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Any Good American Semi Auto Shotguns Still Made?

DR. SMASHER

DR. SMASHER

Smashing things
Joined
May 21, 2020
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976
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NJ
I'm gonna give this new site a shot and see. The question is, are there any American company made good quality semi auto shotguns still being made? Like they used to be made such as my dads late 80s Rem 1187 that has had tens of thousands of rounds through it and only busted a couple of rings but still worked flawlessly for over 5 years. My Rem 1100 from 1990 and its still fire like it's brand new.
Remington is gone to shit, I havent heard good things about the Winchester/Browning/Portuguese made SX4 or do I just go with a Benelli?
 
Browning maxus and the Winchester SX4 are really nice guns. I have a maxus that is my go to waterfowl gun. It has done anything I have ever asked it from 110° to about 5°. It shoots the baddest most angry 3 1/2's to 7/8 oz low brass. They say it will cycle down to 1 oz but I have never had an issue with low brass 7/8 oz. I really like that gun. I also have a new A5 and I want to like it but all I can say is it is ok. I did recently shim the stock correctly and I shoot it a lot better. It will not cycle light target loads. It is basically my buckshot gun. I keep a 12 round extension tube on it. I like it a little better now that I can hit what I am aiming at but if I were to by a new gun it would be a maxus.

The sx4 is similar to the maxus but I have not shot one. It has good reviews and anyone I know who has one likes them.

You cannot go wrong with a Benelli tho. The super 90 line of shotguns has killed a lot of shit over the years.
 
i have heard the Remington versa max is dead-on reliable. i have no first hand knowledge. currently, my only autoloader is a Benelli M1.


there are so many great used semi-autos on the market, i dont think id consider a new one.

if i were looking for a new-to-me semi, id find a Winchester Super X 1. One of, if not, the finest semi-auto shotgun ever made.
 
Texas97 said:
i have heard the Remington versa max is dead-on reliable. i have no first hand knowledge. currently, my only autoloader is a Benelli M1.


there are so many great used semi-autos on the market, i dont think id consider a new one.

if i were looking for a new-to-me semi, id find a Winchester Super X 1. One of, if not, the finest semi-auto shotgun ever made.
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Friend of mine shoots ducks and geese like it's his job, and in fact, he has a goose control company, so it kind of is. He shoots a versamax and he loves that thing. Swears by it.
 
Anyone got a Savage Renegauge yet?

They're touted as being able to cycle any shell and "Made in America," but with a $1,400+ MSRP I don't see many folks picking a Savage over anything else on the market, and I'm a Savage fan, I own a few of their rifles.
 
Lee said:
Anyone got a Savage Renegauge yet?

They're touted as being able to cycle any shell and "Made in America," but with a $1,400+ MSRP I don't see many folks picking a Savage over anything else on the market, and I'm a Savage fan, I own a few of their rifles.
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hmmm interesting. Salvage has not been the bastion of quality over the years, and semi-auto shotguns take a beating.


just looked it up... a fluted barrel on a shotgun? dumb
 
I know its not American made but I and lot of others I know have had excellent luck with SX3s and SX4s. They eat everything from the lightest 2 3/4 loads to 3 1/2 goose loads and only jam when they get crazy dirty from lack of cleaning. A lot of value for 900$, and they share their action with the brownings that cost a lot more.
 
Beretta a300 or a400. Blink system is dead nuts reliable (like 5k rounds between cleaning and it'll still run clays loads).

Soft gas recoil, zero dicking around tuning gas. They just run.
 
BigGreenMonster said:
Browning maxus and the Winchester SX4 are really nice guns. I have a maxus that is my go to waterfowl gun. It has done anything I have ever asked it from 110° to about 5°. It shoots the baddest most angry 3 1/2's to 7/8 oz low brass. They say it will cycle down to 1 oz but I have never had an issue with low brass 7/8 oz. I really like that gun. I also have a new A5 and I want to like it but all I can say is it is ok. I did recently shim the stock correctly and I shoot it a lot better. It will not cycle light target loads. It is basically my buckshot gun. I keep a 12 round extension tube on it. I like it a little better now that I can hit what I am aiming at but if I were to by a new gun it would be a maxus.

The sx4 is similar to the maxus but I have not shot one. It has good reviews and anyone I know who has one likes them.

You cannot go wrong with a Benelli tho. The super 90 line of shotguns has killed a lot of shit over the years.
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I heard they work well but are very front end heavy.
 
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There's a lot of pointing to the Italians in Beretta and Benelli. Both are the fantastic gun makers but I was hoping for the old AK47 style reliability the used to be. Like the Remingtons I mentioned in the OP.
 
The Berettas are big guns though. Those A300 and up are huge. I prefer a shorter and quicker slinging gun. Are the benellis the same?
 
