[45Guy]

I will be going duck hunting for the first time this fall, and I am thinking about getting a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun. Does anyone have any reccomendations? I've heard that the 11-87 is a good shotgun.

I like Remington products, but am open to any suggestions EXCEPT for Benelli. I don't like the feel of their shotguns.

Thanks- 45Guy

[Pete409]

Remington makes good reasonably-priced semi auto shotguns. Beretta makes better ones.

For your use, I would recommend the Beretta 390 copy that Wal Mart sells for about $539. They have the synthetic stock and will shoot any 2 3/4" or 3" shells in the proper gauge. For durability, reliability, and performance, the 390 Beretta will beat the Remington.

[andrewdl007]

I use a 11-87 Magnum on ducks. Its a great gun and I have no complaints. The magnum really doesnt make any difference, I never use anything that would really require the magnum.

[shdwfx]

psh. Semi-auto?

Friend, this is what you want (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wg1pFNwTOE). There are some mean old crazy coot ducks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R8prS1jsvI) out there, and you need to be prepared.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

[chas08]

If you already own or can borrow a shotgun try that first. Duck hunting can be a cold, wet, miserable hunt. Usually the poorer the conditions, the better the hunt. I've had the pleasure of introducing several folks to the sport over the last thirty - plus years. For a few it was the first and last time they ever hunted waterfowl. If you still want to persue the sport you can buy that automatic later. Spend your first few hundred dollars on clothes and waders of good quality to keep you dry and comfortable. I've used a Remington 870 for Duck hunting for a few years now and just recently purchased an 1187. I've not hunted with the 1187 yet but it is a lot softer on the shoulder than the 870 but then it costs almost twice as much. Good luck, I hope you enjoy your hunt. :)

[wolf13]

Beretta AL-391. Everybody in my family has one. Its a great gun, can take a beating if it needs to, and is light. Really light. I paid 8xx for mine 6 years ago, pretty sure they have come down in price a little.

[TAB]

I use my one of my 1100 on ducks...

Just watch 2 guys shooting, one with an auto and one with a semi... you can tell right away which one you want to shoot.

[jmr40]

All are good choices. Nothing really wrong with an 11-87, but I agree the Walmart Beretta is the best buy in an auto shotgun going. They are made in the USA by Beretta. I have an older, nearly identical Beretta made in Italy that has been great.

[hockeybum]

I use a variety of guns. :D

Remington 11-87 super magnum.
Remington 1100
Remington 20 gauge (pump, really old)
Browning Pump
and
Benelli SBE2

I recommend the 11-87. the super magnum is good cause it can shoot most 2 3/4 loads all the way to the heaviest 3 1/2 inch shells. Another good gun is the Beretta Xtrema 2. (Beretta and Benelli are owned by the same guys) and so all their shotguns are good. My dad dropped a duck from 100 yards :what::what: with his Benelli using 3 1/2 inch loads.

[Virginian]

I used to shoot an 870, but I switched to an 1100 when I started doing a lot of hunting out of a floating blind and was repeatedly short shucking it.
I have an old 1100 (non-magnum) with the Remington 3" barrel with screw in chokes on it. It works. I have had to stop and get the ice crystals out of my eye when I pulled the trigger and the ice broke and flew, but the gun was ready to go. I especially enjoyed it when a buddy with an old Browning A-5 was single shotting because the ice wouldn't let the barrel recoil. Never heard any more about "Remington junk" from him anymore.
I clean my guns, that is to say I always wipe down the gas system, after a hunt. Other than too low powered a shell, or getting brush or something stuck in the action, none of my 1100s have ever failed to function.
I must admit I have never seen a Benelli fail either, but I don't like the feel of them, especially when you touch off a King Kong load.
I have seen every make of autoloader fail, and I think it's because the owner did not clean it. When you shoot a shell on a cold damp morning, the gas produces condensation when it hits the cold steel. This adds up to gunk. If you take care of them they pretty much all work.

[ArmedBear]

I especially enjoyed it when a buddy with an old Browning A-5 was single shotting because the ice wouldn't let the barrel recoil. Never heard any more about "Remington junk" from him anymore.

How long did you guys argue over whether the DeSoto or the Studebaker would be the best car to take to your hunting spot?

What else did you bicker over? Adlai Stevenson vs. Dwight Eisenhower?

