Gonna win about $800 in one of my fantasy leagues. I would like to commit that to a inertia driven 12 gauge. Thinking a blued/synthetic. Affinity? Most for the least?

I'm shotgun ignorant. What would you do with $800? Assuming a semi.

Weatherby SA-08 and buy a couple flats of shells.
Get a nice gas gun.

the franchi is a great gun. and if I were in the marey for another semi 12 that would be on my very short kist

Benelli Montefeltro synthetic. New $800 at academy and several spots online. They run them for several 100k rds in South America and Benelli's dominate the duck hunting scene. I have a 20g Montefeltro in wood and it points and carrys awesome.

Sounds good to me.

Good condition Benelli M1 or M2, SBE 1 or 2, the Monty, ect. can be found in that price range with a bit of patience.

Affinity, Weatherby Element or Montefeltro. Whichever fit you best.

28" vs 26"?

What use? If waterfowling I'd say 28". Pretty much anything else I'd say 26". Especially with the long receiver inertia guns.

Waterfowl from blinds

Beretta Urika 2 slightly used and a bunch of ammo with the left over money. thank me later.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog..._12ga_28_semi_auto_synthetic_stockblued_

?

Barrel length is purely personal preference. I like 26" for everything but seem to be in the minority.

I like 28 inch for waterfowl but 26 inch for a upland gun, just my preference

I have a 28" affinity that never misses a beat when I loan it out at trap or use for ducks.

However if you can get Benelli, upgrade just for resale reasons.

Hmmm... Ive never tested my affinity for the benelli click or if the new monte's / M1's still suffer from the click. Anyone know?

Benelli click?

Benelli click is when the breech doesn't fully close. The rotating bolt head hangs a little not allowing it to close. Sometimes it happens when you rest the gun on the butt too firmly opening the bolt and it doesn't close back. Only time my M1 has done it is when I rode the bolt trying to be quiet but I caught it and opened it back up and let it close fully.

A Wolff 25% increased power spring is supposed to alleviate this issue as well as keep the bolt from slamming back so hard on recoil. I have one ordered but it has not arrived yet so I can't comment.

I love my 26" M1 for waterfowl with Briley extended chokes. It's one I don't intend to ever sell.

It ain't limited to Benelli... Trust me..

I've heard of the "click" issue and can see how it could possibly happen but in 20 years of hard use on a pair of M1S90's I've never experienced it.

Just today I installed the Wolff 25% increased power recoil spring in my M1. Comparing to the factory spring I don't see how there's any way to get the Benelli click now. It pushes the bolt with much more authority. I will say that I should have changed it out years ago. My ecoil spring tube had developed rust that I cleaned as best I could.

As for most value for least spent, I've heard lots of praise for the Stoeger 3000 which comes in cheaper than the Franchi.

stoeger uses the same avtion, but the fit a d finish is horrible. like holding a 2x4...but they work

im suffering the click now. guess ill get the spring

I handled the following one day side by side: Versamax, Stoeger 3000, and Beretta A350 Xtrema. I fully expected the Stoeger to have the worst fit and finish but it was actually better than the other 2. The M3000 is an inertia gun but has the recoil spring around the tube which I think is a better design for a waterfowl gun that is subjected to water and salt. For someone on a budget I think they could do much worse than the Stoeger and I plan on getting one to have as a backup to my M1 since it takes the same chokes.

I got a chance to handle a 28" Montefeltro at my local Dick's. It was the wood model which I have no desire for but it was surprisingly lite. Should I just replace this spring immediately and be done with it? Anyone have a link to it.

If the gun was new and functioning properly I wouldn't touch it. I bought my M1 used about 8 years ago and never had issues with the factory recoil spring. When I just changed it there was significant surface rust on the spring and the outside of the recoil tube housing. Thankfully the inside of the tube was clean and rust free. Sure Cycle makes a stainless tube and spring kit for about $150. I'm sure one day I'll have to replace mine

I have shot Benellis since about 99. The click is from trying to close the bolt slowly or bumping the butt stock on the ground and knocking the bolt back enuff for the rotary head to rotate out of battery. A new spring helps but it still happens if your not paying attention.

A 26 or 28 would be fine for waterfowling or upland, there isn't even an once difference between the two. The 28" won't be as loud for the other hunters if you hunt in a blind. I have a M1 and a SBE1 and had another M1 and montefeltro. They are great guns, light and easy to take down and clean even in the field with no tools.

Buds is blowing out their stock of Girsan MC 312 inertia guns for $300. I have one on the way. It appears to be a clone of the M1 and has a lifetime warranty through Buds for whatever that is worth. I picked one up as a beater and backup to my M1.

Anybody got experience in with the Beretta A300? I've got a 391 that has been flawless for 13 years, but also wanting to get a synthetic stock for when I'm going to be beating it up carrying stuff and trudging through mud.

