i was wondering if anyone out there could give me some help i am wanting to buy a 12 guage shotgun and i was thinking about a semi automatic i dont know which brands to be looking at and i wasn't sure if i should think about new or used i wanted to use it for an all around gun ducks ,pheasants,grouse,clay's and anything that flies,any info would be greatly appreciated thanks!!!

if you go the used route look at the remington 1100 magnum.I bought it used for $300. I have used it for the last eight years with out a problem.make sure it is a magnum this will allow you to shoot three inch shells.If you have the bucks($1300) look at the benelli i think it is model 391? just go to your nearest dealer and ask for the semi atuo.This has to be one of the lightest and fastest guns on the market it will be my next shotgun.three of my freinds shoot these and they have had no problems.

I shoot a Beretta 391 love it, my dad has 3. a 12 a 20 and 1 camo'd up for goose hunting. Semi automatic and never fails. Expensize though.

I just went through the same search, or I did about six months ago, in a way. I decided that I wanted one shotgun to do everything. That meant that it needed to be camo and an autoloader in my case. The only camo autoloaders that were halfway reliable started at around $500 or $600 new. It seemed that I could get a much higher quality gun for another $200 or so, so I just stuck with my old Mossberg 500 pump that I've had forever and kept saving. I just ordered a Beretta 391 Urika and it shipped to my FFL dealer today. That 391 that people are mentioning is definitely a Beretta, not a Benelli. The Benellis use a recoil-operated mechanism instead of being gas-operated like the Berettas.

Like I said i may have been off with model # but still the best autoloader is the benelli.

You'll probably hear cheerleading squads for Beretta,Benelli, and Browning at the very least when it comes to autoloaders. There will be more brands than that being touted as the best if you consider an over/under. That said, if you want a good pump I'd probably go with a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 Express. Both are going to be pretty inexpensive, but are going to be rough cycling out the box. They'll both be reliable, though, and it doesn't take much to get them to function a lot smoother.

The only issue I have with autos,is they need to be clean to function. If you drop your auto in the mud,it may or may not work until it gets cleaned. A pump is going to be reliable when dirty,wet ,cold,or whatever.

An 870 express or a Benelli Nova are both available at less than $300 and will work for anything that you may want to hunt.

cool thanks for all the input it really helped i think i am going to go and buy one at the next gun show that comes into town!!!

I have a Beratta Silver mallard, 391-- cammo, synthetic stock as well as 3 inch chamber. It has never let me down, never jams, regardless of rain/mud etc.. I would spend the money and get a good synthetic stock if you plan to duck hunt. Putting a gun in the mud, rain and in a boat with decoys, dogs and other hunters it needs to take a banging around. The only downside is the gun is too heavy to carry for upland bird hunting. It patterns well for turkeys.

Bennelli is the most expensive and pretty much regarded as the Cadillac of autoloaders for duck hunters.

The Browning A-5 are good guns, it has the raised comb that you should be aware of.

Hit the skeet range often and get someone there who REALLY knows how to shoot to give you some pointers. It will pay off while wingshooting more than you will ever imagine. Good luck---

Whatever you do don't waste your money on a 3 1/2 inch semi automatic gun. I had a Winchester SuperX2 and a Remington 870 magnum and they both had problems.

Mossberg just came out with there new and improved 9200 auto 12ga shotgun. I don't know if they changed the model number on it, but what they improved on was they made it into a 3 1/2 inch gun. If you can find one of the other 9200 3inch guns, that would be the gun that I would buy. It's one very sweet semi automatic shotgun!

Remington makes some fine automatic guns also. I own a Remington 1100 2 3/4in gun with the 30inch full choke steel shot only barrel. It don't all we's like to eject the 3inch shells. I did have for some time a Remington 11-87 SP 3inch auto 12ga shotgun. Talk about one sweet shotgun if all you are doing is shooting magnum loads. They also have a Remington 11-87 all propose shotgun. It will take all 2 3/4-3inch loads. After I sold my first 11-87 I was thinking of buying the all propose one but had other stuff on my list of things to get.

Weatherby makes an autoloader 12ga for a fair price. The Weatherby SAS. I know someone that has one of them and they have yet to have a problem with it.
Stoeger, Tristar, and Charles Daly both make good all around 3 inch auto guns for a well price.

If you are looking for a good pump gun. The Winchester 1300, Remington 870, and the Mossberg 500/835 are some of the best built shotguns on the market and all 3 anyone can pay for.

Let us know what you end up getting