Semi auto for ducks?

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I have hunted ducks with a Savage 720, the equivalent of the Remington 11/Auto 5. I had good results with that one. I have also hunted with an 870. It worked just fine. I have taken plenty of geese with the 3" mags. My current Mossberg 500's with 3" chambers work just fine, too.

I have never had problem short-stroking. But, then, I never had the Savage 720 jam, either. It isn't rated for steel, though, and bismuth was very expensive at the time, so that one is now currently reserved for rabbit. Even in that role, it is diminishing as I have a Savage 333 Over/Under that has the same safety location as the Mossberg, so operating them is much more similar.

Here's the Mossy.

Ash
 

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As someone else said you may want to save some money for clothing and gear other than the gun. I've hunted birds with my Winchester 1200 pump 12 gauge with great success. Of course having a trained bird dog helps a lot too. :D

Nothing wrong with starting out with an inexpensive pump gun. Spend your money on a good dog.
 
I don't if weekly trap and skeet shooting provides a good torture test of what shotgun works and doesn't work but I'll put my two cents in. Like one of the posters on this subject said no shotgun is perfect. I've tried many different ones.
Remington 1187
Pros: Felt recoil is pretty mild. Easy to find extra barrels for. The standard 3 inch version cycles just about any load you put into it.
Cons: Very front heavy. This may not be an issue if you'r going to be sitting in a duck hunting blind for an extended length of time but if you plan on doing lots of walking or firing lots of rounds in Trap or Skeet your left arm is going to get tired fairly quickly. Rusts easily and needs a good coat of oil to prevent it. The rubber O rings need to be replaced every 750 to 1000 rounds or so. Most malfunctions with this shotgun are caused by broken or worn O rings or a dirty gas system. If you can try to get the synthetic stock model. Extended shooting can crack a wooden forend.
Browning Auto Five
Pros: If you keep a little oil on the magazine tube and the brass rings are configured correctly this shotgun is very reliable. Many of them come with polychokes and you don't have to carry extra choke tubes and a wrench with you. A good, solid shotgun design that remained relatively unchanged for over ninety years before it was discontinued.
Cons: The humpback reciever takes a little getting used to for some people. Not easy to take apart for detailed cleaning. Lots of gunscrews on the reciever. Best cleaned with a spray can of gunscrub and a rag. Don't mess with the screws. The wood forends are prone to cracking with extended shooting sessions and should be replaced with a more durable synthetic forend. They don't make these shotguns anymore and it's getting hard to find parts for them. Being recoil operated, felt recoil from extended shooting sessions can be hard for some people. Also prone to rust and should have a light coat of oil maintained to prevent it. Expensive and not easy to find spare barrels for.
Beretta AL390/391
Pros: One of the softest recoiling gas operated semis I've ever shot. No O rings to mess with. Extremely reliable. Good balance and easy to clean.
Cons: Not easy to buy spare barrels for.
 
If you're not interested in the benelli, I don't think the stoeger would be for you either. They are built from the same patent right?
 
Pumps still rule around here in the marshes. Autos are a lot more popular than once were and I think it's all the 3" and 3 1/2" guns available now days, not that you really need more than a 2 3/4 just for ducks. But, it helps with the geese. Autos are generally more expensive and I've found that a pump is NOT that tough on my shoulder if it fits well. Now, one with not enough drop beats me up, that's why I shimmed my Mossberg. Fit means a WHOLE LOT to felt recoil. That Mossy is fun to shoot now, used to be a painful necessity.
 
Coots? Dang shdwfx, are you in Louisiana? :p

It might have been covered by your testing, but I don't think it can be overstated that ANY shotgunning, fit is everything. It doesn't have to be a beautiful O/U. Even semi autos must fit well for you to be able to shoot them well.

If at all possible, get out with friends or even strangers at the local ranges and try shooting different guns that are in your price range. You might be surprised how much better one shoots over others.

I thought my 11-87 SP was all that and a bucket of nachos until I got my hands on my Browning Gold and that all changed.
 
I understand that, with enough brining and some marinade, the Ivory-Billed Water Chicken can be good eatin'.
 
