Which 3 gun semi auto shotguns are the most reliable?

adriel

adriel

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Preferably if you've got a few seasons and at least a few thousand rounds on your semi and which mods did you have to make to get reliability out of them?

I've got a 3.5" Browning A5 that I've run for 2 seasons: somewhere around 1200 rounds on match time and another 3000 outside of matches. It didn't run target loads 100% at first. Chopped a few coils off the recoil spring and that seemed to help. Target loads are all good, low recoil slugs fail to cycle all the way sometimes. Runs a ghost load fine.
 
I've ran a versamax since 2013. Its been rock solid and the softest shooting autoloader you can buy. 1000s of whatever cheap clay shells I can find for the best price. And the waterfoul use all fall. I did have half a box of challenger bbb 3 inch shells this year where the crimp was bulged out and they would not chamber. As in they simply didnt fit.
 
This was year 3 on my Versa Max. I think I got a weak recoil spring in mine; shells were getting hung up on the lifter on the way up to the chamber. After putting an increased power spring from Wolff in it, it has been 100% reliable. Under gassing is definitely not a problem with the VM, and now with the extra spring power, it cycles a bit faster. I can still outrun my buddy's VM Tactical, but can't outrun mine.

It cycles everything I put in it; target loads, low recoil slugs, etc. Aaaaand J Kenny & Co. in the UK is working on an auto load lifter for the VM riiiiight now. Hoping to have one in the gun for next season.
 
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I've been told the Benelli M2 (with a few mods) is an outstanding choice. Hoping to hear from some M2 owners as it's what I think I'll be getting to replace my Winchester SXP.
 
oppy said:
I've been told the Benelli M2 (with a few mods) is an outstanding choice. Hoping to hear from some M2 owners as it's what I think I'll be getting to replace my Winchester SXP.
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I bought the VM tactical last spring and later sent it to Tacord for them to do their thing to it. It used to be fussy about Challenger target loads, but not so much anymore.

If I had my time back I would have saved a little longer for a M2, but that being said since I had my VM back from Tacord I've been very happy with it. My VM has only seen about 1000 shots so far, so not much of a review for OP
 
I ran a Stoeger M3K for almost 4 years that was dead reliable. Added a mag extension, new mag spring and a stainless steel follower but otherwise it was stock. Only ever had 1 issue on the second day of a 2 day match where it was raining and really muddy...Mud got into the action and gummed it up so I blew a stage until I could clean it out. Otherwise no reliability issues.

I switched to a Derya MK12 midway through this summer and so far since break in, 5 matches under its belt with only one feed issue which I’m pretty sure was my fault by over-inserting the mag on an open bolt...Very happy so far...And no quad loads anymore is a bonus...I think I used to drop as many rounds as I managed to get into the tube lol.
 
I see a lot of Tacord Versamax. Some Beretta 1301 competition, the occasional Benelli M2 and I am seeing more and more Typhoon f12 even though I see them fail at something every match.

I myself run the Stoeger M3K.
It is NOT reliable after initial break in. Four of us in our crew bought them and all of us had issues with the bolt not going fully into battery and empty shells not fully extracting.
It really needed better made Benelli parts in the bolt like the extractor, spring, inertia spring as well as a polish on the outside of the mag tube where the recoil spring rides.
Since the initial headaches I have been happy with it the last few seasons.
 
I run a m3k with extension, taran tactical benelli m2 trigger/hammer spring. 100% reliable. Finish isn't very durable on the barrel.
 
Benelli M2 is the standard by which everything else is judged, and for good reason. I've been running mine in Canadian and US matches since 2014 with barely a hiccup. A properly tuned versamax would likely be my next choice for a tube fed based on what I've seen over the years... but I won't be selling my m2 any time soon ;). Losing one shell by running a 3" gun vs a 3.5" hasn't stopped me from winning plenty of matches, and I'll take the absolute reliability over an extra shell that may or may not make a difference any day.
 
Murray 3-D said:
Wonder why SX3s and A5s havent caught on ? And how come nobody's mentioned the formidable M4 ?
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I've seen 2 guys run a m4. It's heavy and expensive. See more using the new m4 Turkish rip off ($600 deal). But I think you can get a TacticalOrdnance VersaMax for the same price as a m4, and it has a better set up for 3 gun.
 
BeerBaron said:
Benelli M2 is the standard by which everything else is judged, and for good reason. I've been running mine in Canadian and US matches since 2014 with barely a hiccup. A properly tuned versamax would likely be my next choice for a tube fed based on what I've seen over the years... but I won't be selling my m2 any time soon ;). Losing one shell by running a 3" gun vs a 3.5" hasn't stopped me from winning plenty of matches, and I'll take the absolute reliability over an extra shell that may or may not make a difference any day.
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I run an SBEII
JB welded the notch to float 1
Bought a second barrel and had it shortened and threaded for screw in.
Mag tube to hold 5.9 3.5"ers. 7 plus 1 plus 1, 2 3/4's

Having the 1 extra has definitely won me a few rounds.

I don't see anyone else with one? Is the M2 that much better? (I've never had a problem with mine, but get that some people might have problems)
Or do you mean a 3.5 versamax?
I thought the SBEII was an easy choice over the M2, but don't see anyone else with one
 
Does anyone shoot trap/skeet with the same semiauto shotgun they use in 3-gun, or is it a better idea to plan for two different guns?
 
old303 said:
Does anyone shoot trap/skeet with the same semiauto shotgun they use in 3-gun, or is it a better idea to plan for two different guns?
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I don't; I have ghost ring sights on my 3-gun shotgun, and it's heavy. It's great for absorbing recoil (Good for slugs and fast shots), but doesn't swing all that well. If you were to optimize both guns for each sport, neither would work well for the other. Obviously you could compromise on both and use one gun for action shooting and aerial clays, but it wouldn't be great at either.
 
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