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Old November 15, 2012, 12:52 PM   #26
Backwoodsboy
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All this talk about affordable autoloaders and nobody has mentioned the mossberg 930. How dare you all leave it out but in all seriousness I sold my remington after purchasing my 930. Just a thought.
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Old November 15, 2012, 10:18 PM   #27
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Thank you everyone for your replies. Sorry backwoods boy but I looked at the 930 and there's just something about them I don't like. I'd rather have a remington or beretta even. Still debating on Franchi or 1100 but I am leaning more towards the 1100 and thinking about just getting a Benelli later down the road somewhere. Everyone has been such a big help though! Thanks! You gotta love TFL forum
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Old November 18, 2012, 12:20 AM   #28
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Browning A-5 or a clone.. older the better.. they are tanks, but no problems at all...
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Old November 18, 2012, 09:48 AM   #29
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3" capability?

If it were me I would buy the New Beretta A300 Outlander. Priced @ $650 range, proven action and proven gas system combined it one package. It is basically an older AL391 with mobile chokes using the current A400 gas system. I finally shot one and it was nice, thin like the AL391, well balanced and soft shooting. LOP adjustment combined with drop and cast adjustment assures it will fit the majority of shooters.

It will be my next purchase. I had one ordered, but let the nephew have it, his dad bought and it is under the tree for Christmas.

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Old November 18, 2012, 05:52 PM   #30
.300 Weatherby Mag
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I really like the Benelli and Beretta autos... In your price range I would opt for a Benelli M2... The Franchi Affinity is a good option as well...
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Old November 18, 2012, 06:04 PM   #31
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I would give a serious look to the new Beretta A300 Outlander. I grew up shooting both Berettas and Remingtons and prefer the Berettas. IMO, they are much tighter and I've never had one fail to cycle.
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Old November 18, 2012, 07:54 PM   #32
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Thanks everybody for more replies. Now after looking at berettas they have become an option. So I am still between 1100 or Affinity or Some kind of Beretta. Still kind of leaning towards the 1100 though then my next choice would be an Affinity. I would like to have the inertia but the Affinity is fairly new gun so I'm unsure of that. Will most likely go with an 1100 or 1187.
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Old November 18, 2012, 08:12 PM   #33
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Anybody ever have an 1187 Premier? I've been looking at used ones because I've never heard anything bad about them only heard bad things from the new 1187 sportsman
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Old November 18, 2012, 08:23 PM   #34
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I had three 1187's during the early 1990's, and not one worked right. The O rings blew out - again and again and again and again. Remington could not fix it - even though I paid for work done to one of them. The best Remington could do was to send me a few dozen O rings to replace the ones that failed. What did the O ring failure mean? Well, my one in the chamber fired, and then the two in the magazine remained there. So, basically I never had a chance for doubles on pheasants or triples on mallards. Needless to say, after the third attempt and 1187 disappointment I switched brands. Perhaps Remington has fixed the 1187 since then, but the gun I replaced them with has yet to fail going into its 18th season, and although the pheasants and mallards are voting 1187, even if my current autoloader needed replacement, I would not buy an 1187. Three strikes and you're out.
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Old November 18, 2012, 08:45 PM   #35
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Thank your for the info Curly. Now an 1187 is out of the list of options I have now heard WAY too many bad reviews on them. Just out of curiousity, what is you current auto loader that you are so happy with Curly?
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Old November 18, 2012, 08:59 PM   #36
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If your budget is around $1,000.00 you should check out the Winchester SX3 - fastest cycling, low recoil, and reliability.
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Old November 18, 2012, 11:00 PM   #37
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I'll have to check it out
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Old November 19, 2012, 12:52 PM   #38
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It's a Benelli Super Black Eagle. It is not for everyone - one of my brothers simply believes it to be overkill, but until it no longer works, it'll be my gun. By the way, I had a 20 gauge (Remington) 1100 for my kids back then, and I loved it: it never failed to feed the next round. When my son went off to college, it and several other shotguns we had were sold. I wish I had those guns once again.
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Old November 19, 2012, 01:49 PM   #39
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I understand Curly's comment....but I have buddies that shoot a wide variety of 11-87's on the skeet and sporting clays fields....and most of them have been shooting them for over 30 yrs with no issues...