[ArmedBear]

45guy - assuming you're talking only about new guns:

No way, no how would I buy an 11-87. The "Sportsman" is a rust-prone, heavy semiauto version of the 870 Express for too much money, and for the money they want for the other models, I'll take one of Beretta's offerings. Maybe a Brownchester. The 1100 revolutionized the market -- before I was born and I'm over 40. There are better guns now, and I say that as someone who has and likes an old 1100 Magnum. Remington has not kept up. I really liked the 105CTi I shot, but not for the price they want, and not at any price, with the quality problems I've seen in pictures here.

The 3901 would be a great "working gun" if you don't have to have camo, and it's cheap (by modern standards) for what it is. The Browning and Winchester twins change their model lineup as often as their underwear, and I don't pretend to keep up. But those who have them, seem to swear by 'em.

[Virginian]

I had just sold a Studebaker back then, but I don't remember what he drove. Ike was already out of office, and John Kennedy served to totally revolutionize my thinking on the political scene.

[hockeybum]

No way, no how would I buy an 11-87.

I have the 11-87 super magnum. :D and I like it more than my dad's benelli. I suggest going to a store and just taking the gun and lifting it up to your shoulder real quick and seeing if the sights set in right. I've lifted guns to where i was way right or way left, but with the 11-87 I'm always dead on.

[TX1911fan]

I love my Stoeger 2000 in Max 4 camo. Works great, easy to clean and maintain, and is very cheap. You need to shoot a couple boxes of heavy loads first to break it in, but then it is ready to go.

http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/stoeger_model_2000.php

[MCgunner]

If geese are in your future, you'll want a magnum. 3 1/2" loads carry enough T shot, otherwise heavy shot in 3" works great, but is expensive. Winchester Xpert Hi Velocity number 3 steel in 2 3/4" works fine for me on big ducks. Geese are tougher and require bigger shot and 3" or 3.5" has more of that bigger shot in the pattern than 2 3/4" does.

As to guns, any of the above are fine shotguns. I'm thinkin' about getting a 935 Mossberg, myself. For the money, the Remington Spartan 453 is a good, functional gun for waterfowl. Shoots 2 3/4 to 3 1/2" loads. The Spartan is gaining fans big time in the duck marshes. It's a heavy gun for all around use, but for waterfowling, that's a bonus to soak up that recoil. It might be a little slow on the swing, though, for those early morning teal buzzing in the first few minutes of shooting time.

I've been using a pump M500 mossberg on geese and ducks forever alternately with a Winchester M1400 auto on ducks and doves. I really ain't in a big huff for a new shotgun as the ones I have get the job done well, frankly. The camo finish on my Mossberg is desirable down here in the salt marshes and bays, very rust resistant. I took a tip from SM and started using paste wax on my blue/wood 1400 and it's holding up well enough and I'm impressed enough with this idea that I've started shooting it more on ducks. It's a sweetheart to shoot, very light on the shoulder with heavy loads. It's a gas operated semi-auto. And, it fit me perfectly right out of the box. I hunt geese maybe a couple times a year and the Mossberg does a great job with 3" hevi shot. If I hunted geese more, I'd want a 3.5" to shoot steel T, cheaper ammo and effective. I'm going to try Remington hevi steel this coming season, though. It's cheaper than hevi shot and supposed to be pretty good. We'll see.

[45Guy]

I like the looks of that Stoeger. Going to go check it out tomorrow, but I'm still open to other suggestions.

[Dave McCracken]

The Berettas are at the top of the heap, but there's scads of happy 1100 and 11-87 owners out there.

Get the one that FEELS best, get it patterned and shoottheheckoutofit.....

[ArmedBear]

Let me clarify...

I also like how Remingtons fit me, though the Cordoba fits me well also, along with several other common production shotguns. Never tried the SBE series, though.

I would certainly shoot an 11-87; I do shoot an old 1100 Magnum. I would buy a used one for a good price, and probably keep it forever. What I wouldn't do is pay the price for a new one, when the 3901 is sitting next to it for 700 bucks.

Which reminds me, I need to order a trigger shoe for the 1100. Damn Remington triggers cut my finger.

[45Guy]

Dave, assuming it cycles birdshot, #8 size, decent, it will become my main trap gun so I become proficient with it. Maybe then I can let my 870 rest.

BTW, the reason I'm not using my 870 is mainly because it's 20 gauge, and also that we will be hunting from boats.

