Gun Dog Forum

Looking at buying a new gun for upland hunting, mostly pheasant with maybe a few quail thrown into the mix. As of now I am shooting a Cz upland light, and a Remington 11-87 20ga. Both are awesome guns, but it is time for a new toy. I am mostly looking for an auto 12 ga, that is pretty light for long days in the field. I really like the inertia drive that benelli has ( have an m1 for my duck hunting boom stick). Are there any other companies that use the inertia system? I just need a few ideas on where to start looking, and what people like to shoot. Also, I am not looking for a really expensive gun that I will be afraid to get dinged up, my guns get used and abused.

It's gas instead of inertia, but I recently purchased a Beretta A400 12ga XPlor with the kick off system and love it. I used it for about 1/2 the season. Couple other folks tried it and bought their own immediately after.

Actually, I bought the 20ga version for smaller birds and liked it so much I bought it's bigger 12ga brother for everything else.

Franchi Affinity, basically an M2 with a much cheaper price tag.

Franchi Intensity. Same inertia design, made in the same factory as the Benelli, lower price. I got one for well under MSRP and I love it.

Auto 5 Sweet 16.....either IC and/or M barrels dependent upon your particular needs.

migratesouth wrote:Franchi Intensity. Same inertia design, made in the same factory as the Benelli, lower price. I got one for well under MSRP and I love it

How is the recoil with heavy duck, goose loads ?

Franchi made some of the very lightest 12 ga. autos. I dont' know about now though.

My brother had a Franchi 12 ga that was waaay lighter than my Browning light 20. That was over thirty years ago.

RayG

Ms. Cage wrote:

migratesouth wrote:Franchi Intensity. Same inertia design, made in the same factory as the Benelli, lower price. I got one for well under MSRP and I love it

How is the recoil with heavy duck, goose loads ?

Heavy duck, goose , buckshot or slug loads would not be something I would want to shoot out of ANY lightweight gun...for a bunch of reasons, including getting pounded. That kind of heavy recoil can't be too good for the gun either.

RayG

Ms. Cage wrote:

migratesouth wrote:Franchi Intensity. Same inertia design, made in the same factory as the Benelli, lower price. I got one for well under MSRP and I love it

How is the recoil with heavy duck, goose loads ?

I haven't fired anything really heavy out of it yet. In a t-shirt, I've felt recoil. My cheap hunting vest has a quilted fabric in the shoulder and I haven't felt recoil while wearing it. Turkey season is coming, I'll update after patterning.

Loving the Beretta Xplor that I picked up before last season. A friend bought a winchester sx3 when I bought mine and I really like how that guns feels as well.

I've had a Benelli Montefeltro for the past 3 years and love the gun. Before the Monte I was shooting a M1, I have been extremely happy with Benelli's! If price is a concern look at the Stoeger M3000. Quality isn't the same as a Benelli but neither is the price.

I do like the looks of that A-5, how does it hold up to rough treatment though? Im not to worried about the kick from a light gun either, I shoot three inch mags out of my cz which weighs six pounds.

deke wrote:I do like the looks of that A-5, how does it hold up to rough treatment though? Im not to worried about the kick from a light gun either, I shoot three inch mags out of my cz which weighs six pounds.

The old Auto 5 has been around a long time and it can be made near new again quite easily.
As to rough treatment and altho you specify only "upland" in your OP, historically they keep perking along quite well regardless of waterfowl or upland use.
A standard degree of respect and basic care will see an Auto 5 stutter happily for generations.
Recoil, in a properly set-up and maintained Auto 5, is negligible....the recoil sensation tho, can be different for many.
A plain barrel(the best choice, imo) Sweet with a 26" barrel will weigh about 6 3/4#....just a nice and very shootable weight....finding one of the comparably rare 3-shot models or some light wood will shave off a 1/4 # or so if weight is something to fret about.
The sole downside would be steel use in belgian barrels.....but, options for steel exist if one feels obliged to go steel's way...for me, that is why I keep the 12 BUL.

I know nothing of the new pretend Auto 5 other than some folks like it and I never owned the heavier Japanese Auto 5s.....the new A5 seems more a do-all rather than an upland scattergun, to me.
Do-alls and choke tubes sadly appear where interest lies....for shooters and marketers...that is a shame but, reality.

