Best semi auto shotgun out there....

Greg_Meyer

Greg_Meyer

New member
I don't know how to start this from my perspective.... But, here goes.... My son and some of his friends went goose hunting yesterday. I went over to his house this morning for coffee and got corralled into helping him clean his (actually one of mine) and his friends' shotguns (3 total...), two 1100 3" 12ga, a 3" 870 Express, a Franchi 3" SPAS and a Bennelli Black Eagle. I have had 1100s for over 40 years and haven't found a better shotgun for my needs. Yes, I know I need a 3" 12ga for ducks and geese and they won;t shoot trap loads. And, I know that with some "fiddling" you can flip the Franchi to shoot light loads. I know at $1100 the Bennelli will shoot them all.

But, I also know that cleaning the various shotguns drew my attention to the functional superiority of the 1100 in simplicity and ease of maintenance.

I have tried 11-87 and everything after to my disappointment. Is the new Remington better than the 1100? Is anything better when all factors are considered? My newest 1100 is already 13 years old and three of my others are from the late 60s.
 
If you like it and it works for you then rock on. For me the Benelli M1S90 has been the ultimate shotgun. I wouldn't argue too hard against a Beretta for the title. I have a sentimental attachment to the old Browning A5, but it is too heavy and can't compete against the Benelli or Beretta of today. Any other semi-auto just doesn't do it for me and at one time or another I have spent time with most of them. My O/U choice is Beretta, though I do have a svelte little Weatherby/SKB 20 gauge I get along with real well. Pump gun of choice is an older 870 Wingmaster, though an old Ithaca M37 or Winchester M12 gets respect also.

I grew up with a Winchester M37 Steelbuilt single shot tagging along behind dad and grandpa chasing bunnies with beagles and shooting squirrels from tall hickory trees. My gun was stolen in a home burglary and some day I will run across a M37 Steelbuilt in the right condition and I will have another one. Hopefully a grandchild will be tagging along with me some day as I point out a fat fox squirrel in a tall hickory leaning over a clear Ozark stream and another Steelbuilt generation will begin.
 
"I grew up with a Winchester M37 Steelbuilt single shot tagging along behind dad and grandpa chasing bunnies with beagles"

Mine was a Springfield single shot 20ga.

As I sit here, I am looking at MY beagle sitting on my wife's lap... I have had beagles all my life and married a beagle owner...
 
Every manufacturer has the occasional lemon, every manufacturer has a jewel. Now, having said that, my experience:

My 1100 runs like a top, eats everything I feed it. My M4 super was a jam-o-matic even after two trips to Benelli. Sold it, 1100 is in the safe.
 
Originally Posted By: RiflemannRemington 11-87 Preimer has worked with every load up to 3" that I have feed it for over 20 years.

I love mine too. I've got the blueing wore off parts of the receiver !
 
Maxus seems to fit your bill nicely. I've had about every gun mentioned here and the Maxus just fits me perfectly. It will cycle everything easily too.
 
I like the franchi 48 myself. I'm trying to find a 12 ga black magic with choke tubes to match my 20 ga.

Just got my first inertia gun. Still like the 48. The 48 is slimmer and even easier to clean. What I don't like about the inertia gun is there is a limit to how much weight can be added to it before it fails. Being able to add weight gives more versatility and allows you to tune the balance to your liking.

Gas guns like the beretta are annoying to clean and the forearm of even the slimmest is like a 2x4 compared to the 48.

I think its the o/u and 48 for me.
 
I have a Benelli SBE II and it has been the most reliable firearm I have ever put my hands on. It's a Performance Center model and it shoots anything that you put in it. I have never had a ftf or jam of any kind with any shell out there. It patterns great and is the easiest gun to maintain that I own. That being said it is also one of the most expensive guns minus optics that I own. For what you pay it should go boom , boom, boom every time you pull the trigger.
 
I know everybody has their own experiences, but I find the 11-87 to be a more reliable shotgun than the 1100 was. Having said that, a lot of people prefer the 1100's, and that's their choice. I have a Benelli SBE2 that has shot everything I've fed without a hitch, so I have to put it at the top of my list.
 
I bought a 3" Remington 1100 in 1969 and it worked great untill I wore it out in the early 1990s "way to many hot loads". Then I bought a Remington 11-87 around 1992 and it is still working great and it does cycle the 1-1/8 target loads.

I did buy a Beretta 391 about 5 years ago and I have not had any problems with it other than finding the safety on it. LOL

I shoot Sporting Clays and at least 90% of the Semi Autos that I see at Sporting Clays shoots are Berettas.
 
Benelli M2, might be the easiest shotgun to clean, and it goes boom with anything I feed it. I have been leaning away from Remington, between a 597 that wouldn't shoot anything, and a new 870 that locks up after 3 rounds. After two deer running by with a jammed gun, I coughed up the cash and got a Benelli. A decent 8 and two small does this year are really wishing I hadn't. They don't make them like they did before.
 
+1 on the Benellis. Had my M1S90 since 1995 and it's bulletproof - excuse the expression.

I tend to run my shotguns dirty longer than I should and this thing will just not stop shooting and it's scary, scary fast. Eats everything and I've used it competently for everything from sporting clays to pig hunting - field loads to slugs.

If I was told I could only own one gun, it would be my Benelli, hands down.
 
I shoot a Benelli SBE 2 and my dad shoots a Beretta Xtrema II. Both are great shotguns. It all depends what shoulders best for you.
 
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