Gold Medal Lightweight Shotguns for Fall Hunting

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As this gets written, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games are underway in Paris, and Team USA is stacking up the gold, silver, and bronze medals. A few weeks after all of the athletes return to the U.S.—including Uncle Sam’s medal-winning shotgun shooting athletes—another sort of shotgunning competition will begin as September, October and November hunting seasons arrive on the calendar. Except for those marshy and upland scattergun games, it is a rooster pheasant, a mourning dove, a ruffed grouse, or perhaps a mallard drake that are the treasured prizes being sought.

And while an Iowa cornfield might not have the same postcard view that the Eiffel Tower does in the City of Lights, few wingshooters will be complaining. Especially if they have one of this year’s gold medal-winning lightweight shotgun models in their hands, one of 10 models that have grabbed our attention for the upcoming fall.

Beretta A300 Ultima Hunting Solid Marsh

Along with its dark gray Solid Timber counterpart, the new Beretta A300 Ultima Hunting Solid Marsh Shotgun stands out in a crowd by blending into surrounding marsh grass and reeds minus the standard camo finish.

Opting for a single-color design and checking in at 7 pounds, this 12-gauge shotgun features all of the expertise of Beretta, the world's oldest gunmaker. With a 28-inch barrel, 3-inch chambering, a Microcore 1/2 recoil pad, and synthetic stock and forend, this semi-auto comes with Beretta's A300 Gas System that will cycle all manner of hunting and target shotshell loads. Add in the Kick-Off Recoil Reduction system in the stock, and heavy recoil is mitigated no matter how much punch your shotshells bring to the table.

The newly integrated RMR Footprint red-dot mount machined into the receiver—not to mention the shotgun's enlarged loading port and controls—and this is a new-school, high-tech gun that harkens back to the old-school days when your granddaddy wore a Jones cap and a brown wool mackinaw as he headed for the duck blind. MSRP: $1,089 | Beretta.com

Browning A5 20-Gauge

It took some time to get here, but the familiar humpback look of previous Browning A5 shotguns is now available in a 20-gauge autoloader, a scattergun coming from the Utah gunmaker with decades of shotgun making expertise.

This long-awaited design features a compact frame with a weight of 5 pounds, 9 ounces, while still featuring a 26-inch barrel that can handle shotshells up to 3 inches.

But in case your shoulder is fretting about the recoil such loads might deliver, Browning's load-operated Kinematic drive will help tame the heavy recoil of high brass loads no matter what you're in the field for. So confident is Browning of its design that like the 12-gauge and 16-gauge predecessors in this lineup, the 20-gauge model comes with a 5-year/100,000-round guarantee.

Add in an Inflex 2 recoil pad, three Invector-DS chokes (Full, Modified and Improved Cylinder), a fiber-optic front sight and ivory mid-bead, a Turkish walnut stock featuring 18 lines-per-inch cut checkering, a durable gloss finish, blued barrel, and a deep black finished receiver with the Browning Buckmark logo, and this shotgun from one of America's most iconic gun making brands is sure to deliver the goods this fall. MSRP: $1,980 | Browning.com

Benelli Montefeltro Ultra Light

If you want a high-quality lightweight shotgun, how about Benelli’s Montefeltro Ultra Light shotgun? This high-end scattergun comes in 12-gauge and 20-gauge offerings, has incredibly good looks and a sleek design, and weighs just 6.3 pounds and 5.3 pounds, respectively.

Those weights make these semi-auto scatterguns a delight in the uplands, thanks to Benelli's engineers who used a shortened mag tube (that can be extended when needed) and a carbon-fiber rib on the 26-inch 12-gauge and 24-inch 20-gauge barrels.

