Waterfowl shotguns rambling and observation

Joined
May 19, 2023
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Colorado
Maybe I have a problem , lol!? But I’m thinking not - two sons that will be gun carrying hunters soon.

Regardless when I see a decent deal I’m inclined to pursue it and so I have 7 waterfowl shotguns- Franchi affinity elite, Winnie sx4 20 hybrid and 12, two Remington v3 in 12 (twins) , a cz 712 and a Remington 11-87 . Other than controls and a few unique features like mag cutoff they are all VERY similar. Like really similar.

The Remington v3’s are right there with the Franchi ( build quality, function, design layout, weight, ) but half the price ( used market) but they no longer make them ie., Remington has woes .

Theyr’re all great and do what they should- but the v3 really suits how I hunt. Walking in, setting up, unloads easy , change ammo easy as it has mag cutoff feature, oversized controls , easy to swing, easy to carry, takes REM chokes . Fast shooting- low recoil- Light shooting even my wife can use it and not get beat up all day…. etc - unless I’m using 20 ga, I’m taking a V3 or the Franchi.

So I got to thinking? Why are they all so similar? Well , cause there’s several at most large firearm companies making it all or at least 85% of what’s on the market. The Rendition V3 out of this group was the ONLY USA made - owning these I’ve learned this , very few , maybe none ? ( Beretta in Tennessee assembles). None now are made in USA - its Turkey and Portugal manufacturing and so semi auto waterfowl shotguns ( for sure, other styles too) are all 98% alike - it’s the ergonomics and system controls that matter and the name, customer service that matters now - again of these I have , a decent selection of current market choices, and the V3 is the only unique shotgun- vents gas differently, operating system is unique, mag cutoff - all others are basically the same with cloves in camo, lol! anyhow I’d love to hear others thoughts and observations .
 
Just bought my third ever autoloading shotgun a year or so ago. Around 1983 I bought an 1100 20 ga. Around 2000 I bought a 16ga 11-48. And last year I bought a beretta 3901 with the stickers still on it. 3 totally different guns, none of which are still made. The 1100 was a classic, but limited to 2 3/4” shells and wouldn’t work great with steel for water fowling much I suppose. The 1148 was an oddball gauge, good bird gun, not too heavy, but it was recoil operated and the recoiling barrel felt like you were shooting a pogo stick, never could get used to that. The Beretta is really great, love the shims on the stock to get a better fit, and it cycles everything I’ve put through it ranging from super light target loads up to turkey-whompers, and hasn’t even had a hint of not cycling, even covered in muddy water and frozen shut. Can’t speak to a lot of of the current guns, but there certainly are different actions, gas operated versus recoil operated, and you hear a lot about people whose guns will only cycle heavy loads or dont cycle reliably. I did a fundraiser sporting clays shoot this past spring, guy on our squad with a relatively new Benelli had every other round fail to cycle. I guess my take away is that the new stuff doesn’t seem any better than the old models, seems like a good thing to buy used.
 
Yes for sure - same here . Several older models worked well lines Remington 1100 skeet and 870 field and 11-87 (just heavy)

New auto loaders overall try to feed all ammo sizes and loads and several solve this with piston changes or gas system tweaks -

Wild to hear about the Benelli malfunctioning . It happens though - ultimate reliability i guess are pumps and super posed over under or SxS
 
I have shot an 1187 premier light contour since I was 13. I have a browning gold I use for ducks now, have had franchi’s, and shot benelli’s but I don’t shoot any of them nearly as well as that old 1187. I’ve been considering trading off the browning for another 1187 since they aren’t made anymore (as far as I know). I’d love to see RemArms produce new 1187s.


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