoil. Following this approach, 1 1/4 ounce loads will recoil less than 1 1/2 ounce loads, etc.

Experienced hunters don't need huge numbers of pellets in a pattern to bring down a duck/goose. So long as he has the right size of pellets for the bird, super magnum (or whatever silly nonsense they come up with to sell shells) aren't needed.

None of this is news to me, thanks. I was asking about a particular shotgun.

 

[TheCoachZed]

Regardless of gauge, take a look at a few gas operated semis for him.

Beretta A400
Browning Maxus
Winchester sx4 to name a few

I personally love 20ga guns. Unless he plans on sky blasting geese, there isn't much need for a 12. Get him in to a shop to hold a few guns and see what fits nicely. Even better if there's a gun he's interested in, maybe you can connect with a member here to try one out.

He had a Browning Silver about 10 yrs back. but sold it on when he got the Franchi because he didn't like the physical size of the gun.

I have an MP153 with barely any kick, but it would be too heavy and clunky for him. I know the Canuck semis are a bit lighter and they're inertia-driven; the two 12s I have definitely kick more than my Baikal. Hence why I was thinking the 20 gauge might be the ticket. But I have no idea if it's built on the same frame as the 12s, like the old Winchester 1400-series guns were.

We will probably run up to Macadam sometime, check out their Brownings and maybe a Mossberg. The 930 might suit him.