Best predator shotgun under 1000 bucks

Originally Posted By: Thumper3181I actually thought about buying a Benelli or a Beretta, but I just can't bring myself giving that much for something that I am going to be that rough with. I shot the Stoeger, Remington and Winchester today and honestly all three felt good and I liked the way they handled, I am just wondering if anyone has any firsthand experiences with them.

Get over that. Those guns aren't showpiece guns, they are built to be the best hard working guns available. That's exactly why you buy a gun like that, so that you can trust that it will work when you need it to regardless of the conditions. I've had my M1 completely encased in ice and snow more than once and when I needed it to fire it did its job. I have complete confidence in it.
 
Originally Posted By: ScrumbagSo you'd go Winchester over Maxus? Interesting

For the $1000 budget, yes. The differences are the Maxus has a magazine cutoff, a one piece gas piston assembly, and a cute little forearm removal lever latch(which incidentally eliminates any possibility of a mag extension, using the original forearm). The SX-3/SX-4 has no magazine cutoff, has a two piece gas piston assembly, and a traditional magazine tube threaded end cap. Yes, Browning will have a gold trigger, and some other details that are appealing, but for the most apart, when one pulls the trigger, both go BANG the same way.

Don't take this wrong, I really do like my Maxus, except the price part. As is typical with Browning, one pays extra for the name. Mine always goes BANG, and it doesn't matter if it is caked in ice, or water running through it, waterfowl hunting, or a freezing morning, in the turkey blind, or a sunny afternoon on the trap range. And it make 3.5" turkey loads easier to shoot.

I do agree with AWS on the comment about getting a good 3" shotgun, and not worrying about getting one with a 3.5" chamber...Unless it will be used for turkeys.

I have a Browning Gold 10 ga. that I hauled around the turkey woods, with my custom loaded 2 oz. tungsten alloy loads. My brother was raving about Winchesters 12 ga. Long Beard loads, so I picked up a box, and pattern tested them against my 10 ga. loads, and they both put the same amount of pellets on target at extended ranges. So not being able to argue with that, the 10.25 lb Gold 10 ga, lives in the safe, for turkey season, and the 7 lb. Maxus goes turkey hunting. But for predators(buckshot), crows, waterfowl, and upland game, I only shoot 12 ga. 3" loads.

Squeeze
 
Oh I agree for a lot of shooting you do not need a 3.5” shell but if you are going to have a waterfowling gun, it seems to me to make sense to have the option of shooting “big steel” even if you don’t do it for preference…
 
Franchi Affinity, easy to clean, made along side the Benelli in Italy, adjustable and available in a wide variety of barrel lengths, camo patterns and stock lengths.
 
Originally Posted By: OrphanedcowboyFranchi Affinity, easy to clean, made along side the Benelli in Italy, adjustable and available in a wide variety of barrel lengths, camo patterns and stock lengths.

Is an interesting option for sure!
 
Everything comes out of the front, the only time you have to remove the buttstock is to change the drop and cast shims.

The new Affinity 3 or Affinity 3.5 come with oversized controls and loading port. $700 and come with a healthy warranty. I have several in 12 and 20 and never had an issue with any of them.
 
I like my Benelli m1 super 90 21 inch barrel makes it very quick and maneuverable.
I have done 3 inch 4 buck and come to the conclusion I can get 5 shots of 2 3/4 out in the same time I can shoot 3 shots of 3 inch. Some times a deeper shot stack only serves to blow the pattern out. Be sure to pattern what you will shoot. I patterned dead coyote against 4 buck. I stayed with the 4 buck.
 
My honest opinion on a gun for what you’ll be doing is an O/U. The reason I say that is you have two chokes. You only need one shot to kill a turkey or coyote. You can have an open choke in one barrel and extra full in the other. That way your good from ten yards on out. I heard of people killing critters at 75 yards or more with the newer ammo and choke tubes. Two great choices are the Mossburg Maverick and Tri Star makes a 3.5 Camo I forget the name at the moment. Both would work well and not break the bank.
 
I have a Browning Ultra XS Sporting Clays O/U that I love shooting at Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clays.

For hunting I don't want to be limited to 2 shots. I wouldn't want to go hunting with a shotgun that you have to make it to where you can't shoot it to put a shell in it.

