"Off-brand" semi-auto shotguns - the good, the bad, & the ugly

F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
Anyone have info on some of the lesser-known semi-autos:

1. Escort semi-autos, imported by LegacySports, made in ???
http://www.legacysports.com/LSI_2005RetailCatalog.pdf

2. CZ 712
http://www.cz-usa.com/01.05.php

3. Mossberg 930 and 935:
http://www.mossberg.com/930 a.loader.htm

4. Charles Daly
http://www.charlesdaly.com/html/products/firearms/shotguns/semiauto/semiauto.asp

5. NEF Excel Auto 5
http://www.hr1871.com/firearms/index.php?cat=3&subcat=38

others???

any first-hand experience, good or bad on any?

Can any of them stack up against Remington/Browning/Winchester/Beretta/Franchi?
 
Off-Brand Shotguns

I have to go along with baf2003. Ain't Nothing like an 870. ;) I don't know anything about the others you have listed. Stoeger(?) is owned by Benilli and thier model 2000 goes for about $450.00 and is a close copy of the higher priced gun.
 
I few years back I bought an EAA BUNDA, it appears to be very similar to the "SX" line sold under the VERONA name in the CDNN catalog. I think I paid about $200 and something for it, new with three chokes. It has a Aluminum reciever and Turkish Walnut stocks. I've used it for Turkey and Ducks and so far it has held up pretty well.
 
I have a Verona 12ga. autoloader SX405S-12. All black with matte silver trigger and bolt. I've had it a little over a year and I love it. It's shot anything ive put in it including 3" magnum turkey loads. It cycles as fast as I can pull the trigger. The only bad thing I can say about it is that to load shells into the magazine, you must press the bolt release button each time(kind of annoying, but its not too bad once you get used to it.) I went into the sporting goods store to buy a Remington 870 pump and instead I walked out with an autoloader for the same price. I think it was around $300.
 
To think you are going to get more than you pay for is an optomistic blunder. You might get lucky but the odds are squarely against you.

Kick in an extra couple hundred bucks and get a Winchester SuperX2 or a Beretta 391. You will never wonder what could have been or should have been, and you will have a shotgun that will outlast you by a couple generations.
 
Can any of them stack up against Remington/Browning/Winchester/Beretta/Franchi?
=============

No...

lpl/nc

Edited to add: Tell us again how it's doing in ten years or so...
 
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+1 for mossberg. definitely not an off-brand. if you like big ol' shells, they're really kind of the biggest pushers of cannon loads. in terms of reliability and how well they take punishment, there's a reason the marines use them.

i wouldn't consider CZ or daly really 'off-brands' either.
 
i also have the Verona SX-405 and i love mine too. mine is the synthetic stock version with chrome bolt, gold trigger, 28" and it came with 4 chokes and a choke wrench. got it fot $319+tax. its a very soft shooter with target loads and very consitent. its never had a failure of any kind. i shot my first 25/25 on the trap range with it. its a keeper.

Bobby
 
Well I did it

I bought one of the NEF Excel Auto 5s today. $351.98 + tax new. Very light, 22" bbl, 4 chokes (3 plus an x-full turkey - the bird), rear fiber optic sight and fiber optic front. All camo. Says made in Turkey - the country. Feels like a good handler. I wanted something short for turkey & duck blinds, but yet not a $1,000 gun, which would make my cringe going through brush with it. I'll post on it after I've tried it out, and tried to wear it out. Would have gotten the Stoeger, but couldn't find it locally, and I didn't want to order.

http://www.hr1871.com/firearms/index.php?cat=3&subcat=38#70

When did Mossberg start being an "off brand"?
Click to expand...

Well, it's NOT an off brand with respect to pumps. But their autos are new on the scene, so that's why I lumped them in. I had a 935 actually, but I sold it because it wouldn't cycle 2.75s - it would only cycle 3 and 3.5 loads. To be fair, I knew it wouldn't because the salesman told me and it's marked right on the bbl - 12 ga 3.0 & 3.5". At the time I thought I wanted that. But after enjoying all I could stand of 3 and 3.5 loads, I decided I want a 2.75 gun - that's plenty for the game 98% of the time anyway.

OK, I mis-spoke - they're really not 'off-brands' so much as just 'not the big boys' when it comes to *autoloading shotguns* - other guns, yes.
 
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I wouldn't count the Daly as a off brand either. I own a field grade 20ga that i use on occasion for pigeon hunts, and it is quite a nice lil' gun for the money. I think it cost me $315 out the door.
 
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