USMCGrunt wrote: What shotgun has a faster action than a Benelli M2? (and also) So the blackbirds have returned and in need of blasting.
Semper Fi Grunt. From another old Marine.
To attempt to answer your question realistically, the answer is, it depends on several factors. I assume you mean semi autos only for the purposes of my answer.
A. The action of the shotgun.
If it is an inertia operated, semi auto, that requires sufficient movement of your shoulder under recoil for it to cycle and function properly. If you set the butt against an immovable object (like a big tree) it will not function nor cycle correctly. Gas or long recoil operation do not require movement of your shoulder to cycle and function properly.
B. The talent/ability and experience of the shooter. Some people have quicker trigger fingers and can get a real rapid fire rhythm going and some people can't. We can't all be champion rapid fire shooters, but for blasting black birds as you mentioned, I can name three that I own that for all realistic practical purposes will cycle faster than most people can work their trigger finger while dealing with 12 gauge recoil.
1. My Fostech Outdoors Origin-12 is gas operated (based on a highly modified AK action). I can fire it very rapidly. See for yourself in this video of me rapid firing 10 shots from it. Yes 10 shots, it goes so fast you can hardly believe I fired 10 shots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WUYoAZRS6w
2. Although I don't have a video of me firing it, I can fire my long recoil operated old 1940 Belgium Browning Auto Five just as rapidly as the Origin-12.
3. I also don't have a video of me firing my Remington model 11's, but since they are basically clones of the long recoil operated Browning Auto Five, they fire just as fast. I have had five shell casings in the air before rapid firing both my Browning and the Remy 11's.
I like my Origin-12 a lot, but being gas operated of course you have to clean powder residue from the bolt area as well as disassemble the gas tube to clean it and the piston. Nothing hard about that, but you still have to do it. One thing I
REALLY like about my Browning Auto Five and Remy 11's is that they are long recoil operated with no gas/powder blow back to foul your bolt area and no gas tube and piston to clean. All you need to do with them is run a brush or patch down the barrel with no disassembly and that's about it. So they are super easy to clean. I love recoil operation for that and wish more guns would be made in recoil operation rather than messy to clean gas or inertia actions that depend on the movement of the shoulder under recoil (which can vary from shooter to shooter and cause short stroking of the bolt sometimes). The long recoil operated Browning Auto Fives and Remy model 11's may be out of production and a great many of them antiques, but they are great designs with many working 100 years later and still going strong.
The Origin-12 of course is relatively new and around $2600.00 to $2800.00 and 10 rd mags are available as well as 20 rd capacity drums. That would certainly mow down your black birds quickly with less reloading.
Used Browning Auto Fives and Remy model 11's hold five in the tube (six on the model 11 if you know the 1/4" washer trick under the loading tube cap) and can be had anywhere from around $250.00 to $400.00 on auction sites like GunBroker if you shop around and are extremely easy to clean, very rapid cycling and easy on the budget.
I highly recommend all three since they all cycle crazy fast and can cycle faster than most shooters can deal with the recoil and operate the trigger in a real world realistic situation.
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