[Gary A]

:confused:

John Kennedy served to totally revolutionize my thinking on the political scene.

Hmmm, I wonder which way. Bill Clinton did the same for me...:D...as in I would never vote for someone from that party again.

[MCgunner]

Hey, but Kennedy had better taste in women. Which would you prefer, Marilyn Monroe or Monica Lewinsky?:D No brainer for me, I can tell ya that!

[45Guy]

That he did:D

So this evening I went to the local Scheels and tried mounting, and generally fondling the Stoeger 2000, Remington 1187, and the Mossberg 920 (they didnt have a 930). I'll be darned if they all didn't mount perfectly! Tight to the shoulder with the bead perfectly aligned down the barrel. All were priced below $500, which is a big plus for me, and they had sling swivels. I liked the Stoeger and the Remington best, so now I've just got to toss those ones around in my head:o

It's a hard decision!

[Virginian]

I don't worry about their taste in women, I just don't want any of their ilk screwing me again.
Kennedy came sooooo close to starting WWIII, and Clinton basically gave Bin Laden a bye to pull off nine eleven and the liberal media just brushes it right off.
We have 300 million people (numbers are just for illustration - I didn't check a thing). 47 million have no health insurance. Chills, horrors. Why? I suspect they can't afford it. So, how do we give it to them? Everybody else, who is already paying for their own health insurance, is going to also have to pay for theirs too. And then a lot of people who drive school busses or work as WalMart greeters just for the benefits, say well hell lets just kick back now, we can get government insurance.
It will probably take 23 and a half million new government employees to manage such a huge system, so at least we wont have to worry about the insurance for them, because as gov't employees they will now have better wages, vacations, sick leave, retirement, and health insurance than the rest of us.
I think I smell higher taxes.
Hospitals can not refuse treatment. So, the rest of us get stuck paying for the ones that do not pay, but I gotta believe anything is more efficient that the government getting involved.
Sorry for the rant, but my morphine wore off and woke me up.

[chas08]

Yeah, it's agravating to me too. We in middle class America seem to foot the bill for the rich and the poor. It aint a perfect system. It's only the best one in the world. "God Bless America"

[Ash]

I have hunted ducks with a Savage 720, the equivalent of the Remington 11/Auto 5. I had good results with that one. I have also hunted with an 870. It worked just fine. I have taken plenty of geese with the 3" mags. My current Mossberg 500's with 3" chambers work just fine, too.

I have never had problem short-stroking. But, then, I never had the Savage 720 jam, either. It isn't rated for steel, though, and bismuth was very expensive at the time, so that one is now currently reserved for rabbit. Even in that role, it is diminishing as I have a Savage 333 Over/Under that has the same safety location as the Mossberg, so operating them is much more similar.

Here's the Mossy.

Ash

[Dave McCracken]

Let's keep it on shotguns, guys. Save the politics for elsewhere and when.

[Pilot]

As someone else said you may want to save some money for clothing and gear other than the gun. I've hunted birds with my Winchester 1200 pump 12 gauge with great success. Of course having a trained bird dog helps a lot too. :D

Nothing wrong with starting out with an inexpensive pump gun. Spend your money on a good dog.

[Capstick1]

I don't if weekly trap and skeet shooting provides a good torture test of what shotgun works and doesn't work but I'll put my two cents in. Like one of the posters on this subject said no shotgun is perfect. I've tried many different ones.
Remington 1187
Pros: Felt recoil is pretty mild. Easy to find extra barrels for. The standard 3 inch version cycles just about any load you put into it.
Cons: Very front heavy. This may not be an issue if you'r going to be sitting in a duck hunting blind for an extended length of time but if you plan on doing lots of walking or firing lots of rounds in Trap or Skeet your left arm is going to get tired fairly quickly. Rusts easily and needs a good coat of oil to prevent it. The rubber O rings need to be replaced every 750 to 1000 rounds or so. Most malfunctions with this shotgun are caused by broken or worn O rings or a dirty gas system. If you can try to get the synthetic stock model. Extended shooting can crack a wooden forend.
Browning Auto Five
Pros: If you keep a little oil on the magazine tube and the brass rings are configured correctly this shotgun is very reliable. Many of them come with polychokes and you don't have to carry extra choke tubes and a wrench with you. A good, solid shotgun design that remained relatively unchanged for over ninety years before it was discontinued.
Cons: The humpback reciever takes a little getting used to for some people. Not easy to take apart for detailed cleaning. Lots of gunscrews on the reciever. Best cleaned with a spray can of gunscrub and a rag. Don't mess with the screws. The wood forends are prone to cracking with extended shooting sessions and should be replaced with a more durable synthetic forend. They don't make these shotguns anymore and it's getting hard to find parts for them. Being recoil operated, felt recoil from extended shooting sessions can be hard for some people. Also prone to rust and should have a light coat of oil maintained to prevent it. Expensive and not easy to find spare barrels for.
Beretta AL390/391
Pros: One of the softest recoiling gas operated semis I've ever shot. No O rings to mess with. Extremely reliable. Good balance and easy to clean.
Cons: Not easy to buy spare barrels for.

