Some friends have had good luck with the Stoger auto - Benelli M2 knock offs Berretta rather than sue Stoger bought them. They are basically an M2 with poor fitting front stock. Like all Benelli autos you need to shoot them for a while before they become Boom Boom Boom. Benelli says 50 rounds I would put 100 through the stoger before rendering an opinon.
I would look in the used racks. Saturday when at a local shop he had a Berretta 390 for $250 on the shelf. After looking at it, the inside was perfect the outside had some rust spots. At $250 for a berretta I am torn do I buy the ugly(rust spots) gun and do a camo job on the gun and have a duck or turkey gun for under $325 with tax title, paint, degreaser, and tape? Many used guns are in shops as people either want to trade up, realize they don't use it, the new wife freaks, or they want the $ for something else.
I am mad that a year or two ago I let a Remington 11-87 slip thrugh my fingers, litterally. I was lookig at it and a guy walked in and was looking over my shoulder at it for 375. Needed a cleaning, as most used guns do, and had a 30" barrel with chokes. The guy looked over my shoulder and was asking me about, I said it would make a great duck and turkey gun as well as double for dove, quail and sporting clays and I was not sure if I wanted it, when he told the sales person he wanted it.
I purchased a used Remington 1100 about 3 years ago for 275. The wood and reciever were perfect. The barrel was a cut down 30 inch to 25. and had a few rust spots and no choke. Gun worked great. Was breaking trap with it at past handicap ranges. I painted the barrel a flat black and it worked for a while as I gathered $ for a new tube. I spent a couple hundred on a new barrel. And have gun that looks like brand new for under 550 after selling the barrel.
