Shotgun Forum banner

Weatherby SA-08 vs Mossberg SA-20

10K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  *Ender* 
#1 ·
i'm looking to downgrade a Remington 11-87 12 ga to a 20 ga autoloader. i use it mostly for teaching purposes and want to lighten the recoil. it's the only 12 ga i own so being the same ga as my O/U and SxS would just be simpler. i want to keep the ability to use steel shot just in case someone decides that is all we can use. i'm also trying to do this with little or no money out of pocket hence not another 11-87. are either of these guns more reliable? softer shooting? Turkish vs USA made(sort of) a problem? being realistic about it this will be a 500-1000 rd a year gun. any better suggestions on a inexpensive soft shooting auto loader? new isn't necessary just easier than chasing around looking at every used rack.
 
#3 ·
This is Turkish versus Turkish with the Weatherby and Mossberg

Since you like the 11-87, get an 1100 in 20 - heavy and recoil-absorbing, it is easy to use
 
#5 ·
Their PUMP guns are, they farm out the other stuff
 
#7 ·
If not an 1100 LT20 or an 1187 Premier 20 the Weatherby seems to be a good-enough gun and well backed by the importer. I've considered one as a teaching gun, but have an 1187 Premier 20 for the teaching task.

I recall that both guns are sourced from the same Turkish gun maker--at least that is what I recall from an in-depth search for suitable 4H starter guns. Weatherby was willing to discuss annual failure rate/annual return rate numbers with me and these rates were surprisingly low and they sell out of theses guns on a regular basis.
 
#9 ·
Yes, the same vendor.

We did not buy them for club guns but there are some in the club and while there is only a year on these guns, I've not had to do any work on them.

That is somthing that I cannot say for the CDs which were being pushed 2 years ago by a local shop--those were in the 90% trouble category with long repair cycles and parts which required hand fitting.

I am a Remington fam and if could not find a good 1187 20 or an LT20, the a Beretta RL Parallel Target would be my choice.

However, at the $440. price for the Weatherby it is still tempting but I am tied up on an 1100 Synthetic Compeition which is over 6 months as a back order no-show. So Turkish 20 gage semi-auto experiment won't happen in this calendar year.
 
#10 ·
can t really comment on the mossberg but my local gun shop owner was telling me one day that he has sold over 1500 sa-08 s in the last couple years and out of that he has seen only one come back for minor warranty repairs

i sometimes shoot with a guy from my local gun club who shoots waterfowl with an sa -08
and he loves it

divr6347
 
#11 ·
Weatherby all the way. Just because two guns are made in the same region, or even if they would happen to be built in the same factory, doesn't mean that they are built to the same specs, price point, using the same oversight, etc.,.

Nor does it mean that they will have the same resale value and customer service support.
 
#13 ·
I can't speak to the SA-08. I have an SAS 12ga and it's a fab gun but a different animal. I did however just read a Gun Tests review of 20ga Semis: 1187 vs SA-20 vs Browning Silver 20.

The 1187 Sportsman came out on top but they were very positive on the Mossberg other than what they felt was a difficult loading sequence. According to the testers, it's lightweight (6lbs) without heavy recoil, comes with 5 chokes, spacers and shims, and has a starting LOP at 13", which seems ideal as a teaching gun for youngsters and more petite women.
 
#14 ·
The Mossberg SA_20 has been re-designed so it is now very easy to load. As far as I know the Moss. has duel action bars, the Weatherby has one. The return spring is on the mag. tube on the Moss. and in the stock on the Weatherby.

The thing I like about Weatherby is you can talk to someone if you have a problem and they seem to allways have spare parts for what ever they sell. I do think Weatherby's QC is better then most.

It's hard to pass a Moss. for $299.00 when GM has them on sale.. My neighber was in to are GM store last week and asked the guy at the gun counter when they would be going back on sale as he missed the last one and he said if you want one I'll sell you one right now for $299.00 so he came home with one. In fact he is out this morn. dear hunting ( doe only) with it!!
Dave
 
#16 ·
Berudd said:
I was looking at both and called Mossberg to ask questions. The Customer Noservice agent told me since they are Mossberg International they had no info on parts availability and seemed to care less about helping me.
I had a problem with one of my SA-08's. I called Weatherby, emailed them photos of the issue, and they had a new part in my hands within days. More importantly, they had me ship the old part back to them UPS red because they had someone flying to the plant a few days later and wanted to be sure the failed part was with him so he could review it with the plant in person. With service like that, IMO, there is no comparison.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top