Looking for advice on a Semi Auto

[.38 Special]

I shoot a Beretta 390 Sporting with a shell catcher for trap. I would go with a 400 if I didn’t already have my 390. Shell catcher comes off for sporting clays and skeet.

Amen. As a dedicated trap shooter I have no advice to offer about which semi-auto to get, but do hope that the gentleman puts a shell catcher on whatever he ends up with. Getting repeatedly beaned by the guy on the previous post does not help my scores!

 

[AbbysDad]

I'm not sure what gauge you're looking for. If you ever plan to hunt with it, the weight savings of a Benelli is nice as gas guns tend to be heavier.

My wife's A400 Xplor Unico, rated for 3.5" shells weighs 7# with the Kick Off system; yet it handles my 3/4oz reloads (12 gauge gun). My Smurf gun weighs over 8 without a Kick Off; it also shoots my 3/4oz reloads without issues

 

[Anchorite]

Lots of great advice here. I will add, go shoulder them each and see what you like and feels best.
In my opinion, and I realize that's not worth a lot, for high volume, good weather, gas - hands down. It will also recoil more softly than inertia.
For crappy weather and conditions, inertia.

Either design is time-tested and will serve you well.

 

[Thomassss]

Semi autos are very easy on the shoulder as long as you shoot factory loads for targets. Reloads can give some semi auto fits, An o/u will solve that problem quickly.

 

[guyfromohio]

Im in a similar spot. I sold all of my Over/Unders due to some financial issues and am now wanting to get back into sporting clays. I took my Benelli Nova A few weeks ago and shot much better than I should have. I’m looking hard at the Browning Maxus 2 with 26” barrel. Also looking at a Citori hunter in 26” which is sub $1800.

I ended up ordering a Montefeltro Sporting 12 gauge for $1300. Super excited about picking it up next week!

 

[Frulk]

I’ve always been a hunter first and just dabbled in the shotgun shooting sports. What that means is that I used the gun I hunted with for clay targets as I wanted the repetition to help sharpen my skills for my primary pursuit.

There were days I was truly surprised how well I did with my 11/87 against guys who were using sport specific guns. The gas Remingtons are often overlooked. Even in this thread the 11/87 and 1100 continue to run under the radar, D2Wings previous comment not withstanding.

 

[entropy]

I’ve always been a hunter first and just dabbled in the shotgun shooting sports. What that means is that I used the gun I hunted with for clay targets as I wanted the repetition to help sharpen my skills for my primary pursuit.

There were days I was truly surprised how well I did with my 11/87 against guys who were using sport specific guns. The gas Remingtons are often overlooked. Even in this thread the 11/87 and 1100 continue to run under the radar, D2Wings previous comment not withstanding.

Not totally under the radar, @Armored farmer has one of these also.....

 

[Armored farmer]

View attachment 1262064

Not totally under the radar, @Armored farmer has one of these also.....

I sure do @entropy ...
It is a delight on the sporting class range, and also the trap range.
My #1 son broke is first 25x25 with this 1100 at the Illinois state shoot a few years back. That 25 was followed immediately by another 25x25 for a cool 50x50 for him.
It's a great, soft shooting gun.

 

[Zarthab]

Thanks guys.

I really like the looks of the nickle action in a nice wood stock, does anyone see a glare issue using it?

 

[Kaldor]

I bought my son an A400 as a reward for helping me remodel my exterior of the house. Excellent firearm. We added a set of chokes from Carlson as it's just easier to deal with changing chokes and you don't need a wrench. Also added a fiber optic bead as it's a bit more eye catching. It's used only for shotgun games like clays, trap, etc.

That being said? If you can find a Stoeger M3000 with a wood stock? Don't sleep on it. It's effectively a Benelli. I did some minor work on the trigger to clean it up, did some light deburring on the action, and added a set of chokes from Carlson. It's shot cases of shells with out a single hiccup and patterns nicely. My son shot it for years while on the the high school trap team, and as sporting clays is more my thing, I've run plenty of AAs thru it. For a cheap shotty, they are hard to beat.

 

[d2wing]

I’ve always been a hunter first and just dabbled in the shotgun shooting sports. What that means is that I used the gun I hunted with for clay targets as I wanted the repetition to help sharpen my skills for my primary pursuit.

There were days I was truly surprised how well I did with my 11/87 against guys who were using sport specific guns. The gas Remingtons are often overlooked. Even in this thread the 11/87 and 1100 continue to run under the radar, D2Wings previous comment not withstanding.

I should add that my youngest grandson started with a 20 G O/U a few weeks ago that fit him well and shot a 12 with it his first time. Then he tried a 11/87 12 G and shot a 22. Never shot it before. He is a 14 YO beginner and shoots around 20+ with that 11-87. He will probably shoot that same gun the rest of his life. Also aftermarket stocks and everything else is available for 1100's and 11-87's.