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Best all around shotgun?

6K views 44 replies 22 participants last post by  sq hunter 
#1 ·
Hey guys, looking to purchase a new workhorse. I've already got an 870 that I hate, it doesn't fit me well, and it shoots about 2 feet high (no joke). I will say I already have my eyes set on an Benelli M1/M2, I've been borrowing a family friends M1 and I just love it. Benelli's tend to fit me well, and I shoot a lot better. The shotgun would be used for a little bit of everything, some upland hunting, a little bit of trap, just looking for a workhorse shotgun. Would I be wrong to try and find a used M1? I like it a bit better than the M2 because of metal vs polymer trigger guard and other parts.

What would be a fair price for a used M1? I've seen them go $650-$1100 on gun broker.

If there's any other notable guns I should take a look at, let me know.
 
#3 ·
You should be able to pick up a used M1 Field for $750 or so, plus or minus, depending on barrel length and synthetic versus wood furniture. Great guns. If the Benelli fits you, based on my experience so will the Beretta 391, which you can get for roughly the same price...the Beretta, being a gas gun, will shoot a little softer with high velocity loads. If you get an M1, the Limbsaver pad is a great addition for taming recoil, IMO.
 
#4 ·
BayouSlide said:
You should be able to pick up a used M1 Field for $750 or so, plus or minus, depending on barrel length and synthetic versus wood furniture. Great guns. If the Benelli fits you, based on my experience so will the Beretta 391, which you can get for roughly the same price...the Beretta, being a gas gun, will shoot a little softer with high velocity loads. If you get an M1, the Limbsaver pad is a great addition for taming recoil, IMO.
What's the differences in the 3901 to the 390/1 other than being made in America? What makes the others more expensive?

EDIT: Would this be a good deal?

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =294868602
 
#5 ·
They dont say what length barrel it has, and 26 inchers are Ok for hunting but not the best for target use.
If its got a 28 or 30 inch barrel, I'd say its a good deal, maybe very good.
 
#6 ·
Claysmoke27 said:
They dont say what length barrel it has, and 26 inchers are Ok for hunting but not the best for target use.
If its got a 28 or 30 inch barrel, I'd say its a good deal, maybe very good.
26 inch barrels work just fine for target shooting.
 
#7 ·
I said, and would maintain they are not "the best".
Of course they can be fine, I have shot plenty with great results.
The extra weight is nice out front for targets.
 
#8 ·
A new Model 37 made in Ohio. After hunting with one of those you'll forget about everything else. My buddy bought one after I let him use my 16 gauge and now he won't use anything else. It was a real beauty when he first bought it but, you should see it now. Beat to he!! and back, rusted up, he never takes care of anything, you should see his truck, but I'll have to admit, even all rusted up, that short stroking little b@stard still pumps faster than greased lightning!!
 
#10 ·
Nothing wrong with a M2. As far as "work horse" shotguns go, it may be one of the best. My Vinci is a great all round shotgun. Some will say the Vinci is an ugly beast but I've grown to admire its looks and its performance is undeniable.

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#11 ·
Went to the range yesterday thinking I was going to shoot two rounds of trap. We couldn't get a trap squad together so we , my shooting buddy and I , joined up with a skeet squad. I had my Sig Rizinni , so I changed chokes to skeet and i/c and shot quite well-- first round with a 32'' barrel. Now I will pack one gun to the range and shoot all venues. I generally shoot 16 yard trap with an imp. mod . choke
 
#13 ·
If you like the m1/m2 I'd look at the new Franchi Affinity. It is essentially the M2 in a new set of clothes. You can find it new for $650-$700 and it shoots like a champ.

I was in the same quandary as you a few months ago -- debating spending the money on a SBE2 or Versa Max -- than shot the Affinity and fell in love. I'm 5-10 180lbs and it fit me like a glove right out the box.
 
#14 ·
Claysmoke27 said:
They dont say what length barrel it has, and 26 inchers are Ok for hunting but not the best for target use.
If its got a 28 or 30 inch barrel, I'd say its a good deal, maybe very good.
It's a 28", he only put it in the title so was kinda hard to find. I think I might jump on it, seems like a killer price. I've been looking at M1's for a couple months and they never seem to sell under $800 unless they were thrown around.
 
#17 ·
Rhyno37 said:
Claysmoke27 said:
They dont say what length barrel it has, and 26 inchers are Ok for hunting but not the best for target use.
If its got a 28 or 30 inch barrel, I'd say its a good deal, maybe very good.
It's a 28", he only put it in the title so was kinda hard to find. I think I might jump on it, seems like a killer price. I've been looking at M1's for a couple months and they never seem to sell under $800 unless they were thrown around.
Yes, I missed that.
The auction ends soon, seems like a very good deal.
 
#18 ·
Anyone with $859 to spend on a new shotgun should buy a brand new M37 Ithaca. It's the best brand new shotgun in the world with a magazine. Buy 12 gauge, 28 inch barrel.
 
