WTK: softest shooting auto 12guage

Michael64 · January 30, 2000, 09:47 PM

Have a Benelli M1Super90 that I love but my wife can't stand the recoil of it. So what else is out there for a softer kicking 12guage semi-auto? Remington 11-87? Mossberg 9200A1? I don't have any experience with shotguns except my 870 and the Benelli.

jcoyoung · January 31, 2000, 02:09 AM

From what I've heard, the Beretta AL390 is rumored to be the softest recoiling semi-auto. I may be wrong, but this is what the guys at the gun shop told me.

Of course my opinion on this will be biased since I own one! The recoil feels only slightly softer than my friend's Rem 11-87. One thing to note though is that my AL390 is much lighter than my friend's 11-87. Hence, recoil feels similar. I'm sure if they weighed the same, recoil on the Beretta will feel significantly lighter.

The Benelli M1 Super 90 is a recoil operated, hence more recoil than gas guns like the Beretta and Remington.

[This message has been edited by jcoyoung (edited January 31, 2000).]

K80Geoff · January 31, 2000, 09:45 AM

Check out the Remington website, they are Re-introducing the model 1100 as a trap and sporting clays gun. The 1100 has a reputation as the softest shooting auto, but it will probably only take 2 3/4 in shells in the above configuration. The 1100 is definitely different than the 11-87.

To soften the recoil with beretta AL390's consider adding one or more of the recoil reducers sold for the gun. One is a weight added to the magazine cap and another is a mercury filled tube added to the inside of the stock. I have seen quite a few of these guns with the above recoil reducers added on the sporting clays ranges I shoot at. The 390 has given recoil sensitive shooters new life on the clays ranges

Check out these websites:

www.seminolegun.com

www.angleport.com

both companies do custom work on AL390's.

Hope this is of some help.

Geoff Ross

muleshoe · January 31, 2000, 10:22 AM

K80: Just curious, why do they use mercury and not lead? Seems like it would be cheaper and less hazardous than mercury. Just awonderin....

------------------
bullet placement is gun control

Coinneach · January 31, 2000, 01:22 PM

Muleshoe, mercury is liquid, lead isn't (at normal temps).

------------------
"If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance."
-- Samuel Johnson

Ned Roundtree · January 31, 2000, 09:29 PM

Ditto Beretta AL390 for smoothness and least recoil.

[This message has been edited by Ned Roundtree (edited January 31, 2000).]

K80Geoff · January 31, 2000, 11:43 PM

Muleshue, as Coinneach stated, mercury is liquid at room temperatures. The recoil dampers utilize the mercury sloshing around the tube to reduce recoil, some law of physics that I barely understand. Some shooters have used lead in the stock or even in the magazine tube to add weight and reduce recoil in autos. More weight =less recoil.

I wouldn't want to have the mercury leak out of the tube, but guys I know who use the mercury filled recoil dampers swear by them. One guy I know has three of them on his AL390, two in the stock and one on the magazine tube cap. His gun is lefthanded, so I havent tried to shoot it, but have shot another with two dampers and it definitely was soft shooting.

BTW, I just noticed that seminole does work on Benellis, maybe they can take the bite out of Michael64's M1.

Geoff Ross

January 30, 2000, 09:47 PM	#1
Michael64 Member Join Date: January 2, 2000 Location: Texas Posts: 29	Have a Benelli M1Super90 that I love but my wife can't stand the recoil of it. So what else is out there for a softer kicking 12guage semi-auto? Remington 11-87? Mossberg 9200A1? I don't have any experience with shotguns except my 870 and the Benelli.

January 31, 2000, 02:09 AM	#2
jcoyoung Senior Member Join Date: January 20, 2000 Location: Oak Forest, IL Posts: 661	From what I've heard, the Beretta AL390 is rumored to be the softest recoiling semi-auto. I may be wrong, but this is what the guys at the gun shop told me. Of course my opinion on this will be biased since I own one! The recoil feels only slightly softer than my friend's Rem 11-87. One thing to note though is that my AL390 is much lighter than my friend's 11-87. Hence, recoil feels similar. I'm sure if they weighed the same, recoil on the Beretta will feel significantly lighter. The Benelli M1 Super 90 is a recoil operated, hence more recoil than gas guns like the Beretta and Remington. [This message has been edited by jcoyoung (edited January 31, 2000).]

January 31, 2000, 09:45 AM	#3
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	Check out the Remington website, they are Re-introducing the model 1100 as a trap and sporting clays gun. The 1100 has a reputation as the softest shooting auto, but it will probably only take 2 3/4 in shells in the above configuration. The 1100 is definitely different than the 11-87. To soften the recoil with beretta AL390's consider adding one or more of the recoil reducers sold for the gun. One is a weight added to the magazine cap and another is a mercury filled tube added to the inside of the stock. I have seen quite a few of these guns with the above recoil reducers added on the sporting clays ranges I shoot at. The 390 has given recoil sensitive shooters new life on the clays ranges Check out these websites: www.seminolegun.com www.angleport.com both companies do custom work on AL390's. Hope this is of some help. Geoff Ross

January 31, 2000, 10:22 AM	#4
muleshoe Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2000 Location: Mills County, IA Posts: 410	K80: Just curious, why do they use mercury and not lead? Seems like it would be cheaper and less hazardous than mercury. Just awonderin.... ------------------ bullet placement is gun control

January 31, 2000, 01:22 PM	#5
Coinneach Staff Alumnus Join Date: February 23, 1999 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 4,272	Muleshoe, mercury is liquid, lead isn't (at normal temps). ------------------ "If your determination is fixed, I do not counsel you to despair. Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance." -- Samuel Johnson

January 31, 2000, 09:29 PM	#6
Ned Roundtree Senior Member Join Date: December 8, 1999 Location: Lexington, KY,USA Posts: 738	Ditto Beretta AL390 for smoothness and least recoil. [This message has been edited by Ned Roundtree (edited January 31, 2000).]

January 31, 2000, 11:43 PM	#7
K80Geoff Senior Member Join Date: December 20, 1998 Location: NE Pennsylvania Posts: 3,639	Muleshue, as Coinneach stated, mercury is liquid at room temperatures. The recoil dampers utilize the mercury sloshing around the tube to reduce recoil, some law of physics that I barely understand. Some shooters have used lead in the stock or even in the magazine tube to add weight and reduce recoil in autos. More weight =less recoil. I wouldn't want to have the mercury leak out of the tube, but guys I know who use the mercury filled recoil dampers swear by them. One guy I know has three of them on his AL390, two in the stock and one on the magazine tube cap. His gun is lefthanded, so I havent tried to shoot it, but have shot another with two dampers and it definitely was soft shooting. BTW, I just noticed that seminole does work on Benellis, maybe they can take the bite out of Michael64's M1. Geoff Ross