I can't speak to the clays or 12 ga. variants, but I have a 1982 20 ga. next to my desk that has been shot as much as a lot of target guns and remains as reliable as the sun. Well cared for, it has been used enough that it finally needs a new bolt. I talked to Ruger about that yesterday, so off it goes.

As to recoil, it just gets fed target loads and I don't find it any different than other 20 ga. guns shooting the same stuff. My wife sometimes accuses me of being insensitive.