Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Most dependable semi auto 12 gauge

When it comes to defensive shotguns the gold standard is, was, and will likely remain the Benelli M4. There is nothing more reliable if you intend on swimming with sharks, 12 gauging the sharks, and using the empty shotgun to bludgeon their young. This level of reliability comes at a cost however and that is in price, and in weight. I just priced one of the 1014's a couple weeks ago and it was every bit of $2K out the door. Weight? Every bit of 8lbs. And those 8lbs will wear you out if you plan on carrying and pushing through rooms for more than a minute or two. Capacity isn't much to get excited about either as you will walk away with a 5+1. You can buy the 7 round extension if you desire, but that's kind of a schitty thing to make your civilian client have to do after they just dropped two-thousand dollars on your shotgun. You can easily ghost load the M4 if you choose to do so and that will give you a 6 +1 in factory form. But again, that isn't a whole lot of ammo when you consider how easy shoguns are to empty, and difficult to reload. Every shell matters.

Then you have the Beretta 1301 Tactical which I think most any rationale person is going to consider the Goldilocks of defensive shotgunning. Ridiculously reliable, a 7+1 right out of the gate, about two pounds lighter and arguably just as easy/smooth to shoot. The 1301 Tacticals have to be used to really be appreciated. They are some of the smoothest running shotguns a person can hope for. The loading port is opened up and chamfered, the charging handle is the size of broomstick, and the bolt release is massive. All these things make the most difficult aspect of a tube fed (reloads) much, much easier. Add to this that they can be easily found for around $1300 and there really isn't much of a contest for most applications.

It should be noted that the Beretta 1301 Comp is every bit the shotgun the 1301 Tactical is, and shouldn't be overlooked before you take the plunge. Here you're getting all the benefits of the Tactical (opened port, charging handle, etc.) but it's going to come setup for recreational use. i.e., no mag extension, QR sling mounts, rail, ghost ring, etc. But what you will get with the Comp is a 21" or 24" barrel (depending on which iteration you come upon) and you're not going to be forced into the use of a ghost ring rear and a front blade. Not desirable to everyone, but there is a significant portion of shotgunners that subscribe to the idea of a shotgun remaining a shotgun and being "aimed" accordingly. So if you're a traditional vent rib guy, this is a great option. You will need a mag extension of course but they're not too expensive, retard easy to put on, and the long barrel length allows for more mag capacity without protruding well past the muzzle.

Arzen Arms has a great step-by-step you can use to figure out what your end capacity will be and how far or short it will end up being from the muzzle:
https://secure.arnzenarms.com/catalog-search/manufacturer/24382/stock/1

You will hear people opine about Mossbergs, and Remingtons, and all sorts of other stupid schit but just ignore them. When it comes to defensive shotguns the 1301 Tactical or M4 are it.

One last thing about these shotguns: If/when the owner drops dead, that shotgun is going to be worth $50-$100 less than what he paid for it, and depending on the market and configuration, they may very well end up being worth more than what you originally paid for it. They are the Toyota's of the shotgun world.

Look at nothing else. You won't regret it.

We can stop the thread now.

If we're talking about what's available now, absolutely - that's the case. deflave got the two b's backwards in order but they're probably honestly a tie anyway.

My answer was and is still correct. Every remington model 11 owner I know still uses them even though most are nearly 100 years old. I'd be surprised if the b's last that long basically without any repairs and very little if any maintenance (mine is 96 years old and I dab a little motor oil on the tube once a year). Until this year, it got 1500 or so rounds through it annually. Same goes for the beretta 300's, most are 50 years old and chugging right along with no maintenance and very few if any repairs.

I have never cleaned my beretta 300 or my model 11.

I have abused a Beretta Xtrema 2 in salt marshes and on the open ocean, it's literally spent hours with the surf lapping over it and it's been flawless.

Guess you didn't read Flave's post..

And..

Thread was over.

We can stop the thread now.

That's why Cajuns use Benellis as oars and hunt with Berettas.

If we're talking about what's available now, absolutely - that's the case. deflave got the two b's backwards in order but they're probably honestly a tie anyway.

My answer was and is still correct. Every remington model 11 owner I know still uses them even though most are nearly 100 years old. I'd be surprised if the b's last that long basically without any repairs and very little if any maintenance (mine is 96 years old and I dab a little motor oil on the tube once a year). Until this year, it got 1500 or so rounds through it annually so if you do the math that would be 144 thousand rounds with no repairs. That's not really the case though as mine spent it's first twenty years as a naval training weapon (fancy way of saying skeet shooting off the weather deck of a naval vessel) so the round count is probably way higher than 144k. Same goes for the beretta 300's, most are 50 years old and chugging right along with no maintenance and very few if any repairs.

I have never cleaned my beretta 300 or my model 11.

I'm not downing today's offerings in any way - just pointing out a couple hundred thousand rounds and a century of age tells the real tale.

Please...

You haven't owned yours for 96 years, you have no idea what was or wasn't maintained or repaired in the time it wasn't under your roof.

The majority of Model 11s (and any other shotgun owned by average joe) haven't seen 10k rounds, let alone 144K - lol.

OP is asking for a defensive tool, higher capacity the better. Not a fuggin' century old field gun that can be pressed into service. To that end, Flave's dissertation is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

If we're talking about what's available now, absolutely - that's the case. deflave got the two b's backwards in order but they're probably honestly a tie anyway.

My answer was and is still correct. Every remington model 11 owner I know still uses them even though most are nearly 100 years old. I'd be surprised if the b's last that long basically without any repairs and very little if any maintenance (mine is 96 years old and I dab a little motor oil on the tube once a year). Until this year, it got 1500 or so rounds through it annually so if you do the math that would be 144 thousand rounds with no repairs. That's not really the case though as mine spent it's first twenty years as a naval training weapon (fancy way of saying skeet shooting off the weather deck of a naval vessel) so the round count is probably way higher than 144k. Same goes for the beretta 300's, most are 50 years old and chugging right along with no maintenance and very few if any repairs.

I have never cleaned my beretta 300 or my model 11.

I'm not downing today's offerings in any way - just pointing out a couple hundred thousand rounds and a century of age tells the real tale.