I bought one a couple of weeks ago. I shot a couple of rounds of clays with it and so far I am a happy camper. I bought the Composite 12 gauge (3") with 28" barrel. I shoot O/U's mostly, but recent shoulder problems had me looking for less recoil in something I would use for ducks & geese, and in nasty weather. We had a recent shoot for charity in pretty heavy rain all day, and the shooters and guns got soaked. I hate doing that to a nice O/U, and I like the rust-resistant coatings that Winchester uses on the metal on the SX3, and the grip-enhancing coating on the stock and forend. I also have heard good things about recoil reduction on many of the newer semi-autos. Between Benelli, Beretta, Browning, and Winchester, I thought I'd give the Winchester a try and I have no disappointment. Somehow, I did lose the sling stud on the magazine tube cap.
I like the weight of the gun, and it points well for me. As far as the cycling rate goes, I think that's a nice statistic but can't see any practical value for it. I can't see me pulling the trigger again in mini-fractions of a second in any hunting or sporting clays scenario that I shoot. I shoot doubles a lot, and even my older "chunkachunk" Auto 5's are faster than I need to be. But - yeah, it is impressive to see what Patrick can do with one in exhibitions. I think he is more amazing than the gun.
One other thing I like is the ability to change LOP, cast, and drop on the stock. So far I haven't made any changes but I think some "tuning" may be in order as I get more familiar with this gun.
So far I like mine.
