best semi auto shotgun?

Whats the best semi auto shot gun. Im looking at a Benelli Vinci for 950 just wondering if there is better option out there?

Hard to go wrong with Benelli or Beretta. I’ve had a Benelli M2 for several years and it has been flawless. Their Ethos catches my eye but super expensive.

My two cents is our family has 4 Beretta between us and never a problem. Although mine shoots straighter than my sons:)

I would give a look at a Legacy Sports Escort Mag supreme. I know a couple guys with them and they are now huge fans. Super fast reload cycle and quite a few other features for the price point. I think they run around $600 or so

So many good auto loaders out there. I’m partial to Benelli but Winchester’s SX3 gets great reviews from several friends. Others love their Berettas. My next gun purchase is going to be an new auto loader.

What do you hunt with it? I’m going to range from turkey to pheasant so I feel like I have to go 3.5″. I’m struggling if I want a 26 or 28 inch barrel. Likely 28 but the 26 sounds much nicer for swinging on December roosters in SD.

I’ve got Beretta, Charles Daley, and SKB auto loaders and while the Beretta is the oldest and the SKB is the newest that Beretta AL390 has worked flawlessly for the past 18 years and every kind of round through it from trap to heavy goose loads. It also only cost me just under $600 at the same time they were pushing the Benelli SBE for $1,000. I am not saying the high end expense autos are not worth it but I have been more than satisfied with my autos.

Dave

I personally am a Benelli guy. I grew up with a youth sized Nova 20 gauge that I handed down to my 10 year old brother when he was 8 and I got a 12 gauge Nova for my 18th birthday. I still use the 20 for grouse hunting up by Walker. My stepdad has a Nova 12 as well for Turkey and Geese because it holds 3.5″ shells. These are the most reliable pump guns I have ever used.

On the note of semi-auto. My favorite is the Montefeltro by Benelli. Its super lightweight, has a 3″ chamber, and my stepdad’s Monte’ was a gift from my grandpa in 1983 the year they were produced. He hasn’t ever torn it down to clean it, he just used a little compressed air with RemOil and sometimes will run a bore snake through the barrel. That gun has never failed him. They are pricey, but they are worth it. The Vinci and SBE series are very well built guns as well. The Inertia driven system is incredible and super reliable in the worst conditions.

I think the biggest general difference you’re going to find in the Benelli’s or Berettas is the type of action…both are owned by the same parent company so service, warranty, etc. should be somewhat similar. Benelli’s actions will generally be driven by inertia, whereas, Beretta’s relies primarily on gas operation. Both are quality sticks and available in whatever configuration a hunter will need, but if you’re recoil sensitive the Berettas MAY have less felt recoil with their gas operation.

Well, I wasn’t going to chime in but changed my mind.
I shoot a Browning Gold Hunter.
2 3/4, or 3″, makes no difference, it shucks ’em flawlessly. I honestly have not felt the need for 3.5″….I hunt turkeys, geese, ducks, & clay pigeons….
I think a 5 y/o could shoot this shotgun. Virtually no recoil. It’s so damn sweet.
I took a spill in the river 2 seasons ago, completely submerged this gun. Rinsed the barrel off in the water, wiped off the gas tube. Killed 3 mallards before I left that evening. Gun never failed. Of course it got a complete strip down cleaning when I got home. Try one! No, mines not for sale….

There is no “best”, really. Only better options depending on your budget and preferences.

You don’t say what you intend to use it for or what gauge, but in general terms:

It is hard to go wrong with Benelli. The action is very simple and durable, and they are lightweight and dependable.

Beretta is also a great option. The gas driven action of the Beretta produces significantly less recoil than the Benelli, especially with heavy game or waterfowl loads. My 20 gauge Beretta produces so little recoil that it is nothing short of amazing when you shoot it head-to-head with other guns.

As a note, do NOT believe anyone who says gas operated guns are “less reliable” than recoil operated actions. That is pure BS that is created by armchair experts, most of whom have no actual experience with either. I have seen as many Benellis fail as I have gas operated guns. This is almost always not really gun failure but owner failure. There is no substitute for knowing how to maintain your shotgun.

Flatfish is right, the Browning Golds are good shotguns, if a bit more beefy than the Beretta and Benelli. Winchester’s X3 is also a good workmanlike performer, although the * behind that is since the whole ownership changeover at Winchester, I haven’t heard anything good or bad about the “new production” models.

I think Remington get’s dissed way too much. I’ve shot various 1100s and 11-87s for years without any significant problems. I have a relative who logged over 50,000 rounds fired for trap league though one 1100 without doing anything to it other than cleaning. While the 1100 does not shoot 2.75 and 3 inch interchangeably, they are nonetheless amazingly reliable considering they are essentially a half-century old design.

A couple of other players worthe considering. Franchi is part of the Beretta/Benelli group and although I haven’t shot them, they feel well made and have gotten good marks over the years for reliability.

Weatherby’s SA-08 also seems to garner good reviews.

In the super-budget category, I’ve used a Stoeger 2000 as my bad weather pheasant and coyote shotgun for years now. Stoeger, especially the first American market doubles, had a terrible reputation, but IMO Stoeger did eventually get it together when it introduced the autos. This 2000 autoloader with a Benelli-style inertia action has worked perfectly for me. I’ve heard good things about the 3000 (the replacement for the 2000) and the 3500 (3.5 inch mag model) as well. Obviously, they are NOT a benelli, but then again they cost half as much.

