Which upland semi-auto for pheasant?

A5 Sweet 16 said:
If a Montefeltro feels good to you & is within budget, it would get my vote. I bought mine in 1993 & have loved it. Absolute beast in terms of reliability. Mine's gone thru many thousands of rounds, from lightest to heaviest, in practically every hunting condition known to man & has had no problems. Zero! And actually, if you're the type who really likes to pull that trigger & you find an older one (that'll accommodate the Benelli trick), the capacity is actually 6. Not sure what year they "fixed" that, or how they did it. Sometime after I bought mine though.
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The filed a notch in the bolt, I heard you could fill it with jb weld,. Super black eagle is going to be available in a 20 guage and a 3 inch 12. Not sure what's going to happen with the monte and the m2
 
saw a used one in good condition on gun broker...$800, I believe...saw barrels only...one was about $300, one about $400....based on all this data I would say a used one in the shape mine is in is probably worth around $650...mine was imported by H and K...some view those as more desirable...don't know why...
 
Winchester 59 Winlite! Ok for one of those I’d make an exception for no shims.

back in the 60s a lawyer living across the street would loan us his 59 so Dad and I could go quail hunting. My family only owned one shotgun. That was a nice gun

If you find one and it has ejection problems it might be a bolt timing issue which isn’t a real big deal. Here’s how to time it from Trapshooters.com


Winchester Model 50/59 bolt timing adjustment

Check gun is empty

Close the bolt.

Remove butt-pad

Remove wishbone wire clip

With bolt closed, back off aluminum,screw plug with large slot, until the bolt will not stay locked in the open position.

When you get to that point, reverse the process screwing it in till the bolt locks back.

Place your finger on the operating handle and pull back and see how far the bolt will travel to the rear from that locked position.

By adjusting the aluminum plug 1/4 turn at a time till the bolt locks and you have approximately 1/16"-1/8" inch of rear bolt travel from the locked position. Sometimes you can hit the mark on the first try. Sometimes it takes a couple tries to get it right. When re-inserting the wire clip, make sure it goes into the set of holes in line with the slotted plug closest to the adjustment."

make sure the stock is secure but not over tightened. Its tightened by the large aluminum housing that holds the action spring. Make sure the stock is just snug FIRST! Do not over tighten! Then make the above adjustments!! Then your gun is properly timed and should last for quite some time, watch for the hulls being thrown a farther distance, a sure sign it needs timed!

Do not file off the ejector! I've seen some closet gunsmiths that suggest this as a fix but it's a death knell for both these guns!!
 
Beretta A300 Outlander is a great autoloader for the money. Walnut, synthetic, camo synthetic. After 40+ years of shooting shotguns with the safety in the back of the trigger guard of on the tang, it didn't take long at all to get used to the safety in front of the trigger guard. But it is a bit of a problem with short fingers so take that into consideration.
 
I'm partial to my Beretta 391, you'd have to hit the used market, or the earlier 390, and versions earlier than it always got good reviews.

I have a synthetic stocked Beretta 300 that is my duck gun, no issues with it, but it is nearly a pound heavier than my 391.

Or up the budget a bit and look at a Beretta 400.
 
Hard to say what's available in these (Covid) times as there has been a run on gun sales of all types for the past year. But if your open to used then check out some of the online gun brokers. Beretta's are quality autoloaders, look for A390, A391 or possibly A400 in used as they usually (I would think) could be had for less than $1000. A400 might be a tough find used though

NEW Beretta's probably only the A300 Outlander.

This will give you some ideas on Brands : https://www.fieldandstream.com/best-10-bargain-shotguns/
 
birdshooter said:
Hard to say what's available in these (Covid) times as there has been a run on gun sales of all types for the past year. But if your open to used then check out some of the online gun brokers. Beretta's are quality autoloaders, look for A390, A391 or possibly A400 in used as they usually (I would think) could be had for less than $1000. A400 might be a tough find used though

NEW Beretta's probably only the A300 Outlander.

This will give you some ideas on Brands : https://www.fieldandstream.com/best-10-bargain-shotgun
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Thank you for the link. Yeah it’s a little nutty out there. Haven’t been in the market for a new gun in a couple years. I’ve been on a lot of sites and most of the guns y’all have suggested are out of stock. Everywhere. Buds, Cabelas/BP, Scheels, bare shelves for Benellis and Franchise with 28” barrels in 12 ga. Out of stock but it’s not ammunition, they’ll be back in stock and I set up some notifications.

Great suggestions, thanks to all!
 
Been in two local small gun shops looking for a pistol both places had some Franchi's and Benelli's sitting in the racks but no pistols :( or ammunition except for steel shot.
 
I was just about to offer up my 391 but honestly you would be better off with a franchi even with the 250 or 300 dollar difference you would pay.
 
About double your price tag but I love my Browning Maxus. I picked mine up about 6 years ago before they really jacked the price up and I love it.

There's also a Browning Silver that's essentially a Browning Maxus that's about$1,000.

I've only had Browning's so my expertise ends there haha
 
Hobie1026 said:
Thank you for the link. Yeah it’s a little nutty out there. Haven’t been in the market for a new gun in a couple years. I’ve been on a lot of sites and most of the guns y’all have suggested are out of stock. Everywhere. Buds, Cabelas/BP, Scheels, bare shelves for Benellis and Franchise with 28” barrels in 12 ga. Out of stock but it’s not ammunition, they’ll be back in stock and I set up some notifications.

Great suggestions, thanks to all!
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There are some options on Gun Broker right now.
 
Chestle said:
I've got a Benelli 20ga M2 synthetic. Very light. I like it.

Above all, I wouldn't by any auto that did not include stock shims to adjust the fit and make it shoot where you look. If a gun doesn't fit, it's a lot hard to make yourself look where the gun shoots. Benelli and Beretta both include shims with their autos AFAIK.
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Ditto, except mine is 12 g. Fit is everything. Love my A-5s and Ithaca 37s (12 and 16) but I got "evolved" and "woke". I tweaked the M2 a bit (very easy task) then had a professional fitting that verified perfection had been achieved! Bought it for geese but it quickly evolved into my "everything" go to, no worry do-all.
 
My buddy picked up a nice, used 11-48 Rem 20 gauge with Mod. choke for under $400. It has worked great for him with pheasants for three yrs now. I know they can be hard to find but wow that's a good gun. I use a new model Browning a5 sweet 16 and has been wonderful however, a bit over the price.
 
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