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Due to health reasons, I can no longer use a rifle or shotgun with heavy recoil. Anyone know of a 20 gauge model with little or no recoil? Prefer a semiauto.

Remington 11-87. Gas reduces the recoil and they make a 12 and 20 gauge.

The Mossburg SA20 is getting really good reviews and it is under $500. I've always used Remington except for a short time when I had a Beretta 391. Check out you tube on the SA20.

My choice would be the Mossberg as well unless you bought a older used Remington 1100. I have a jmpro 930 Mossberg 12ga and it is very soft shooting. Its the only 12ga my wife will shoot, so I'm sure the 20 ga Mossberg would suit you fine.

I’m a fan of Baretta for gas operated semi autos. I also own a browning gold hunter and a Remington 1100, prefer the berettas. I just bought my wife a baretta xport 28 g semi auto. It weighs 5 lbs I believe and has little recoil. My favorite 20 g auto is a benelli ( sport 2)... it’s inertia driven not gas operated, so a little more recoil, but not much.

Baretta is tough to beat, however, I would recommend a 28 gauge. Less recoil and actually faster speeds. That is all that I shoot at quail and dove and my bud shots a 28 at even duck with heavy shot.

MudDucker wrote:Baretta is tough to beat, however, I would recommend a 28 gauge. Less recoil and actually faster speeds. That is all that I shot at quail and dove and my bud shots a 28 at even duck with heavy shot.

I went pheasant hunting in Mexico a few years ago. The old fella that killed more birds than the rest of us put together was shooting a 28g while we all shot 12 g. He said it had the best pattern. As I mentioned, I got my wife a 28g baretta xport. That is a great shooter with minimal recoil. She grew up shooting 20g o/u. Recoil would start to bother her about halfway through the first round ( of skeet ) and by the end of the second, was missing everything. With the new 28 g she can shoot 3 rounds, and for the first time, the second round is better than the first. It’s a little light, so recoil may be better in a slightly heavier shotgun, but I think you will be happy with a 28 g( until it’s time to pay for a few boxes). Good luck.

I love both my Benellis (12 and 20) but they are recoil operated and have a fairly sharp recoil. A friend of mine in Crawfordville bought a Yildiz 20 gauge semi auto at Academy Sports a couple years ago, and he loves it. Dove hunted heavily with it for 2 years. I haven't personally shot it. They are $399.99 on Academy's website now.

Also, I don't really enjoy paying what the Benellis cost for a shotgun, but they have far exceeded my expectations in the duck boat, as far as being able to cycle reliably when dirty, wet, muddy, frozen, etc.

Lots of good replies for you to consider.
I would echo the Beretta comments, but would also recommend you look at the Yildiz.
Well built, quality guns, not as fashionable as the Beretta and Benelli ,but I have been impressed with them.

I would also suggest you also look at less than 1oz (or 1oz max) loads, they are more than enough to kill a flying bird at 30 yards (except perhaps a goose).

Cranfield wrote:Lots of good replies for you to consider.
I would echo the Beretta comments, but would also recommend you look at the Yildiz.
Well built, quality guns, not as fashionable as the Beretta and Benelli ,but I have been impressed with them.

I would also suggest you also look at less than 1oz (or 1oz max) loads, they are more than enough to kill a flying bird at 30 yards (except perhaps a goose).

Said the man who has probably forgotten more about shotguns than the rest of us know, put together.

I have two Benellis. Both 20 ga. One is an M2 and the other a Montefeltro. I love em. I will echo what others have said about the recoil in these guns but if I shoot less than 1 oz shots it doesnt bother me too much. I seldom shoot three inch shells anymore unless I am turkey hunting or diver hunting on big open water. Otherwise I am quite happy with the performance of my 2 3/4” shells.

Remington 11-87 and 1100s are very nice guns. I like them a lot. I also like the old Browning A5s.

Between the Benellis and the Remingtons or Browning, when it comes to cleaning and maintenance I find the Benelli to be much easier to care for if that matters to you.

Regarding Mossbergs...i know a lot of people say they are pleased with them and it is nice to hear they are. I will never own one after going through a manufacturing tour of the Mossberg factory in CT and the foreman basically telling us that Mossberg makes and sells a lot if shotguns. However they are cheap shotguns and you get what you pay for.

Not saying people arent happy with their mossbergs but the few people I know personally who have them always have some gripe about them or they are often broken. I work with guns on a daily basis and when shotguns come in, if they are going to be broken or problematic to test fire, inevitably it has been Mossbergs. That is my experience in both casework and from the tour of the manufacturing plant and because of that I wont ever own a Mossberg.

If it is possible, I might see if there was a range that rents different shotguns for you to give a try. Give you an idea if you like them or not. I am not sure if that is a possibility around here but maybe worth looking into.

Oh another thing to consider is weight of the shotgun. The lighter the shotgun, the more felt recoil you will have. That is why the Benellis seem like they kick more than others. They are lightweight and a dream to haul around the prairies, up and down mountains and on long turkey treks. But my buddys Browning Citori 20 ga over and under is considerably heavier than my Benelli and I have shot it many times with the same loads as in my Benelli. It is a much softer shooting gun, recoil wise, than my Benelli and I actually shoot it a lot better. A large part of the difference is the difference in the weight of the gun. So if you have physical limitations regarding recoil, I would look for a heavier gun than a lighter gun and stick with lighter loads.

Dont necessarily rule out a 12 gauge. Unless you are like me and just prefer the 20 gauge Seriously though, you might find recoil to be quite a bit softer with a 12 ga and light loads than you would with a 20 gauge.

Bought my daughter an auto A71 Yildiz 20ga 5 yrs ago. I took it duck hunting once and liked it so much I bought one and have been using it for 4 years for duck, dove and turkey hunting. There is a break in period before it will eject most low brass shells. I've shot mine so much it will eject any shell now.

A friend of mine bought a Stevens 555 OU in 20 and it is a fine shooting piece as well.