Sell'em all for a new one?

[jcsabolt2]

I've got several shotguns:  Remington 58, 870 Express Mag (3"), an H&R Topper 88 single shot (my first gun), and an Ithica pump shotgun that was my Grandfathers (not for sale).  I've also got several miscellaneous firearms related items I plan to sell.  I was thinking about selling them with the exception of the last to get one nice semi-auto shotgun.  I've looked at Benelli's and just die of sticker shock.  Are they worth the extra money or should I get a Remington 1100 or 1187 (what's the difference?) or Winchester X2.  I don't want a pretty gun, black synthetic is just fine with me.  I'd only scratch up the wood anyway.  Also, should I consider a gun that can handle everything from 3-1/2" to 2-3/4" shells or just stick to 3" and under?  We just recently had some turkey's delivered to our area by ODNR and our farm has a boat load of geese.  However, I have never hunted either.

[Mikey]

jcsabolt2:  you will love your new 1100, when you get it.........  Mikey.

[Myk]

If you are going to use steel 3 1/2" isn't a bad idea. And it's always nice to have the option available. If you are going to use Hevi-Shot 3 1/2" isn't needed.

[tony212]

Its pretty hard to beat the value of a Remington Model 1100.  My family owns quite a few and we have no complaints.  They are very reliable, easy to maintain, and with multiple barrels very adaptable.  Trust me on this one "You can't go wrong with an 1100"
Tony

[Bullseye]

If you are going to buy an auto I would go with the 1100 or 11/87 in 3".  Never seen the need for the 3 1/2' shoulder busters myself.  Unless you just want an auto another option would be a 870 Wingmaster.  I have never had an 870 jam and they are not picky about how clean they are.  And even though they claim they are the same as the Express (which I see you have) they seem a lot smoother to me.  They do not half the price for cheaper wood a parkerized finish, they skip the polishing on other parts too.

Good luck finding an auto if that is what you want.

[osceola]

Benelli "Inertia operated action" vs "Gas operated actions"---that's where your decision could be.  There are no gas rings that need to be replaced in a Benelli.  Although to avoid technical difficulties with the rings wearing out at an inopportune time they could be replaced yearly(or more or less frequently).  Rings don't cost much so one could compare their cost vs that of the guns.  In my opinion as well, with the use of Hevi Shot a 3" chamber is more than sufficient for turkey and geese. But hey,this is a free country where some shoot 3.5" HS because they can.  Primarily the 12 ga. 3.5" came into being because the volume needs of the larger steel shot and it is needed for the BBB and T loads for pass shooting geese.

[Bob_K]

The Remington is my suggestion.  There are a number of small differences between the 1100 and the 11-87, but the main one is that the 11-87 has a valve arrangement on the barrel to compensate between 2 3/4" shells and 3" shells, and still shoot both reliably.  With the 1100 Magnum, there would be some light 2 3/4" loads that would not cycle the action.  I don't believe the 1100 is currently marketed by Remington in the 3" version, so you'll have to find a used one if you opt for the 1100 3".  As far as the 3.5" SuperMag, it is useful if you are limited to steel for goose, and want the extra lead for turkey.  If you use HeviShot in 3", you won't see much if any performance difference to that of 3.5" steel.  I have 12 ga Remington automatics in all three chamber lengths, and this is the performance I have observed.  (If you opt for the 3.5" chamber, get the 11-87 over the 870.  That 870 in 3.5" hurts!)  By the way, Remington has a "barrel seal activator" that shuts off the gas valve altogether in the SuperMag, allowing reasonably reliable cycling with 2 3/4" shells.  There is still an occasional feed malfunction due to the short shell in the 3.5" length action.  Too much room allows the short shell to flop around a bit.

[foto]

If your set on the bennelli recoil/inertial system then check out the stoeger 2000. They use the same internals as the bennelli, both owned by same company(beretta) and bennelli licenses the inertial/recoil patent to stoeger. Essentially, stoegers and bennellis appear to be the same except for cosmetics and bells and whistles on the higher end models like cryogenic treated barrels, boring etc. Insides, and reliability with all size loads should be the same or so I hear. hope it helps.

check it out
http://www.stoegerindustries.com/firearms/index.tpl