reliable auto shotguns

I've had some issues with the 11-87 and lighter loads. With heavier loads none. The 1100's I've had weren't designed for heavier loads and functioned just fine with the loads they were designed for as long as they were clean. Let them get dirty and you could have issues.

I had a Beretta 390 that shot everything from the heaviest 3" shells to the lightest 2 3/4" shells. Never had an issue, no excuses for being dirty, or specific ammo. It fired everything. That gun is no longer produced, I cannot comment on it's replacement.

Several years ago I ran across a deal on a used Benelli M-1. The M-2 had just come out and someone was selling their 1 year old barely used M-1 at a bargain price because they had to have the new M-2. Not that there was anything really wrong with Remingtons or Beretta, but after using the Benelli for a couple of years I sold them. They just weren't getting used anymore. I just shoot the Benelli better and it has been 100% reliable.
 
I've been shooting shotguns for almost sixty years and I've owned dozens of them. I also shot competition for many years also. Over that time the most reliable shotguns I have owned that were semi-automatic were the Beretta 390s and 391s and any Benelli model that I owned (seven Benelli shotguns). For pure reliability and ease of cleaning the Benelli shotguns win hands down. You can completely field strip them in under a minute with practice and being recoil operated there are no gas ports to clean or plug up. You can get them pretty clean in a pinch with a paper towel and keep on shooting. Beretta no longer makes the 390 or 391 series and their new A400's are junk. The stocks are made of splintery balsa wood and the finish is pure garbage. I paid fourteen hundred for one and kept it a week and sold it. My last Beretta. My Benelli's will be kept forever......a marvel of engineering and quality workmanship.
 
I will admit Benellis are pretty reliable, unless you run into the "Benelli click", or shoot light loads, but I do not like them, other than a 28 gauge Montefeltro UltraLight. Unless you get one with the two piece recoil reducing stock they kick big time with stout loads. In gas autos, the current Remingtons, Berettas, Winchesters all seem to be pretty reliable to me. The cleaning interval required for the different models varies widely depending on the ammo used and action design. The biggest enemy of any semi auto is the nut behind the stock.
 
Most all of the big name brands are good solid ..and reliable ..shotguns.

My personal favorite is Benelli ( like the Super Sport model) and I like the Inertia guns.../ but if you prefer gas guns...all of the Beretta and Browning models are good solid guns as well.

I would not recommend the older technology like the 1100's or the 11-87's...I think they are above average / but there are better options today.
 
I'm a great fan of the Saiga shotguns, mostly because the idea of a Kalashnikov shotgun is positively surreal. But their quality control has been iffy and they're picky about ammunition.
 
Beretta A400 series; their older 390 and 391 are also good. I have a 3.5" Beretta A400 that shoots my 3/4oz reloads perfectly
 
$$$$$$$$

Not everybody can drop four figures plus on a semi shotgun, though I wouldn't mind having a Bennelli myself.........nor a BMW. But my 4WD's are used Fords and a Toyota.....and my shotguns are all Remingtons.

The 1100/1187 family has a good reputation, keep them clean and lubed, and replace the seals now and again. The 11-87 3.5" mag we have, runs light loads well with the light load "adapter" installed on the gas cylinder. Lots of folks have never heard of that part.
 
I have hunted from Manitoba to Louisiana to the Chesapeake, and I will not own an unreliable gun. I have owned over 40 semi auto shotguns, and all of them are gone but three, and I still shoot the second one I ever bought in 1963, a Remington 1100. Treated right, the 1100/11-87 platform is as reliable as any ever built. No, they will not run as long between light spray and wipe cleanings, but I have gone 200 rounds with filthy Blue Dot reloads, and I clean all my guns anytime I shoot them anyway. They are not as flexible as some of the newer designs that will shoot anything up to 3-1/2", but I don't shoot those anyway. I have seen some 11-87s have issues with light loads, but an extra oversized O ring that works like the barrel seal activator mentioned above will cure that. Lastly, Remington has greatly upgraded the finish on their less expensive guns. I think an 11-87 is an outstanding value.
The Beretta 300s have also proven pretty reliable for reasonable money.
In inertia guns, a Franchi Affinity seems to be pretty well received for way less than a Benelli.
 
semi-auto

Like some of the others have said, I, too am a Remington fan.
I love my G3 (1100) for pheasants and sporting clays.

What's your budget?
 
I must assume that due to the less number I..

see in the used racks at gunshop. I recommend the original A5.

Have three, first was a 1970'a A5 12MAG., all I did was to get new friction rings and springs, clean the OD of the Mag tube and apply a drop of Mobil 1, behind the first friction ring cycle it and have FUN!!!

Second is a Stadard 16ga A5, and I use for waterfowling with bismuth shell, and traeat it the same as above.

Third is a LW A5, that I stage at my diaghters for when I visit.
 
beretta 300s and beretta al series sometimes a little finicky with lighter loads but kept clean and well maintained they eat anything you give them
 
at the last gun show I went to I watched a man buy a 12ga 3" mag rem 1100 in ex condition for 375.00 out the door, if I had seen it first I would have bought it. I have several older 1100 2-3/4" barrels that would have turned it into ex small game shotgun. eastbank.
 
The V3 is getting excellent reviews from writers and owners. It is not available in a polished configuration so I do not yet own one. They are reported to be very reliable, but haven't had time to establish a long track record yet. With the aluminum receiver they are lighter than the 11-87s. I think they are a good deal, but since the OP specified value I interpreted that (possibly incorrectly) as least expensive options.
 
I have a Beretta A400 and it has been very reliable. I don't really shoot all that much with it, but I have never had any problems. Budget might be a problem though.
 
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