Duck Gun??

[DeepSouth]

I have been looking for a good automatic 12 ga. mainly for duck hunting. I am pretty new to duck hunting but it doesn't take long to figure out that my 16 ga Remington Model 11 is, well, I'll just say outdated. So I am looking for a good 12 (maybe 10) ga automatic that would shoot 3 1/2's.

I honestly am leaning toward the Beretta Extrema 2 but I have not been able to shoot one yet. I have also looked at some of the Browning Shotguns and they seem very well built. I will use whatever I get for hunting a little dove, turkey, whitetail, ect. but mainly duck. So, long story short I am just looking for suggestions and general input. I will also say I know that the hot thing right now is the Benelli, but I know several people that have them and most simply don't like them and when I am looking at spending this much cash I just tend to stay away from the ones that I am nervous about.

That said, what would you recommend?

Thanks

 

[3pairs12]

I would check out some 1187's if I were you also. I have a Beretta semi and it is a great gun, but if you are thinking about using it as a slug gun in the future then the availability of barrels on Remington well be second to none. Also stick with the 12 guage if you are considering dove hunting altough 10gauge will get the job done it would make for an expensive hobby. BTW welcome to THR.
I meant slugs for the whitetail MC, it would also be a little harder to hit a duck with a slug.

 

[MCgunner]

If you're only after ducks, no geese, 2 3/4" is PLENTY. I shoot nothing but 2 3/4" either Winchester Expert number 3 steel 1550 fps or Kent Fasteel of the same. Remington even makes the 1550 fps stuff now. It's quite deadly on decoyed quackers to 40 yards. I don't have a need for anything else, though I have a Mossberg that fired 3". Bonus, the 2 3/4" is quite easy on the old shoulder, too.

The Extrema is fine if you have the cash and the desire. Winchester SX3 is a fine shotgun. The Brownings are great. On the lower end of the money scale, the Remington Spartan 453 gets praise and fires up to 3.5" and down to 2.3/4". I've sorta thought a bunch about the Mossberg 935 that's 3" and 3.5" compatible. The 930 is 2 3/4" and 3" compatible. However, I have a very nice shooting Winchester 1400 I like that shoots the 2 3/4" stuff and as that's about all I shoot on ducks anymore and my Mossberg is a 3" gun, well, I don't see the need to spend the money. I just got a 10 gauge this year for goose hunting, don't need the 3.5" stuff anymore.

If I had the money, didn't have a good auto and wanted one, my pick would PROBABLY be an SX3, though I like the Mossberg's ergos better being a lefty. The Mossberg is a lower priced gun, but I'm sure it'd be a good duck gun. Where I hunt, salt marsh and bays, I need a rugged gun and my camo 500 has held up quite well for 20 years. I wax and worry about my wood/blue Winchester, but so far, after 20 years of hunting and 2 years of doing a lot of duck hunting, it still looks good. I used to just use the auto on doves, but I have a little 20 gauge SxS now that I really like on doves and the auto is nice for ducks. I've decided to not worry so much about the finish, just do all I can do to protect it, and just use it. So far, so good. A 870 express would have turned to rust by now, but there's not a spot on the Winchester. All I do is (thanks for the suggestion, SM!) wax it with paste wax head to toe and use corrosion X on it, seems to be working. A few scratches on the wood, but that's pretty much unavoidable. If I had a 930 camo, I'd treat it like the 500, no love until I got home to my cleaning kit.

BTW, SLUG? I do believe they're illegal for duck hunting.

Just be aware with a really nice looking gun, it is going to see rough service if you're in boats or anywhere near a bay or salt marsh. Even in fresh water, you'll have rainy days that a dove or quail gun won't have to endure so often. Camo finish gets scoffed at by purists, but there's more to it than blending with cover. A camo finish is more weather/salt water resistant than bluing and a LOT more resistant than whatever Remington uses on the Express. The camo will get scratched up over time, no biggy. To me, a good duck gun should be a reliable, rugged tool. Fine checkering, elegant walnut, deep bluing, all look so nice out of the box, but a decade of rough use can change that. I figured that out at an early age with a nice double that I wish I'd taken better care of.