[ImARugerFan]

If you're not interested in the benelli, I don't think the stoeger would be for you either. They are built from the same patent right?

[MCgunner]

Pumps still rule around here in the marshes. Autos are a lot more popular than once were and I think it's all the 3" and 3 1/2" guns available now days, not that you really need more than a 2 3/4 just for ducks. But, it helps with the geese. Autos are generally more expensive and I've found that a pump is NOT that tough on my shoulder if it fits well. Now, one with not enough drop beats me up, that's why I shimmed my Mossberg. Fit means a WHOLE LOT to felt recoil. That Mossy is fun to shoot now, used to be a painful necessity.

[Markbo]

Coots? Dang shdwfx, are you in Louisiana? :p

It might have been covered by your testing, but I don't think it can be overstated that ANY shotgunning, fit is everything. It doesn't have to be a beautiful O/U. Even semi autos must fit well for you to be able to shoot them well.

If at all possible, get out with friends or even strangers at the local ranges and try shooting different guns that are in your price range. You might be surprised how much better one shoots over others.

I thought my 11-87 SP was all that and a bucket of nachos until I got my hands on my Browning Gold and that all changed.

[ArmedBear]

I understand that, with enough brining and some marinade, the Ivory-Billed Water Chicken can be good eatin'.

[Markbo]

Yup... that's pretty much what all the Coonasses say about anything made of meat!

[Ash]

And before anyone gets their feathers in a tussle, Coonass is NOT a racially derogatory term. I know many, personally.

Ash

[atblis]

Sounds like you don't care about having a 3.5" but anyways, these guns have always intrigued me. Those that actually have them, think very highly of them. EAA and now Remington is the importer. You should be able to get one for ~$300. I do think very highly of the AL391 and also like Remingtons, but there are plenty of affordable autoloaders that work fine.

Baikal Mp153 (might have the model wrong). I think Remington calls it the MP453 now.

http://www.riistamaa.fi/cat/images/mr153__0604_6bf.gif

[308win]

I used a Remington Sportsman 58 on teal for years and a Winchester SuperX Model 1 on big ducks and geese. I later started using an SKB 3" 20ga auto on ducks everywhere that required steel shot for 12ga (this was 25+ years ago). Autos will do you fine and the Remmy will do you fine but if I was going to buy a new shotgun for duck hunting I would get an 870. Just my .02

[MCgunner]

Well, I never got past the smell of a coot trying to clean the damned thing. I experimented with that 40 years ago and haven't tried since. :barf:

[308win]

Yes McGunner but dey fly sooooo slow.:)

[308win]

Three inch gets you more shot in the air but I am not convinced that the useable patterns are any denser at longer ranges. Unless you are pass shooting, many (most) of your shots are going to be under 40 yards and a 23/4 inch high brass should do the job.

[COK]

I have been using a 12ga model 1100 for the past 25 years , no trouble at all. A few years ago picked up a Beretta 391, that works well too, but still like the old 1100 for sentimental reasons. Both have taken a lot of ducks over the years and never one problem between them in all kinds of weather.

[45Guy]

The only thing that is really turning me off from the gas guns is the O-ring, and the fouling accompanying the gas system in general. I've shot my grandfather's 1100 & while it's a VERY nice gun, it likes to choke once and awhile. So I'm leaning towards something simpler like the Stoeger. Did someone say that the Beretta is gas but doesn't have the O-ring?

[Pete409]

The O-ring in a Remington auto is no big deal. It costs about 35 cents to buy a new one and takes only a few seconds to replace it when you're cleaning the gun. I've known guys who had thousands of rounds through their gun with the same O-ring in it. I've got about 1500 rounds through my 1100 and I'm pretty sure it's the original O-ring, but I did buy a few extra "just in case".