A little info for the OP; inertia shotguns recoil a bit more than gas guns and inertia guns tend to be less tolerable with lighter[1oz] loads. Just so you know.
I know two shooters who have the Weatherby SA-08 in 12ga, and they both really like those guns FWIW.

i have a Beretta Urika 2 that i promoted in my earlier post for the original poster. i took the time this past mon on my observed New Years Day off to do a deep clean on it. its been close to 5 years since i did one (fully dissembled) and i have to say it amazes me how reliable that gun is even with all the carbon build up that was in there. now its good for another few years i guess.

A good friend has one that I've shot a bit. It's cycled everything we've put through it including cheap target loads, 3" duck loads and turkey loads. I hit fairly well with it but for whatever reason compared to my Win SX2 and Rem 1100 it felt cheap.

I have an A300 turkey gun. I've had a couple issues with it -- 1. The bolt handle was is no tight from the factory I could not get it out. A return to the Beretta fixed the problem at no cost to me. 2. The gun did not fully cycle when I took a shot at a Turkey this fall. I was shooting long beard ammo so there was plenty of juice to cycle the action. After testing firing it and confirming that it was not a fluke, I came to the conclusion that the trigger group was not in quite right. After tearing down and reassembling everything carefully, it has been 100% reliable. This issue might have been my fault when I took it apart to clean it before turkey hunting and did not test fire it. It seems to be sensitive to the trigger grouping being in just right. Decent gun for the money but not quite the quality of the up line Berettas.

I ordered a Benelli Montefeltro 12 gauge 28" synth for $799 free shipping. $25 FFL fee on my side.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog..._12ga_28_semi_auto_synthetic_stockblued_

Awesome price that I couldn't duplicate locally. Also avoided tax.

you will love that monte

Just ordered my synthetic Montefeltro from Buds also.

Can't beat that price!

Awesome. Did you opt for the 26 or 28" ?

28 synthetic was the only one they had on sale. I prefer the 26 but since it's gonna be a duck/sporting clays gun 28 will be fine. I have a 26 20g in wood that is hard to beat. I ordered a sling cap from Midwest Gun Works. I'll let you know how 3inch #2 Remington's pattern.

Those Montes are going to be great guns.

The Franchi Affinity is the inertia to own in that price class, if you can't get the Benelli. Indeed, I like the Affinity better than the Benelli, due to its recoil spring being up front, and the ergos fit me a little better.

I found the same when I bought my Affinity a few years ago. If I had to do it again I'd make the same choice.

Mailed a check to Buds to avoid their bump for using a credit/debit card. Sent it Tuesday. I was warned that there inventory will be sold up until my check clears. Well today, worried about the above, I see that the 28" montefeltro deal no longer has an "add to cart" button. It isn't frankly labeled as being out of stock. I'll call them in the morning to see where I stand.

If that's a no go then I found a shop on the eastern shore that has the same thing for $799 in stock. Got to pay tax but it is in stock.

Mitch's Gun Shop in Mississippi also has them on special and has some killer deals on Franchi's. I called and talked to the owner who was really nice. I won't tell you that I used the price match feature for my Monte and got an even better price.

I handled a Franchi Affinity and Instinct also and really liked both. You couldn't go wrong there. Prefer the larger safety on the Monte for sure.

The Franchi Affinity can accept a Benelli big button safety without modification, if desired. Taran Tactical being a good one.

We hunted in frozen Arkansas this past weekend. Only issues were with the inertia guns (two Benellis and two Brownings), although they were minor. The gas Berettas and Remington's were flawless. My old Beretta 390 has been an amazing shotgun.

Got my new Montefeltro the other day from Molly's on the eastern shore. Bought some cheapo shells and proceeded to blast pumpkins. Far from scientific but I really like this shotgun. Only included the installed IC choke?

My cousin is taking me out duck/goose hunting on his hunt club property Saturday. Chest waders came in and fit great. Grabbed a medium range Blackout choke tube. Had to drive entirely too many miles to find 3" #2s. (Nolan told me to get those) I can only assume you guys just buy them bulk online?

I buy 3 inch #2 also buy the case. Have never ordered online. Yeh mine came with the IC only. Called Benelli and they said that's how retailers were able to offer the synthetic Montefeltros new for $799. Benelli said they had tons of calls though because the retailers often didn't mention the single tube. I got mine for $735. For that price I can buy my own tubes.

For anyone looking, you may want to check your local Academy if you have one. Some are selling the synthetic Montefeltros for $729. Hard to beat that price. I wish they had them in 20 ga.

I have had issues in the past when it was really cold and wet with my M1 cycling slow. I have since put in a Wolff 25% increased power recoil spring since I pretty much stick to 3" magnums in that gun. I haven't tried running target shells in it in low temps with the new spring but it definitely keeps the action running faster in the cold.