Which semi-auto

stihl kid

Well lads, for my first shotgun I have narrowed it down to either a Winchester sx3, Remington 1187 or a Beretta A300
any veiws or opinions welcome thanks

deerhunter1

stihl kid wrote: »

Well lads, for my first shotgun I have narrowed it down to either a Winchester sx3, Remington 1187 or a Beretta A300
any veiws or opinions welcome thanks

1187 you wont go wrong, not as good as the 1100 the finest semi-auto on the market,

cavan shooter

Cant knock a Beretta.

deerhunter1

cavan shooter wrote: »

Cant knock a Beretta.

No, but you cannot beat the Remmy;)

Grizzly 45

Whichever one suits and feels the best to you and your pocket.;):D

Constab2

deerhunter1 wrote: »

No, but you cannot beat the Remmy;)

One word Bennelli

FISMA

stihl kid wrote: »

Well lads, for my first shotgun I have narrowed it down to either a Winchester sx3, Remington 1187 or a Beretta A300
any veiws or opinions welcome thanks

stihl kid,
Too bad stihl doesn't make a shotgun as I would probably recommend them.

Two questions: what are the prices and how much of an issue is money?

The guns you're looking at are pricey. If you can afford a bit more, I would suggest a Benelli Super Black Eagle. In general, for high end auto shot guns, I recommend the Italians.

So if price isn't a concern and you have to stick to the list, I would go: Beretta, SX3, and then the Remmy.

Again, if you have a few bucks to spare, why not get the Patrick Flanigan's SX3? It is a tricked out version of the SX3 and limited in production. Should help resale value.

Personally, I would go with the Remington 1187 or an 1100. For field conditions, crossing ditches, in a boat, and around salt water, the Remy's are one of the best all around guns there are.

Also, consider parts and accessories. The 1187 has a multitude of after market parts that are easy to obtain, unlike the SX3 and Berettas.

Considering prices and on a budget, I would go Remy, SX3, and then Beretta.

Not sure if slug barrels are legal in Eire (someone please advise) but the 1100/1187 will be easy to find a fully rifled cantilever barrel. Throw on a scope, pull the trigger, and watch your eyes! Shooting slugs is a lot of fun - nice kick!

Later on you may find that you'll want: a longer barrel, shorter barrel, rifled barrel, thumbhole stock, or whatever. That's when you'll be happy you bought the Remy.

stihl kid

thanks lads, the beretta is 1200 winchester is 1150 and i remmy is 1120 so very little in it. I just need a reliable lasting gun in or around 1200

Vegeta

If possible, shoot them all before you buy. Fire light clay carts through them and even sub sonic cartridges if you can get them (eley hushpower).

Those are 3 top brand, gas operated, semi autos so I'd hope reliability is equal among them. After that go with what you shoot best with.

Tackleberry.

Constab2 wrote: »

One word Bennelli

+1 Bennelli, you have to for sure look at one before you spend your hard earned cash...i recently bought a good second hand one and its the bizz
i ve owned 3 other semi auto's but the Bennelli is top dog.

Vegeta

Tackleberry. wrote: »

+1 Bennelli, you have to for sure look at one before you spend your hard earned cash...i recently bought a good second hand one and its the bizz
i ve owned 3 other semi auto's but the Bennelli is top dog.

Then definitely shoot it before you buy it OP

Most expensive shotgun I've owned was a benelli and it was the most unreliable. Does that mean all benelli are unreliable, of course not, does it mean you might get stuck with one that won't cycle 28 gram carts and some 32 gram ones, unfortunately it does. Try before you buy.

Inertia shotguns definitely have their advantages but I wouldn't have one again without testing it thoroughly first.

gregers85

My first Gun was A Berretta Semi - Auto - still have it, approx ten yrs old now! never given an ounce of trouble!!

2011

gregers85 wrote: »

My first Gun was A Berretta Semi - Auto - still have it, approx ten yrs old now! never given an ounce of trouble!!

+1
I bought a 12 gauge AL391 Beretta over 12 years ago. It has shot thousands of cartridges and never jammed or given an ounce of trouble.

Constab2

stihl kid wrote: »

thanks lads, the beretta is 1200 winchester is 1150 and i remmy is 1120 so very little in it. I just need a reliable lasting gun in or around 1200

For €300 more I bought a Super Black Eagle 2 off of Pat Hayes in Country Life in Mallow brand new,worth a trip in my opinion & is a very decent guy to deal with,he has the world of shotguns down there of all brands was in your position start of the year heart set on Berretta until I picked up the Bennelli really like that shotgun lovely gun to handle & shoot.As advised by Vegeta try as many as you can,but for a small bit more budget getting a different league of a gun completely that you will enjoy for years.

elius

There's always the Baikal Mp-153 shore it doesn't have the "marque" of the Bennelli , Beretta, Remington but it is a wonderful shotgun that will take untold abuse.