And before anyone gets their feathers in a tussle, Coonass is NOT a racially derogatory term. I know many, personally.

Ash
 
Sounds like you don't care about having a 3.5" but anyways, these guns have always intrigued me. Those that actually have them, think very highly of them. EAA and now Remington is the importer. You should be able to get one for ~$300. I do think very highly of the AL391 and also like Remingtons, but there are plenty of affordable autoloaders that work fine.

Baikal Mp153 (might have the model wrong). I think Remington calls it the MP453 now.

mr153__0604_6bf.gif
 
I used a Remington Sportsman 58 on teal for years and a Winchester SuperX Model 1 on big ducks and geese. I later started using an SKB 3" 20ga auto on ducks everywhere that required steel shot for 12ga (this was 25+ years ago). Autos will do you fine and the Remmy will do you fine but if I was going to buy a new shotgun for duck hunting I would get an 870. Just my .02
 
Three inch gets you more shot in the air but I am not convinced that the useable patterns are any denser at longer ranges. Unless you are pass shooting, many (most) of your shots are going to be under 40 yards and a 23/4 inch high brass should do the job.
 
I have been using a 12ga model 1100 for the past 25 years , no trouble at all. A few years ago picked up a Beretta 391, that works well too, but still like the old 1100 for sentimental reasons. Both have taken a lot of ducks over the years and never one problem between them in all kinds of weather.
 
The only thing that is really turning me off from the gas guns is the O-ring, and the fouling accompanying the gas system in general. I've shot my grandfather's 1100 & while it's a VERY nice gun, it likes to choke once and awhile. So I'm leaning towards something simpler like the Stoeger. Did someone say that the Beretta is gas but doesn't have the O-ring?
 
The O-ring in a Remington auto is no big deal. It costs about 35 cents to buy a new one and takes only a few seconds to replace it when you're cleaning the gun. I've known guys who had thousands of rounds through their gun with the same O-ring in it. I've got about 1500 rounds through my 1100 and I'm pretty sure it's the original O-ring, but I did buy a few extra "just in case".

Any gas operated gun is going to require some cleaning periodically. If you aren't willing to take 15 minutes to do some basic cleaning, then don't buy an autoloader.
 
Pete409 is absolutely correct in that. the o-ring is no big deal. Keeping your waterfowl gun "CLEAN" is "THE" deal. The conditions can be so extreme that no matter what you eventually decide on, will turn to junk before your eyes, if not well maintained. If you are recoil concious, a gas operated auto is the way to go. If not, then inertia or recoil operated is just fine. Either way it will need to be taken down and cleaned after the hunt.
 
There's no way I wouldn't clean a gun. That's like getting a car and never changing the oil, it's just a waste of money.
 
The only time recoil is an issue for me is when I pattern. When something is in the air and I rise up on it, I don't feel the recoil and, frankly, I hardly hear the gun shoot. It kind of thuds when I pull the trigger and ducks fall from the sky. Sometimes, I am even surprised by the bruises on my shoulder if the ducks have really been flying.

Ash
 
Any good hardware store is going to have O-rings that will work just as well as Remington branded O-rings and they will be a heck of a lot less expensive.

Viton (a material not a brand name) O-ring is the product you are looking for and these are commonly available products.
 
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Pete409 is absolutely correct in that. the o-ring is no big deal.
Click to expand...

Well, it came close to ruining a hunting trip to Alaska for a friend of mine. I'd call that a big deal. Seems it's a bit harder to get one in the Aleutians than in Ohio. If you never plan to hunt anywhere but down the street from your house, I suppose you're right. Otherwise, I 'absolutely' disagree with both you you.

Should he have carried extras? Sure. But what trip doesn't involve forgetting some little item? The O-ring is just another opportunity for Murphy. A prime opportunity. Since you can buy a great semiauto that doesn't have one, why pay good money for a 50-year-old design that has it? Why set yourself up for another problem, in situations where there are plenty already?

Like I said, I have an old 1100. I like it, except when it's cutting my trigger finger. But liking it doesn't blind me to its shortcomings.
 
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