Hey Southern Sportsman

Seems like I remember you tricking out a yildiz O/U 20 last year. How did it turn out?

I am seriously considering doing the same with mine. Might try to pick your brain a little.

I'm not completely done tricking it out just yet. It still has the blued barrel and silver receiver. I'll likely get it cerakoted at some point. But I love the damn thing. I can post pics tonight and I'm happy to answer any kind of questions about it.

How's it shoot? What you runnin' thru it?

I would love to see them. I'm curious to see what kinda pattern it throws with what chokes you got. Is yours POI different from top and bottom? This thing is super light and I don't use it for much else. I love the idea of having two different chokes (barrels) immediately available for close up work or hung up at 35 yards.

I've been loading TSS for my 12 gauges and I'd like to do the same for this project as well. I just know with the season quickly approaching, I need to get started.

Thank you for your willingness to answer questions

I started with the Youth SPZ ME 20 gauge because it has 26" barrels instead of 28. But I didn't like the short length of pull, so I swapped the factory pad for a KickEez Magnum 1 3/8" recoil pad. That made the stock about normal length, but did add a few ounces.

I put a Burris FFIII on it using a low-profile mount from Sumtoy. Awesome mount. It has a center grove that fits perfectly over the rib. Then two screws through the rib to secure it. So the rib does have to be drilled/tapped but it's definitely worth it.

For my long choke, I started with a .562 from Sumtoy. It was TIGHT. 350+ pellets in a 10" circle at 40 yards. Impressive to look at but easy to miss with. He let me send it back and swapped it for a .570 and that's the sweet spot.

The only thing I don't like is the divergence between top and bottom barrel. They are 8-9 inches different with bottom barrel shooting low and a touch right. Briley does the warranty work for Yildiz. I talked to them and they told me to send it in and they would swap the barrels for a different set. Maybe I should have, but I didn't. The top barrel is my long barrel (anything over 25). It shoots such a beautiful 250/250 pattern that I was hesitant to swap it. And I like tinkering. So instead of letting them swap out my barrels, I filed the bottom choke to move the bottom pattern towards center. (Here is a link if you've never heard of that. It works). I used the factory flush mount improved modified. Filing it opens the pattern a little so it was probably the equivalent of a modified. I got it serviceable last year and killed turkeys with both barrels. But I will tweak it a little more this year. I ordered a Trulock extended IM. The extended tube should let me file it a little deeper and get the bottom barrel all the way centered with the top.

The only other thing I did was add sling studs. The forend is thin where a sling stud would normally go, so I installed it on the front knob pointing slightly forward.

I'll add a few pics later.

Also worth noting, I've talked with a couple others who have set up yildiz O/Us for turkeys and none had that much divergence between top and bottom barrel. And Academy/Briley were perfectly willing to take it in and get it right. So I wouldn't let that worry you too much.

Oh, and I'm shooting 1 5/8 oz of T9 handloads

That sounds like a heck of a setup SS. Glad it's working out for you.

I think our brains think alike. I can see you've worked out some of the issues that I've been dwelling on. My first thought was to get with sumtoy and order a choke to see how both barrels performed (POA/POI). If that was good proceed with cerakoting.

Now that you have yours almost at the finish line-what would you have done different?

It's a small point but I know some guys use the same load in both barrels and some that use pheasant loads in <20 yard barrel. What's your strategy?

I bought this gun for my son. He uses the extra full choke on top and a modified below. Both are flush. 3 inch Federal TSS 8x10 in top and a 2 and 3/4 Federal HW 7 below. Not trying to hijack your thread but it's a bad gun to 40+. And the federal flite wad compensates for modifications. It is a 20 after all. Just my 2 cents. Would love to see it modified!

Not a problem with aim on this gun...

ADR said:

Now that you have yours almost at the finish line-what would you have done different?

It's a small point but I know some guys use the same load in both barrels and some that use pheasant loads in <20 yard barrel. What's your strategy?

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Honestly, I didn't do that much to it so there's not much I would have done different. I like the extended butt pad. It wouldn't have been necessary if I bought the standard gun instead of the youth, but I do like the 26" barrels. I was already a big fan of the Fastfire sight so that was easy. And I can't imagine a better sight mount than the sumtoy. I would have mounted the sight an inch or two forward. I like where it is, but the rib is a little shallow at the very back where I put it. It would have been easier to tap just a little further forward. And I would have started with the .570 choke instead of .562, but I had to try to find out.

As for shells, I shoot the same load in both barrels. I could shoot lead in the bottom barrel and save $10-$15 a year, but it's not worth it to me. I load my own shells, so I have plenty on hand, and I like to kill them with a shell I made. I can load my gun in the dark and not worry about which shell goes where. And if I misjudge distance a little or need a follow up shot with the bottom barrel, I'd rather take my chances with 575 tungsten 9s versus 275 lead 6s.

Here's the gun. It's not fancy, but I'm not big on fancy. Like I said, I'll get it cerakoted at some point.

Here is the sight mount

Here is a pattern with the .562


Here is the .570 that I hunt with

Super nice setup SS.

Boll Weevil said:

Super nice setup SS.

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Thank you. Still a few finishing touches to go, but I definitely don't see myself ever hunting with a 12 gauge again.

Are you still working on you 20 O/U setup?

You've been tremendously helpful SS. Thank you for all of the information
I love your setup!!

After missing a bird at 6 steps last year, I'm convinced this is the answer to that problem.

ADR said:

After missing a bird at 6 steps last year, I'm convinced this is the answer to that problem.

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Woooooweeee, that is tight. Most patterns are maybe the size of a baseball at that distance. You should have reached out there and grabbed him.

My advice when they are that tight, aim right above the beard. Good luck with your new setup.

I was hunting a recently timbered area and he kept getting behind rocks or tree tops until he popped out at 6 steps. I knew it wasn't the best setup but I had to get down as he was coming fast.
I set this gun up chasing the 10" number and that bit me

Southern Sportsman said:

Are you still working on you 20 O/U setup?

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I think it's where I want it. "Field testing" last year for the first time went really well...not a whole lot I'd change. I'm like you and may never tote a 12 again