Cheap gas vs inertia

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brybenn

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I know we all want higher grade guns but I was talking with a few newer shooters and the gas vs inertia topic came up but this time with a twist. If you were to buy a cheap entry level auto loader would you have more faith in the reliability of a gas gun or an inertia model?
I admit im a gasser fan and have been lucky the cheaper gas autos I've had always worked well. Shotguns that is. However im curious what others think given the fact that entry level guns are made to the lowest price point and cheapest materials
 
On my work bench is a Weatherby SA-08 semi auto 12 gauge - made in Turkey - it apparently runs on the gas - it apparently comes with TWO gas valves - one for "weak loads" and one for "strong" loads - the owner lent the gun to a "friend" with the "weak load" gas valve installed - is apparent that the friend used "strong loads" - that sheared off lugs on the bolt - too much gas/too much gas pressure, I presume - over my head to fix that - I am not able to do the welding, heat treat and grinding required - Weatherby Service Centre in Calgary wanted $540 for that bolt - in other words, more than that used shotgun was worth. The gun owner said he would "get back to me" - it has been over a year since I heard from him.
A year or two ago, I had a Parker Hale brand semi-auto brought in - different issue - it had been riding around fields on a tractor - lock up for the bolt was totally filled with fine dust - latch would not fully close - therefore most of the recoil was being taken by the action bars - that sheared off those action bars at both bolt lugs. I do not know if that Parker Hale shotgun was gas operated or inertia operated, but it was filled with fine dust - that ended that thing.
 
brybenn said:
I know we all want higher grade guns but I was talking with a few newer shooters and the gas vs inertia topic came up but this time with a twist. If you were to buy a cheap entry level auto loader would you have more faith in the reliability of a gas gun or an inertia model?
I admit im a gasser fan and have been lucky the cheaper gas autos I've had always worked well. Shotguns that is. However im curious what others think given the fact that entry level guns are made to the lowest price point and cheapest materials
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Inertia if counting on it for the long run....and speaking from my own pretty limited experience there. lol
 
stubblejumper said:
To me, entry level semi autos start with the SX-4 or A300, the super cheap Turkish made semi autos are just a recipe for issues, and problems if parts are required.
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I agree with the gun options mentioned but I've found it much easier to get parts for Turkish guns bought from a reputable dealer than it is for getting anything thru stoeger for beretta or benelli
 
brybenn said:
I agree with the gun options mentioned but I've found it much easier to get parts for Turkish guns bought from a reputable dealer than it is for getting anything thru stoeger for beretta or benelli
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It depends which Turkish guns, some models only exist for a very short time, and parts are pretty much non existent. I personally haven't needed parts for my Browning/Winchester guns , but Western Gun parts does carry some parts that friends needed for theirs.
 
Ii had a semi auto Turkish guns that needed a few parts. However thst gun saw over 40 000 rounds in about 2 years. It was used as the farm gun for party shoots. An email with a picture of the broken part to corwin arms the dealer I bought it from and parts were in the mail that day free of charge. I know not all Turkish brands have backing from their respective dealers that's why I only buy from reputable dealers
Im not saying Turkish guns are better than the higher end guns for reliability but I dont have 40 000 rounds thru my four a400s combined yet. I dont have the farm shoots anymore as I live in town now and my shooting is spread out over multiple guns


This topic was started to see where the majority of shotgunners put their faith if forced to buy an entry level gun. I've personally had benellis fail on me while hunting and on the skeet field. My gas guns seem to always preform better and shoot faster. I had a legacy 28ga that I loved but it was just to slow with the recoil pulse compared to my a400 28ga. The legacy never failed me though
 
I’ll take a quality gas gun! Through my experience guiding I’ve seen lots of failures with inertia guns. I’m talking Benelli specifically but not exclusively. Retay and all the clones suffer as well just more often. I’ve owned 1100s,SX2,SX3,Golds and Berettas and found all of them more reliable than inertia guns and like Bryben stated gas is faster and softer shooting. I’m not a Binelli hater as I own them but my SX3 I trust!!
 
I really don’t care much for semi auto shotguns but they are handier in a goose blind than a break action gun and given the choice between gas and inertia I’ll take gas for the most part. To be fair I haven’t shot a lot of inertia guns but I did own a Benelli for a short while and I just didn’t ever warm up to it. Gas might take a bit more maintenance but that would be my choice.
 
Falconflyer said:
I really don’t care much for semi auto shotguns but they are handier in a goose blind than a break action gun and given the choice between gas and inertia I’ll take gas for the most part. To be fair I haven’t shot a lot of inertia guns but I did own a Benelli for a short while and I just didn’t ever warm up to it. Gas might take a bit more maintenance but that would be my choice.
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I prefer two barrels for all but waterfowl hunting, where a gas operated semi makes 3" waterfowl loads much more comfortable to shoot, and a semi auto is much quicker/easiet to load in a blind. And after using my Maxus with the autochamber feature, I find it the quickest and easiest to reload in a blind. For those people not familiar with the Maxus, if the action is open, you just slide a round into the magazine, and it chambers automatically, you don't need to drop a round into the action, then close the bolt.
 
Inertia. I picked up a Revolution Arms copy of an M2 and very happy with it. 3" chamber, but that is all I use for waterfowl anyhow.

I know another guy who has put about 10K rounds through his without a glitch.

Time will tell if it was a good use of $775.
 
stubblejumper said:
I prefer two barrels for all but waterfowl hunting, where a gas operated semi makes 3" waterfowl loads much more comfortable to shoot, and a semi auto is much quicker/easiet to load in a blind. And after using my Maxus with the autochamber feature, I find it the quickest and easiest to reload in a blind. For those people not familiar with the Maxus, if the action is open, you just slide a round into the magazine, and it chambers automatically, you don't need to drop a round into the action, then close the bolt.
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Not sure if you ever had a Browning B2000 but they had a speed load feature like you just described only the loading port was on the left side of the receiver so you just stuffed a round in there with your left hand and it was immediately chambered. A very quick reload but I was always a bit nervous about getting my thumb out quick enough to avoid it getting chewed up in the process! Lol.
 
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