Inertia VS gas in 2025

[G19Jeeper]

Do you run the red dot while upland hunting?

Yes I do, I dont take it off. I was skeptical about running one at first but threw it on for turkey season. Then as a joke I took it to trap night to **** off the guys shooting $10,000 guns and first time out I got 24 then a 23. This was with a Crossfire II red dot from vortex. I then upgraded to their Viper Shotgun model and have been running that since. Shot chukar and some pheasant with it on there. Shot a few 25's on the trap range and done well in 5 Stand. It has grown on me significantly. Im an instinctual shooter so I dont really aim anyway but it gives your brain a point of reference for leads. Works very well.

 

[Bobby Bailey]

Yes I do, I dont take it off. I was skeptical about running one at first but threw it on for turkey season. Then as a joke I took it to trap night to **** off the guys shooting $10,000 guns and first time out I got 24 then a 23. This was with a Crossfire II red dot from vortex. I then upgraded to their Viper Shotgun model and have been running that since. Shot chukar and some pheasant with it on there. Shot a few 25's on the trap range and done well in 5 Stand. It has grown on me significantly. Im an instinctual shooter so I dont really aim anyway but it gives your brain a point of reference for leads. Works very well.

Thanks. My son and I were just discussing trying one the other day.

 

[Turpentine21]

Ive had mostly good experiences with both. Ive owned many of both. I settled on a Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus 26" with a Vortex Viper Shotgun Reddot for general use. Turkey, coyote, pheasant and other Upland, i even use it for trap a few times a month with an average of 23/25. I hate to say I shoot it better than my citori and it eats everything I feed it.

Guns ive owned and experiences with them
Gas:
- Weatherby SA-08 (20 ga and a 12 ga) both were reliable and shot well. Used for clays and game birds
- Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus 12 ga 26", soft recoil and is reliable with everything ive fed it from 1 Oz 1200 fps target handloads to 3" Winchester Longbeard XR turkey loads.


Interia
- Weatherby 18i - harsh recoil and I didnt like how it shouldered. Reliable.
- Benelli SBE II - recoil was what you'd expect but gun shot great and was reliable. Sold it to upgrade to a SBE3 and passed on that due to the reports of 70/30 patterns.
- Benelli Vinci Turkey
- Benelli Montefeltro
- Benelli Montefeltro Sporting 30"
- Benelli Ethos Sporting 30"
The montefeltros and especially the Ethos gave me horrible cheek slap even with target loads. Again, reliable but even playing with shims they didnt fit great and had harsh recoil.


Im surprised by the comments here about reliability of both. Ive never had an issue with the interia or the gas guns ive owned. Im positive im forgetting a few too. The gas guns ive seen issues with were customers cheaping out on cheap foreign made garbage like the Hatfields and the Silver Eagle $200-$300 specials.

Ive never personally seen any quality semi malfunction that wasn't a legitimate fault of the ammo. I run mostly target ammo in my guns since I shoot a lot of clays.

Interesting on the Red Dot. I haven't even used a bead in years and don't intend to ever again. I just look at the target. The very first thing I do when a new shotgun meant for me comes out of the box is to remove the front bead. And the middle bead if it has one. No matter what I intend to shoot with it.

 

[Horse1]

I don't think Beretta designed the 500 or the B 2000. Neither were very good and Browning needed some help. So Beretta allowed them to copy the 390 and the B 80 was born..

The B-80 is a Beretta 303, the model that pre-dated the 390. All the parts swap back and forth except the choke tubes. Beretta used their Mobile-Chokes and Browning continued to use their original Invector chokes.

Browning made 2 versions. A steel frame/action and the "Super-Light" AL frame. Both had the square back. I'm 95% certain all the AL frame 12Ga B-80's are 2 3/4" only despite their AL frame Beretta 303 cousins being 3" capable.

By the time Beretta was producing the 390 Browning had discontinued the B-80 and introduced the 2 A-500 abominations "G" for Gas with gold accents in the engraving and "R for Recoil with red in the engraving. They only lasted 5-6 yrs and the Gold took their place 94/95-ish.

Regarding the OP, I'm a dyed in the wool gas operated semi-auto user. I started on multiple 1100's 2 3/4" 26" Mod for upland and a 3" 30" full for waterfowl. A S&W 1000 Waterfowler after that, and then my 1st Beretta, an early 303 with the mag cut-off lever on the starboard side of the receiver NOT the toggle-switch on the forearm. I've got a few each 302's, 303's in 12 and 20's and a fair pile of both 12 and 20 391's. I never did care for the sight picture of the square back of the 390's or B-80's.

I've been through a bunch of recoil operated semi's as well. I only have 2 left. A Franchi AL48 28Ga and a reasonably old 11-Remington 48 20Ga my dad liked. Tried a few A-5's along the way, an AL48 in 20Ga, and a smattering of Benellis. I've always thought the "weak link" in a Benelli was that very light return spring they house in the butt-stock. I realize it's light so they'll work with "everything" but they're prone to slowdown when it's cold, even with great synthetic lube. Then they beat themselves to death in fairly short order. When the 1st locking head pin breaks, your best be purchasing a bunch of spare parts as more breaking is eminent. If Benelli built a "field" version with a much stiffer return spring they'd recoil less, last longer, and be much more reliable in very cold weather.

 

[Turpentine21]

The B-80 is a Beretta 303, the model that pre-dated the 390. All the parts swap back and forth except the choke tubes. Beretta used their Mobile-Chokes and Browning continued to use their original Invector chokes.

Browning made 2 versions. A steel frame/action and the "Super-Light" AL frame. Both had the square back. I'm 95% certain all the AL frame 12Ga B-80's are 2 3/4" only despite their AL frame Beretta 303 cousins being 3" capable.

