Esscort 20ga

[surfdaddy]

Since it' idle time and I'm waiting for the season to start, I was thinking if I should get a new gun. I had to get a new shot gun durring duck season since my Mossburg 5500 became unreliable and broke within the first 2 shots of an outing near the end of December. I repaired it and the same part failed again within 25 shots!! I used this one for a few years and had bought it new in the mid-80's. I bought a 870 express and will use the 5500 as a back up, though there will never be a reason for the 870 to fail. I also have a old (1965-69) Savage 20ga pump that I had used and really liked and now love since I put a limbsaver on it. I really like this one and have taken many dove and quail with it when I used to hunt. I went to the 5500 after finding that my shoulder and arm would go numb after a few boxes of shooting. At the time I was shooting a lot and also higher power rifles, the doctor descovered a bone spurr in my shoulder which made me buy a auto. So now I'm back to thinking about a 20ga auto. I was at Turners and they have one. It's an Esscort 20ga that is satin black with a synthetic stock. I much rather have golss blue and wood but I guess this is the way the companies keep the cost down. It isn't too expensive, about 450, and feels light and quick. Has anyone used or owned one?

[mojaveJohn]

haven't heard anything about an Esscort, but I have heard tons of good reviews about the Frachi 48 AL. If I was going to get another auto, I think this is what I would be buying. Reasonably priced too.

[mojaveJohn]

This is a review from one of the guys at Jessies hunting Outdoors.

The ultimate upland gun is a 20 gauge franchi 48-AL. They weigh just 5 lbs 9oz. They have the classic stock dimensions of a remington 870. Mine is reliable as a top. Its been made since 1948 with good reason. Yeah , a few guns come close. Maybe some of the benelli such as the montefeltro. However, the franchi costs just 635 bucks NIB from whittakers guns. THis is just the right price for beating up in the brush and in chukar country. Any other gun that really compares is going to run you 1,000+. The 48 AL has an absolute cult following. One fellow on shotgun world has 50,000 plus rounds through his 12 gauge, including south american dove hunting. Another has been shooting it 40 plus years. Both have never broken any parts. The " whats your favorite upland gun" question comes up often at shotgun world. The 48 AL might just get the most votes. If you get one I recomend the 28" barrel because the gun is so light. The longer barrel will help smooth the swing as it is hard going to such a light gun from your 8lb 1100. Because the gun is so light it kicks pretty good which is fine for hunting. If you are going to shoot alot of targets you might think about having a nice recoil pad installed and pitch adjusted if you need it. The only reason the 48 is so cheap is that the tooling was paid off decades ago and everyone wants the latest and so called greatest. CHeck out shotgunworld and the franchi forum. Also there are a ton of cz lovers over there that can tell you all about them. I bought and sold about 8 guns before I finally settled on the 48AL.






Here you can see how the reciever is round on all the edges. Also note the step rib infront of the reciever. These two things make one handed carry an absolute joy. THey also use mobile chokes same as beretta and benelli so that makes it easy to find chokes later on.

[Kent]

If I was going to get a semi-auto the Franchi AL48 would definitely be at the top of the list. Awesome looking gun and have read lots of good reviews on it. Only drawback with semi-autos is keeping track of the empties when the shots are flying. Since it seems more likely to have some performance issues with a semi-auto than a pump action you might want to spend a little extra and get a higher quality gun.

[surfdaddy]

Still looking for a 48-AL to get the feel of it but I haven't seen one in a store yet. I've looked at Turners and Bass Pro. Maybe some other shop may have one. I'll have to look some more. I've read all sorts of articals on the 48-AL and seems to be one of the best autos in the world. I'll continue to look. Any shops carry these in the So Cal area?

[surfdaddy]

I took my wife and two girls (18 and 13 the oldest being 120lbs and the youngest about 85lbs) to the trap range two weeks ago and had them try shooting clays. We were out at 16 yards and had the clays go straight out only. None had shot a shotgun before and they were pretty intimidated by the reputation of shotguns. I had them try my 5500 Mossberg semi auto, and my Savage 20ga pump with a limbsaver recoil pad. My wife liked shooting the best with my youngest next. I had a talk with the youngest and she said she would really like to try competitive shooting, small bore rifle, trap, and skeet. We had been shooting small bore for a few weeks and she has really taken to it. She also wants to try quail hunting with me. I belong to a sportsman’s club with a private range. An Olympic skeet trainer who hosts youth days every other month or so comes to the club. This is a place where she can get some good pointers and be able to practice 3 times a month or more depending on how enthusiastic she is. I talked it over with the wife and we decided to get the Escort since it is about 200+ dollars cheaper and we may have to buy a different 22 for the shoots. I did a search online and it appears to be a very reliable gun with the people praising it for its durability, being used in Europe for years. So after comparing cost and who would use it the most we thought it would better not to get such a high end gun. We know she will drop it and beat it up for a few years and will probably lose interest anyway as soon as something cooler comes along, though what could be cooler than shooting. So, what was going to be a second field gun for me is now my daughter’s first field gun. If she loses interest in a few years then my wife and I will be able to us it and then may step up to the 48-AL.

[surfdaddy]

I took the 20ga Escort to the trap range last week to check it out and see how it patterned. I’m not the greatest shot, in fact, I’m terrible. I took a shot at the pattern board to see where it actually shot, which was a little high and to the left. I did two rounds at 16 yards with the supplied modified choke and did 17 and 19. The thing that really surprised me, and the guy next to me, was how far the shells were ejected. It must have thrown them 10 -15 feet to the right. Luckily for me my friend was the one to the right and only flinched for the first two shots. I’m sure I would have been asked to change guns or put a rubber band around the ejection port if it was someone else. Anyway, the report is the gun fires well and is very light I’m sure my daughter will be able to handel a few hours of walking around carrying it. Friday night is our night shoot for trap and she will get a chance to try it out.

[surfdaddy]

My Daughter used the 20ga for trap and skeet over the last few weeks. She’s 13 about 85 pounds and just under 5ft tall. The first time she shot two rounds of trap. Shot a 3 and a 5, the second time she shot a 9 and 15. Skeet she did almost as well, a 9 and 12. She was asked if she would like to participate in a sporting clays tournament on Sunday, so tonight were going to see how she likes that. I used it for trap at 16yards and it seems very quick and the recoil isn’t as bad as I thought it would be for such a light gun. It’s got 10 boxes through it and so far so good. No complaints, but I am looking for a better recoil pad for her. Friday she’ll shoot some trap, maybe 3 rounds, and Sunday is sporting clays which is 100 rounds. The shooting coach says that its a little light for her, so I’ll use it for sure dove and quail this season.