Best upland Blue/Walnut 12G semi-auto shotgun under $2500

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clegger

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Let's start this off by saying this is my first thread,

Okay, so I'm in the market for a new upland semi auto 12G. I'm having a hard time cutting threw the marketing crap, I can't tell anymore what's just a ploy and what's quality. With most semi"s running from the $1200-$2000 mark obviously one manufacturer is making a better product and one company is just pricing there firearms to reflect a quality product and in reality is garbage.

What Im looking for and in turn asking you the reader is for your recommendation and your opinion to the best quality and manufacture (fit and finish) out there.

Upland shotgun must be

Semi-auto
12g
3"
A grade or better walnut
High gloss/Polish blueing
26-28" barrel

Thanks for all your input
 
You are not describing something I would choose as an upland gun, but that criteria would point me to a used Browning Auto-5.
 
I have handled and shot a WIN SX3 field..... far and away the nices lightest semi I have ever seen....


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I'd look at a Benelli ultra light as a pure upland semi auto. I like light quick pointing guns but prefer O/U to semi autos for upland as I get two chokes instead of one.
 
Beretta 391 in 20 gauge... easily found on the used market... BUT, I would recommend a nice Citori Feather or Lightning in 20 gauge.
 
The only options would be browning new a5 ultimate/ hunter, maxus ultimate/ hunter, benelli ethos, montefeltro, ultra light, and what ever the ugly wood stocked beretta a400 is called. There may be others I've forgot but you can't go wrong with any of those listed. I went new a5 and replaced my maxus for my upland and couldn't be happier.
 
The benelli was one of my top choices until I took my buddies out to range for some clay shooting fun. It is of the finest manufacture and quality but here are some reasons in can't bring my self to "pull the trigger on it"

AA grade walnut... Really benelli? Every picture you see on the website or add shows AA grade but when you grab one off the self it's barely a medium fancy/Grade A. I've seen some weatherby SA-08"s with better wood.

Pistol grip to trigger length of pull, I'm 6"4 with large hands and even I didn't like how far this distance was. My 5 11" friend seemed to pull the trigger from the end of his finger.

Light loads. Now hunting rounds are fine, but when clay shooting anything less then 1oz loads function become less then flawless. The challenger 1oz 7 shot loads we were using were slow cycling compared to the 3" magnums we had laying around for ducks.

Then of course the benelli click.... Now this has been greatly improved upon with this newer model, but the action still wants to stay out of battery without a full open-bolt release type movement.

Of course the $2250 price tag doesn't help, but on has to expect that from a benelli.

Here's my choice so far, the BREDA Ermes. Now some say that Breda is just a rip off company that copies benelli, but the reality is that Breda is the military arms manufacturer for benelli and is subject to produce firearms using the benelli blueprints.

The ERMES is the legacy with better wood, length of pull, higher strength steel, and of course it's not a benelli so it cost less at $1600.

http://www.cabelas.ca/product/68953/breda-ermes-3-12-gauge-semi-automatic-shotgun
 
I am not a fan of the Browning A5 or Beretta semi auto shotguns, I find them too heavy and bulky for my liking. ThThe Browning Silver and Winchester SX3 is getting close and their price is decent for a new piece. I have buddy with the Benelli Ultra Light and it is a beautiful shotgun, light and fast and works very well, and his has gorgeous wood. These Bredas you mentioned look good too, sounds like you have made your decision, let us know how it works out.
 
I'm not a fan of calling something "the best" , what works for one may not for another.

I am happy with my A400, cycles perfectly, recoil is minimal, is extremely light, finish is nice. I would not call the wood great but it looks good. Getting good wood seems to be getting tougher or maybe i'm just getting old...

I got it on sale from a site sponsor and you could almost buy 2 of them for your budget of $2500.

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I use a browning maxus and really love it. It's lightweight, reliable, looks decent and has the easiest shell swapping of any semi out there.
 
My choice for a semi upland gun would be a Franchi 48AL with a 26" barrel. You can have new in 20 and 28 gauge, but if you're head bent on a 12g, there are plenty of used ones available. As for the Breda Ermes, they are nice guns. The old Breda's used the same long recoil design of the Franchi 48AL, which is the Browning auto 5 design. Not 100% sure, but I believe the Ermes now uses a Benelli style inertia, while the Franchi 48 continues to use the long recoil inertia system


 
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