The 3901 is appealing, and it feels decent, but not like my old 1100. Not a particularly nice-looking piece, either, especially up close, but solid. Should be under 600 bucks for the plastic gun, but Beretta isn't shy about adding a bit onto any price just for the name Beretta, because people are willing to pay it. The plastic one feels a lot like a Mossberg 930.
There's something I just don't "get" about a lot of Browning's product offerings, and I have one.
It's hard to put a finger on what it is. The Citori feels like a clunker to me, the Cynergy, which I like, is hard as hell to find, the Gold is bulky, and the BT-99 is overpriced. I have an old 99 because I can't afford a Beretta trap gun. Frankly, I've thought about getting an 1100 trap instead, because I'd probably shoot better with it, but I'm not so fond of cleaning guns that much.
The 11-87 20 Gauge is a nicely-balanced gun. The older 1100 LT-20 feels a tad better, though.
Best gas autoloader I've felt lately is the new Remington 105. It, too, is expensive and completely unproven. I think a lot of people would prefer the devil we know to the devil we don't. I can carry 50 O-rings in my pocket, if I want to.
Benelli has certainly made huge inroads, and it's easy to see why. Their guns aren't cheap, but they offer pump-gun simplicity and low maintenance along with autoloader functionality, with a well-deserved Energizer Bunny reputation. It seems like nobody shoots clays with them, though, unless it's the day before duck season or something.
Once upon a time, there were 1100s and there were Auto-5's. Then, suddenly, there were a lot more good guns available. Remington couldn't hope to keep their market share in the autoloader arena.
Now, I see few autoloaders at the clay range at all. O/U's, singles and combos dominate. Frankly, I see a lot of people shooting guns for reasons other than the value they offer, and I'll leave it at that.
None of that, however, means that a good 1100 or Auto-5 won't work just as well in the field as it did years ago.