In fact Remington based there SPR 453 on a baikal Mp-153..

Cass

Vegeta wrote: »

.........does it mean you might get stuck with one that won't cycle 28 gram carts and some 32 gram ones, unfortunately it does. Try before you buy..

+1 to that.

Mate had serious heartache with his Benelli (left handed that he waited some time for) with the lighter cartridges, and some 32gr too.



As for recommendations. Well as always i'll say go for Beretta. Second to none for performance, look, feel, fit, etc.

stihl kid

thanks for the replys guys, what would you think of the Bernardelli and laurona semis? elius i was looking at the baikal but the price seemed to good to be true

elius

I have one lad i traded my o/u for it i honestly can't fault it work every time is a smashing gun to shoot. If you look on you tube there is a good vid of it being put in water mud more water etc still fires every time. The only downside is it dosent have the finish of the above guns dosent bother me it spends most of its time in bad conditions walking through wet field etc if its gets scratched so be it.

stihl kid wrote: »

thanks for the replys guys, what would you think of the Bernardelli and laurona semis? elius i was looking at the baikal but the price seemed to good to be true

Grizzly 45

The Baikal semi auto is basically the Remington1100/1187 made in Russia.
Mightnt be pretty,but it will work.:)

Gonehawking

Check out the Browning Maxus

owelfisherman

SENT U A PM.go beretta

deerhunter1

Vegeta wrote: »

Then definitely shoot it before you buy it OP

Most expensive shotgun I've owned was a benelli and it was the most unreliable. Does that mean all benelli are unreliable, of course not, does it mean you might get stuck with one that won't cycle 28 gram carts and some 32 gram ones, unfortunately it does. Try before you buy.

Inertia shotguns definitely have their advantages but I wouldn't have one again without testing it thoroughly first.

yep i ha the same problem

meathstevie

I'd go with a good tried and tested gas system rather than an inertia system for the simple reason that the inertia ones are geared towards heavier loads in my opinion. The options are fairly limitless Winchester/Browning, Beretta, Fabarm ( Eurolion has a very good reputation ), Lanber, Baikal, Franchi and you can go on and on...it's all a matter of budget and choice between new or secondhand.

Personally I wouldn't be too adverse to a Baikal, none of their stuff will win beauty contests but it does definitely work and does what it's supposed to do without giving trouble..

zeissman

The only semi-auto I would have is Beretta.
I bought my first beretta semi-auto over 30 years ago and a mate is still using it today.

macadam

I have this http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81316535 and it can only be described as Immaculate, in earnest I would say exactly 150 shots have gone through it, just dont have time for shooting.
Its going to the dealers fairly soon too good of a gun not to be used.

Breachloader

They are all good choices, to be fair,
but I'd say forget about ifs or buts, why not try all three on a clay range.
If they all fit you fine then buy the one you score highest with after 50 birds with each gun :-)
BR

CJhaughey

I had an A303 for a while, great gun fired everything I fed it.
Shot well with it, I still have some chokes for it including a Turkey choke.
Nicely made and not too heavy either.

raymo19

Hi all,
good thread here. I have owned benelli, Winchester & Beretta semi's. The benelli i owned never missed a beat with 32g shells. It did suffer a bit with low quality 28g. however with eley, hull, fiocchi I never had a problem. With an inertia gun cleaning is so simple just the barrells, there is never crud around the bolt area. A friend of mine has a benelli special 80 and believe me it is special. Its nearly 30 years young and is like the day he bought it. There is no semi manufactured today has the sheer quality of this gun not even a benelli. Last year the firing pin broke on it, a quick email to benelli italy and two new firing pins arrived in post for a 30yr old gun (FOC). There is a little more recoil from an inertia gun however benelli cleverly mask this with the stock absorbtion system. I found the trigger a little heavy on benelli for clay shooting.
I had a beretta for a while. It was a great quality gun as good as benelli and to be fair crud buildup was not as bad as I thought it would be. The cleaning system does work. it never missed a beat either on 28 and 32 g. RFecoil and trigger were good.
The Winchester sx3 was also a good gun however one could easily see on quality stakes it was not on a par with either above thus price.
You cant go wrong with any of the brands above see which fits feels the better.

raymo

superlite

2011 wrote: »

+1
I bought a 12 gauge AL391 Beretta over 12 years ago. It has shot thousands of cartridges and never jammed or given an ounce of trouble.

I bought a beretta al391 ulrika II over 3 years ago, fires every load no problem, never had an issue, beretta all the way.

maxusman

While the Remington or Beretta are fine guns Icant praise highly enough the Browning Maxus, I recently got one and its far better than I could have hoped for. A black synthetic one is around that price range mentioned.

iverjohnston

Hi elius, I hadn't any knowledge of the baikal M153, but this fun video on youtube might be of interest!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt1QV3DFUrQ