Need auto shotgun advice 1100 vs 11-87 vs 930

[Buckskin]

6'9" average man?? I always considered myself to be fairly tall at 6'1".

[SHOOTALL]

I like the Winchester Super X 2 , For clay targets it is more bbl heavy than non alloy reciever guns and swings better for me . The rib is higher on the SX-2 than alot/most guns and that I like alot also . Since the SX-3 is out there are great deals on the left over SX-2's $ 475.00 to $ 600.00 range for a 26 inch bbl 2 3/4-3 inch gun . Used you can find even better prices . The ones i have do not jam . The reason i have the SX-2 is the first time i hunted Canada i took a Super Black Eagle and it was reduced to a single shot in short order . When I got home i got a SX-2 and its been to Canada 4 more hunts and shot 1000's of shells there and in dove fields and we shoot alot of skeet before our trip . This gun is a 3.5 inch gun , For skeet i have a 2 3/4-3 inch gun now also and it is lighter and it has never jammed . The 3.5 gun will shoot everything but 2 3/4 -2.5 dran , 1 1/8 loads , the other gun will shoot everything that will chamber so far.
I also like t5he way a Winchester fits .


GOOD LUCK !

[Dixie Dude]

When Remington first did their research in 1963 for the 1100, they took a sample random measurement of about 1,000 American men and the average height was 5'9" not 6'9", sorry.  They took their arm length, etc. and came up with the stock design.  That is why the 1100's, 11-87's as well as the 870 became so popular, they fit well thus they blew Browning Auto-5 out and it's sales began to drop. 

[Buckskin]

Well after all said and done, I guess your going to have to go and try a bunch of them out and see which one functions for you the best.  And which one fit's you and your budget as well.  The SBE II is going to run you about $15-1600 so Remington may be the way to go.  Also I should have mentioned earlier, but I see others have been pounding on it.  A Buddy of mine had a Browning Gold that was a jam-o-matic.  Terrilbe gun that he suffered through 2 seasons with and traded it.  Browning said that it fuction as designed.

[mcwoodduck]

As bill mentioned earlier.
Proper lube is key to function.
I had a friend with a Browning Gold and he had problems with it.
He degreased the trigger group and just hit it with some spray (WD-40, T-9, silicone, or what ever)  and the gun was having some problems.
He handed it to me and I took it all apart again and cleaned every part and reassembled the whole gun and realized that there are some spots that need GREASE and not spray.  Greased the hinge and a few other parts that rub on the lifter and the gun worked great after that.  After tearing apart my Beretta 301, Rem 1100, 870, win 1897, Stevens 520, and S&W 3000 Adding grease in spots make the gun function flawlessly.  The grease does shorten the time between cleanings as the grease collects desert dust, burnt, and unburnt powder and makes it a nasty paste.  but usually I can get 500 to 1200 depending on conditions and shells used.   But with 500 to 1200 you can easlily get through a day of shooting at clays.

[skarke]

Guys, the 6 key is right next to the 5 key.  The average height of a male in the US is about 5'9".  Dixie Dude hit the wrong key.

[454Puma]

You want the best of the best go find yourself a A5 Browning.  Best shot gun made bar none! And yes I'm prejudiced  I have two a 12ga Mag and a Sweet Sixteen  both Belguins!

[mcwoodduck]

Dixxie Dude could also be in Holland and they tend to be a foot taller than the average American.

[stevinator]

If price matters 1100's used around here for about 4 to 450 are a bargain really when you look at whats out there now.I have 3 of them and love them. 1 magnum 1 trap and 1 20 ga. I love the new semi autos like everyone else but 1 of the new fancy ones costs what I got in 3 of these.

[ruhamey]

My go to Upland gun is a 1953 Franchi 48AL, but hey, I like recoil! 

I do a lot of quail hunting. 10 boxes a day are average where we go roughly 9 times a year, and at no time have I ever seen a Benneli malfunction. I have never seen a Remington, Berretta, Browning, or a new Franchi function all day. Granted most of the Remingtons are "come out once a year" guns, so could be operator error. But, all those failure to feeds....

