Shotgun help????

I don't have any insight inside the company - or divisions of Beretta ...... but yes, I think both Beretta's gas guns and Benelli Inertia guns are worth serious consideration in today's world of semi-auto shotguns as a very good all around gun for clays, upland birds, etc.

Some of the members on here are reporting good results with Franchi as well ...like Slugo. And I think Browning / Winchester is making a pretty good gas gun too in the Browning Silver / Win SX3 lines of guns..

So the real issue here - is not corporate politics - its which gun will meet your needs, if you want a semi-auto.

For me, its the Benelli Super Sport models...but I've purchased a couple of the Browning Silver hunter series semi-autos as gifts for some of the grandkids in the last year or so - and those guns are holding up very well also - and they are certainly affordable / the Super Sports not so much retailing in my area now for around $2,000....while its a gun I will buy for myself / its too expensive to buy 4 or 5 to give away....
 
For your intended purposes, I would recommend the VersaMax. If you decide to shoot some clays, it will do that with aplomb as well.
 
I just don't understand the semi auto guys..... One of the best and most distinct sounds in the world is a pump putting one in the chamber. Personally I think semi auto shotguns are for women that can't hit their target with one pull of the trigger. Anything benelli, or browning is good if your set on a auto....l but I'll do just as good with me inexpensive tried and true remington 870. The only auto shotgun I have is a ducks unlimited benelli that I won at a ducks unlimited auction event.
 
Never saw a pump win a national championship; folks with shoulder issues prefer the lesser recoil of a semi; target shooters also prefer to keep the gun on the target path -something harder to do when pumping an action. Pumps are as balanced as a pig on a shovel..........:D and it has nothing to do with being a woman - that is as idiotic a statement as I have ever heard:rolleyes:
 
99% of my shooting is done with Over Unders.../ and I prefer one of the Browning Citori's ...depending on what I'm doing...and my all around gun is a Citori XS skeet model, 12ga, with an adjustable comb and 30" barrels and weighing about 8.5 lbs...../ because it has all the swing characteristics and balance I want in a shotgun and a good trigger/ it "fits" me / and with an O/U I can put different chokes in different barrels to optimize my hits / and its a reliable 500,000 - maybe a million shell gun well known for its reliability .....( and the sound of it closing ....doesn't really enter into the discussion ??) - but then I don't slam it closed either...??.

So I'll take a good solid O/U over any pump or semi-auto made ...anyday ...( and I have the same Citori XS Skeet models in a 12ga, 20ga, 28ga and a .410 )...all stand alone guns, so I can pretty well shoot or hunt whatever I want ...from Skeet, Sporting Clays, 5 Stand, Upland Birds or Waterfowl. ( I don't really need a 3rd shell ..but I'm reasonably competent with an O/U and can fire both barrels / break the gun and reload as needed....( and I've killed more than one triple on ducks with an O/U over decoys in flooded timber ....kill 2, break and reload, and kill the 3rd one that was stupid and waited to get up later...with all the commotion )....

To me the best overall - do everything pump gun out there - is the Browning BPS Hunter model - I've had them in 12ga and 20ga for about 30 yrs...in 28" barrels....and they're solid proven performers...in the field, for clays or whatever...but for the reasons I listed above on choosing to shoot O/U's, my pump guns are relegated to just some buddy shoots ....vs serious hunting or serious clay target shooting. There was a time when the BPS's were my only shotguns...so I did everything with them as well ...but they were never optimum for Skeet or Sporting Clays.

But I would stack up a Browning BPS Hunter model / or an old Winchester model 12 as head and shoulders above any of the lesser grades of Rem 870's ever made - except maybe the Rem 870 Wingmaster, which I do think is a decent gun.

There is just nothing wrong with a semi-auto shotgun these days ---- while I'm not a fan of the old technology like the Browning Auto 5's...they have their place for nostalgia / but if I want a different shotgun on days when my rebuilt shoulder is bad or just for the heck of it....I sure don't reach for a pump gun / I reach for one of my Benelli Super Sport semi-auto models..../ they are quick to cycle, light ( maybe too light to really suit me ) but easy to carry all day / they are more than a one trick pony - can do most everything pretty well ( they aren't great Trap guns ) but they're a good all around gun...and while the Super Sport is my semi-auto of choice....no reason folks should not consider shooting semi-autos if they want ...even Girls.../if they want...but a lot of women choose to shoot O/U's - for the same reason I do...versatility .../ and many of them shoot very well indeed !

but you can stay with your 870's if you want...even though I consider most of the lesser grades of 870's to be an unacceptable, unreliable and cheaply made pump gun..../ to each his own.../ but implying that semi-autos are foolish choices - or only for people that can't shoot, is just ridiculous...
 
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I shot two stations last Tuesday with my Buddies new Beretta A300 Outlander. It fit me as is, but the stock is adjustable and it ate my buddies crappy ammo as well. A nice gun in the $700 dollar range. I haven't looked at the internals yet, but if it has the Teflon magazine tube like the 302's/303's it's a winner.
 
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