Need a new Semi Auto shotgun!

I have always been a Remington fan, grew up that way and killed pickup truck loads of Dove, Deer, and Turkeys with them. I have an 1100 I liked, and an 11-87 I loved.

Then I started Duck and Goose hunting and the problems became apparent immediately, a little frozen mud or water in the works and the Remingtons quit cycling pretty quick. Great upland guns but not for the muck.

My brother in law shoots an SBE and I tried it but the thing fit me like a 2x4 so I did not want to go that route. Great gun no doubt about it, just not for me.

I was at a gun shop one day just looking and handled a Beretta Extrema and the decision was done. A week later I had one in my paws. 2 years later I can't make this gun fail. It gets full of briars and junk during deer season, and mud and ice Duck and Goose hunting. I don't go out of my way to abuse it obviously, but I don't go out of my way at all to protect it either and the thing just shoots and shoots and shoots. Everything from hard kicking 3 1/2 goose loads to cheapo super light clays loads cycle flawlessly. The only way I will ever replace this gun is if I find some way to wear it out. I might consider a second one if they ever build an Extrema-ish gun on the A-400 receiver.

To me there's Beretta and Benelli, and then a gap back to everyone else. Pick the one that fits you best and just try to wear it out.
 
I've had them all at one time or another. The Benelli's are easiest to clean, very reliable and very expensive. Great hunting guns but are a little whippy for serious target shooting, the Remington's I've owned (11-87 and 1100's) were very reliable but a little on the heavy side for all day upland hunting. The one Browning Gold I had was an absolute piece of junk. I couldn't even finish a round of sportng clays without it jamming. Lost a lot of money on that one ( I traded at the club house while I was still furious with that gun) lol. Currenlty I have a Beretta 391. They are great all around guns very reliable, track targets well, light enough to hunt with, and the stocks are adjustable as well. But they are a pain in the butt to clean, luckily you don't need to do a complete tear down cleaning all that often . The only drawback that I can see is they are not U.S. Made. However Beretta has the 3901 that is a remake of the old 390 and last I heard they were at least assembled in the U.S. At the MD. Plant. Enjoy whatever you get . Or got.
 
i have postponed my shotgun purchase for a while to do a research. I have shot the extrema II, SBE I, and when i went in to play with some i liked the feel of the maxus the best i think. As of now it looks like im going to go with the Maxus. A little cheaper, just as nice in my opinion
 
Well I ended up buying a browning Maxus 3" MODB. The gun is beautiful, it shoots increadly well. I did some waterfowl hunting and I have never had such luck, took it deer hunting and through a rifled choke tube in instead of buying a fully rifled barrel for 400 dollars, and drilled a buck at 124 yards! I love this gun. Bad thing is, I want to test other shotguns and an it makes me want a Benelli Vinci
 
Buy what fits you & what you like. I will tell I have been shooting 1100s since 1976 & have 5 Remington autos. I have hunted Pheasants & Waterfowl Quail Doves & Deer.
I will tell you Remington 20 ga 1100 holds the record for most shots fired with out a failure for Autoloading shotguns .........
Gas Autos do require more cleaning but most people don't maintain there guns correctly. As for working in cold weather keep it clean & dry it has & will work at -20F
 
Last edited:
Warning! This thread is more than 12 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top