bubba in c.a.
.270 WIN
I had a chance today to shoot a 12 ga. mossberg 500 and a 20 ga. maverick 88 side by side to compare handling and perceived recoil. Having 2 identical guns (for practical purposes the safety is the only difference) is great for training and HD.
The maverick is a stock hunting gun with a Modified 26" barrel. Not the best option for HD, but not a bad one for rural use. The barrel can always be chopped down towards the legal limit. The mossberg has an 18.5 inch barrel.
With Federal LE132 low recoil ammo, the moss 12 gauge doesn't shoot too painfully, but the 20 gauge is much milder with both winchester xb 203 2 3/4 in 3 buck and federal p258 3 inch 2 buck.
I much prefer the mossberg tang safety, but at least the maverick still has the same action release on the left that I find very handy. Both shot a point of aim at 10 M. With the same length barrel, the 20 would be a little lighter and handier. They both have the same LOP, about 13.5 inches and the same action length, but the maverick has the front stock about 2" closer to the action, which might help somebody with short arms. Since they both have synthetic stocks, there is no way to shorten them. If that is an issue with somebody, you would need to get a wooden stock and shorten it or just buy a youth model to start with.
The Federal 2 buck is the biggest 20 gauge I have seen and I believe it is fairly new, probably an attempt to move towards a HD round in 20 gauge.
The maverick is a stock hunting gun with a Modified 26" barrel. Not the best option for HD, but not a bad one for rural use. The barrel can always be chopped down towards the legal limit. The mossberg has an 18.5 inch barrel.
With Federal LE132 low recoil ammo, the moss 12 gauge doesn't shoot too painfully, but the 20 gauge is much milder with both winchester xb 203 2 3/4 in 3 buck and federal p258 3 inch 2 buck.
I much prefer the mossberg tang safety, but at least the maverick still has the same action release on the left that I find very handy. Both shot a point of aim at 10 M. With the same length barrel, the 20 would be a little lighter and handier. They both have the same LOP, about 13.5 inches and the same action length, but the maverick has the front stock about 2" closer to the action, which might help somebody with short arms. Since they both have synthetic stocks, there is no way to shorten them. If that is an issue with somebody, you would need to get a wooden stock and shorten it or just buy a youth model to start with.
The Federal 2 buck is the biggest 20 gauge I have seen and I believe it is fairly new, probably an attempt to move towards a HD round in 20 gauge.
