Need help to decide between these semi-auto shotgun

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Nam Le

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I'm looking for a semi-auto for hunting small, big games & turkey, not for anything flying. I don't need 3.5" either.

Recoil doesn't matter as I'm currently doing fine with pump, a Moss 500. I just want to switch to a semi-auto for hunting, while restoring that Moss 500 back to a tactical gun.

My priority is a gun that won't fail and won't be bitching about which shell I'm going to feed it with. I also don't want to have to dissemble every part for a deep cleaning after every hunt in normal circumstances, nothing more complicated than a quick clean of the chamber & the barrel. One deep clean at the end of the season before hanging it onto the rack is fair enough.

So I've come off with these 4, considering the current stock, price, and overall reviews that I could found on the Internet.

Beretta A300
Remington V3
Franchi Affinity 3
Browning Silver

I'd add Mossberg 930 but there's no stock anywhere I could find.
Weatherby, Stoeger does seem to me like a bit lower-end than these 4, thus expecting lower reliability - but I could be wrong. Benelli is above the budget. I'm not sure about Winchester SX3.

Please help to share any differences among those 4 if you know, and of course problems with any of them that you've encountered or heard of.

And also which gun do you think is the most popular, the easiest to find aftermarket parts like chokes, stock, butt pad...

Much appreciated.
 
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A while back I was looking for the same shotgun, kinda a do all.
came between the Beretta and the franchi, I just wanted to see what did me better. I couldn't find any local to try and they kinda got out on the back burner for now.
 
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A while back I was looking for the same shotgun, kinda a do all.
came between the Beretta and the franchi, I just wanted to see what did me better. I couldn't find any local to try and they kinda got out on the back burner for now.
What did you find about Remington V3 and Browning?
 
Nothing wrong with the Browning I seen, it looks a bit chunky tho not very common around my area and more then I'd like to pay.

And remingtons not getting my money, shame looks like a decent gun.
 
Nothing wrong with the Browning I seen, it looks a bit chunky tho not very common around my area and more then I'd like to pay.

And remingtons not getting my money, shame looks like a decent gun.

I’d have to agree WRT Remington. I’d not be comfortable spending that kind of money on a gun from a company that may not be around tomorrow. I also agree it’s a shame because the gun itself seems to get very good reviews.
 
There is always the used market.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/879928127

My brother has the Beretta A300 and thinks highly of it. Of your choices that is the way I'd go.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/beretta-a300-outlander-semi-auto-shotgun-with-black-synthetic-stock
Thanks for the opinion on the A300.

As for the gunbroker suggestion, I don't think an auction marketplace is an economical way to buy a gun right now.

But there's a used Remington V3 on guns.com that may worth considering.
 
Nam Le

I'm another fan of Franchi and Beretta shotguns, having had several of each while I was still hunting and shooting a little trap on the side. Both brands fit me very well, though I am a bit on the smallish side (5'10", 165 lbs.). No problems to report in terms of build quality or how they worked with either manufacturer and they both held their value very well.
 
I was in a similar position earlier this year and a A-300 popped up for sale locally in good shape...here is the thread (that I was reminded to update today):
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/beretta-a-300-thoughts.863576/#post-11399168
Short story - what a fantastic gun! I'm really happy with it.

Other than this, I've only held the Remington out of the ones you listed and while it felt good, and gets good reviews, I'd be hesitant to go with Remington until their situation shakes out.
 
The only small issue with A300 is that they have only wood stock with 28" models, and which what I want to hunt now, 26" is good enough and 24" is even better.

Is it true that Fianchi shares Benelli's quality?
 
If you're going for the wood stock because of aesthetics (I get it, I do like a wood stocked gun)......of the wood-stocked A-300 examples I have seen, I have not been overly impressed with the wood grain. Now, it isn't a $1200 semi, and I've only seen 3 or 4 wood stocked examples, so not a huge sample size. For me, I wouldn't let that be my deciding decision, but obviously it's your hard earned dollar.

I'd say go with whatever you get the best deal on in the barrel length you want......you can always buy wood stocks on the aftermarket or on ebay from someone who bought wood and prefers synthetic!
 
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If you're going for the wood stock because of aesthetics (I get it, I do like a wood stocked gun).
It's yes and no... I just like something tradition, not fancy, but looks better than the dull "toy-like" black synthetic, hence the wood. I'm not going to make it a heirloom nor to hang it over the fireplace to impress my guests, etc...
Black synthetic is also too "tactical" to me.

This thread was only up for haft a day but the consensus on the A300 is really impressive, and is showing how popular that gun is. which is very helpful.
 
The only small issue with A300 is that they have only wood stock with 28" models, and which what I want to hunt now, 26" is good enough and 24" is even better.

Is it true that Fianchi shares Benelli's quality?
Franchi shares Benelli's parent company - Beretta
 
I own two Affinity’s, four SX3’s and have owned an A300. The SX4, SX3 and Browning Silver are the same gun internally, the differences are purely cosmetic. I feel quality wise your choices are equal, fit would be the determining factor for me. I also feel the Weatherby would do just fine and I’ve been impressed with mine.

I’ve been told by someone who would know that the Affinity and Benelli M2 share the same assembly line.

I’ve been accused by family, friends and foes of being seriously cynical. With that in mind my first choice would be a V3. I believe Remington firearms will somehow continue to be manufactured.
 
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a good used rem 1187 wood or syn stocked would be my choice, 2-3/4--3" interchangable. i have three, a 20 ga and two 12 ga,s with thousands of shells between them with no problems. 20ga is my favorite over my beretta al 391 20 ga. the top shotgun is my 1187 20 ga.
 

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a good used rem 1187 wood or syn stocked would be my choice, 2-3/4--3" interchangable. i have three, a 20 ga and two 12 ga,s with thousands of shells between them with no problems. 20ga is my favorite over my beretta al 391 20 ga. the top shotgun is my 1187 20 ga.
I'm buying online. There's no way for me to tell exactly if a used gun is "good" or not...

We in Northern NJ doesn't really have a good "gun community" around our towns where we can just go & source for used stuffs.

There're like a couple sizable shop per county at best, and they're either almost empty or super expensive.
 
I had an A300. Replacement barrels and aftermarket are non existent. It was a good shooter. I wanted a second barrel but hard to find. It digested everything I fed it. Handled well. I gifted it to a close fried for field work. It’s a nice shotgun. I would only suggest you check for stuff you might want to add to any choice first. The A300 is a nice shotgun.
 
I had an A300. Replacement barrels and aftermarket are non existent. It was a good shooter. I wanted a second barrel but hard to find. It digested everything I fed it. Handled well. I gifted it to a close fried for field work. It’s a nice shotgun. I would only suggest you check for stuff you might want to add to any choice first. The A300 is a nice shotgun.
Yeah I noticed that too. However with the cost of a barrel I think buying another gun would be a better option in most cases.
 
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