I shoot 3" loads in my 6 1/4# 12 BUL for turkey.....I do slip on a recoil pad but, unless one wishes to run a week at the Grand, recoil is seldom a practical issue...less so in the uplands.
Weight frets are a message board staple tho.... :roll:
I don't know how our uncles and grandpappys ever done enjoyed demselves afield totin' the heavy ordinace of the day.

I love shooting a semi-auto but I don't like the fact they throw the empties all over. I hate seeing used shells being left after shooting but they can be hard to find when you use a gun with ejectors of any kind. I pretty much stick with a pump or double barrel in the field.

Ezzy

Semi-auto shell litter is an understable concern and policing up a good thing but other than on Preserves, dove fields, duck blinds or at gun clubs, the seldom encountered shell in the grouse woods or pheasant field always spoke to me most of someone having had the opportunity to have made it a good day.....more than being offensive trash.
I see litter as more of a concern at parking pull-offs than the odd shell nestled amongst the leaf litter.
Besides that, letting hulls drop is not limited to users of semi-autos and makes me wonder how many left to lay shells are there from a semi-auto's toss.

I would like to see more use of paper hulls...a bit for the look, a bit for the smell and a bit for the appearance of a remaining metal base speaking to different times.

ezzy333 wrote:I love shooting a semi-auto but I don't like the fact they throw the empties all over. I hate seeing used shells being left after shooting but they can be hard to find when you use a gun with ejectors of any kind. I pretty much stick with a pump or double barrel in the field.

Ezzy

I hunt mostly public land, and I always make sure to pick up every shell I come across. Then if I lose one of mine I can feel a bit better about it.

As for the A5 Would you recommend looking at an older model or a newer one?

On the preserve, we send the kids out each spring and we buy back the empties for a nickel.

deke wrote:

ezzy333 wrote:I love shooting a semi-auto but I don't like the fact they throw the empties all over. I hate seeing used shells being left after shooting but they can be hard to find when you use a gun with ejectors of any kind. I pretty much stick with a pump or double barrel in the field.

Ezzy

I hunt mostly public land, and I always make sure to pick up every shell I come across. Then if I lose one of mine I can feel a bit better about it.

As for the A5 Would you recommend looking at an older model or a newer one?

I have had both the Belgian and the Japanese A-5. Both are well made. I still have and still occasionally shoot the Belgian A-5. All in all I shot that gun for over thirty years and killed a bunch of birds with it. I know zero about the modern reincarnation.

There are several unique things about the old humpback. First and foremost is the sight picture. When you throw the gun up, if you mis mount high, you will see nothing but black receiver. Most of the A-5's seem to be rather short stocked so this high mis mount can happen. Second is the recoil. The recoil sensation is two fold, sort of a chunk-chunk feeling as the bolt comes back and then the new round cycles(I guess). Honestly I never notice it when hunting , but only when target shooting.

One neat thing is the magazine lock. You can throw the lock, open the bolt and eject the chambered shell and the bolt stays open. Gun is essentially inoperable and safe, even though there are two(or more) rounds in the magazine. You can hand feed a different round into the chamber and then throw the lock and you are good to go. Alternatively, you can just throw the lock and one of the rounds in the magazine gets chambered.

RayG

The Benelli UltrA Light, the BUL, is probalby the most versatile gun on the market today. 12GA., semi auto, 6# 3oz and reliable as all get out. I've run every load throuh mine from 8's to 3" steel and Hevi Shot and all without a single jam. What a great gun.

Stay away from stoeger semi auto. My father purchased one a few years back and it is the biggest POS I have ever shouldered. Constantly jamming, not cycling, and breaking. Waiting for parts as I type this.

My recommendation would be a gun you could carry comfortably for the duration of your style of hunting. A gun that feels sweet when you throw it up and shoot. & most important is one that you can hit with. (IMO) the guns purchased for looks "should be" purchased when you have the extra funds available . Just my humble opinion

If you are looking for a new save your money for a Beretta, Benelli or Browning....my two cents.

The Montefeltro is the best semi for pure upland. The best doubles are Beretta and Rizini.

I would also look for an SKB, used. These are the Japanese made SKB's.

Consider resale, so Beretta and Benelli are the ticket.

