[TNT]

I have been thinking about getting a new shotgun for deer hunting and have looked at the Benelli M1 and the Winchester SX2. They will both have a rifled barrel. Currently the Winchester sits at $699 and the Benelli is $869. The guys that run the gunshop are die hard Benelli fans and are leaning me in that direction. I like the way they both feel but I want extreme reliability. My hunting conditions are in heavily wooded areas with lots of cedar trees which can leave needles in the action and so forth. The gun needs to operate in freezing temps and warm temps. Any opinions are greatly appreciated.:)

[HSMITH]

I have had both guns you ask about with the smoothbore barrels. I would not take TWO of those spaghetti messes in trade for my one ratty looking SuperX2. The Benelli is inferior. It will not cycle nearly as wide a range of ammo, and recoils much sharper.

I had an M1 that I traded on a Super Black Turkey oops I mean Eagle. I shot both of them pretty well and tried to give them a fair shake.

In all honesty and joking aside the Benelli's are darn good shotguns, just not as good as the X2.

[Badger Arms]

You're leaving the Remington 11/87 out of the mix. If they don't have one in stock, I'd suggest you take a look. The Benelli is a fine weapon and in the same class as the Remington and Winchester's if you ask me. I'd not spend more than $700 on a Benelli though. They're nothing special. I'm a bit apprehensive about the action, but it does seem to work well. For peace of mind, get the Winchester or look at a Remington and don't look back. It seems you are a bit suspicious of the Benelli and would probably always have that in the back of your mind anyhow.

http://www.remington.com/images/firearms/1187PCN.JPG
http://www.remington.com/images/firearms/1187spstsmagtru.jpg

[TNT]

My currrent semi is a 11/87 and I'm just not really impressed with it. It likes to stovepipe when I shoot birdshot and it did the same while deer hunting last season. When I pick up the SX2 it just feels right. It's just that if the Winchester is a reliable shotgun then I would rather buy it than the expensive Benelli.

[HSMITH]

I have in excess of 30K rounds through my X2, no problems at all that were not "crappy splitting hull reload" related. The dang thing runs flawlessly with any reasonable quality ammo. Do a search on SuperX2 and see what has been posted. So far it and the Beretta 391are the only autoloaders that have not had problems posted.

The 11-87 is trash, I have had 2 of them.

If the X2 feels right in hand the decision should be a no-brainer.