I know the 20 is a great choice but does anyone besides me see the irony that Phil is writing about a 20 gauge yet in that same article he is hunting with a 12?

In NY we are waiting on the dove season to become legal. In the meantime pidgeons and crows make for fun shooting with your favorite 20 ga.

I like my 20's for lightness, thin profile to carry, and my 20 ga. Berreta O/U weighs around 7 lbs, but kicks a plenty with trap loads because I only have a rifle pad on it not wanting to cut down on the stock to shorten it. I've broken out the heavy 12 ga. Browning O/U..an O/U weighing over 8 lbs. Same load as the 20, 1 oz. of lead 7.5 shot, and virtually no kick, and great tracking with the heavier gun. But I don't carry the gun much for doves, just shoot. And it has been a great dove season thus far. That 1100 would be a great gun...good for virtually everything, but limited on waterfowl.

I expect the the Remington 1100/20 is the best choice although I have seen most every kind, brand, and gauge of shotgun used successfully on doves. I once had a Sweet 16 A-5 Browning IC that was deadly for some reason even though I sometimes shot the same shells through my Win. M-12 with seemingly less effectiveness. I saw a vintage like new Rem 1100/20 with an extra barrel not long ago for the right price. I passed it up rationalizing that I own enough twenties. I wish I had bought it.

Dove shooting is fun, and I'm sure a light recoil 20ga will get the job done nicely. Last time I went on a dove shoot was in North Dakota, used my 12ga pump, and shot a whole butt load of doves...wish I had a 20ga then..

I know a nice 1100 20ga is just the ticket no argument there, I just can't put down my 12ga and I find that a backbore browning brings me my limit much faster then anything on the market. I see kids shooting trap skeet and sporting clays with the browning backbored shotguns and invector+ chokes that have the highest scores and averages on their squads they also recoil less then many 20ga shotguns because of the weight

Springerman....I shoot what I have. I've got cases of trap loads for shooting trap. I just grab a box. But I agree. I also have 7/8 Oz loads for my trap shooting, dove shooting and early hun, and ruff grouse shooting, and I could have just as easily grabbed one of those boxes. But I did like the comparison between the 12 and the 20 shooting the same load. Made me realize that a heavier gun does track better than a very light gun. I just do not like carrying the heavier guns very far anymore. My 12 ga. O/u has fixed chokes, Mod/full, and I would not shoot that tight of chokes anymore given a choice for much of my upland shooting.

I've never owned and automatic or ever used one but I can say growing up and living in the south, the Remington 1100 was the preferred gun of most dove and quail hunters for years. I can't imagine a more enjoyable gun to shoot on a dove field, for those who like automatics than a 20 gage 1100. I personally have always used an O/U and two shot's was usually all I ever needed for most any bird hunting whether it was ducks, pheasants, dove or quail. To each his own I guess. I shoot the early dove season with my 20 gage Franchi and use a 1 oz load and for me there is no noticeable kick. I like that load quiet frankly as it just seems to reduce the number of cripples. In the second and third season I use my Winchester 101, 12 gage with fixed M & I chokes. I use the 11/8 oz shot load and for the same reason less cripples. The late season were shooting the smart birds. The dumb one are in the freezer and the smart ones fly high, fast and maneuver like a ping pong ball in a wind tunnel so I like the heavier shot load. Good article and I guess for me the one shot at a time with the last four shells is why I shoot an O/U. I take each shot deliberately, as I've seen so many with automatics just rip off three shots consecutively with the third one always being wasted.

SD Bob: Phil WILL BE using a 20 gauge the next time he pursues the wily dove !! Thanks for noticing the irony ......

My first dove outing was one box and two doves. I was, in fact, using a 20 gauge, but by no means a "dove special". Montgomery Ward polychoked bolt action. I can blame the gun a little there, right?

I don't go to Argentina and probably shouldn't, so I shoot a 12 gauge at doves, pick my shots, and don't worry about recoil. I'm more likely to use a 20 on turkeys than I am on doves anymore. I want a bunch of #8s through an IC choke and don't push any range limits.

Upland hunting is a fine art and is great for svelte, light kicking 20s and 28s. I can hit all but the most startling grouse just fine, but with doves, it's not pretty, it's war, and I need the field artillery.

Guy..When I can get two by going bang-bang with my auto that I don't consider fancy..its the biggest seller action on the shop shelves, how can you compete with that using a single shot?...must wait for two to cross. :)

I remember shooting doves with a 410 bolt gun left handed with a full cast on my right. I was pulling off shots just as good as Pop was. Shot like a rifle and digested anything you put in it