hey guys my wifes grandpa is selling a franchi I-12 sporting for 1100, hes only shot it on one pheasant hunt. a never before fired browning silver hunter for 1100. my question is are those fair prices? i will be mostly be shooting sporting clays with it and 1-2 pheasant shoot a year. ive also looked a Beretta a300 for 729 at cabelas and a few others with in my 1200 budget ( benelli montefrelo, winchester sx3 and a remington 1100 sporting). they all feel pretty good to me, so for my needs what do you guys think i should go with. thanks in advance

A quick search shows the Franchi for $800 at Gander Mountain and the Browning for $1100.

I would say go for the Remington 1100, it's gas operation makes for
mild recoil. Realize that a recoil operated gun like the Franchi is, I
think, will kick more, especially with it's alloy receiver. I think the
Franchi is alloy and if you expect to fire very many rounds at at time
at sporting clays recoil becomes important.

I have owned a Beretta 391 Gold Sporting for maybe 15 years and it is hands down the best shooting shotgun I have ever shot. Grew up shooting 1100's on skeet and dove fields for thousands of rounds and its a good gun but I hit birds with the Beretta I would not have with the Remington.

thank you guys, having a really hard time lol

My sons ( middle age) and I (old) have been shooting the venerable Remington 1100 for 35 years. In the meantime, other quality "more modern" semi-autos have been tried. But they are all eventually sold or traded for additional 1100s. Wonderful 50 year old shotgun and IMHO still the benchmark in a gas operated auto

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John

First, buy the one that fits. The one that comes to the shoulder and you are looking down the barrel naturally... not down at the barrel or receiver.

I bought my son a Beretta A300 Outlander for his birthday a couple of years back. We took it out and shot a round of skeet with it and I went and bought myself one with the walnut stock.

The Outlander is a great field gun. What it is not is pretty bluing and high quality wood... but for a relatively inexpensive field gun that is reliable, it works for me. Fit me well out of the box and points naturally. I get higher scores when shooting skeet and sporting clays with it than I do with my Beretta O/U.

i ended up getting a walnut stock a300. very pleased with my purchase, took my time yesterday and handled everything in my budget, the a300 just fit perfect. thanks for the help guys

If you intend to shoot this thing a lot I suggest you look at a Benelli M2. It has no gas system to puke up and worry about having to get it clean. It also has no little tiny rubber ring to fail just when you need it most. It is hard chrome lined so it wipes clean easily and it has pretty advanced ergonomics to give a really good feel. In addition, it will shoot 2 3/4" and 3" magnum shells.
All that said, I like and respect the Remington 1100. In fact, I just acquired one...but not to shoot. I got it because they sell, and they sell well. I have never understood it and I have tried.
In 1987 Remington came out with the 11-87, which is an updated version of the old 1100. Everyone else was producing guns that would shoot both 2 3/4" and 3" magnums and Remington simply made a version of the 1100 that would shoot both. It is the exact same dimensions and looking at it you cant tell it from a 1100. In fact, the one I shot seemed to kick less with 2 3/4" shells. It never caught on...for some strange reason people cannot get over the 1100. I have tried to figure this out...if the guns are dimensionally the exact same, pretty much identical in mechanics save for the fact that you can shoot both size shells out of one of them, then why not favor that one???? I have yet to hear a valid reason, but believe it or not, that is the way it is.
Have a brand new in the box 11-87 for $500.00 and a clapped out, beat up 1100 right next to it for $750.00 and guess which one some idiot will run up and buy first???? and really think he has got something.....You guessed it, the 1100....go figure!!!!

I've barely even heard of most of those mentioned. It's been a long time since I paid much attention to shotguns, but when I did, I always favored the Remington 1100. I suppose you'd have to look used these days, but you should be able to find a really nice one in that price range.

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John 3:16 .

I would go for a gas gun also. Remington 1100 or a Beretta 391 or the newer A-400.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

I am very happy with mine. It has become my go to shotgun, replacing my Beretta over and under for most of my shooting. My only complaint is now I have to bend over to pick up my hulls, vs. popping them out into my hand! My son and I have had many successful hunts with ours... dove, turkey, and duck. My son's has also been used for a few Boy Scout troop shotgun shooting outings, which equal many rounds through it without a cleaning, and we have not had any issues with either gun.

It has a lot to offer at the price point. The walnut stock is adjustable for drop and cast, where the synthetic stock is also adjustable for LOP. It is a hybrid with the recoil action similar to the 391, and the gas system of the A400.

Enjoy your new shotgun!

A Remington model 1100 is a very good gun. Make sure you have a few extra gas rings on hand (they eventually dry out, but replacing them is very simple and you can do it yourself in 1 minute).

One of the best, and most trouble-free, semi-auto shotguns ever made is the Browning Auto-5. You can shoot it for 50 years and never have a problem with it. You can find them used for $500 - in fact, mine only cost $400 and it's in excellent condition.


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IMO you made a good choice. The Beretta A300 will handle all 2&3/4 and 3inch loads and is soft on the shoulder, well made, reliable and easy to clean and maintain (no "O" rings needed).........I don't have an A300 but do have a couple of Beretta AL390's that are similar but pre-date the A300.

Don

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Laus Deo! <><

The Remington 1100 is an iconic shotgun and they demand high prices when used for bird hunting, or skeet and trap shooting. Slick action, very reliable, easy to maintain and well made solid shotguns that will give years of use. Parts are readily available, and other than the aforementioned gas ring (#33 neoprene at Ace Hardware $.65) requires little maintenance. Spare barrels are available in every configuration and length so with one shotgun you can cover a lot of applications. A barrel swap takes less time than swapping the gas ring! Good luck.

IMO the 11-87 never caught on because A) the 1100 just cannot be replaced, and B) it is nearly 1/2 pound heavier than the 1100 in 28" 12 ga.

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John

I get it, but "cannot be replaced" when they are externally identical???? Personally, me...I'd take the extra 1/2 pound and laugh to be able to shoot 2 3/4" and 3" out of the same gun. If I remember right didn't the 11-87 have a stainless mag tube so it couldn't get pitted up where the rubber O-ring sits????

Yeah but....you cant just swap barrels to a 3" magnum....

The 391 is not recoil operated, it is a gas system and a very good one at that.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

I am talking about the bolt and spring setup... the gas pushes the bolt back, but the bolt has the rat tail that compresses the action spring in the stock... mis-worded that so it wasn't clear.

So, what I was trying to say is that the A300 Outlander has a similar gas piston to the A400, but has a bolt and action similar to the 391.