I picked up a 20 gauge Franchi Affinity 3 Compact with a 24" barrel along with a Carlson's .575 extended turkey choke this past fall based on research from this forum. I got the stock and forearm dipped in mossy oak bottomland and have been anxiously awaiting the season to start this year. I have been on the lookout for shells since before Christmas. I really wanted to try the Federal TSS #9's, but after researching on the forum, it seems most have trouble with them cycling. I have not been able to come across any Apex #9's and finally had to settle for some Hevi-shot Magnum Blend shells that I was finally able to get my hands on a couple of weeks ago. Well, needless to say, you can tell from the picture of the Mag Blends, I was not happy this week when I shot them. The next day (the day before the season opened), I thought I would try my local shop again to see if, by chance, they had any 20 gauge shells come in. Luckily, they got a shipment in this week. All were #7's except for some Federal Heavyweight TSS #7 and #9 blend. So, in despair from the Mag Blend, I opted for the Fed blend. Needless to say, I'm a happy hunter now! Also, I started by loading the Fed blend shell from the magazine and it went in flawlessly. I then put a Mag Blend shell into the magazine to make sure it would load behind the Fed shell after firing. It also loaded flawlessly. My plan is to hunt with a Fed TSS shell in the chamber and two lesser shells in the magazine. So, with 225 in a 10" circle at 40 yards with the Fed TSS #7,#9 blend, I'm ready to hunt!
