Semi auto shotgun

[GlockZ]

I would go with the Browning, Beretta and or Benelli.

 

[howl]

With the Berettas you can fit yourself as they come with stock wedges for cast and pitch

There's a limit, especially with autos. You don't get much cast due to the way they are built. So, how thick or angled the stock, etc. matters. There are autos that I can't shoot due to poor fit no matter which shim I use. I happen to match up with old Winchester and new Beretta. Others will be different.

 

[Gman12]

I'll say to save up for a Montefeltro before someone else does.

I live in VA where we use buckshot for deer hunting so shotguns are a big deal and I also duck and turkey hunt with my shotgun as well. I have owned many shotguns in the past including Rem 1100, 11-87, Winchester 1300, Browning Maxus and Benelli SBE II. I love my SBE but could not hit the broad side of a barn with it as I could not get used to the high vent rib. Many others have complained that these guns shoot high. Anyways, I found a great deal on a camo Montefeltro last year and bought one. It has the standard height vent rib and shoots great. It is an awesome shotgun and now my SBE sits in the safe.

 

[Northwoods Labs]

Lots of solid options. My dad has the Franchi Affinity and it is a nice gun. No problems and he has used it in a variety of miserable conditions. It is in your budget range as well

 

[Runnin_Chupacabra]

We just got the girlfriend a Beretta a400 in 12ga, it is the softest shooting shotgun I have ever shot. She was fine after a round of 100 at sporting clays.

I've been scanning the feeds for info regards to a 12 ga for my girlfriend, unfortunately most posts cover 20 ga. Glad to hear that on the Beretta! Will keep an eye out for one!

 

[Birddog916]

Winchester SX3 and the Franchi affinity are both great guns!

I second this, the SX3 is a lot of gun for the $$.

 

[dsquaredwi]

I've got a Beretta A300 Outlander for sale for only $600.00 camo pattern, brand new! I also have one in black finish for $550

 

[mango307]

I recently bought a 20ga 11-87 and love it.

I bought the same gun, also in 20 ga and I'm really liking it too. Over a dozen roosters are wishing I hadn't!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Okay, I am the outlier. Every year I shoot thousands of rounds through the same auto shotgun at the range (trap, skeet, clays) and the field (waterfowl here and uplands in Montana). And that gun is neither gas nor inertia: a long recoil 1961 Browning A5 Magnum Twelve with 31" late model Miroku Invector choked barrel and aftermarket plastic stock set. I can adjust it to shoot softer than any gas gun. The humpback sight plane can't be beat. Balance is perfect, where the fore end meets the receiver. And it never fails even when dirty and subzero weather (but for really awful conditions I'll switch to my old 870 if available). My skeet average is 23.5 and I shoot low gun (except station 8). Trap average is slightly lower. Both would be higher if I wasn't half blind ... literally. That old gun fits me like a glove. For fair weather shooting in shirtsleeves or light jacket it wears a slip-on recoil pad to make it shoot flat. Bundled up late in the season and the slip-on goes in the game bag until it warms up and I shed layers. The A5 "double shuffle" (barrel sliding back and then forward during cycling) doesn't appeal to a lot of people but I don't notice it all. Lots of them used on the shelf for $500 - $800. Most of the old Belgian guns are fixed full which can be a problem because FN skimped on barrel metal. Difficult to bore them out for chokes. Later Miroku guns had choke tubes and even the ones that are fixed choke have lots of metal and can be choked by any gunsmith.

I finished a round of clays with another fella's Benelli auto this past summer and was shocked at the recoil. Kicked hard. They are too light. Light guns don't swing well for me either (though admittedly I did shoot clean with it that last rabbit/flyer station).

 

[SaskHunter]

I shoot an SX3 and it works great!

 

[EKYHunter]

I’ve owned Browning Gold, Benelli SBE, Remington 11-87, and Franchi Affinity. That Franchi is as good as any.

 

[gradeAchuck]

can't say i have a ton of exp to offer in this section. most of my shottys are of the pump variety but i do own a Rem 11-87 Super Mag 12g that i picked up five years ago at a local gun shop i frequent. story goes the shop owner bought a large private collection and the 11-87 was still in the box with the tags on it from 2009. i ended up with essentially a new 11-87 for $500. anyway, its been a work horse for me and i don't have any complaints. thinking i've put roughly 1500 rounds through it on everything from trap/skeet, couple rabbit hunts, a company paid pheasant hunt, a bunch of walks through the hardwoods looking for squirrels, and one glorious day in a duck blind off Lake Erie. so far the only time it didn't go bang when i pulled the trigger is when i forgot to take the safety off.

i imagine getting a "good" fittting/feeling shot gun is like anything else. research can only take you so far and there comes a time when you have to get hands-on. happy hunting and hope you find something that works for you.