So I’m a soon to be senior and have gotten into the shooting sports (pistol) as a hobby and as a way to stay connected with my son and frankly, meet some great folks. My son has gotten into shooting clays and I went with him and used his single shot 12 gauge and had more success then I expected. I would like to get my own shotgun. But the 12 gauge was too much, beat up my left shoulder and I’m already having rotator cuff issues with that shoulder that I don’t need to injure it while shooting. I am a lefty in everything except playing music (violin and guitar) and where the computer mouse goes.
I see clays, bird/duck, squirrel and maybe turkey hunting as future possibilities. I’d like to get one shotgun that could reasonably cover all these needs.
I am seriously considering a Browning BPS 20 gauge. Features include bottom discharge since I really don’t like shells ejecting across my sight line and an easily reached safety. I held one in 28 gauge and liked the feel of it but thought 28 gauge was too light and shell were going to be hard to find and expensive. Any thoughts on a Browning BPS or recommendations for other makes would be appreciate. Target is $800 or less. A pure lefty gun is a nonstarter since I want to be able to pass it down to my righty son once I’m unable to use it anymore. That time comes along for everyone unfortunately…
Mr Clean, you make a great observation that I had not really considered. Yup, lighter gun so less mass to “absorb“ some of the recoil. I figured all 20 gauge shells would have less shot in them because of the smaller diameter and then the physics equations F=Mass x Acceleration would give less felt recoil. I’ve only shot the 12 g shells my son purchased and if I know him they are the most powerful shells made. They kick like a mule.
About proper fit - is that accomplished after owning the gun via adjusting the butt pad or is it something to consider / measure while trying various guns in a store. Not sure what the fit metrics are other then it feels right but I’m sure you are going to say it’s much more then that.
Myself, I'm using rifle chassis(
https://gritrsports.com/shooting/firearm-parts/chassis/ recently got one for my Rem 700) on most of my rifles purely 'cause I like adjustability. If you can find one with a good mix of wood parts on top of normal stuff - it's really good!