Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns A300 or Affinity?

Basically have narrowed it down to these two for a synthetic stocked waterfowl gun.
12ga, most likely 28" and will almost always see 3" 1-1/4oz steel.
A300 should have less recoil.
Affinity should be easier to clean.
Have a 391 12 and a Montefeltro 20 but I don't have any experience with these two specifically.
Are the USA made A300s as well built and reliable as the old 391s?
What are y'all's experiences and thoughts about these two?
Thanks.

The Affinity is a great gun. That would be my choice for waterfowl.

The 300 are well-liked by those who like Berettas.

A buddy that I duck hunt with has used an A300 for the past two seasons, with no issues. Nothing wrong with the Affinity, but I would take the Beretta every time.

I think they are both solid, reliable guns. I was an A300 fan until I shouldered an Affinity at the local Fin, Feather, & Fir. Night and day difference. It's all personal preference and fit, but for me, I would take the Affinity. If I could justify it, I would have purchased one already, preferably in Bottomland... one day perhaps.

I would take the Beretta every time...much less recoil and very, very low maintance on the 3 that I have had. I got rid of my Super Black Eagle because it kicked very hard compared to the Beretta with dove loads(turned my arm green with Wal Mart dove loads).

I have an Affinity and my oldest daughter has an A300 she uses for 4-H trap. Both have been trouble free. Both shoot very well. I don't notice a significant difference in recoil between the 2. The Franchi runs cleaner, but the A300 runs fine when 'dirty', though we clean it every 100 to 200 rounds usually.

I personally prefer the feel of the Affinity, so it comes down to personal preference in my opinion. You really can't go wrong with either.

Johnny one-note here. The safety location may influence your decision. A300=front of trigger guard, Affinity= rear of trigger guard. For that reason alone, I'd have to choose the Affinity.

I handled an Affinity last week and it felt really good.
I hadn't thought about the location of the safety but that is a consideration.
Thanks for the replies guys.

another vote for the affinity. i bought one in 20ga and one in 12ga both in bottomland camo. i went to the lgs with intent to bring home a benelli sbe2 or m2. but, when i shouldered the franchi affinity i knew it was the one,or two rather, for me. the 20ga is by far my fav for early season dove hunting which is what we hunt the most.
good luck,
BigEd

Just play around with both and pick the one that feels best,though you can adjust either somewhat. I have the Affinity and it has been trouble free for several dove seasons.

a300 is my go to 12, buddy has one as well. They are excellent. Cleaning is a snap. I'll go several hundred rounds if I'm only smashing clays between cleanings. I want to say the affinity has a hi rib? Not sure if it matters to you or not. The a300 is flat.

One poster mentioned the location of the safety - I hold my shotguns with a straight trigger finger (just a shooting safety habit that has been with me since the old days), and the pad of my finger lies directly on the safety of my A300. Perfect.

I've had other shotguns where the safety was on the back of the trigger guard, and because of how I hold it, I had to go search for the button whenever a pheasant flushed. It lost me a couple of birds, and I'll never go back to a rear-trigger-guard safety release again.

Personal preference, I know, but it makes a difference to me.