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Thread: 20 Gauge Coach Gun

  1. #11
    Frequent DG Adventurer fatdog's Avatar
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    The Stoeger single trigger coach guns are pretty decent. I have many hundreds of rounds through one in CAS and I did a Form 1 for one of the pair I own and cut it to 12" "because" and it is quite bad ass. Broken down it fits in some very small spaces.

    They made one in 20ga and I think they are readily available. I found the single trigger versions to be much easier to run than the double trigger versions.

    As the CAS crowd ages out of the game a lot of used ones are starting to come on the market. I suspect that at some point demand will be so low they quit making them.

    My only reservation about a 20 is the not so great variety of loadings available. And in reality I find the true low recoil 12ga 8 pellet 00 buck in the 1100 fps velocity range to be similar to standard 20ga buck shot loads in terms of recoil.

    It would be a handy and versatile shotgun to have around. Here is one NIB for a comparable price.

  2. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Stephanie B View Post
    Talk me down?
    Quote Originally Posted by fatdog View Post
    The Stoeger single trigger coach guns are pretty decent. I have many hundreds of rounds through one in CAS and I did a Form 1 for one of the pair I own and cut it to 12" "because" and it is quite bad ass. Broken down it fits in some very small spaces.

    They made one in 20ga and I think they are readily available. I found the single trigger versions to be much easier to run than the double trigger versions.

    ...

    It would be a handy and versatile shotgun to have around. Here is one NIB for a comparable price.
    I think a, "hold my beer," would have been an appropriate opener.

    OK, one of these, broken down, in the pack along side the Rattler instead of the mini sledge, for breaching(!), and I save~$100! #pfReasonable

  3. #13
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    Ever since Fiocchi ceased their 1B 20ga offering, ammo choices for defensive aspects are slim. Federal has some that might be borderline, but their is no valid testing. I know, I know, "its your world", but believe you should consider 12ga. Those Aquilla mini shells are docile, and I am willing to bet the Federal variant are too. Plus you can get those weird 2 1/2" Nobel 00 buckshot loads that show up from time-to-time that are dirt cheap. In the manner in which many load their snub revolvers, keep it loaded with one of those short shell offerings and have "the good shit" as your reloads.

    As for SxS, I highly suggest the previously mentioned Stevens 311 and its familiar variants. Savage 511, Fox, etc. They can be had for about $300, less if you don't care about condition. They are tough assed blasters. NYPD issued them to detectives until 2001, the Stevens 311-R (factory Riot). I snagged mine for $200 OTD. I chopped and crowned it. I will be installing XS Sights vent rib shotgun sights in the rib *hopefully* tomorrow. Stevens 311 series are also very popular with SASS crowds, so popular that Wolff has a dedicated spring kit, and there are/were several how-to videos to slick them up (the videos may no longer exist put step-by-step posts still do). The 311 has a couple of small flaws. One is it has a "rebound" when chopped which means when you break it open and dump the spent rounds because of the reduced frontal mass, the chambers can close a little which makes the reload slow. I will try to resolve this with a mix of acraglass and lead shot between the two barrels (do not use heat!). Also on the latter models like mine, there is a dog leg inside the receiver that reactivates the safety every time you close the action. This dogleg need only be dremeled off, but it is something to be aware of.

    Every Ft Worth cop that is "all rifle all the time" has seen my Stevens 311H leaning against has a shit fit over it. They wanna buy it, or they want to know where to get one. So yeah, the shop I work at from time-to-time is a high end, boutique rifle shop, but now cops and the citizenry are starting to bring their old gauges to me for a refresh. Ownership hates it "...but I don't give a fuck" -Martin Riggs

  4. #14
    Frequent DG Adventurer fatdog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian T View Post
    there is a dog leg inside the receiver that reactivates the safety every time you close the action. This dogleg need only be dremeled off, but it is something to be aware of.
    I am ignorant about the Stevens models, for some reason they are just rarely seen (by me at least) in my part of world in the used gun racks, but the Stoegers have the same feature, requires all of 60 seconds to grind it off. Safety still functions but you stop that annoying "auto on" every time you close the action.

