General Purpose Semi-Auto Shotgun

[J-Dub]

You mention the 870, seems like a good choice if you want to spend as little money as possible and still get a good dual purpose shotgun.

Pickup an 870 (wingmaster or express) and an extra 18 or 20" barrel and be gtg.

Also, as its been stated befoe, Mossberg sells package deals like the above (26" and 18" barrel). Might be the best route to go.

Unless you just want the bling of a benelli.

[Gutshot John]

Sadly the 21" is out since the club mandates at least 22". Increasingly I'm looking at the Benelli.

One more time about the 870 and pumps in general...I've already got an 870, I don't like the 870, I'm selling the 870.

It's not a question of the "bling" of a Benelli, it's more about the shootability/reliability in a semi-auto package which only the Italian B's seem to offer.

Some people seem to love the Mossbergs, others not so much, I thought about it but I don't know that I want to risk the not-so-much.

[suhu]

I'm a fan of the M1 Super 90 with a traditional SBE type stock. Reliable and comfortable.

[Gutshot John]

Just heard from my stepmom, her dad is a longtime skeet shooter, he hooked me up with an old-school 12G 1100. Which will fill the need in the short-term.

Accordingly I dropped the hammer on a 20G Benelli M2 so all I need now is a an M4 for the dedicated tactical role.

Eventually I'll pick up a 28G and a .410 and I've got the full skeet set.

[gsxr-fan]

IMHO, a skeet gun with a 4 gauge capability and a semi auto tactical shotgun are two very different, specialized tools.

For skeet, I'd recommend you look at good, used, over under 12 gauge shotgun with tube inserts (20, 28 & 410)for the 4 gauges you want. Yeah, it's not a semi auto, but it is a very good option for skeet (since you only need two shots).

Many years ago, I had a Winchester 101 Pigeon grade over under in this configuration and man, was that gun a joy to shot. Sadly, I no longer have that gun...

An over under shotgun has an easy swing and follow through, a single trigger, and sight alignment is no issue for either barrel. Another benefit of using an over under is that you can shoot and reload the crap the plastic hulls to the point of using scotch tape on the end to keep the #9 pellets from falling out! Try that with your pump or semi auto shotgun!

Anyway, once you become a regular at your range and get to know some of the and old timers, you might be able to pick one up in your price range from someone downsizing their collection.

As for a good tactical semi auto shotgun, you have good advise in the other posts.

My bottomline to you: buy a dedicated skeet gun for weekend use, keep your 870 until you can afford / decide on a semi auto shotgun for tactical use.

But that's just my opinion...

[Gutshot John]

I agree that they are specialized tools but I don't have the funds to support both types especially as I'm not looking to be a serious competitor.

I see enough barebones semis on the range to know it's not impossible to do everything with the same gun, and a tactical shotgun can be had with a quick barrel change. While O/Us are nice guns, there are plenty of semis on the range.

The briley tubs inserts aren't really cheap (about $1600/set or $700/each) and coupled with the price of a modestly priced quality O/U and you're easily looking at the cost of 3+ semis. I've looked at used and honestly there really isn't that much difference in price between new and used.

I just want to have some fun and if I have to piss off my wife and invest $3-4K in new gear it's going to become a lot less fun real quick.

Please keep the comments in line with the premise of the thread. I don't know why people keep coming back to the 870, the thread is about semis and I've already explained I don't like the 870. If I wanted to keep the 870 I would be. It doesn't fill the need I've specified.

[J-Dub]

Sounds like you're set. I personally like the remington 1100, and i've heard nothing bad about the M2.


As a piece of advice, if you havent shot an O/U or SxS....dont. Your bank account will thank me, cause once you swing one....you'll buy one....lol

Also do you plan on shooting any other clay sports? sporting clays, 5 stand, ect...

[Gutshot John]

Oh I shot an O/U (browning and I got to try a krieghoff) and you're absolutely right, they are sweet guns. I'll end up getting one when I become rich.

They were the first guns I was considering but when it became apparent that they were way out of my price range, even for a modest gun, I decided it would be better to get a top-shelf semi for less money. The low-end O/Us like the Mossbergs Silver Reserve and the CZ I played with at the gun store didn't really have the same quality. Lanber models were rarer than hen's teeth and I wasn't sure about customer service if I had problems.

So far I've shot skeet and 5 stand and really enjoy both. I also want to do sporting clays. Trap doesn't really interest me as much.

[J-Dub]

I picked up a CZ bobwhite (SxS) and love it. I plan on picking up a 20ga O/U from CZ (Mallard, Canvasback, or Woodcock).

I view these guns as field guns. I wouldnt use them on a clays range, its not what they are made for. The post 2006 models are proving to be very durable (guy on shotgunworld has 15k shells through a canvasback with zero problems) but stay away from the earlier models. The Turks have REALLY got their act together (S&W Elite Gold come to mind)

If i were to go for a dedicated sporting gun i would probably go with a "B" gun, but dont completely count out the budget guns....some can be diamonds in the not so rough.

[Gutshot John]

I was told to avoid the Russian/Turkish guns. I don't know whether it's a reputation that persists undeservedly or what.

There were some nice CZs I saw but those were back in the $2k range for the competition guns.

I was definitely told to avoid field/hunting guns for skeet purposes. While much cheaper they weren't as durable or made for such high round counts. This seemed less a problem in the semi-autos, especially those made in Italy.