Montefeltro Ultralight 20 gauge or Affinity Elite waterfowl 20 gauge

[Bidwell]

Ok I've pretty much narrowed my shotgun search down to the Montefeltro Ultralight 20 gauge or Affinity Elite Waterfowl 20 gauge. Having a hard time picking between the two. Looking for the lightest gun possible which is easily the Benelli at 5.3 pounds. But, the elite has cerakote, optics ready, less prone to benelli click (at least thats what Franchi customer service says). And its only 6 pounds.

Any recomendations or first hand experience with both?

 

[EastTX Jess]

Benelli. If you’re comparing inertia shotguns, Benelli is the answer.

 

[jjwise97]

I’ve owned and shot both a lot, either would be fine tbh. I regret selling my montefeltro, but I like the Franchi’s a lot. I have a very early 12ga Affinity Waterfowl Elite, and a 20gaAffinity with the wood stock and both have over 10,000 rounds with essentially no issues. Didn’t have any issues with the Montefeltro either though. I just weighed my Affinity 20 and it’s 5lb 13oz so still pretty lightweight, and the recoil is not bad at all.

FWIW though, I got a Beretta a400 a few years back and it’s by far my favorite shotgun I have.

 

[blazingangel09]

My wife shoots a 20 ga montefeltro and loves it but we may be willing to part with it if you are looking for a used option. We are increasingly turkey hunting and less often skeet shooting or upland hunting so she has been interested in a less pretty option to drag through the brush.

 

[Bidwell]

My wife shoots a 20 ga montefeltro and loves it but we may be willing to part with it if you are looking for a used option. We are increasingly turkey hunting and less often skeet shooting or upland hunting so she has been interested in a less pretty option to drag through the brush.

Thanks! Ill keep this in mind. Thats one thing about the montefeltro that ive been thinking about as well. Its a pretty shotgun, and this will be sort of a do-all tool. I might worry to much about banging it up.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Benelli. If you’re comparing inertia shotguns, Benelli is the answer.

You do know that Benelli owns Franchi and they use the same inertia system.

 

[Bidwell]

I’ve owned and shot both a lot, either would be fine tbh. I regret selling my montefeltro, but I like the Franchi’s a lot. I have a very early 12ga Affinity Waterfowl Elite, and a 20gaAffinity with the wood stock and both have over 10,000 rounds with essentially no issues. Didn’t have any issues with the Montefeltro either though. I just weighed my Affinity 20 and it’s 5lb 13oz so still pretty lightweight, and the recoil is not bad at all.

FWIW though, I got a Beretta a400 a few years back and it’s by far my favorite shotgun I have.

Appreciate it! The beretta a400 also looks great. I like the xplor version. Its a little more than i want to spend and its a little too pretty, same issue i have with the montefeltro. But i like the weight and the gas system on those sounds very reliable and clean.

My ideal shotgun i think would be 20 gauge, 24 or 26 inch barrel, roughly 5.5 pounds, synthetic stock, cerakote, drilled for optics and I miiight lean towards gas since I dont want to worry about going out of battery. But, this is my first autoloader shotgun so I'm not really sure how much of an issue that is in practice. The Franchi checks more boxes than anything else right now.

Theres also a part of me that says go the cheap route and get one if those turkey sa-20's or maybe the field version. They seem to get good reviews, are light and affordable, and wouldnt worry so much about banging it up. But theres no aftermarket support, limited warranty, and sound iffy in terms of shooting light target loads.

 

[Bidwell]

You do know that Benelli owns Franchi and they use the same inertia system.

Yeah that's what I assumed. When I called Franchi they said they do things a bit differently though, and their bolt system is less likely to get nudged out of battery. I sort of suspect that's not true, but its just what they told me.

 

[Subs]

I have both. Both are great guns but different. The Franchi is probably a better do all 20ga. The Benelli is pretty. I’ll weigh both when I get home to give you a comparison but my particular Ultralight is heavier than the stated 5.3 (if I remember right). Guns with wood stocks can be tricky to target a specific build weight because density from tree to tree can be different.

 

[Bidwell]

I have both. Both are great guns but different. The Franchi is probably a better do all 20ga. The Benelli is pretty. I’ll weigh both when I get home to give you a comparison but my particular Ultralight is heavier than the stated 5.3 (if I remember right). Guns with wood stocks can be tricky to target a specific build weight because density from tree to tree can be different.

Thanks! That would be super helpful. It's been difficult to pin down actual weights. Makes complete sense that there would be some deviation in wood stock weight.

 

[Falconer0311]

I have the Franchi Affinity Elite Waterfowl 20 gauge, so I can speak to that. Been an amazing shotgun overall, the oversized buttons are a game changer when you have gloves on. Cycles very smooth, never had any issues. I've also tried out a lot of different brands for shells, and found mine works best with some Hevi Metal or Hevi steel.

 

[Bidwell]

I have the Franchi Affinity Elite Waterfowl 20 gauge, so I can speak to that. Been an amazing shotgun overall, the oversized buttons are a game changer when you have gloves on. Cycles very smooth, never had any issues. I've also tried out a lot of different brands for shells, and found mine works best with some Hevi Metal or Hevi steel.

Appreciate it! Starting to lean this way.

 

[Macintosh]

Is the ultralight now made with wood? The original benelli ultralights were wood lookalike synthetic stocks, “extrawood” or something.

 

[Macintosh]

Personally, I have no desire for a short 5.5lb or less gun. Its too light to shoot well, and the short length makes it even whippier. I’d prefer a slightly longer 6lb gun 7 days a week. And this is coming from a guy who likes light guns, carries it one-handed in thick brush, fast shooting, etc.

 

[Bidwell]

Is the ultralight now made with wood? The original benelli ultralights were wood lookalike synthetic stocks, “extrawood” or something.

Oh really? Didn't know that. I'll check

Edit: Couldn't find an exact reference to this, sounds like it's walnut. Only thing I could find was something about using a system to enhance natural grain

 

[Bidwell]

Anyone think or know if benelli's crio/ cryo barrel freezing system makes a noticeable difference on shot pattern?

 

[Subs]

Is the ultralight now made with wood? The original benelli ultralights were wood lookalike synthetic stocks, “extrawood” or something.

I've heard of that finish treatment as well. The website specifies Satin A Grade Walnut. I can't imagine that they could state if it weren't that. Whatever finish they put on it might enhance the grain to a somewhat unnatural state. I can confirm that the stock on mine is wood. As far as the "extrawood" treatment, when I have been able to find an explanation, it was always applied to wood stocks.

 

[Macintosh]

Sounds like they are wood now. The older ultralights with extrawood stock was 100% a synthetic stock with a printed wood-looking finish. I only mentioned because it was mentioned that it was too pretty to drag thru brush, so was going to point that out. If its actually wood now though, then the point is no longer valid.

 

[Subs]

Sounds like they are wood now. The older ultralights with extrawood stock was 100% a synthetic stock with a printed wood-looking finish. I only mentioned because it was mentioned that it was too pretty to drag thru brush, so was going to point that out. If its actually wood now though, then the point is no longer valid.

I had to dive into this more. I know I've heard of it but wasn't recalling exactly where so I went to the google machine. Are we possibly mixing up Benelli with Beretta...?

 

[Macintosh]

Extrawood may be a beretta thing, although beretta, benelli and franchi are all the same company so they share a lot. Benelli may have had the same or similar, dont recall the exact names. Regardless of the name, the original benelli ultralights had a fake wood grain printed on top of some other material. It sounds like this is no longer the case with the newer montefeltro ultralights, so it is no longer relevant to this post.