Gander mtn. ran the Nova pump in 12ga and 20ga for $299 after rebate. Since I have several12ga I decided on a 20ga. At check out I found out it was the youth model on sale with a 24 in barrel. Decided to buy it anyway for the grandsons, but after assemble I found it fit me better than the 26 in model. Primary use is a back up dove gun and for tree rats. Will I loose too much performance with the 24 in barrel?
Benelli Nova 20ga.
- Thread starter doceaux
- Start date
Omaha-BeenGlockin
New member
Max velocity is achieved in 20 inches of barrel for shotguns.
You aren't losing anything.
You aren't losing anything.
engineermike
Moderator
Yea, take it out, if you kill a lot of birds then it's a great gun if not then it is a piece of junk. I bet it works just fine...
Like Jim says, but....
I can shoot the bunty little guns OK, but never as well as my bigger guns. The little 20 gauge 870 here can nail dove, but it's an unforgiving tool. I cannot ease up swinging. There's less inertia available to keep things going. It would work better as a quail gun, but few of those are left here.
Good fit does two things. It directs that cloud of shot to where we want it, and it helps us do so in comfort,shot after shot after shot.
Lots of us with some time behind us at this can detect good fit just by feel.
Newer shooters should try different guns to see what works for them, IF they have their form jelled enough a change in stock dimensions does not mess them up.
I can shoot the bunty little guns OK, but never as well as my bigger guns. The little 20 gauge 870 here can nail dove, but it's an unforgiving tool. I cannot ease up swinging. There's less inertia available to keep things going. It would work better as a quail gun, but few of those are left here.
Good fit does two things. It directs that cloud of shot to where we want it, and it helps us do so in comfort,shot after shot after shot.
Lots of us with some time behind us at this can detect good fit just by feel.
Newer shooters should try different guns to see what works for them, IF they have their form jelled enough a change in stock dimensions does not mess them up.
rugerfreak
New member
A Nova 20ga with a 24'' barrel is the same overall length as a Mossberg 20ga with a 26in barrel--due to the length of the receiver.
OP's will be slightly shorter because of the youth model stock.
OP's will be slightly shorter because of the youth model stock.
engineermike
Moderator
Yep, you got a good'n... It will be even nicer after having not to lug around all that extra weight all day too. Good hunting and enjoy that gun, besides you can always give to one of the younger ones later if need be. 
It's the overall length of the gun and how it balances that matter. Some guns balance well with shorter barrels because the length comes from somewhere else. I've found that I prefer about 2" shorter barrels on all Benelli's because of the extra length they put into the receivers. On a 20 ga the 24" barrel is all I'd want. You won't lose enough velocity to even measure accurately.