Any gas operated gun is going to require some cleaning periodically. If you aren't willing to take 15 minutes to do some basic cleaning, then don't buy an autoloader.

[chas08]

Pete409 is absolutely correct in that. the o-ring is no big deal. Keeping your waterfowl gun "CLEAN" is "THE" deal. The conditions can be so extreme that no matter what you eventually decide on, will turn to junk before your eyes, if not well maintained. If you are recoil concious, a gas operated auto is the way to go. If not, then inertia or recoil operated is just fine. Either way it will need to be taken down and cleaned after the hunt.

[45Guy]

There's no way I wouldn't clean a gun. That's like getting a car and never changing the oil, it's just a waste of money.

[mgregg85]

Try a beretta AL391, its the best feeling shotgun I've ever held. Perfect fit for me right out of the box.

[Ash]

The only time recoil is an issue for me is when I pattern. When something is in the air and I rise up on it, I don't feel the recoil and, frankly, I hardly hear the gun shoot. It kind of thuds when I pull the trigger and ducks fall from the sky. Sometimes, I am even surprised by the bruises on my shoulder if the ducks have really been flying.

Ash

[atblis]

Where do you get the Remingon Orings for 35 cents?

[308win]

Any good hardware store is going to have O-rings that will work just as well as Remington branded O-rings and they will be a heck of a lot less expensive.

Viton (a material not a brand name) O-ring is the product you are looking for and these are commonly available products.

[ArmedBear]

Pete409 is absolutely correct in that. the o-ring is no big deal.

Well, it came close to ruining a hunting trip to Alaska for a friend of mine. I'd call that a big deal. Seems it's a bit harder to get one in the Aleutians than in Ohio. If you never plan to hunt anywhere but down the street from your house, I suppose you're right. Otherwise, I 'absolutely' disagree with both you you.

Should he have carried extras? Sure. But what trip doesn't involve forgetting some little item? The O-ring is just another opportunity for Murphy. A prime opportunity. Since you can buy a great semiauto that doesn't have one, why pay good money for a 50-year-old design that has it? Why set yourself up for another problem, in situations where there are plenty already?

Like I said, I have an old 1100. I like it, except when it's cutting my trigger finger. But liking it doesn't blind me to its shortcomings.

[Virginian]

Like I said, I carry a spare 'O' ring in my wallet. In fact one each 20 and 12. And I am not likely to go anywhere without my wallet. The 50 year old design suits my 60 year + design just fine.
Whenever my group goes on a long distance foray, like to Canada next October, we always bring along a spare gun. Usually it's the 11-87 I sold a buddy 20 years ago now. That thing has probably killed more ducks and geese than all the others because it seems something goes wrong on somebody's gun every time. I got it soon after they came out, and just didn't like the feel as well as my old 1100. Paul had been thinking about one and he bought it in the blind, and I shot his gun until lunch. Two of us went back to town for lunch and Paul said he was going to stay in his trailer at the landing for awhile and then get back in the shore blind. When we got back he had killed two geese and an 8 point buck with that daggoned gun. He prefers an O/U, but he says he's afraid to let that 11-87 get too far away; he needs the luck. I can't disagree.

[ArmedBear]

I hunt with a lucky hat instead.

That way I can use whatever gun I want.

[Funderb]

You need a .410 single shot bolt action shotgun.
Then you can brag to every ducker you meet.

assuming you kill anything.

[chas08]

I buy Viton o-rings at an industrial supply house called Motion Industries. I don't know if they are a national chain. The size is 021. They are about $9.00 a hundred and work fine in my 1187. The reason I feel the o-ring is no big deal is because in 20 years or so of owning an 1100 (that I wish I'd never sold) I never had one break.

[ArmedBear]

They can do other things besides break.

My friend, when he got to the Aleutian Islands, found that, when he pulled off his bird barrel and put on his waterfowl barrel for the trip, the O-ring had stuck to the upland barrel and he hadn't noticed. So, when he got there, there was no O-ring in the gun. He got by on single shots for a while, then spent precious time and energy tracking down a replacement.

I've had an O-ring lose elasticity. It looked fine, but didn't work right.

I'm not saying it's a showstopper. But I sure wouldn't say it's "no big deal", when you're shopping shotguns. It's a factor that enters into the decision.

