Description
The Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 inch model is the longer barreled half of a two length lineup that otherwise shares every part. Five pounds eight ounces, Turkish walnut over an aluminum receiver, and an inertia action with nothing in it that needs babying. The only real decision is barrel length.
Choosing the Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 Inch
A Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 puts a little more weight out front, and that weight is what keeps a swing moving through a bird instead of stopping on it. On open ground, where shots come at a distance and you have a moment to set up, the 26 inch gun is easier to shoot consistently. In thick alder cover the 24 inch version comes up faster. Neither answer is wrong.
What does not change is the weight class. A Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 inch gun still comes in at five pounds eight ounces, because the receiver is aluminum with no polymer parts inside and the barrel is deep bore drilled rather than hammer forged. That is the number that sells this shotgun.
The action is inertia driven. Retay Inertia Plus bolt uses a rollover torsion spring to positively rotate the bolt head into battery, which addresses the old complaint about inertia guns being jarred out of lockup when slung or pushed through brush. With no gas system there is nothing to foul and less to clean.
Recoil, Chokes and Fit
Light guns kick, and a five and a half pound twenty is no exception. Retay fits the AIRY pad, which uses an internal air pocket instead of solid rubber, and the forcing cone is lengthened at the factory to spread the pressure spike. With standard upland loads a Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 inch gun is comfortable to shoot. With heavy 3 inch shells you will know about it.
Five flush chokes come in every Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 box, covering cylinder through full, and the sight is a single fiber optic bead, which is the right arrangement on a gun that should be pointed rather than aimed. Capacity is 2+1, already plugged for migratory bird rules and more than enough over a dog.
A Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 has a 14.5 inch length of pull and a shim kit for drop and cast, and the trigger group drops out at the push of a button with no tools. Fit the stock before the season. A fast gun shows up a bad fit far more quickly than a heavy one does.
Specifications
- UPC: 193212036063
- Model: B-ACEUL-26
- Gauge: 20, 3 in chamber
- Barrel: 26 in, deep bore drilled, factory lengthened forcing cone
- Capacity: 2+1
- Action: Inertia Plus rotating bolt with rollover torsion spring
- Trigger group: Push button removable, no tools
- Sight: Single fiber optic bead
- Chokes: Five flush tubes, cylinder through full
- Stock: Turkish walnut, shim kit included
- Recoil pad: AIRY air pocket system
- Length of pull: 14.5 in with shims
- Weight: 5 lbs 8 oz
- Warranty: Retay USA limited lifetime
Who Should Take the Longer Barrel
Open country bird hunters are the natural buyers. Sharptails, huns, prairie pheasants and doves over a cut field all reward a gun that keeps swinging, and a Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26 inch build gives you that without adding real weight to carry.
It is also the better choice if the gun will see clays between seasons. The longer barrel tracks more smoothly on sporting targets, which is where very light guns usually struggle, and the extra sighting plane helps on anything at distance.
Where the 24 inch version wins is tight cover and fast mounts. Grouse in the alders, woodcock in thorn, quail in brush. If that is most of your hunting, take the short gun. Both are the same price and carry the same lifetime warranty.
A few practical notes before ordering a Retay Ace Upland Ultralight 20 Gauge 26. Fit the stock with the included shim kit first, because it takes twenty minutes and changes how the gun points for you. Break the action in with normal field loads rather than the softest target shells, since inertia systems need recoil energy to cycle reliably when new. Keep a choke wrench in the vest. And use the removable trigger group at the end of wet days, since cleaning without a workbench is exactly the point of it.
Full factory specifications are published on the Retay USA product page, and you can compare it against the 24 inch 20 gauge or browse our other shotguns.
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