Few use doubles, can't put out enough shells quick enough. Just too many birds.

The Benneli's are all Montefeltros or other high end, no SBEs. Of course, on quail, there aren't many folks that need a 3 1/2".

Just my observations, and the observations of all the guides I know.

[Graybeard]

You must either be a horrible shot or are going out of country if you shoot 250 rounds in a day at quail. I suppose ya could on a preserve on pen raised birds if you are rich enough but I know of no where in the US that even a poor shot could fire that many shots legally on wild birds. Now doves out of country that's kind of a small number of shots in some places but quail?

[SHOOTALL]

If you have never seen a Benneli fail you have must not have much experince with one in duck and goose fields and swamps . One trip I was on 3 out of six hunters used them 2 failed first day . Cleaned them and they failed again the second day . Only the one finished the trip . Conditiond were grit blowing in the fields , mud and filth in the swamps . How bad you may ask we used power washers to clean guns and equip each day so they would be useable the next day . One of the failed guns was mine . I replaced it with a Win super X-2 and 5 trips later not a failure yet .

[dukkillr]

If you have never seen a Benneli fail you have must not have much experince with one in duck and goose fields and swamps . One trip I was on 3 out of six hunters used them 2 failed first day . Cleaned them and they failed again the second day . Only the one finished the trip . Conditiond were grit blowing in the fields , mud and filth in the swamps . How bad you may ask we used power washers to clean guns and equip each day so they would be useable the next day . One of the failed guns was mine . I replaced it with a Win super X-2 and 5 trips later not a failure yet .

Why I continue to believe that the best hardcore waterfowl guns are pumps.  And you didn't mention ice...

[Dixie Dude]

Don't know what kind of Benelli's you guys used, but I only have one jamb in a SBE in about 500 shells of "light #8 1 oz loads", never in the heavier loads.  I have shot sporting clays for several years now with it, but also use it to hunt with.  I use Breakfree CLP for cleaning and lubing, don't know if the type lubricant has anything to do with it or not.  Remingtons autos are good, but you do have to clean them after every use.  The old Browning Auto 5 was as good or better than the Benelli's but you can't easily break them down for cleaning the trigger assembly. 

[SHOOTALL]

mine was a super black eagle 3.5 shooting 3.5 and 3 inch heavi-shot . the gun had well over 2000 rounds thru it as i shot skeet with it for over a year getting ready for Canada hunting . The gun run good on the range but grit and mud stoped it cold . same for the other one on the trip . When you lay in a field with wind around 30 mph + blowing grit hard enough to feel like sand blasting or mud that covers everything like a coat of drywall then you know what we hunt in . I believe the SBE is built to tight , a slopy gun shoots better in those conditions IMHO .

[mcwoodduck]

My hard core water fowel gun is a Benelli Nova.  Plastic don't care gun.  It has gotten muddy, gunky, wet, and frozen once and will still go bang eject and reload.

[ruhamey]

You must either be a horrible shot or are going out of country if you shoot 250 rounds in a day at quail. I suppose ya could on a preserve on pen raised birds if you are rich enough but I know of no where in the US that even a poor shot could fire that many shots legally on wild birds. Now doves out of country that's kind of a small number of shots in some places but quail?

I have the luck to have a very good friend with a hunting preserve in South Georgia, Tifton area. We bring our own dogs and don't use the guides. All it costs us is the room and board. I just love the bankers, can't a one of them shoot for nothing. They book hunts with 2 or 3 hundred birds for "customers" and leave 70% in the field. Believe me, after a few weeks those birds fly like they've been at it all their lives. By the end of the season, there are birds everywhere. He has a pheasant tower on the place for the bankers also. Last hunt I brought home 175 quail and 23 pheasant. We don't buy much chicken!

Being out of work this year has hurt, I can't even afford those trips or the reciprical trips hog hunting up here for him. So I don't know when I'll get to go back.


About the benellis, you are right, I don't use them in swamps. My waterfoul hunting consists of keeping the dogged Canada geese out of my pond, (I really wouldn't kill them for that ) and some wood duck on the local creeks. 2 or 3 birds there is a good day.