[Pete409]

If I didn't have and couldn't find an O-ring, I'm sure I could improvise something that would make the gun work until I could get a real O-ring.

All the O-ring does is stop the gas from leaking out of the cylinder between the forward end of the cylinder and the magazine tube that the cylinder fits around.

Almost anything, as long as it isn't too flammable, would do to seal up the small gap. A couple of wraps of electrical tape should work for awhile. Faucet stem repair cord should also work for awhile. Heck, if I didn't want to leave the duck blind, I'd cut off a piece of my boot lace and wrap it around the magazine tube where the O-ring goes. The products available for emergency replacement of an O-ring are limited only by your imagination.

BTW, anyone who goes on a big hunt without taking along a backup gun deserves whatever bad luck his lack of planning costs him.

[45Guy]

To go that far and not bring a spare gun or at least parts is definitely bringing Murphy along. That's another reason I'm leaning toward an inertia operated gun, less to go wrong. Note I am not saying NOTHING will go wrong, I'm saying LESS. Mechanical things always fail, it's the rule of common sense, so I just want to lessen my chances of being taken out of a hunt by O-ring issues or something like that.

[MCgunner]

You need a .410 single shot bolt action shotgun.
Then you can brag to every ducker you meet.

assuming you kill anything.

Or, he can brag to the game warden as he checks for steel shot....ROFLMAO! I've taken ducks with a .410 when I was a kid. Shot doves with it, too. It can be done. No one I know of makes legal non-toxic in .410, though.

I don't need no stinkin' O rings. I shoot a Winchester. :D

[Virginian]

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong"
Right you are. First trip with his new Super Black Eagle, it knocked out my buddy's contact lens on the first shot in the pre-dawn gloom. Amazingly three guys with flashlights and two dogs could not find it in the bottom of that blind. There wasn't even that much mud.

[Smitty in CT]

The Mossberg 930 is proving itself to be very reliable and there are no o-rings to worry about....

[ArmedBear]

The Mossberg 930 is proving itself to be very reliable and there are no o-rings to worry about....

Mossberg, Winchester, Browning, Beretta, Benelli, Stoeger, Franchi...

BTW, anyone who goes on a big hunt without taking along a backup gun deserves whatever bad luck his lack of planning costs him.

True enough. Ditto for anyone who buys a new gas-op Remington in the first place, nowadays, because he's choosing to buy a gun with a known weak point. There are plenty of other choices in the marketplace.

WRT a trip, throwing a cheap pump in the bag isn't a bad idea. But some countries, like Mexico, charge a bunch of money per gun... Would I pay more than an 870 is worth, just to carry it in a duffel bag? I'm not sure.

[Pilot]

But some countries, like Mexico, charge a bunch of money per gun...

Which is why I'll never hunt there.

[ArmedBear]

I avoid going to the place at all, any more, even though I live down the street. It has incredible natural beauty, but that's all it has. The risks can be too high for the rewards.

[MCgunner]

Don't go to Nuevo Laredo without at least body armor and I won't go there anyway cause I'd have to go without a M60 and a grenade launcher and I don't feel safe down there without an M60 and grenade launcher. :rolleyes: There are fire fights involving automatic weapons and RPGs down there all the time. The news paper editor was taken out by a grenade for speaking out against the drug lords. Americans are kidnapped there. It is not a place I care to tread anymore.

Now, I'm wondering if Argentina charges more for an extra gun? That's where I'd wanna go bird hunting, anyway. :D On a trip, I normally do take along a spare gun, though it's usually a rifle as I'm usually after deer on trips west. But, I'd do the same with shotguns.

[ArmedBear]

Are you hunting on your own or with a guide/lodge?

They have "loaners", some of them pretty nice.

[PJR]

The problem with the 1100 is the luggage. Not for the gun but for the spare parts you might need to keep them running. My last remaining 1100 is a 28 gauge and I do an instruction session on an island a couple times a year.

I take with me two 2 o-rings, spare action bars, link, operating handle, operating handle retaining parts (spring, ball detent, plate) and an extractor.

I take these because either on my gun or on a students these are the part's that needed replacing at one time or another.

For ducks if a Benelli isn't an option than a Beretta 391/390 or a Browning Gold are my recommendations.

[ArmedBear]

The problem with the 1100 is the luggage. Not for the gun but for the spare parts you might need to keep them running.

Laws, sausages and Remingtons. You don't want to see how any of them are made.:evil: