Which Shotgun for all things, upland, waterfowl, and clay pigeon?

[highstepper]

If you only want one do it all gun, and doing it all includes clays- you want a Beretta Auto. Look around any large sporting clays tournament and Beretta autos will outnumber all other brands by a tremendous margin. There is a reason for this: low recoil, very reliable, and adjustable length of pull , drop, and cast. I know a lot of people love to be kicked by their Benelli, but there is a reason you rarely see them being used in any serious competition. That reliability shooting hundreds of clay targets a day translates to supreme dependability in the field.
I've been shooting Beretta autos since the late '70's (A301). I owned or own everthing from A-5s to SBEs to Perazzi O/U to heirloom side by sides. Love 'em all. But if I could only have one, it would be my battered A303 Beretta with a 3" chambered barrel. That will kill just about anything with wings on earth and post respectable scores in a Sporting Clays shoot.

 

[NDGuy]

If you only want one do it all gun, and doing it all includes clays- you want a Beretta Auto.

Got my first Beretta last month, A400 Xtreme Plus! It's a BEAST! My first time going with an actual left hand shotgun.

 

[Forelle]

Have had a lot of o/u, sxs and autos over my 30 years of shooting shotgun for clays and hunting. The only gun I’ve never sold because it’s utilitarianism is a 12 gauge Benelli M1 synthetic I got working in a Gunshop in my 20’s.

I think you’ll be happy with the M2. You don’t have to sweat a fancy finish and it you want to change barrel lengths you can find them on eBay use for around $300 (very expensive new). Mine started as a 28” for ducks/pheasant. Now it’s a 26” because I do mostly upland and Turkey. Also have a rifles slug barrel for deer when regs require. Top it with a red dot for Turkey.

You can get predict pads and spacers right change your length of pull and there are shims to customize your cast and drop. SBE is nice too, but heavierif your lugging it for upland. Oh and resale is great if you change your mind.

if there’s gonna be more clays than hunting, the beretta auto’s gas system will save your shoulder a bit. Great guns just a little more cleaning required than the Benelli’s inertia drive.