Benelli Ultra Light 20 ga Shotgun

Whenever anyone picks up my Benelli Ultra Light, the next words out of their mouth are always, "Oh, wow!" or, "Wow, that's light!" This sweet little 20 gauge shotgun is constructed of a lightweight alloy and weighs only 5.2 pounds!

It is my rabbit gun, but it should also do well for squirrel, quail, pheasant, dove, grouse and crow if I'm in the mood. It fires 20 gauge 2¾" or 3" shells and has a 2+1 capacity, which is exactly the capacity allowed for small game hunting in Missouri. It has a 24" chrome lined barrel, 45½" overall length, and a beautiful WeatherCoat wood stock. I have Modified, Improved Cylinder, and Cylinder Bore choke tubes for it.

The action is an inertially-driven semi-automatic. This action really does tame recoil. Even though it is lighter, the felt recoil was less than the 6.5 pound pump-action I compared it to. Cleaning is as simple as a pump-action. I also own its big brother, the M2, which has the same type of action.

I purchased this shotgun in 2009.

#4 Shot (Rabbit)

On rabbit, I am getting great results with Winchester X204, which are high brass shells with 1 oz. of #4 lead shot traveling at 1220 fps. I use an Improved Cylinder (4 notches) choke tube.

I need to have some steel on hand, in case I go to hunt rabbits where lead is prohibited. For this, I am going to try Winchester's WSM2034, which is a 3" shell containing 1 oz. of #4 steel shot traveling at 1330 fps. I'm sure the recoil will be a little more, but the extra velocity will be needed with steel shot.

?? Shot (Squirrel)

Since the squirrels aren't moving so much, I will use a slightly tighter choke, a Modified (3 notches) choke tube.

For now, I am experimenting with #6 lead. I should keep a running tally of shots taken versus shots killed.

Chokes

Choke	Notches	Application
CL - Cylinder Bore	5	Target
IC - Improved Cylinder	4	Rabbit
M - Modified	3	Squirrel