Lightweight shotgun?

Somehow I have never acquired a circa 1978 M37 Ithaca Ultralight (Ultrafeatherlight) and in 20 gauge with 2 3/4 inch aluminum alloy receiver weighs about 5.2 pounds.
It is said on American shotgun forums, one can literally shoot them enough to wear it out.
I am guessing the receiver can be brought to out of specifications, via too much firing.

PS: Myself, I like that Breton.
 
The Franchi field guns all seem to be around the 6 lb. mark which is quite acceptable to be packing all day. Any lighter and the recoil can get harsh.
 
I've got a cheap a55 Beretta A300 Outlander with plastic furniture. i think it weighs 7.5 lbs but it feels and carries like it's a lot lighter.

It's a great all rounder and shoots really soft.
 
browninggold said:
Why not a new Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen, they’re under 6lbs plus they shoot great!
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I kind of like the A5... but can't say the same about the newer sweet sixteen... but I see you're point. Under 6lb is not bad at all.

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Used to keep a Winchester M59 around, as a potential part gun... it felt surprising light for +/- 6.5lbs gun, and I ended up using it often enough to chase birds (in inclement weather)... But it got sent to another one a while back...

15298053_2.jpg

(not as nice as this one)
 
geologist said:
I've got a cheap a55 Beretta A300 Outlander with plastic furniture. i think it weighs 7.5 lbs but it feels and carries like it's a lot lighter.

It's a great all rounder and shoots really soft.
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I agree with this. The outlander feels like I'm carrying around a bb gun even if the measured weight is fairly average and it is a very pleasant shooter. My Franchi instinct LX 20 ga comes in somewhere around 6.5 pounds and feels like it's well balanced between weight and felt recoil
 
At 7lbs even, the Browning 20ga BPS with 26" bbl is a good choice. It has a true 20ga receiver instead of a 12ga fitted with 20ga bbl so is lighter. Longer than a 28" SxS so swings nicely.

The SKB M100 20ga with 28" bbls weighs a tad over 6lbs and has been perfect for eastern uplanding for grouse and woodcock.
 
Someone earlier asked about the English concept of the perfect weight of a gun, relative to the intended load. The Law of 96. Another way to look at it was described by the famous gun writer, Col. Charles Atkins, in the quote below from his writing:


I certainly wouldn’t take a 16 in preference to a 20 where the weight must fall beneath six pounds; neither would I give the 12 preference to the 16 where the weight must be seven pounds or less—fact is, between six pounds and a quarter and seven, the 16 is king and can’t be improved upon.

Here is the way I should rate guns according to weight: Between 4 and 5-1/4 pounds, give preference to a 28; from 5-1/4 to 6-1/4, a 20; from 6-1/4 to 7, a 16; while the 12 will hold its own with a 10-bore up to 9 pounds."
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An interesting concept but since British "shoots" consists of many shots fired at high angles a heavier gun is needed to mitigate recoil, whereas upland hunts here rarely consist of more than a dozen shots fired over an entire day.
 
Brutus said:
Somehow I have never acquired a circa 1978 M37 Ithaca Ultralight (Ultrafeatherlight) and in 20 gauge with 2 3/4 inch aluminum alloy receiver weighs about 5.2 pounds.
It is said on American shotgun forums, one can literally shoot them enough to wear it out.
I am guessing the receiver can be brought to out of specifications, via too much firing.
Click to expand...

I'd sure be curious about the round count to get to that "worn out" point. Are we talking 1,000rds / 5,000rds / 25,000rds?
- Assuming I go through 100rds a year chasing birds. I would get either 10y / 50y / 250y of use before it's worn out.

The only specs I could find was from Browning/Winchester Europe
1.1 Operation and endurance tests.

  • Minimum of 2 000 shots for rifles.
  • Minimum of 5 000 shots for hunting shotguns.
  • Minimum of 10 000 shots for sports shotguns.


Test conditions: the gun is cooled down every 50 shots and cleaned every 500 shots
The full range of cartridges of different makes is used.
No part breakage is tolerated.
Once the test has been completed, none of the parts should be excessively worn.
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sillymike said:
I'd sure be curious about the round count to get to that "worn out" point. Are we talking 1,000rds / 5,000rds / 25,000rds?
- Assuming I go through 100rds a year chasing birds. I would get either 10y / 50y / 250y of use before it's worn out.

