Updated Mossberg SA-20 Autoloader Shotgun

The newly updated Mossberg SA-20 Field/Tactical autoloader is a 20 gauge shotgun with a 20″ barrel, synthetic stock and a variety of features that might make it a good home defense gun for you.  With the updated version shown at the 2013 SHOT Show, I immediately saw the gun’s home defense potential for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is reduced recoil.

The semi-auto action tends to absorb some of the recoil in the mechanical process of moving the bolt, extracting a spent shell and chambering a new one.  Combine that with the lower recoil of a 20 gauge compared to a 12 gauge, and one can see how this gun will likely be more tolerable to someone who is more recoil sensitive.  I’ve never had a problem training people of all sizes to shoot a 12 gauge, but a semi-auto 20 is simply easier for some people to control.

But the Mossberg SA-20 Field/Tactical offers more than just reduced recoil.  The shotgun comes standard with a ghost-ring rear sight and and AR-style, fiber optic front sight.  I have long preferred the ghost-ring sight for shotgun use, as I have found it to be a fast and accurate system for putting both buckshot and slugs on target.

The shotgun also has a Picatinny rail on top of the receiver for adding your choice in optics.  So, for the cost of the optic only, you can drop a red-dot holosight on the gun for even faster target acquisition.

At the far end of the magazine tube is a tri-rail.  This means you can very easily add a white light to the shotgun for proper threat identification.

Other information on the new SA-20:

• 5 + 1 capacity
• 2 3/4″ or 3″ shells
• cylinder bore choke
• weight:  6 pounds
• length of pull:  14″
• MSRP $525

A second, updated SA-20 was also shown by Mossberg.  This one has all of the same features, but has a fixed pistol grip stock instead of the traditional shotgun stock.  The pistol grip stock reduces the length of pull to 13″, drops the weight of the gun to 5.75 pounds and adds only $6 to the bottom line.