Mossberg 930 or Mossberg International SA-20 ?

Brocolt

Brocolt

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please help me in choosing a new shotgun a Mossberg 930 or Mossberg International SA-20

I'm looking for a shotgun so I can still hunt prairie chickens, grouse & turkeys, But I have a medical issue it's nerve damage in my dominant arm so recoil & weight is my issue now.
I can't take the recoil of a 12ga pump anymore, A friend said just get a .410ga which I will anyway just to have fun. which leaves me to one of my questions will the auto shotgun make a big difference for me in recoil over a pump?

Now I understand the Mossberg SA-20 is a 20ga & the Mossberg 930 is a 12ga. so there will be a difference in recoil there, I know nothing about the SA-20 & have read a few reviews on the Mossberg 930 which were good.
anyone here have a SA-20 or 930 which can help me in deciding if I should buy one over the other? other then the gauge is there much of a difference between the 2 models? any other info will help.
 
Semi 20ga for sure will be the softest and if not for turkey I would say semi 28ga
On the models sorry I have no experience with those guns other than what I read and feedback from others and from that would not own one. I know there are way better 20ga semi's out there for a few more dollars
Cheers
 
I wouldn't touch both of those guns...seen too many fail in short order at various gun clubs and I wouldn't waste my money on a .410 shotgun either. Sell your current pump action 12 gauge, take the cash you wanted to spend on the .410 and combine it with the amount you would need for that Mossberg 930 and just go get a Winchester SX3 Black Shadow 20 gauge. You should even consider the 12 gauge version with the 26" barrel. It only weighs 7lbs and will cycle the lightest loads with boring reliability and they are one of the softest kicking 12s out there. With a 1oz load at 1200fps, the SX3 12ga it will actually kick less than the SX3 20ga will. The SX3 also comes from the factory with all the shims and spacers required to make the gun fit 98% of the shooters out there too.

Edit: Oh, and depending on which province you live in, you can save almost $100 in taxes if you get an Alberta resident to swing by Cabela's and pick one up for you...shipping charges stay the same though.
 
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600 dollars should be able to get you a very good condition used Remington 1100, there is a reason it is still one of the standards against which shotguns are held for softness of recoil. If it had choke tubes or an extra barrel would be ideal but a fixed modified or Improved cylinder choke barrel would also serve you well, particularly with the abundance of flightcontrol and similar style wads in turkey loads that produce super tight patterns with open chokes.
 
You don't need Magnum heavy payload shells to kill turkey. I use 7/8 oz #6. Even from a 6.5 lbs sxs recoil is minimal and birds never knew it wasn't a 10ga mag that killed them
 
Like JamesM said there's the used Remington 1100 although I'd look at the LT-20 version as the 12ga version is on the heavy side. There's also the older Beretta A300/301/302/303 series that you will find now and then in your price range.

I made a mistake and assumed you shot clays as well as hunted when I posted my first comment. If you only hunt and shoot maybe 200-300rds a year both your initial choices will do...shoot 2000-3000rds and you'll be looking for parts or a new gun within 3 years. The Mossberg SA-20 and its sibling, the Weatherby SA-08, are very well balanced and smooth swinging shotguns, they just aren't designed for high volume shooting/longevity.
 
If you could stretch the budget 150-200 you could easily get into a used SX3 or Browning Silver. Much nicer guns in every aspect. Better to wait a month and save up than rush into a lower quality gun. SA-08 is light but you will pay for it with the increased kick. The Silver and SX3 are both reasonable weights and much softer shooting.
 
VLT79 said:
Like JamesM said there's the used Remington 1100 although I'd look at the LT-20 version as the 12ga version is on the heavy side. There's also the older Beretta A300/301/302/303 series that you will find now and then in your price range.

I made a mistake and assumed you shot clays as well as hunted when I posted my first comment. If you only hunt and shoot maybe 200-300rds a year both your initial choices will do...shoot 2000-3000rds and you'll be looking for parts or a new gun within 3 years. The Mossberg SA-20 and its sibling, the Weatherby SA-08, are very well balanced and smooth swinging shotguns, they just aren't designed for high volume shooting/longevity.
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I can only see myself shooting around 200-300rds a year at this point in my life.

I'm not planning of shooting 3.5" shells at all, 3" will be max but most likely will do most of my shooting in 2.75" shells. As for the amount of shooting I would do is minimal, unless shooting the shotgun turns out to be painless for me.
I would like to get into a 12ga semi but just don't know if I can handle the recoil do to my injury. My buddies don't have semi's only pumps & single shots so testing this issue is a problem for me. So I'm looking at the 20ga option.