  5. #15
    Member Baldanders's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stephanie B View Post
    It may be irrational AF, but I've got an urge to get a 20-gauge coach gun. As I age, I've come to like that cartridge more and more.

    Talk me down?
    No.

    I wanna coach gun, too.

    Plus, my SO would probably find it more approachable than our loooooong and single-shot Stevens or my heavy FP6.

    Not sure about 20 gauge, but the coach gun examples I have handled sure seem nice and handy.
    Last edited by Baldanders; 06-09-2020 at 03:37 PM.
    REPETITION CREATES BELIEF
    REPETITION BUILDS THE SEPARATE WORLDS WE LIVE AND DIE IN
    NO EXCEPTIONS

  6. #16
    Site Supporter Totem Polar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian T View Post
    ...so popular that Wolff has a dedicated spring kit...
    Ohboyohboy

    #ididnotknowthat


  7. #17
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    The last gun show I attended in Harrisburg PA just before the pandemic got spun up had dozens of older SxS shotguns that had been bobbed down to 18 - 20”. I was mentally calling them Biden Specials, but almost every table had four or more on them. Seemed to be the “thing to do” with gramps old Fox or Stevens.

    I recently fondled a CZ Bobwhite in 20ga and was quoted $600 for a new one. Seems to get good reviews online as a bird gun. Extractors, double triggers and a straight “English” stock. You could be styling.

    Edited to add, they make a 20ga Coach Gun

    https://cz-usa.com/product/cz-sharp-tail-coach/

    Yer welcome
    Last edited by Rick R; 06-09-2020 at 05:50 PM.

  8. #18
    Revolvers Revolvers 1911s Stephanie B's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidheshooter View Post
    Not to be stirring the pot, but rolling your own is another option: get a SxS from a more reputable age (mine is a Stevens 311, I believe) and have the barrel cut back and add the bead/FS of your choice by a decent ‘smith. That’s a cheap mod.
    Hell, I could always put the barrels in a vise and take a hacksaw to them. Then it'd look like a proper coach gun.
    If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.

  9. #19
    Site Supporter Hambo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidheshooter View Post
    Caveat emptor, and all that, but I’d generally take an old, faded American workhorse over a new shiny Turkish Delight (apologies to C.S. Lewis)
    That's a good plan. I thought about the Turks, but I recently found a 12ga JC Higgins (311) that still looks like it did when it was new in 1955. I also have a 1949 built 16ga that isn't nearly as nice.

    Quote Originally Posted by Stephanie B View Post
    Hell, I could always put the barrels in a vise and take a hacksaw to them. Then it'd look like a proper coach gun.
    You did ask us to talk you down. First, if you're going to defile an old one, just buy the Turk. There's some poor bastard like me looking for an uncut vintage 20. Second, have you checked shotgun ammo availability lately? There isn't much buckshot to be had in any gauge. Of course, you could double down and buy a MEC. Or just buy some authentic coach gun brass hulls. There, I tried.
    "Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA

  10. #20
    Site Supporter SeriousStudent's Avatar
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    I have one of the aforementioned Stoeger coach guns, but in 12 gauge. Recoil is substantial, until you get a good recoil pad mounted.

    I've pretty much settled on two loads for the Mighty Gauge - the Federal 00 Buck 8-pellet Flite Control Reduced Recoil load, and the Brenneke Home Defense slug. Those pattern extremely well in every shotgun I own.

    The reason I point that out, is that I'm not familiar with a similar loading in 20 gauge. I'd be hesitant to give up the round that I believe have the best terminal ballistics than that.

    But I have a 38 J-frame in my left front pocket as I type this, so feel free to ignore everything I wrote.

    If you just want a fun gun (and who among us does not own at least a half-dozen?) then by all means get one with great wood grain and show us the pictures.

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