I have shot many coyotes 3 times to get them down on the ground. Many times it took me 3 shots to kill 2 coyotes. Two times I killed 3 coyotes with 3 shots. You can't do that with a single shot or a O/U or double barrel shotgun.

Shooting coyotes with a shotgun is much more like shooting waterfowl with a shotgun. Most of the time shooting a standing turkey with a shotgun is nothing like shooting coyotes with a shotgun.

I never thought I would get a 3-1/2" shotgun. When my old Remington 11-87 had the magazine pop loose I sold it as parts because it wasn't worth spending a bunch of money to get it fixed.

I ended up buying a Rem Versa Max 3-1/2" Waterfowl Pro, because I want to always have two hunting shotguns I can count on.

One good thing about having a 3-1/2" shotgun is if you reload shotgun shells. The 12 ga 3-1/2" shotguns have a max pressure rating of 14,000 psi, 2-3/4" & 3" 12 ga shotguns have a max pressure rating of 11,500 psi. You can load 2-3/4" and 3" shells a little hotter if you are going to shoot them in a 3-1/2" shotgun.
 
Great post, Bob!

Many times, I have wished for a two shot extension on my magazine.

Lots of guys are not familiar with the kick off system on the Beretta 391 shotgun. This kick off system is a shock absorber in the stock, plus recoil pad.

This shotgun has quick detach sling swivels, hi vis sights, and easily attachable red dot or rail.

Something that you never hear describing a shotgun is the trigger pull, and mine is pure sweet.

I was shooting trap with a bunch of guys lately, they all had fancy over and over trap guns. They were only beating me by a couple of birds, and were all interested in the 391 shotgun due to how little it kicked with hot 27 YARD trap loads.
 
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No, I haven’t killed a coyote yet with anything. I’m a grouse hunter that’s snowed out and board. I see so much sign in some of the places I hunt I figured I’d give it a try. If I were going to hunt them with a shotgun I would like the idea of two chokes but didn’t look at it the way the previous poster put it. This is a new adventure and that’s why I’m here, to learn from you guys. There was coyote crap all over the property I hunted yesterday but all of it looked the same age, maybe a week old. Nothing fresh looking.
 
If you shotgun many coyote you'll find that often enough multiple shots are necessary for one reason or another. Thick brush, bad angles, multiple coyotes, the speed in which a coyote can go from 20 yards to 45 yards and the tenacity of a coyote means more shots available the better. It also means too open a choke can be useless in two seconds.
 
Originally Posted By: GCIf you shotgun many coyote you'll find that often enough multiple shots are necessary for one reason or another. Thick brush, bad angles, multiple coyotes, the speed in which a coyote can go from 20 yards to 45 yards and the tenacity of a coyote means more shots available the better. It also means too open a choke can be useless in two seconds.

GC nails it!!!! Normally, I see about a 25% hit ratio as being consistently lethal. Sure, one pellet in JUST the right spot and the coyote will go down, but that is a very low percentage of the time. That means that if you are running a 3in #4 buckshot load, then you want 10-11 pellets or MORE on target.

As GC said, coyotes go from zero to light speed in about a body length. Their acceleration looks to be about the same as a top fuel dragster. You have to be ready for a follow up shot. Semis are going to be the fastest and easiest for most guys to get quick follow ups without practice. But a practiced shotgun practitioner can get off some quick shots with a pump gun. I wouldn't recommend limiting yourself to 2 shots unless state law required it.

I normally run a pump gun but have had experience with the 935 and the SX3, as well as Benelli. I would say that most of your modern semi's are going to perform equally well in terms of cycling. But then you have to factor in things like pattern, choke availability, etc...when considering which one to go with.

I personally have a 3.5in chambered shotgun for ammunition availability. When the run was on for ammo during the last "administration" a lot of the 2-3/4 and 3in stuff was gone but there was a LOT of the 3.5 stuff left. So I replaced one of my shotties with a 3.5in model.

One can never be too prepared.
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanLook for a used beretta 391 with the kick off system that is a shock absorber in the stock, they really lighten up the recoil on those heavy loads.

My suggestion also.
 
Originally Posted By: glazer1972Originally Posted By: ackleymanLook for a used beretta 391 with the kick off system that is a shock absorber in the stock, they really lighten up the recoil on those heavy loads.

My suggestion also.

Do you have one or tried one ?
 
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