Don't think that this lightweight shotgun can't tame heavy recoil, because thanks to Benelli's Inertia Driven System, it can handle heavy, 3-inch loads as well as reliably cycle 2¾ lightweight rounds. Add in the shotgun's A-grade satin walnut finish, a gloss blued barrel finish and an anodized black receiver finish, and this is a stylish shotgun sure to draw comments when you pull it out of the gun case this fall. MSRP: $1,949 | Benelliusa.com

Benelli 828 U Steel Field Shotgun

As noted above, it’s safe to say that Benelli is no stranger to making great semi-auto shotguns that are strong, bombproof and keep delivering in the field as anyone who owns a Montefeltro Light Weight or a Super Black Eagle III model can attest to. But the Italian company and its U.S. division are also renowned for turning out superb over-and-under shotguns, including the Benelli 828 U Steel Field.

This 20-gauge stack barrel shotgun comes with either a 26-inch or a 28-inch barrel, along with a glossy AA-Grade satin walnut finish, blued barrel, brushed gray receiver finish with gold inlaid engraving, five Crio chokes (Cylinder, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified and Full), and a red-bar front sight, and 3-inch shotshell chambering. What's more, it tips the scale to only 6.9 pounds for the 26-inch model and 7 pounds for the 28-inch model.

Other features include a resetting of the single gold trigger when the top lever is unlocked, a smooth and consistent opening action, and ejectors for the 828 U. And thanks to Benelli's patented steel locking system, this over/under locks up as strong as Fort Knox and contains all pressure from the shotshell to help in preventing the heavy wear-and-tear transfer of pressure to the receiver and hinge pins.

Add in the Benelli Progressive Comfort System and the 828 U has flexible and lightweight polymer buffers that help absorb recoil from even the heaviest high brass pheasant load too as you walk a Midwestern corn field under a cobalt blue autumn sky. MSRP: $3,699 | Benelliusa.com

CZ 712 G3 Elements Terra Camo

The gun makers at CZ USA have been hitting it out of the park for several years now, and the new CZ 712 G3 is no exception; it’s equally at home in a Great Plains duck blind, around a Texas mourning dove waterhole or even with woodcock deep in a Louisiana swamp.

With CZ's gas-operated system, wingshooters can use one of two included pistons—one designed to operate with soft-cycling shotshells, and the other aimed at cycling heavier loads for up to 3-inch shotshells. Whether you want to down an upland bird weighing mere ounces or a giant Canada goose hovering over the decoys, this shotgun with its chrome-line barrels and five included extra-long Active-Choke Tubes (Full, Improved Modified, Modified, Improved Cylinder, and Cylinder) will get the job done.

With an easy-to-digest price tag—not to mention the Mossy Oak Elements Terra camo finish on the synthetic stock, receiver and 28-inch barrel—this is another grand slam scattergun from CZ USA. MSRP: $679 | CZ-USA.com

Franchi Affinity 3

Thanks to the intersection of high performance and Italian craftsmanship, the Franchi Affinity 3 is a gun that delivers all a shotgunner can hope for. Coming in a variety of models that feature A-grade satin walnut finishes and synthetics featuring Realtree Max-7 or Mossy Oak Bottomland coatings, there are numerous ways to put an Affinity 3 model into your gun cabinet.

One of those is with the camoed 20-gauge version—a shotgun that features either Mossy Oak or Realtree camo on the stock, receiver and barrel. Measuring 26 inches, this semi-auto shotgun will get the job done thanks in part to its three included chokes (Improved Cylinder, Modified and Full), 3-inch chambering, a fiber-optic red-bar front sight and overall weight of only 6 pounds.

And with the Inertia Driven operating system, along with the TSA recoil pad and this lightweight scattergun from Franchi can handle light shotshells without a cycling hiccup as well as tame the heaviest punch of high-brass loads. MSRP: $1,049 | Franchiusa.com

Mossberg Silver Reserve Eventide Waterfowl

Mossberg has a well-earned reputation for building some of the hunting industry's most rugged and hard-working shotguns. The company’s new over-and-under Silver Reserve Eventide Waterfowl version is no exception thanks to its 3.5-inch chambering, vent ribbed 28-inch barrel, front fiber-optic bead and a weight of 7.25 pounds.