I’ll end by saying that in the major brands, there aren’t a lot of BAD choices out there these days. You won’t top Beretta and Benelli for proven designs that are reliable, but going to the Remington, Winchester, or Browning lineups doesn’t relegate you to low-level performance.

Grouse

I’ve got a friend with a Vinci. He’s let me shoot it, and it’s a really nice gun. His complaint is that it will only hold three shells, and he’d like more for SD bird hunting. That might not be a factor for you.

I ended up putting an extended magazine on my M2 Because it only held 3 shells. 4 total with one in the pipe. Now it holds 6 total or (5) 3 inchers. I wanted to add that I have a Remington 1100 20 GA I use for grouse hunting and have done so for over 20 years. Seems like yesterday when I bought it. I would be remiss if I didnt say that has been the most influential gun I have ever owned. Frighteningly dependable and has been shot a lot. Nobody takes 1100’s seriously anymore. Probably because of weight. But they have a sweet gas system and the 20 guage is not heavy in the least bit.

Nobody takes 1100′s seriously anymore. Probably because of weight.

I have 2 1100’s. Seals fail frequently and ejection issues on lighter loads. Granted, easy & cheap to fix, but the frequency is the issue. Not a shotgun that you want to put a high number of trap loads through

1100’s are like my Kawasaki quads. They need a lot of attention but if you stay ahead of it they generally wont let you down. I’ve never had a seal fail but then again I keep several attached to my gun case and swap them out at the smallest sign of damage when I clean it after every use. She doesn’t like low brass. Loves Remington Express rounds.

I am not an auto loader guy but have beat the snot out of my Benelli Nova for many years and it is flawless. Dad has always run the Benelli M2 and again it’s been frozen solid in late December and still fired every time. In fact, while hunting ducks in Alaksa a few years ago in December Dad walked away from his gun on the shoreline for a couple minutes. The tide came up and pretty soon just the tip of the barrel was showing out of the salt water when he realized what was going on. He ran and grabbed it, unloaded it, dumped out the water, reloaded it and shot at the next flock without fail.

Benelli SBE II. One of the best all around guns out there.

Years ago I had to use my SBE as an emergency push pole/ paddle. I then washed the mud out of it in the lake and shot some ducks. Never had an issue.
DT

Hey guys this gun will be for everything from pheasants to turkey and goose. My budget is around that 1000$ Mark. So the SBE2 is out. Im just not sure. It wont be making out to SD this year with school but next year for sure.

I have two Remington 1100’s 12 ga and 20 ga doth are the magnum receivers. These guns were given to me by my dad. I duck and pheasant hunt with them with my boys without any problems and both ha ve the original o rings.I don’t shoot as much as I use to but these guns have never failed.

Check out CZ.

Stan Jenson wrote:

I have two Remington 1100′s 12 ga and 20 ga doth are the magnum receivers. These guns were given to me by my dad. I duck and pheasant hunt with them with my boys without any problems and both ha ve the original o rings.I don’t shoot as much as I use to but these guns have never failed.

Similar experience.

I have a theory that frequent o-ring failures are down to the use of specific cleaning solvents. It seems to me that when it comes to o rings, guys are in two camps, either they change then almost never or constantly.

I rarely changed them in the 1100s that I owned. My uncle shot trap with his for years and I asked him if he ever changed the o rings, and he said, “What O rings?”

Grouse

Wingmaster 1187. 30+ years and it keeps on going.
That’s my dad’s. I’m 30 years old and that gun is older than I. Never jammed a shell and i used to steel it a lot.
I use a wingmaster 870 pump. Thousands of shells through that gun through my entire lifetime. Never jammed a shell. Never had a problem. NEVER. Gun is older than I am too.

Chris Hazen wrote:

Hey guys this gun will be for everything from pheasants to turkey and goose. My budget is around that 1000$ Mark. So the SBE2 is out. Im just not sure. It wont be making out to SD this year with school but next year for sure.

Do some shopping and be patient. My buddy just picked up a Montifeltro at Gander yesterday for $799. Had one box of shells ran through it. I handled it last night and it is brand new mint. Deals are out there. I always seem to miss them….

I’ve got a Browning Gold Hunter 12 GA that I use for just about everything and really like it, but truth be told, I’ve been known to steal my wife’s youth model Montifeltro 20 GA OFTEN for grouse and Pheas. As stated, it’s a youth model, so it doesn’t fit me and I have no business shooting it, but I’ll tell you what, that thing just puts birds on the ground. I love that little gun and would be really happy with a full sized stock version. I don’t think you could go wrong if you choose this route.

Chris Hazen wrote:

Hey guys this gun will be for everything from pheasants to turkey and goose. My budget is around that 1000$ Mark. So the SBE2 is out. Im just not sure. It wont be making out to SD this year with school but next year for sure.

If your budget is limited, don’t buy a cheap auto you will be sorry. Get a pump for now like the Benelli Nova, use it til you can afford a good quality auto loader. Never know, you might realize you don’t need an auto…

It will be a cold day in h e double hockey sticks before I buy an auto, unless I am physically not able to pump a shotgun.