20gaugeNate

Im want to get a new gun. I want to get a 20 gauge and i want it to be cheap. This will be my first gun so it needs to be good for beginers please tell me a good gun THANKS!!

20gaugeNate

o and if you wanna know im 13 and 5'5"

bigbulls

Winchester model 1300. You can choose if you need the youth size stock or not since I can't measure you. These are very dependable guns and pretty inexpensive as well. I got one in full size 12 gague for Christmas when I was 11 years old. For 19 years now it has been an extremely dependable gun.


I would reccomend it to any one looking for an inexpensive and reliable first shot gun.

20gaugeNate

ya thoose were the ones i was lookin at i was thinkin about gettin the black shadow or the 8-shot defender

mlaubner

Welcome to the boards Nate...
You don't say what the intended purpose of the gun is...but if you're looking for inexpensive, then look no further that NEF.
The Winchester 1300 is an excellent gun, you may also want to consider the Benelli Nova in 20ga.
ps the Defender only comes in 12ga

20gaugeNate

Im usin it probably for upland birds and ducks but ive never heard of the NEF and im pretty positive that you can get it in a 20 just not with the pistol grip

driftrider

If you want this shotgun for upland birds, why do you want a pistol grip? I hate to tell you this, but I don't think that a pistol grip on a shotgun is going to be the best thing for mounting the shotgun in a hurry and swinging on a crossing pheasant.

I also don't think that the Winchester 1300 Defender is a good choice at all for upland bird hunting. First of all, you don't need 8 shots to shoot at pheasants or grouse, and the Defender comes with an 18" barrel with a FIXED cylender bore choke, which will mean that it'll give you a real appreciation for the term "scattergun" when you load some #6 field loads in it. And despite the (lack of) choke, the 18" barrel will not swing worth a crap and would make hitting a bird a real challenge. The Defender would make a decent slug gun for deer hunting, but its real forte would be as a home defense gun loaded with 00 Buckshot, or as a heavy trail gun for defending oneself against bears and such.

So if you want a home defense gun (in this case a combat shotgun), then the Defender is a great choice. But I think that you're looking at that gun because it looks cool and hold a lot of shells, which is irrelevant to your stated purpose for the shotgun as a bird gun.

As for inexpensive 20ga. shotguns, there are a number to choose from. If you want to stay with a very inexpensive but highly functional gun, the New England Firearms (NEF) Pardner single shot shotgun is a good choice. You may only get one shot, but the NEF 20ga I had when I was 10 or so downed a lot of pheasants. Took its fair share of squirrels and rabbits too.

Otherwise, the next step in price and functionality are the various pump-action shotguns. The less expensive versions that come to mind are the Charles Daly pump (Remington 870 clones), the Winchester 1300, the Remington 870 Express, and the lower end versions of the Browning BPS (which are a touch more spendy, but worth every penny IMO). If you think you might like an over/under (the ultimate bird gun, IMO), check out the Baikal O/U. It's not a bad looking shotgun and can be had for just a touch more than the middle grade pumps (about $450-500).

Just don't get your priorities backwards. Form follows function is a good rule to live by when it comes to guns. The Defender looks cool, and is one bad-a$$ home defense/slug gun, but isn't suited to the type of hunting you state you'd like to do.

Mike

20gaugeNate

i wasnt goin to get the defender in the pistol grip cause i did realise that but i didnt realise that it had a fixed choke so thank you for tellin me that. I was lookin at the Charles Daly feild pump but i heard that it can ware easily so i might not get it

Nomercy

As far as getting the 1300 Defender, for what you want, it would be a waste of money. A 18-20" bbl is NOT a hunting bbl, I've owned a few of these shotguns and MANY others, yeah, you're 13, it's cool looking, and it's pretty cheap, but it would be a dumb purchase. Not to mention it only comes in 12ga, but the defender is not a hunting gun. Either get the full sized 1300 or a Remington 870...Reminton 870 Express 12ga's sell for $200 NEW around here, and the 870 is a STRONG platform.

NEF's are great guns, they're incredibly cheap, but they're single shots, and I know young guys like you aren't always apt to jump on single shots...but I highly recommend them...I've had experience with more guns than I can remember, and not nearly as much experience as many others that hang around here, I and many others still hunt primarily with single shot shotguns or rifles...My no. 1 shotgun for hunting is a 70yr old rusted and half busted Iver Johnson single shot .410, and I take more game than anyone else I hunt with.

I've also got a comment on your "signature", I don't know that "1 shot one kill" is for the army, marine and army ranger snipers throw this around a lot, but it's not "code" anywhere else, heck, in Vietnam infantry and artillery reported expending an average of over 50,000 rounds PER KILL, army snipers reported 1.7rnds/kill. Don't expect anyone who shoots a fully automatic or burst-fire weapon to follow this policy.

abnhunter

Can't argue with the previous posts. NEF provide a lotta gun for a little money. The 870 is also a great choice - lots of flexibility when it comes to tricking it out (barrels, chokes, sights, mounts, etc).