I'm not a big Remington shotgun fan ( in any configuration - from their pumps, to semi-autos or their O/U's --- primarily because they don't "Fit" me vs anything mechanical ....but I don't think Curly's experience is typical with the 11-87's.
--------------
In full disclosure ...the only semi-autos I shoot these days are also Benellis which I like very much / they're both Benelli Super Sport models / a 12ga and a 20ga...and I've had them for about 8 yrs I guess...and they've been solid guns as well. They aren't my primary guns ( Browning O/U's are my primary guns in all 4 gagues ).....but the Benelli's have been solid "travel" , or "inclement weather" guns for me -- and "training " guns...for new shooters, some of my grandkids, etc...
--------------------------
If I were going to buy a gas operated gun for myself...it would probably be one of the Beretta 391's. like the parallel taget model....

http://www.berettausa.com/products/a...gold-sporting/

good, basic gun in my view.....with a 3" chamber...

Last edited by BigJimP; November 19, 2012 at 01:56 PM.
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Old November 19, 2012, 01:57 PM   #40
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Just looked at a Beretta 391 Big Jim. Oh and btw I would love to get an 1187 but I jut hear too many negative reviews on them! It's kind of scared me away from them
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Old November 19, 2012, 02:49 PM   #41
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We all have to go with our gut instincts....( and "Fit" ) when it comes to shotguns....

If you don't feel good about the 11-87's ....then don't go down that path.
-------------------
But in all shotguns....there are shooters, guys like me and most of my buddies, that clean and inspect their guns, after every range trip - whether we shoot 50 shells or 250 shells /it doesn't matter. So we prevent a lot of issues from coming up with our guns - because we spot worn parts and cut down on wear by keeping guns clean and properly lubed all the time. There are guys at my clays club that shoot semi-autos....that only clean their shotguns once a year/regardless of whether they have cycling issues or not....guys that have never taken the stock off an O/U to inspect their firing pins, etc inside an O/U in 10 yrs..../ where guys like me take all of our O/U stocks apart at least every 6 months ( make sure there is no crud in there, etc )....

Remington 1100's and 11-87's ....require some maintenance in my opinion. If I were shooting a 200 bird tournament...I'd clean it at lunch time after 100 targets...before I went out in the afternoon -- just to be sure, with any semi-auto / but especially these older technology models. But if I shoot my Benelli in a full day tournament ...I'd do the same thing / because its my nature ...where I wouldn't do that with my primary O/U's because a few hundred shells is truly insignificant.../ almost nothing can go wrong with an O/U.

One guy we shoot with, good guy, but not very careful with his equipment - that repeatedly had failure to feed / failure to fire issues on his Beretta semi-auto. I finally told him to come by my house...and we'd take the Beretta apart to clean and inspect it ....( I'd never seen such a mess inside a gun in my life !! ) it took me an hour to clean that thing....and despite a few of us telling him to pull his bolt from the gun / and remove and inspect his firing pin and the firing pin spring...he never did do it. Once I got the gun clean - it took me 30 sec to get the bolt apart and remove the firing pin and spring ...and sure enough, the firing pin spring was broken. he went to a local shop - bought a new spring, and firing pin....we installed both later that day.....and its been 6 months, he hasn't had a FTF since....but he also hasn't cleaned the gun since either ( and he shoots about 200 shells a week )...

Buying a used gun from him ....or him saying Beretta's are not reliable --- would make no sense..../ but he wants to buy a Benelli or an O/U ...because it'll be less maintenance...( and he does no maintenance now ...???) ...

So take what you hear...with some caution..../ don't believe everything I or anyone else tells you as gospel ...maybe my experience with Benelli's is comparable with other guys - who knows ( I probably have about 25,000 shells thru my Benelli Super sport 12ga ...its about 8 yrs old now )...and I don't shoot it every week...where I probably have 150,000 shells thru my Browning Citori XS Skeet model 12ga...which is my primary gun - during that same time frame. No issues with either gun....and while I think my experience is typical based on what I hear from other shooters...maybe its just the circle I run in.

I know its petty ....but since most of my buddy's and I reload....none of us shoot semi-auots...because we don't want to pick up our hulls from all over the ground. We also don't want to give up our O/U's ...because we like the swing characteristics better, the look and feel of our O/U's - and the fact that we can have 2 different chokes in the guns for sporting clays and because we think our O/U's are more durable ( less moving parts ) no cyclining issues in a tournament, etc.