DR. SMASHER said:
The Berettas are big guns though. Those A300 and up are huge. I prefer a shorter and quicker slinging gun. Are the benellis the same?
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I’ve have had a Benelli super vinci for 7 years. It seems a little bulkier than a 870 pump, but not as large as some of the semi-autos I have messed around with. I prefer it over the newer Browning A5s. As for the benelli, the only thing I really dislike is the angular trigger guard. It tends to thump your finger when shooting 3-1/2”s. It cycles almost everything well. The only issue I have had was trying to cycle reduced recoil loads I grabbed on accident.
 
I've read enough positive reviews about the versa max that it will most likely be my next shotgun.
 
The versa-max is nearly a clone of the benelli operating system. IIRC the bcg from one will fit in the other, but not the other way around.
 
TheRedHorseman said:
My 1301 comp is a sewing machine. By far the best all around shotgun I've ever owned.
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This my 1301 comp runs flawlessly is way lighter than my browning pumps and my VEPR. I have mine set up as a race gun, but the A 400 is the same action.
I like the gas guns over inertia.

A couple of the guys I know run tricked out Versamaxs and really like them.
What are you wanting to do with it? do you need the ability to shoot 3 1/2" shells on turkey and geese?
That will really limit your options if you need that capability.
 
DR. SMASHER said:
The Berettas are big guns though. Those A300 and up are huge. I prefer a shorter and quicker slinging gun. Are the benellis the same?
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They're really not. Weight wise they are lighter than an 870.

Some of the stocks can be heavy, but look at the weight and you'll be surprised.
​​​
 
aron82 said:
This my 1301 comp runs flawlessly is way lighter than my browning pumps and my VEPR. I have mine set up as a race gun, but the A 400 is the same action.
I like the gas guns over inertia.

A couple of the guys I know run tricked out Versamaxs and really like them.
What are you wanting to do with it? do you need the ability to shoot 3 1/2" shells on turkey and geese?
That will really limit your options if you need that capability.
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I will need to shoot 3 1/2" shells.
 
DR. SMASHER said:
I will need to shoot 3 1/2" shells.
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The need for 3 1/2" limits choice quite a bit.
If the versamax works for your, size length of pull and all that jazz, It is probably your best bet.

Several of the other "American" manufacturers aren't actually building their shotguns in the US. Remington does, Brownings and Winchesters are made in Portugal, weatherbys are made in Turkey.
 
Grown up using Remington, Winchester, Ithaca’s and Brownings, bought myself a Benelli SBE II about 10 years ago and haven’t touched the aforementioned shotguns.
Why not try to find a good condition 1187 on gun broker?
 
I just think new Remington quality has been run into the ground versus 10+ years ago.
 
I agree there, but haven't heard bad things about their shotguns, mostly the rifles, especially the remlins.

I would definitely want to closely inspect the gun before buying.
The 11-87s in 3 1/2" are few and far between.
 
Texas97 said:
i have heard the Remington versa max is dead-on reliable. .
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Mine has been awesome. I got one the day they came out. I have never cleaned it or cared for it much. It has mud on it from hunting 3 years ago still. It is my upland game, sporting clays, turkey, duck, goose gun. After turkey season yesterday I put it in the safe, uncleaned again.

I treat it like shit, it has 100% cycle rate even when I mixed 3.5" turkey loads with skeet hand loads(extremely low powder) to see if I could stop it from cycling.

2 things..
1. The guys I have seen clean them really well had them jamming up on a cold AM goose hunt... like 4 versamax were jamming but mine ran fine. They cleaned and oiled the hell out of them the night before. Mine got a super light oil that night


2. I have probably taken 1000-1500 birds with it. who knows how many clays.
 
Poke said:
Mine has been awesome. I got one the day they came out. I have never cleaned it or cared for it much. It has mud on it from hunting 3 years ago still. It is my upland game, sporting clays, turkey, duck, goose gun. After turkey season yesterday I put it in the safe, uncleaned again.

I treat it like shit, it has 100% cycle rate even when I mixed 3.5" turkey loads with skeet hand loads(extremely low powder) to see if I could stop it from cycling.

2 things..
1. The guys I have seen clean them really well had them jamming up on a cold AM goose hunt... like 4 versamax were jamming but mine ran fine. They cleaned and oiled the hell out of them the night before. Mine got a super light oil that night


2. I have probably taken 1000-1500 birds with it. who knows how many clays.
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My fathers 30 year old 1187 runs the same way but as it as gotten older it seems to have some problems with IIRC Winchester low brass.
 
I had a nice Mossberg 5500 in the early '90's. Hated selling it, but I don't regret getting my M1 Super90 Tactical, either.
 
I shot a Mossberg 935 this last year. I really like it. Only issue I had was a few FTE on some cheap Remington 3 1/2" shells that were too long when shot to eject easily.
 
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