Home Forums Birds & Dogs Waterfowl Best semi auto for the $

I love my Benelli M2, its fit, the way it pulls up and points. I couldnt agree more with your words.

M2 for me in both 12 and 20. Great shotguns.

My A-5’s don’t collect much dust. But, I prefer them for upland bird instead of waterfowl.

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Beretta a300 outlander, mine has run perfectly for several years now.

My friends who are avid waterfowlers keep Stoeger M3000's around as loaners for guests...admit that they are functionally the same as their guns that cost much more.

Browning A-5 , but they are not normally found at bargain prices . I sold the ones I had when they started bringing over $900 for average looking ones . The only auto I kept was my Remington Sportsman 48 I have had so long I don't even remember buying it . Never regretted owning it though , never had the first issue with it . Have owned them in several gauges and they all worked just fine . I kept the 16 and let the others go since I seldom shoot automatics anymore . Last one I bought I gave $250 for , shot it about 10 years and made $25 on it when I sold it . For the money it would be hard to buy a better shotgun than the Sportsman 48 , you could probably buy one in each gauge for what a Beretta cost ..

Have something approaching 10,000 rounds through a Win Super X2.

Everything from light clays loads to 3.5 inchers as fast as I could squeeze the trigger in a snow goose hunt.

Completely happy/impressed.

Lots of Beretta autos too but they weren't "better" than that Winchester

A used Browning Gol/Silver/Winchester SC2/3 is a lot of shotgun for the $ right now. They’re vastly underrated. My Japanese Auto -5 Stalkers have been all over for ducks and geese for the last 25-30 years. I tried Benellis, Berettas, and Franchis….but kept having to drag out the Stalker Auto 5s to fill in for stuff that wouldn’t keep going. I’ve got a couple of Golds that give great service, 12 & 20, and a new A5 I’m wringing out now. I like how it handles, but only time/rounds will tell. If you have to buy Turkish guns, then just skip over the newer Beretta, Benelli, and Franchi stuff for a Stoeger….might as well get your moneys worth, and have honest stamping on the receiver and a decent POI.

I have seen Remington VersaMax 12 GA in the $600 range. They are very soft shooting shotguns for the money. My brother has a Beretta with the Kick Saver system in the stock which is really nice. I think he gave $1,000 for it used. You could always look at a Beretta Pintail if you don't mind just shooting 3 inch loads. I bought a Pintail used for $400 and it shoots nice, but kicks a little more than some.

I don't waterfowl hunt. I do have a Winchester SX4, Browning A5 and a Browning Maxus II, among others. The SX4 and the Maxus II are very comparable. Both are Browning-made in the same factory. Both are short-stroke gas guns. The Browning is a little more refined with a quick-load feature and a magazine cut off lever that the Winchester doesn't have. The Maxus has a center bead, the Winchester does not. The sleeve assembly on the Maxus is all steel, and it's fiber reinforced plastic and steel on the SX4. Both are equals in terms of function and shootability. The Winchester seems a little lighter. Both have chrome plated chambers and bores. The gas piston assemblies look exactly the same. The recoil pads feel like exactly the same material, except the Maxus pad is a little more roudned while the SX4's has some sharper edges. The SX4 is $700-$800 less than the Maxus. You can find SX4s for $799.

I say the SX4 is a sleeper shotgun. I've run 2 3/4" #4 and #6 through it for squirrels, 3" 00 and #5, and 3.5" 00 and #5 without a hickup. I'm looking to pick one up in 20 gauge.

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ALL Silver, Maxus, SX2/3/4 are spawned by and have almost the same gas system as the Browning Gold series. It’s why I believe the Gold series is vastly underrated. They’ve continued to refine the ergonomics, but nothing is wrong with that gas system design….unless you know you’ll never shoot cases of heavy 3-3.5” turkey/deer loads…..then you can also have the piston welded closed, so it’s more suited to super light target loads….or so I hear. I’ve not seen the need. I’ve got Gold 12 & 20s, but wouldn’t mind a SX4 20ga, as the 20s keep the speed load, and I’m used to it from all my Auto 5s. I just wish they all had slight humps…..just because I like it.;)

I love my stoeger m3500. Has never let me down in the blind or on the trap shooting line.

Subbed

Beretta 391 for me.

Just added a new Camo stock to my VersaMax this weekend. I bought my gun used and it had a painted stock on it. Never could get all the old paint off so went with this camo one for $40 off ebay. Looks better now.

Couldn’t agree more, I love my M2 waterfowl edition. If you’re on a budget and aren’t opposed to recoil operated, I’d hunt down a Benelli M1. I used one for over a decade and only one issue I can recall that was attributed to a powder coked trigger assembly in 25* temps. I learned them to keep the trigger groups clean and dry but to be fair everyone was having issues in our group that morning including a Browning Gold and Super X2. For reliability I prefer my Benelli guns that’s why I have 3 and a 20 ga inertia gun too.

Saiga!

Day in and day out, nothing will keep up with the abuse a Saiga will take. They will even beat a Timex watch.

The Weatherby Element I bought three years or so back is doing fine.

Maxxus, Browning A-5 new and old, Beretta 390.

FOR THE $$$
Do not overlook the CZ 1012.
Another one most people never even know of only academy sells it that I know of ATA Venza .. kind of a unique shotgun on how it works exactly I bought one and I've literally shot thousands and thousands of rounds through it with no issues a friend of mine bought a Beretta a400 at exactly the same time and had to work on it once shooting about the same amount of rounds as my Venza that has not been worked on

Used to be, but parts have gotten hard to find and expensive.