I don't shoot that much anymore....no tournaments to speak of anymore ...and probably on 100 - 150 shells most weeks thru my shotguns. If I go to my local club 50 times a year ...I only put 5,000 - 7,500 shells a year thru my shotguns these days.../ where a lot of competitive shooters, even guys that just shoot local events, put 500 shells a week thru their primary gun ....or about 25,000 shells a year...

.....so when you visit your local club....look at what those guys are shooting...and talk to them / why do they like their guns / would they buy them again .....or for that matter, do that with anybody you see at your club. I think you'll get a broader perspective that way.

Last edited by BigJimP; November 19, 2012 at 03:08 PM.
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Old November 19, 2012, 03:30 PM   #42
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Quote:
Anybody ever have an 1187 Premier? I've been looking at used ones because I've never heard anything bad about them only heard bad things from the new 1187 sportsman
I've had an 11-87 Premier since 1993. It has been a fantastic firearm. In all that time, I recall it having jammed only one time, and that was because I re-assembled it improperly. The blued finish on the steel and the satin finish of the stock have held up extremely well. Honestly - the only visible wear is some of the gold plating off the trigger. This gun has been shot a lot over 19 years.

Quote:
Oh and btw I would love to get an 1187 but I jut hear too many negative reviews on them! It's kind of scared me away from them
That's too bad. Like any gun manufactured in extremely large numbers over a long period of time (25 years now for the 11-87), there are bound to be a few vocal folks who got a lemon. The other 99.99% of folks have been pleased as punch.
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Old November 19, 2012, 05:02 PM   #43
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Big Jim I am one who takes EXTREMELY good care of his guns. I love all my guns and want them around for my whole life so I take proper care of them. So it sounds like most 1187 problems come from people not taking care of them and after hearing that I'm slowly starting to consider them again. But my dads buddy had one and he is very careful with any firearm and said as far as he was concerned the 1187 was a single shot because it woul never fully cycle.
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Old November 19, 2012, 05:19 PM   #44
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I'm glad to hear you take care of your guns too...its a good thing.

I don't know what to tell you about your dad's buddy...in my experience any problem like that is easily fixed / and it may be an indication that something inside the gun was put back in - incorrectly...but hard to tell.

I'm not a Remington guy.../ but there are a lot of guys at my club...that buy used Remington semi-autos all the time ....clean them up / go thru them --- and they've been using them for "shotgun clinics" etc at our club for many years...

to me, its like handguns, and the debate around guns like 1911's ....where some of us think they're perfect / and some guys say they're junk...maybe I'm just old school.../ but I think a couple of my buddies would tell your dad's buddy that they could fix his gun for under $50 and make it cycle 100%.
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Old November 19, 2012, 05:35 PM   #45
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deleted --- duplicate post....???
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Old November 19, 2012, 06:21 PM   #46
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My brother went to the FITASC 2012 World Championships at the Northbrook Gun Club. In addition to the shooting competitions, gun manufacturers had extensive displays of their wares - even allowing for testing of the equipment. My brother took his 12 year old to the Remington site and was very pleased with the way they were afforded time and attention. It could not have been done better. When my brother mentioned my difficulties with three 1187s, the Remington rep acknowledged that the 1187 had its problems. He did not try to sell my brother on an 1187. Instead he focused on Remington's new autoloader the Versa Max, a gun which even my 12 year old nephew found easy to shoot and which both my nephew and brother liked.
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Old November 19, 2012, 06:31 PM   #47
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I deer hunt with an 11-87 premier. It was one of the first ones made and I've had no trouble with it. I'm looking at replacing the o-ring now because the old one is starting to get stiff. My only complaint about it is that it is very shiny and can be seen from across the field when the sun hits it right. But that's because the bluing is so good. And compared to newer Benellis, Berettas and Brownings it's a little heavy.
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Old November 19, 2012, 06:49 PM   #48
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After all the replies I've been seeing on this thread, I really don't know what to get anymore haha. Either an 1187, 1100, Franchi Affinity, Beretta 390/391, or maybe a used Benelli for under $1000 if I can find one I like. Doubt a benelli will happen this purchase though
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Old November 19, 2012, 06:54 PM   #49
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try to be patient ....it'll probably work out...

sometimes the search process ...is most of the fun !
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Old November 19, 2012, 07:40 PM   #50
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Well If I find more than one i like I'm always ready to buy more guns when the time is right.
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