Never been much of a shotgunner but I've always had a couple in the back of the safe. Today I'm browsing Gunborker and I halfheartedly put a lowish bid on a Benelli. Much to my surprise I actually won the thing, and now I'm waiting for a 18.5" M2 Tactical with a Surefire forend and ghost ring sights. But I intentionally set limits for my hobby so something's gotta give. Current shotguns are a nice Ithaca 37 that some bubba cut to 20" and an ugly Remington Model 11 govt model with a huge Cutts compensator. Neither have chokes, nor do they have lights, and my state only allows taking deer w/shotguns. Both guns also can only handle 2.75" shells. Any thoughts on how to downsize? I figure the Remington can go since I don't need two semis and I haven't enjoyed shooting it much. But I'm also wondering if there's any practical reason to keep the Ithaca. Or, I suppose, if the Benelli was a poor choice I could sell it for a profit and go in another direction. My uses are probably 50% protection, 30% skeet/trap (casual, not tryhard,) and 20% hunting.
I personally like wood and steel. I would peddle all three and get a nice 1100 with tubes. Thats just me. I enjoy the clay games.
Why does the Remington with Cutts Compensator not have a choke? They screw on to the end of the compensator and are interchangeable. They may not be the easiest thing to find these days but I bet they *can* be found. That's kinda a 50's/60's classic I'd want to keep around.
I have a lot of fun with a Model 12 that wears a Cutts. Skeet spreader, I.c., mod, full and super full tubes I picked up over the years. Kids scoring skeet ask me what is that thing and I tell them it is what their granddad used in the 40s. I'm old enough to know.
I half agree with Armored farmer; Keep the 37 for protection, sell the Model 11, and get an 1100 Combo with 26-28" barrel and slug barrel. I admit a bias here, as my HD gun is a 37 with an 18" barrel, and I shot 1100's for Trap, deer, and ducks. I am considering getting a Competition 1100 for Trap, I have heard they are good.
For some reason, probably an internal mental bias, I have always had good luck with Remington barrels. 870 trap full, mod trap, and skeet (all fixed), 1100 mod and skeet, 11-87 with i.c. tube have all been winners for me. My original 870 full trap, on a TB grinds targets with anything from 7/8 oz of 8 to 1 1/8 of 7 1/2. I second the 1100 idea. ( Right now son one and I are each using one for the skeet half of our combo league.)
Remington model 11 gov't as in military issue? Military issue shotguns of all types are popular with serious collectors of US issued weapons. I believe those model 11's with the cutts on them were used for training AAA gunners in WW2. Do your research before you unload that thing cheap. I would keep the Benelli for defense- you won't find a better shotgun. Then I would shop for a replacement barrel for that 37- they are fine guns.
I like your original plan. The new Benelli would be a top choice for SD which you say is 50% of your use. But you could do a lot better for shooting clays and hunting. You could probably pick up an 1100 for that. But while you'll still be at 2 guns instead of 3 I doubt if you can save any money. I'm not sure what the Benelli should sell for, but you could sell all 3 and start over. A Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 with 2 barrels, one rifle sighted for deer hunting and SD, and a 26-28" barrel with interchangeable tubes would do it all for you. And get you to 1 gun and not much if any more expense.
Hmm, thanks for all the input. Thinking about this a little more I get the feeling swapping the Benelli tactical for a sporting model might be the best bet, and get my 37's barrel properly finished. I'm not sure I can devote so much money to the M2 as purely a defensive gun I'll never use.
Aside from the military input, which I didnt know and is really interesting, I was going to say about the same thing. Shop around for a replacement barrel on that Ithaca. Keep the new Benelli for hd. Sell the model 11. Or if you really want to downsize you could sell the 11 and the Benelli and buy an original barrel for the Ithaca and swap out the shortened one for a long one when you do clay games/hunting. Pop on the chopped one for hd. Either way, you can't lose. All good guns. Especially neat if the 11 has military history.
Another note on that beneli- surefire weapon lights are an important piece of gear on a HD firearm. AKAIK, there is no way to mount such a thing on a model 11 or a 37. If you end up needing a shotgun in the dark, you will be thankful if it has a good light on it.
I might see if I get any good offers on the Benelli once it arrives. There's a guy in my state selling a brand new M2 Field with a 21" barrel below retail--that's more my speed. Could swap the foreend and mag extension. Although the M2 Tactical has a pre-drilled&tapped receiver, so conceivably I could get a field barrel for mine and have a gun with more customization options.