Turkey is only 1 bird a year so it's not like I would be using it only for that, a little upland hunting & some fun target shooting if my arm can take it. My advice is don't get hurt at work - WCB & the Dr's said there is nothing more they can do for me.
So curling a 15lb. dumbbell is a big problem I can't do it & push, pull & lifting over 40lbs with my bad arm is a problem, my rotation of my arm is about 20-25% it sucks. been over 2 years now. As for shooting I've moved to rimfire guns.
This would be outside the box for me, I still would like to hunt Turkeys & Wild Pigs with help of course can't lift them.

I don't want a Remington unless it's hot blued finish with choke tubes. The Remington line is junk at least the RTF finished ones - bad for rust, not a fan of where Remington is going at this time. I will look more into Browning & Winchester models.
Right now I'm still leaning towards the Mossberg 930 model.
 
Brocolt said:
I'm have a budget of under $600 for a shotgun so unless I find a good used Winchester SX3 for that amount I can't afford a new one, Any other ideas?
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If you are stuck on that dollar figure go take a serious looks at that Weatherby SA-08 12G that a member just listed in the EE for 500
Your best option in that price range but it is a 12ga
 
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There is also a silver hunter on there that could be had for 750. Softer shooting than the SA-08 and don't have to worry about changing the gas cylinder.
 
VLT79 said:
I wouldn't touch both of those guns...seen too many fail in short order at various gun clubs and I wouldn't waste my money on a .410 shotgun either. Sell your current pump action 12 gauge, take the cash you wanted to spend on the .410 and combine it with the amount you would need for that Mossberg 930 and just go get a Winchester SX3 Black Shadow 20 gauge. You should even consider the 12 gauge version with the 26" barrel. It only weighs 7lbs and will cycle the lightest loads with boring reliability and they are one of the softest kicking 12s out there. With a 1oz load at 1200fps, the SX3 12ga it will actually kick less than the SX3 20ga will. The SX3 also comes from the factory with all the shims and spacers required to make the gun fit 98% of the shooters out there too.

Edit: Oh, and depending on which province you live in, you can save almost $100 in taxes if you get an Alberta resident to swing by Cabela's and pick one up for you...shipping charges stay the same though.
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I am sure you have seen bad experiences with the mossberg but there are a lot of them sold and myself know of a person with a Mossberg 930 and a Benelli pump super nova and his Mossberg has a couple thousand rounds through it with no issues but major loading issues with his Benelli. I called one of the biggest firearm dealers around and they said for the money they are a great shotgun with very little issues.
 
Rotax said:
I am sure you have seen bad experiences with the mossberg but there are a lot of them sold and myself know of a person with a Mossberg 930 and a Benelli pump super nova and his Mossberg has a couple thousand rounds through it with no issues but major loading issues with his Benelli. I called one of the biggest firearm dealers around and they said for the money they are a great shotgun with very little issues.
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Probably the same kind of dealer I witnessed, today, trying to sell a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in 325 WSM to a 5'1" (maybe 105lbs) woman because she's going to hunt moose this year! Gun dealers today, or rather their employees, are much like car dealers...they memorize the brochures and repeat what they read. Very few ever spend any amount of time on ranges or shoots or anywhere near a firearm when they are away from the gun counter. Like I said in my second post...for the OP's purposes either gun will do.
 
If you have any gun clubs in your area I suggest dropping by and talking to some of the folks there .I am willing to bet a few will let you try out their auto loader guns to get a feel what the recoil may be like .it will also give you the chance to see what guns fit you . I also agree with what was said above save a bit longer and buy a better quality gun .
 
rotax said:
i am sure you have seen bad experiences with the mossberg but there are a lot of them sold and myself know of a person with a mossberg 930 and a benelli pump super nova and his mossberg has a couple thousand rounds through it with no issues but major loading issues with his benelli. I called one of the biggest firearm dealers around and they said for the money they are a great shotgun with very little issues.
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life is too short to spend it with a cheap ugly gun! ...
 
Rotax said:
I am sure you have seen bad experiences with the mossberg but there are a lot of them sold and myself know of a person with a Mossberg 930 and a Benelli pump super nova and his Mossberg has a couple thousand rounds through it with no issues but major loading issues with his Benelli. I called one of the biggest firearm dealers around and they said for the money they are a great shotgun with very little issues.
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I have a 930 and can tell you the gun is crap.
 
Rotax said:
So what is the best option for least amount of funds?
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For $600 or less you can find a very good to excellent condition Beretta A302, A303, A304 (rare in NA), A390, Browning Auto-5, A500, B80, Gold, Winchester SX2, Remington 1100, 11-87. All of them available with choke tubes and most, if not all, were available in both 12ga or 20ga versions. A brand new gun is nice...but not always the best investment!
 
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