If I were getting a semi, I would get a Montefeltro,

migratesouth wrote:Franchi Intensity. Same inertia design, made in the same factory as the Benelli, lower price. I got one for well under MSRP and I love it.

Do you happen to know if they make a left handed version?

Aslowhiteguy wrote:

migratesouth wrote:Franchi Intensity. Same inertia design, made in the same factory as the Benelli, lower price. I got one for well under MSRP and I love it.

Do you happen to know if they make a left handed version?

I do not believe so.

Unless you need to shoot 3 1/2" shells(which let's be honest, there really isn't a need for them anymore), just stick with the Franchi Affinity over the Intensity. They do make a left-handed Affinity.
http://www.franchiusa.com/affinity-semi-auto-shotgun

Just to clear something up, they are NOT made in the same factory, NOR do they use the same inertia system as Benelli. They are owned/imported by Benelli. The inertia spring is under the forearm in a Franchi, not the stock like a Benelli...much easier to clean.

I shoot a Franchi 720(gas operated) that is a great little gun. I'm not a huge fan of inertia over gas, but if I were to get an inertia gun, it would definitely be a Franchi.

Well, you stated in your first post that you wanted a toy. Why not go all the way and get a SxS.

Much lighter in most cases, and I shoot a SxS better than any other configuration I have ever shouldered.

Just thought I'd throw that in there. I prefer AyA's.

ThreeBritts wrote:Well, you stated in your first post that you wanted a toy. Why not go all the way and get a SxS.

Much lighter in most cases, and I shoot a SxS better than any other configuration I have ever shouldered.

Just thought I'd throw that in there. I prefer AyA's.

I am looking for a ithaca skb 100 currently. But that is more for memorabilia sake than shooting, never could shoot sxs worth a darn.

Aslowhiteguy wrote:

migratesouth wrote:Franchi Intensity. Same inertia design, made in the same factory as the Benelli, lower price. I got one for well under MSRP and I love it.

Do you happen to know if they make a left handed version?

Slo, I have a BUL, shoot left handed and had a gunsmith flip the safety. The shells ejecting across my vision don't bother me at all.

The old man has a Winchrster SX3, and it's amazing. If I were looking for a gun that's what id get. Light to carry but very light recoil too.

Montefeltro 20 ga. without a question...Lefty here, switched my safety to lefty in 2 minutes, adjusted stock shims for lefty...Approx .3 lb heaver than the BUL yet holds 5 shells as apposed to 3 for the BUL...will bang away for all your upland demands. My favorite gun ever...I mean ever...the best...and I have owned 4 different Benellis....

Stick with an O/U or a SxS...if you can't kill them with 2 shots....the birds win

JKP we don't agree on dogs but we seem to agree on shotguns!

Husqvarna 310a

JKP wrote:Stick with an O/U or a SxS...if you can't kill them with 2 shots....the birds win

What if i just put two shells in an auto? Don't get me wrong, I love my o/u i just dont shoot them as well as any of my autos.

I often slide only two shells in the Sweet 16.....the Auto 5 appears advantage enough.

deke wrote:

JKP wrote:Stick with an O/U or a SxS...if you can't kill them with 2 shots....the birds win

What if i just put two shells in an auto? Don't get me wrong, I love my o/u i just dont shoot them as well as any of my autos.

I am in the same boat. Plus, my auto is waaaaaay lighter than my o/u.

deke wrote:

ThreeBritts wrote:Well, you stated in your first post that you wanted a toy. Why not go all the way and get a SxS.

Much lighter in most cases, and I shoot a SxS better than any other configuration I have ever shouldered.

Just thought I'd throw that in there. I prefer AyA's.

I am looking for a ithaca skb 100 currently. But that is more for memorabilia sake than shooting, never could shoot sxs worth a darn.

Funny how that works isn't it? I started with a pump and then auto and then O/U's and then when I tried a SxS I was really deadly with it.

I was still pretty deadly with the other configurations too though.

One other thing that pushed me from the O/U was the single selective trigger.

That **&^%^&*( thing getting stuck in the midddle cost me several nice birds and it took all I had not to wrap it around the nearest tree.

It is a Franchi Veloce in 28. I still own it though, It's a great gun to invite a prettylady along to the trapfield if you catch my drift.