 

[Kingcreek]

my SX2 with synthetic stock is damnear perfect. I bought it new at a farm supply for $500. I gave up shooting 3.5s at geese after 2 boxes. 3" will do it all. don't think you need to buy into the hype of 3.5"

 

[MCgunner]

my SX2 with synthetic stock is damnear perfect. I bought it new at a farm supply for $500. I gave up shooting 3.5s at geese after 2 boxes. 3" will do it all. don't think you need to buy into the hype of 3.5"

Depends on the weather and how well they're working that day. 10 gauge with T shot has about 20 yards on a 3" BB steel load in 12 gauge. Now, if you wanna pay 3 bucks a round, you can even things with hevi shot, but I got the 10 because hevi shot went out of sight in price and I figured the little H&R would pay for itself in a few hunts when hevi shot was more like 4 dollars a round, and, well, I always wanted a 10 gauge.



I really don't know how 12 3.5" compares to 10, but it's supposed to be pretty close and diameter of the round isn't a lot different when you compare 'em SxS.

 

[chas08]

I have a 1187 Super-Magnum that I'm pretty fond of. I once owned a benelli sbe1 that I ended up selling because I was unhappy with it. The gas operated guns seem to cycle lighter loads more reliably than the recoil operated guns (at least that was true in my case) And gas guns usually produce less felt recoil, if thats a factor. If anything smaller than duck is going to be hunted with it I'd stay away from the 10 ga. (I own two, a BPS & SP-10 and I only use them for Geese) Any of the previous mentioned choices would probably do fine just find the one you like best and get it to fit you.

 

[Capstick1]

The 12ga Browning Gold Hunter's in the 3.5" chambering are good choices to. I've use mine for trap and skeet shooting and it works fine with the regular 2 3/4" target loads. Some of these other 3.5" chambered semiautomatic shotguns have some feeding and reliability problems when you try to shoot the lighter recoiling 2 3/4" shells in them. From my experience the Browning Gold isn't one of them. I don't know how often you plan on actually shooting those 3.5" magnum shell's but if you do plan on shooting alot of them make sure you save your money because they're not cheap. With the Browning Gold you can get some good practice with the cheap 2 3/4" target shells at the skeet and trap range and switch over to the big expensive shells when you go goose hunting.

 

[45crittergitter]

I love my SBE I. I believe the SBE II is better. Mine works fine with everything from 1-1/8 oz up. No gas system to mess with, just bang, bang, bang, no matter the temp or whatever crud I got in it.

 

[ReadyontheRight]

I like the Winchester Super X2. I have never shot or handled a SX3.

 

[Gator 23]

One Recommendation for the SX3

I'll give a recommendation for and share my experiences with the SX3. Bought mine last fall given; my need for a durable auto "heater" for duck season (3.5" chamber composite/black with gray painted finish), many reviews regarding SX2 feeding reliability, learning that Browning makes this shotgun, and it could be had for under 1K$. The SX3 performed exceptionally in tough brackish water conditions (temps in the teens and hunts in pouring rain) with NO jams. Also, no problems with rust or water damage...a little cleaning the evening following the day's hunt, and it looks like new. The SX3 handles, points, and swings nice, helped by the ability to adjust the stock to fit you with supplied shims. Also, I used it on a couple dove shoots before duck season- it shot well with 2 3/4" high brass dove/quail loads x 50+ rounds, again with no jams. Not sure about specific rifled barrel options for it, but I do recall catching a t.v. show where a lady took a nice buck with a scoped SX3. The manual does state that other barrels can be used interchangeably with it. The only criticism of the SX3 is that low brass/light target loads in 2 3/4" will cause jams, which I experienced at the trap/skeet range, so clay shooting will be a little more expensive with the high brass stuff. However the owner's manual acknowledges that "field loads" are required at a minimum. Good luck and enjoy your search for that new auto!

 

[Virginian]

This morning, in 6 degree F weather, my '66 1100 Magnum, one buddy's 74 1100 Magnum, and another buddy's '90 BPS all functioned without a hitch and dropped the ducks quite well.
Everyone is going to tout their favorite. Get what you like best, odds are it will work fine. As you noted, is isn't spare change, and it's yours.