| Both the Remington and the Benelli are very good | | | | pheasant hunting with my 870 20ga. that was |
| guns. The advantage to these two brands are, | | | | made in 1972, and it works great! |
| they have lots of accessories available too! I | | | | I like the Browning Gold 10ga. with steel T shot. |
| shoot a Beretta Pintail, which is basically the same | | | | The 10ga can also be used with 3 or 4 shot in |
| action as the Benelli 90. It is very rugged and I've | | | | one of the heavier non-steel (IE. Federal tungsten, |
| given it hard use here. The main difference | | | | bismuth etc.) Shot and is great on large ducks. |
| between the Benelli Super 90 and the Remington | | | | The gun is a bit on the heavy side but with 10ga. |
| is that the Benelli is recoil operated and the | | | | loads the weight greatly reduces felt recoil. If you |
| Remington is gas operated. This is a big | | | | are hunting from a stationary position the added |
| difference, too. | | | | weight shouldn't be an issue. |
| The Benelli will kick noticeably harder--all of the | | | | In 12ga. my first choice is the Beretta Xtrema-2 |
| recoil goes straight to you shoulder. The gun is | | | | with KO in a camo pattern. Yes, I do feel that it |
| light meaning it is easy to carry, but there is less | | | | is worth the cost. When you consider that all the |
| weight to "soak up" the recoil too. The | | | | other quality semi-autos are in the $1,000+ range |
| Remington's gas operation takes the edge off the | | | | the few hundred differences is worth it. The |
| recoil. I don't notice the recoil when I'm hunting | | | | Beretta is arguably the softest recoiling water |
| since I shoot few shots and I tend to be wearing | | | | fowling shotgun available. |
| heavy clothing, but when I target shoot wearing | | | | My second choice is the Benelli S.B.E. 2. In camo |
| only a t-shirt I have to shoot special reduced | | | | pattern. In contrast to the Beretta, (gas |
| loads or it kills me after one box! | | | | operated) it is a inertia (aka recoil) operated |
| Either gun will work just as well in the field. It | | | | shotgun. There are several features to reduce |
| really comes down to which one you like the "fit" | | | | felt recoil but in general it is a harder hitting (the |
| of. Since you are already used to the 870, the | | | | shooter)gun than the Beretta. However, the |
| Remington auto might have less adjusting for you. | | | | action is one of the most reliable and works very |
| If you didn't like the 870's handling, then this | | | | well in all waterfowl hunting conditions that may |
| wouldn't be true. | | | | sideline the gas operated guns. |
| You can buy special rifled barrels for either gun, | | | | For the money the Mossberg is a reasonable |
| but from what I've heard the rifled choke tubes | | | | option and I would not be afraid to go that route |
| are almost as good. Remember, you don't have | | | | if you would rather not spend the money on one |
| to shoot 2-inch groups with the thing. If you can | | | | of the three listed above. My guess is however |
| consistently hit a 7 inch circle, you will kill a deer. | | | | that you will soon want a gun in the category of |
| I mostly hunt ducks and do it in the nastiest | | | | one of the top three semi-autos listed. So... my |
| weather you can imagine. My Beretta sometimes | | | | suggestion is that if you can afford to make the |
| gets filled with ice when it's 5 below zero and I'm | | | | purchase of the Benelli, Browning, or Beretta now, |
| hunting in a blizzard, but really I think any auto is | | | | do so and you'll be set for a long time. Mossberg's |
| going to have problems. I end up knocking the ice | | | | reputation has improved greatly over the years |
| out with a stick and use it as a single shot. In that | | | | and is good quality overall. Personally however, I |
| sense, I'm not sure that using an auto instead of | | | | much prefer the Beretta X2KO. |
| an 870 is an "upgrade." I still sometimes go | | | | |