The only specs I could find was from Browning/Winchester Europe
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You bring up a very valid point sir. All I can say is, Ithaca has never repeated this use of an alloy receiver since this late 1970s experiment. I point out too that Ithaca M37s-M87s all (bolt) lock up within the receiver itself, and not a barrel extension as in Mossberg series.
Be well.
 
A shotgun that many have never heard of and many would show little interest is the Winchester Model 59, 1959-1965. This shotgun was 10 years too late for the market and suffered from Winchester's post 1964 attitude.

It's an amazing 12 ga shotgun coming in at 5 1/2 lbs. I have one weighing 5 1/2 lbs and another at just under 6 lbs. The Model 59 was, I believe, the first American made shotgun that offered choke tubes, the versatile tubes, Imp Cyl. Modified and Full. This was a special order as the majority of M59's did not have the choke tube barrel and tubes and to find one today is tough.

The shotgun was a light weight modified Model 50 to serve the upland hunting market. Aircraft aluminium receiver with a barrel made from a thin stainless steel bore wrapped with 500 miles of a special fiberglass thread and coated with a black resin. These M59's required very little maintenance with no buffers that needed changing or gas ports to clean or moisture corrosion to worry about. The M59 was a takedown gun with one forearm screw holding it together. The floating chamber easily slid out to lubricate and the recoil spring lasted a long time. The recoil spring came new at 13" and lasted many years until it measures 11". Very easy to replace and adjust. Usually an annual service is all that was needed.

These M59's were designed for upland hunting using light loads and many were abused using heavy duck and goose loads. Amazingly, if kept in time with a good recoil spring, they lasted many years and still in service today but many were abused, neglected and rode hard ending their career.

If you find one that was used as intended it's one gun you'd quickly admire.
 
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Brutus said:
You bring up a very valid point sir. All I can say is, Ithaca has never repeated this use of an alloy receiver since this late 1970s experiment. I point out too that Ithaca M37s-M87s all (bolt) lock up within the receiver itself, and not a barrel extension as in Mossberg series.
Be well.
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Remington's model 31L had a bolt lock up in an aluminum receiver. I have heard of no "worn out" 31L guns or other issues. It is my bet that the great Ithaca 37 was already light enough and attempts to make it lighter just increased recoil and offered no real advantage. Sales dictate production volume and maybe Ithaca just was not selling enough aluminum framed guns.
Darryl
 
madtrapper143 said:
Remington's model 31L had a bolt lock up in an aluminum receiver. I have heard of no "worn out" 31L guns or other issues. It is my bet that the great Ithaca 37 was already light enough and attempts to make it lighter just increased recoil and offered no real advantage. Sales dictate production volume and maybe Ithaca just was not selling enough aluminum framed guns.
Darryl
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You are probably very close to the truth sir.
 
sillymike said:
While walking around the edges of some old clearcuts... I had plenty of time to think about different things...
- Like, a lightweight shotguns would be kind of nice. Right now, I'm in the 7lbs range, which all thing considered isn't really all that bad... but still.

Which reminded me a nice little Bretton, with a aluminum receiver and aluminum barrels, coming under 5lbs
- Wonder why nobody else is making AL barrels?

fusil-baby-bretton-sprint-calibre-2070-occasion.jpg
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That thing is hideous. I'd be rockin' a single shot Cooey any day before that if I needed an ultralight shotgun.
 
I had one of the Ithaca M37 aluminum frame ultra lightweight 20 ga. guns. wonderful to carry, and its charms ended there. It balanced poorly, handled poorly, and kicked like a dairy cow that doesn't like cold hands grabbing her tender bits. Nope.
 
SuperCub said:
At 7lbs even, the Browning 20ga BPS with 26" bbl is a good choice. It has a true 20ga receiver instead of a 12ga fitted with 20ga bbl so is lighter. Longer than a 28" SxS so swings nicely.

The SKB M100 20ga with 28" bbls weighs a tad over 6lbs and has been perfect for eastern uplanding for grouse and woodcock.
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Have the SKB 200e 20G with 28" barrels and has been my go to for pheasant and grouse this year.Im pretty impressed :)
 
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