But this Mossberg break action is also stylish, featuring a synthetic stock and forend finished with Mossy Oak Vintage Shadowgrass camo—not to mention the Patriot Brown Cerakote barrel finish and engraved logo on the Patriot Brown Cerakote finished receiver.

Add in five chokes via the Mossberg Field Set choke system and shell extractors, and Mossberg has hit another walk-off home run with this stack barrel design that has a load of features typically found on over-and-under models costing quite a bit more. MSRP: $956 | mossberg.com

Savage Stevens 560 Field

Savage has been turning heads in the shotgun world in recent years, and this year's 560 Field model in the Stevens lineup is no exception. A beautiful Turkish-made semi-auto that comes in both full-sized and compact-sized editions that are hard working in the field or on the sporting clays range, this 12-gauge semi-auto offering weighs an easy-to-manage weight of 6.6 pounds.

Capable of handling 2¾- and 3-inch shells, this scattergun comes with a Turkish walnut stock and forend, a raised ventilated rib complete with a fiber-optic front sight, a matte black finish on the aluminum 7075 receiver, a matte finish on the hard-chromed-lined, carbon steel 28-inch barrel, a manual trigger guard safety, over-sized controls for cold mornings in a goose pit and three chokes (Improved Cylinder, Improved Modified and Full).

Better yet, this hard-working and high-performing shotgun won't break the bank with a price tag right at $500, giving you plenty of extra George Washington's to buy a truckload of shotshells. MSRP: $499 | savagearms.com

Weatherby Orion Side-by-Side

Stylish side-by-side shotguns have been making a comeback in recent years, a resurgence partially fueled by young hunters seeking classic American side-by-sides made in dear old grandad's hunting days.

But for those pining for the traditional good looks that such guns delivered in the 1920s and 1930s but also desiring the modern technology and affordable builds of today's gun makers, then look no further than Weatherby's Orion Side-by-Side to deliver on both fronts.

With the Wyoming gun maker's expertise, this modern shotgun features 3-inch chambers in the 20-gauge version (and the 12 gauge and .410 bores too) along with a 28-inch barrel length, five Yildiz screw-in chokes (Improved Modified, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Full and Skeet), a brass bead sight and shell extractors packed into an easy-to-carry frame that weighs 6.7pounds for the 20-gauge model.

And with an English straight stock, splinter forend and mechanical double triggers, this gun also looks the traditional part too. Granddad might be gone now, and his timeless shotgun may be best suited for the fireplace mantle, but this new offering from Weatherby is an instant classic—timeless in its own right while offering a wealth of modern performance features that side-by-side shotgunners are sure to love. MSRP: $1,099 | weatherby.com

Winchester SXP Upland Field

Checking in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces, this Winchester 20-gauge shotgun and its 26-inch-long barrel also has three other variations available, including 12-gauge models with either a 26-inch or a 28-inch barrel, and another 20 gauge with a 28-inch barrel.

Winchester SXP Upland Field has magazine capacity of five shotshells, Winchester's Invector-Plus Flush choke system (Full, Modified and Improved Cylinder) and 3-inch chambering and the SXP Upland Field can deliver a deadly swarm of pellets on a South Dakota rooster's noggin this fall. And with a chrome-plated chamber and bore, an Inflex 1 recoil pad and a TruGlo fiber-optic bead, shotgunners will love shouldering this new offering from the iconic American gun maker.

But this Winchester upland model isn't just a hard-thumping workhorse in the field, it's also a stylish scattergun that will receive plenty of inquisitive inquires thanks to its Grade II/III Turkish walnut stock and forearm, satin varnish finish, a matte Nickel receiver, a matte black barrel finish and engraved upland hunting scene. Find one at your favorite shotgun dealer and perhaps you'll step right into that upland hunting scene this fall! MSRP: $599 | winchesterguns.com

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