#20 ·
Maybe the older models of the 870 but I think the Benelli Super Nova is my choice.
 
#21 ·
The OP seems to be looking for a semi-auto, or I would have earlier suggested a BPS or M37, or a Nova.

He also said he doesn't shoot an 870 well do to apparently, bad fit, with a 2' high POI.

Although I would suggest he shoot the 870 off of a bench rest before making a real determination on that.

My picks for him based on the above will still lean towards:

Browning Gold
Browning Silver
Winchester SX3
Beretta 3xx and 3901 guns
 
#22 ·
Rhyno37 said:
Hey guys, looking to purchase a new workhorse. I've already got an 870 that I hate, it doesn't fit me well, and it shoots about 2 feet high (no joke). I will say I already have my eyes set on an Benelli M1/M2, I've been borrowing a family friends M1 and I just love it. Benelli's tend to fit me well, and I shoot a lot better. The shotgun would be used for a little bit of everything, some upland hunting, a little bit of trap, just looking for a workhorse shotgun. Would I be wrong to try and find a used M1? I like it a bit better than the M2 because of metal vs polymer trigger guard and other parts.

What would be a fair price for a used M1? I've seen them go $650-$1100 on gun broker.

If there's any other notable guns I should take a look at, let me know.
I think an 870 is out here.

That 391 looks pretty good, time's running out.
 
#24 ·
If you want an Inertia type semi-auto, and you can wait a month or so, and if you don't want a Benelli like everybody else has........well, I know one of the new guns that I really want to check out -the new Browning A-5.

I just saw this last week in the NRA/American Rifleman magazine. I tracked down a copy which was on Browning's web site for you:

American Hunter profiles the new Browning A5.
Release Date: 6/22/2012
In a recent article on American Hunters online edition, Frank Miniter -- a senior editor at American Hunter magazine -- does a detailed review of the new Browning A5. At Browning we always try to listen to Miniter very closely. He shoots straight (literally and figuratively) and that means he can be a great help in product development. So there are a lot of good reasons to read his article. Along the way Miniter has been a personal witness to virtually all the great firearms innovations of the last two decades and his editorial expertise has covered stories around the world on hunting to "manliness." His bio found on his website details his experience:

"Miniter has written for Forbes, National Review, American Thinker, Human Events, American Hunter, Outdoor Life, The Washington Times, Washington Examiner, and many other publications on constitutional rights and other issues . . . [he] is also the author of The New York Times' Bestseller The Ultimate Man's Survival Guide, Recovering the Lost Art of Manhood. He has floated the Amazon, run with the bulls of Pamplona, hunted everything from bear in Russia to elk with the Apache to kudu in the Kalahari and has fly-fished everywhere from Alaska's Kenai to Scotland's River Spey to Japan's freestone streams. Along the way he was taught to box by Floyd Patterson, spelunked into Pompey's Cave, climbed the Gunks, and graduated from the oldest private military academy (Norwich University) in the U.S."

This Browning overview contains a few excerpts from the article which ran in the June 2012 issue of American Hunter Magazine. The headline to the online story sums up Miniter's reaction to the new A5 from Browning:

"The features include a kinematic action that is inertia operated,
unlike your papa's recoil-operated A5."
He is certainly correct on that point. Below are a few excerpts from the story which can be read in its entirety on American Hunter Magazine, online edition.

"My grandfather didn't own a Browning A5, nor did my father. But my friend's did. I remember comparing my Remington 870 Wingmaster-a well-used shotgun my father gave me when I was 14 years old-to the Browning A5. Even then I thought the A5's "humpback" design was distinctive, cool looking and, even at that impressionable age, I knew the gun was backed by a reputation of reliability. That impression came flooding back to me at an unveiling of the new Browning A5 at a writer's seminar in South Dakota.

"But wait," said Scott Grange, Browning's director of public relations, "this isn't your grandfather's A5." He wasn't kidding-that phrase has now become the company's slogan.

"This shotgun would please John Moses Browning's innovative spirit. This incarnation of the Auto-5 no longer has the long-recoil (recoiling barrel) system of the classic A5. It has a new short-recoil system. Named the "Kinematic Drive System," its engineering is very similar to Benelli's Inertia Driven action.

"The Browning A5 was the first mass-produced semi-automatic shotgun. The name of the shotgun was derived from the fact it was designed to be an autoloader that had a capacity of five shots-four in the magazine and one in the chamber. Designed by John Moses Browning in 1898 and patented in 1900 . . ."

Click here to read the entire Frank Miniter story on the A5 or click on the American Hunter webpage below.

The Frank Miniter A5 Article is copyright American Hunter Magazine, 2012, and excerpts are used by Browning with permission. Miniter's bio is from his own website http://www.frankminiter.com/ copyright 2012.
 
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