By the time Beretta was producing the 390 Browning had discontinued the B-80 and introduced the 2 A-500 abominations "G" for Gas with gold accents in the engraving and "R for Recoil with red in the engraving. They only lasted 5-6 yrs and the Gold took their place 94/95-ish.

Regarding the OP, I'm a dyed in the wool gas operated semi-auto user. I started on multiple 1100's 2 3/4" 26" Mod for upland and a 3" 30" full for waterfowl. A S&W 1000 Waterfowler after that, and then my 1st Beretta, an early 303 with the mag cut-off lever on the starboard side of the receiver NOT the toggle-switch on the forearm. I've got a few each 302's, 303's in 12 and 20's and a fair pile of both 12 and 20 391's. I never did care for the sight picture of the square back of the 390's or B-80's.

I've been through a bunch of recoil operated semi's as well. I only have 2 left. A Franchi AL48 28Ga and a reasonably old 11-Remington 48 20Ga my dad liked. Tried a few A-5's along the way, an AL48 in 20Ga, and a smattering of Benellis. I've always thought the "weak link" in a Benelli was that very light return spring they house in the butt-stock. I realize it's light so they'll work with "everything" but they're prone to slowdown when it's cold, even with great synthetic lube. Then they beat themselves to death in fairly short order. When the 1st locking head pin breaks, your best be purchasing a bunch of spare parts as more breaking is eminent. If Benelli built a "field" version with a much stiffer return spring they'd recoil less, last longer, and be much more reliable in very cold weather.

You are right on all counts. I started out shooting 870 Wingmasters and A5 Brownings. I still have some of both. I bought two Benelli's. A 12 and 20. They worked flawlessly with heavy loads in the dove field but let me down constantly in really cold weather. Wolf makes a heavier spring for the Benelli. But it's more for duck and pheasant hunters shooting heavier shells. I sold both of the Benelli's. But had to buy the 20 back to save the friendship.. I've shot a smattering of 1100s. They just aren't for me. Had a Browning Gold 3.5 and Winchester Super x2 3.5. Got tired of replacing gas pistons, sold them.
I've always wanted a steel receiver B 80 or the 390 ST just haven't bought one yet. I have every model of Beretta from 391 to present in multiples. I liked the 390s and 391s. You could shim the exhaust valve spring and tune them to super light loads if you wanted.
I've fixed a couple of A 500 Brownings for customers. They had a glued in cork type bolt buffer that would disintegrate and clog the whole gun up. Horrendous design comes to mind.
I started working on shotguns out of necessity when I started managing a sporting clays facility many years ago. A job like that will let you know what works and what doesn't.

I work on pretty much all gun types now. But semi auto shotguns are my specialty.

 

[toptom60]

Im in the camp of gas. I run winchester super x2s and super x4s they have been reliable through everything. The super x2 turkey gun has ate everything ive out in it for probaly over 15 years from 3.5 inch turkey loads to trap and sporting clays loads back before I bought sporting clays gun.

 

[camuley]

Inertia

Love my sbe3s, even with all the hate ill buy another

 

[WMDM]

Gas x 3

 

[Drgnrydr]

The inertia drive is way more complex than a gas port . I have and old benelli super 90 and love it but in reality it's kind old school to gas ported guns but My super has never once failed to feed or fire

 

[Greyfox]

I'm not sure that I would agree that inertia based autos are more complex the gas systems. I have run periods where I have shot 3000+ rounds/year shooting informal clays(5 stand, sport/skeet, sporting clays). While recoil is a bit more then my gas guns, the gas designs all seem to run dirtier, require much more frequent cleaning, and are more sensitive to temperature conditions. I rarely, if ever experience a failure to feed with either my long or short recoil semi-autos, old or new.
1939 A5, and 2023 A5 Inertia Briwnings

 

[VinceMule]

I knew a game warden in S. Dakota that shot coyotes from a helicopter. He told me the number of buckshot rounds he shot a year and it was amazing. He said that the only shotgun that would hold up to the wear is the Beretta and he shot a 390.

I bought a 390 that a friend had used for 5 years shooting sporting clays, he had never cleaned it. I shot it on a trap range with no jams on Remington Dove loads. I took the forearm off and was appauled at the carbon build up, wonderign how in the world the gun ever functioned.

I went from Belgium Browning A5's to Benelli to Beretta's. I am a Beretta man now, and even have some of the models they made for Browning, none are jammers...they just keep running.

ON a Dove field, the Beretta 20g is a wet dream come true!

 

[Turpentine21]

I knew a game warden in S. Dakota that shot coyotes from a helicopter. He told me the number of buckshot rounds he shot a year and it was amazing. He said that the only shotgun that would hold up to the wear is the Beretta and he shot a 390.

I bought a 390 that a friend had used for 5 years shooting sporting clays, he had never cleaned it. I shot it on a trap range with no jams on Remington Dove loads. I took the forearm off and was appauled at the carbon build up, wonderign how in the world the gun ever functioned.

I went from Belgium Browning A5's to Benelli to Beretta's. I am a Beretta man now, and even have some of the models they made for Browning, none are jammers...they just keep running.

ON a Dove field, the Beretta 20g is a wet dream come true!

Guess what Vince, your game warden friend was right. But add to that. The 391 with the addition of a 390 bent carrier. The A300 outlander and Ultima, the Ultima 20 gauge. The Extrema 1 and 2, and the A 400 with the exception of the A400 light. It sometimes takes a little work to shoot right. I still love the Browning a 5 but I rarely shoot them now. Had two Benellis, the Super 90 12 was a tomato stake. I sold it as is with full disclosure and pity the guy that bought it. It always hung up. Even sent it back to Benelli. It came back hanging up. Not to mention the noise and recoil. The 20 I still have, but don't shoot. It's used as a range gun some times.