Beretta vs Benelli

Just to confuse you more.......My Browning Gold Hunter cycles better than my dad's Beretta. Most of what I hear about Benelli is about the Super Black Eagle......

I shopped Semi-autos last year and the more I asked, the more confused I got. I went with Browning b/c that is what my other guns are that I have had no problems with, there was a $100 rebate at the time, and I really liked the way it looked (I got the Gold "Classic" Hunter). Thus far I have love the gun!
 
DaisyCutter-

You're alright! Glad to hear you skin is of sufficent thickness! Also, thanks for clarifying the rules and regs of an official "p - contest" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif . Wasn't sure if I'd have any possible advantage or disadvatage there fro a minute... LOL!
 
I went through the same thing when I switched from pump shotguns to semi's.

Here was my criteria
1) Cycle all 12 ga. loads
2) halfway decent price
3) Magazine cutoff
4) Wear-resistant finish.
5) Reputable.

Started with Remington, Franchi, SBE, Beretta 391Xtrema, Winchester.

5 nixed Remington. Way too many returns and customer complaints.

1 nixed SBE-extra light loads wont work, factory manual even says something about that. I dont use them, but I wanted them to work if I did. Period.

4 nixed Winchester, the store only had a wood stock one, and I wanted something that could stand up to a little moisture.

3 nixed Franchi (lack thereof)

After that only X391Xtremea was left. And 2 brought that to the forefront, as they were less expensive than ANY of the above, except the Franchi.

It now has one crow season under its belt, I am shooting trap with it now. And I am now starting to hit things with it!!! Its not a bad shotgun, but after years of chasing the art and science of precision riflery, I am now a medium shotgunner.

I also recently bought an Ithaca Mag-10. And I LOVE that shotgun to death, It will be hard to decide which to take out next season!!

Hope this helps.
 
I have shot over 10,000 registered sporting clays targets and have used all of the major autos on the market.

The Browning Gold is probably the most pointable and shootable of the three biggies. However, I have witnessed several give up the ghost after a few thousand rounds. The bolt and carrier tend to come apart after use with heavy loads. I have friends who shoot for Browning who keep 2 or 3 extra Gold autos in the truck at big events.

The Beretta is probably my choice for most shootable, pointable and reliable of the three. The key is to (IMHO) clean it after every event, wipe everything down with CLP then wipe off as much as you can. They seem to be more reliable when shot as close to "dry" as possible. Next keep a spare connecting rod in your bag. This is the biggest problem with the Beretta. The connector will break every 8 or 9 thousand rounds. It is a very easy part to replace. Also, get a pair of snap ring pliers to disassemble and clean the barrel nut. There is a spring inside that can get carboned up after 5000 rounds or so. I've also heard of shooters needing to replace the main spring every 10,000 to 15,000 rounds.

I like the Beneli's but they don't shoot as soft as either the Browning or the Beretta. If I were only going to shoot when hunting or was not sensitive to recoil I would look strongly at the Benelli. I shot a Legacy this afternoon in fact. They just seem to beat me up more than the Brownings or Berettas.

Try to shoot everything and see which one suites you.
 
My Benelli M1-Super90 shoots Brenneke slugs like a rifle. My gun has the tiny rifle sights on it (notch rear, ramp front). At 50 yards, off the bench, I overlap hits (3-shot groups)into one hole slightly larger than the slugs themselves. Maybe this is unusual accuracy, I don't know.

Regarding that p_ _ _ contest: Does it count if you stand on an elevated point or use the wind to "carry" a greater distance? (Gotta watch for those "changing" gusty winds while on tall ladders!)
 
I'll jump in here.

I used to have a Browning Gold 3.5. It worked pretty well for about 1.5 years but after a while it would jam a shell in the lift. It cost me several birds so I started looking around. It turned out I had a bad lot of Winchester shells, but I had already started looking elsewhere. I tried out lots of different shotguns but, supprisingly enough, the Benelli seemed to fit me alot better and it felt quite a bit lighter. I went ahead and traded for an M1 I decided that I never really used the 3.5 shells anyway so I didnt get the SBE.

The Benelli has cycled perfectly since I got it. It even cycled those crappy Winchester shells with the out of round brass. I even shoot better with it since it fits me better. But it does kick a little harder. However since I use it for hunting and shooting skeet for practice I really don't notice it that much.
 
I've got 2000-2500 rounds through my Browning Gold 3". I've owned it for over 3 years and I don't see any abnormal wear or cracks developing.

I did have a Charles Daly semi auto 12ga self destruct on me after ~500 rounds. The replacement shotgun C.D. sent to the gun store for me subsidised about half the cost of the Gold.

Go to www.shotgunworld.com
 
I've got 3 berretas one 302a 20ga one 302 12ga and one 390 12ga. Have shot the benellis hated it theres no way a benelli can be as smooth as a beretta. And a browning??? HA I'll just say "the ole gray mayor aint what she used to be." Doesnt toyota give one away when you buy a new car??? I heard they were made in the same plant. MY .02
 
Many thanks to all who have contributed to my education. I ordered the Beretta AL391 Urika 12ga 28" with wood trim. Out the door price is $685 for a brand new gun. I just couldn't pass that up. It should be here next week and I'm just about to burst with excitement. My decision was based on having put 2 boxes of shells through a friend's M1 and also borrowing my boss' Beretta 390 20ga. I realize it's not exactly the same gun as what I ordered but it was the closest thing I had available. I took a pheasant with it last weekend and the gun is still in my gun cabinet. I have a box and a half of shells to put through it before I give it back to him. In fact, I like it so much, he may not get it back (the wife could use a nice 20ga herself). Nothing against Browning, I love my .270 A-Bolt Medallion.
 
Good choice.I had talked to a couple fella's at a gun shop some time ago. Both went down to Argentina to attemp to set a new world record on dove killed in one day .( That records in the thousands ) One fella bought 3 Benelli's, the other 3 Berreta's.. After there 1st trip down to Argentina,the Benelli guy was selling them back to the Gun shop owner,for what else but the Berreta.While Benneli is a great shotgun,it doesn't measure up to the thousands of rounds required to set that record.The Benelli's broke,the Berretta,s didn,t.
 
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