Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

The dealer I got my Nova from said he can special order a 20 gauge rifled barrel for me but for a lot of money. Around $250. I can't find them anywhere online, does anyone know where I can get one cheaper? I was planning on taking my 20 gauge hunting for deer until I get a rifle but smoothbores aren't that great. Neither is spending $250 for a barrel.

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

I highly doubt you will find one cheaper. You can watch gunsamerica.com and gunbroker.com, but this close to season it might be tough. Good luck.

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

From what I have seen that is a pretty good deal. I thought they were closer to 300-350. I have never priced one though, just heard others talking about it.

You can easlily pay 250 for a 870 barrel as well, so I don't think that is a bad price.

For that kind of money you can get a H&R Ultra Slug gun though.

Paul

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

870 Slug barrels go down below $150 in Cabelas. They have the 12 gauge barrels for $144 so why not the 20 gauge?I likeH&R's but single-shot isn't what I would want to deer hunt with.

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

I would never waste 250$ on that barrel. For that money you could get a dedicated slug gun. Heck if you save up another 100 bucks you can even get a Savage 210 bolt action 12ga!

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

The more I look at the H&R the more I like it. And it's less than a barrel for the Nova...if I got it it would probably be in 12 gauge,. much more powerful than 20 gauge. Do they make 12 gauge smoothbore barrels for it? Then I could hunt all kinds of stuff with it.

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

WOW! I just looked at the price of new barrels for the H&R and prices are amazing, like $30. It wasn't fully clear though, could I mount a barrel on the slug gun or not? I cant get a 20 gauge rifled barrel but will smoothbores work?

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

Actually when you compare them there is not a huge difference between the 12 and 20 guage in slug performance. I mean there is, but it's not huge. And from what I have seen and heard the 20's tend to be a bit more accurate. They have a faster twist in the H&R's which might help with the faster bullets.

And if you get one of the Ultra's in 12 gauge you cannot swap out barrels. They take a 10 gauge barrel bored to 12 guage, that is how they get the heavy barrel. You can swap barrels, but only with a 10 gauge smooth bore barrel becuase they use the SB2 frame. And they are Heavy!

If you get the Ultra in a 20 gauge you can swap any smooth bore barrel in 12 or 20 gauge onto it. You would need a different fore grip as well. Or you could get a standard H&R shotgun or centerfire and swap a 20 gauge heavy barrel onto it. When you order the heavy barrels they come with the fore grip. keep in mind the standard shotgun will be lighter and kick a bit harder. However you can add the weight to the stock. All they use is a steel bar.

If I had it to do over again I would have gotten the 20 guage Ultra Deluxe instead. Then I could have gotten a turkey barrel for it as well.

And yes you can get a rifled barrel that cheap for an 870, but you can spend 200 and up on them as well depending on where you get them from or what they are. Are they worth the extra money? Probably not, some of the better hastings might be, but I've never shot one. I have a buddy that just got a rifled cantilever barrel from remington for his 870 and it was more than 200 I think. And I was not overly impressed with the quality or anything. It shoots good though, and is very light. And if you wanted a camo one it would be even more I think.

Also something to keep in mind if you get a dedicated slug gun like a H&R or Savage is the trigger will be better than a standard shotgun. Shotguns are not made to be triggered the same way a rifle is, so the triggers have a different pull to them. At least the ones I have shot anyway.

Paul

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

Just wanted to thank Paul for his input...

Paul you have become a real asset to this board when it comes to the Ultras. It would take any individual alot of hard work to complile the information you just presented in a single paragraph.

TYK,

You really can't go wrong with the Ultra if you can handle the extra weight....

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

The Graybeard forums have a TON of info on anything H&R related. Most of my info comes from there. I've also called H&R a few times to ask questions.

But thanks for the compliment.

Paul

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

Well, if a 10 gauge barrel fitted on it that might not be all bad, other than the price of shells. I've heard different things from different shooters. Some say the 10 gauge kicks horribly but others say they are about the same as a 3 1/2" 12 gauge. A 10 gauge would be good for waterfowl and turkey, but then again 12 gauge works just fine.

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

I'm sure with the right load it would kick pretty good. But if it was in the Utra frame with the extra weight it wouldn't be too bad. They come with a pretty good recoil pad on them as well.

I would have to compare the loads for a 10 gauge to see how different they really are. I have never shot one. Recoil has a lot to do with the shot weight and gun design. I have shot 20's that kicked harder than my 12 gauge with field loads. And my turkey loads kick much harder than any slugs I have shot. With my gun slugs are not that bad really. And I only weight 130 lbs. My buddy said the gun jumps 2 feet out of the rest though. He chuckles everytime I take a shot.

I have considered getting a 10 gauge barrel as well for mine to use on turkey. I traded my mossberg 500 and some .22's to get the slug gun. Now all I have is a remington inline ML, a 17HMR and the H&R slug gun. I know waterfowl people like the 10 guage. I think they extend the range some? Don't know much about duck and goose hunting. I think you would get shafted on the price of shells though.

Honestly if it were me and I had it to do over again and had the money I would have gotten a center fire H&R handi rifle in .243 or something, then get different shotgun barrels for it. That way I would have one frame that would do everything I wanted. I would just have to get the barrels fitted to it. .243, 12 guage turkey/small game barrel and a 20 heavy slug barrel would cover everything I want to do with a fire arm pretty much. Even a .223 or 22-250 would serve me pretty well.

Paul

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

They don't make 10 gauge shells loaded heavier and they don't go faster so I'm assuming 3 1/2" turkey loads should kick about the same. Bigger bore diameter for the same amount of pellets means less deformation and better ballistics so it should improve range, but I'm not sure by how much. I'm goin' to basspro to take a look at the gun today, I need something fast for deer season. I'm supposedly gonna get a R1 next year, so I'm gonna hold off on gettin' the Handi Rifle. The shells aren't too much more expensive, and for most stuff except turkey and maybe waterfowl I'll just use my 20 gauge. How does your H&R slug gun shoot? I'm of small build too, (probably cause I'm not an adult...) how would you compare the kick to turkey loads? (12 gauge)

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

With the weight of the Ultra's I think the recoil is much better. It's about on par with my Inline ML with 100 grns of powder and 350 grn bullets.

Nothing like my 3 inch turkey loads. And no where near 3 1/2 inch turkey loads. Depends on what shells you use as well.

I don't seem to have much of a problem with recoil though, even being little. I know I can shoot mine of the bench for more than 10 rounds and not be sore. But I don't bruise very easy. Recoil is a very subjective thing. Some can't take it, others don't seem to mind that it much. I try to stay very relaxed when I shoot though. I don't fight the rifle, I just let it push me back and roll with it. I do know you won't even know it in the field. I don't notice 3 1/2 inch turkey loads in the field, but I hate them for target shooting. That's just too much gun for me.

I have shot light 20 gauges with high brass field loads that kicked harder than my ultra does with 600 grn slugs. When you pick one up you will know why. Mine Weighs over 10 lbs with the scope.

As far accuracy goes, I have not shot anything that was really impressive out of mine yet. But there are a few more I need to try. It seems to be sort of picky. However I am looking for 1-1.5 inch groups at 100 yards. Most everything I have shot is plenty good enough for hunting, like 4-5 inch groups or better at 100 yards. Almost everything shot pretty well at 50 and 75 yards though. And mine seems to like rifled slugs to be honest. Just fouls the barrel out something awful after 3 or 4 shots.

Paul

RE: Benelli Nova 20 gauge rifled barrel?
 

Well, my dad said I was old enough to make a decision for myself. We went and looked at the gun and we have the order forms for it. He said I can either pay half for the Ultra or since he knows I want an expensive rifle, I can not get the shotgun, go hunting with my grandpas this year and he'll put that money he would've spent on the shotgun on the rifle. I want an R1 Comfortech so I figure I need to save as much money as possible. If I don't get the shotgun I'll have $200 more towardstheR1. Was this a smart decision? Youth Season is only2 weeks away so I don't reallyhave much time to decide.