Shotguns

As the average age of clay-target shooters continues to inch higher, many veterans are turning to less expensive, lighter, softer-shooting semiautomatics as substitutes for their over-unders. The common objective is to find a firearm that doesn't strain the pocketbook; is easy on the arm muscles; and doesn't send the shooter into shoulder shock from recoil.

However, because the single-barrel shotguns are lighter and quicker to get on a target, all of them require a little more finesse if a shooter is intent on being competitive or filling a game bag. This means there is more need for a little extra push or pull by the shooter, rather than relying on the glide of a heavier stackbarrel.

The Browning Gold Sporting Semiautomatic 12 gauge, $1105, has earned a good reputation as a moderately priced shooting tool at clay target courses across the country, despite some travails. The initial burst of enthusiasm for the shotgun when it first entered the market was slightly deflated by problems with broken firing pins and other mechanical failures with early models. However, those failures seem to have subsided with the more recent production runs.

Following the pattern of the legendary Remington 1100 semiautomatic that once dominated the skeet shooting community (and also suffered some early mechanical problems); the Browning Gold Sporting has become one of those shotguns that nearly everyone gives the old college try.

But there are plenty of challengers out there vying for the Browning's sporting-clays spot, one of which is the other semi-auto in our test, the Benelli SuperSport. The model we tested is the latest version of another veteran line that has been favored by both bird and clay target shooters. With its space-age looks and feel, the Benelli SuperSport Semiautomatic 12 gauge, $1735, is one of those love it or hate it shotguns.

The sharp angle of the trigger guard and the Comfortech stock's synthetic design, plus the two-toned receiver, are all striking innovations that make the Benelli stand out in a gun rack. We found that most of these innovations earned high marks in both function and appearance for testers who like an updated look.

To put our test shotguns through their paces on the sporting clays course, our shooting crew fired a variety of ammunition, including Remington Premier STS Low Recoil 2.75-inch, 2.5-dram shells. We fired two versions of this loading, one which had 1.125 ounces of No. 8s, and the other with same payload, but in No. 7 1/2s. Both shells are low recoil, with an average muzzle velocity ranging from 1100 to 1145 fps. Because the Browning would only handle 2.75-inch shells, no 3-inch shells were used in our test sessions. Here's our test report:

There's probably no activity tougher on a shotgun than waterfowling. Between the extreme elements (mud, muck, and often uncommonly cold temperatures), the tight confines of blinds, the general roughness of the sport (dogs that won't sit still, an oversized buddy who knocks something over everytime he turns around), sharp boat edges, action-clogging cattails and Johnson grass, and loads that pack significant punch, a waterfowler's shotgun takes a beating from trigger to choke tubes.

We thought it was time to examine just how far development in these guns has come, and toward that end, we acquired a trio of 3- and 3.5-inch chambered guns to shoot side by side. From Browning came the relatively new Gold FLD Stalker No. 011118304, a black synthetic-stocked 12-gauge offering that takes 3-inch shells and retails at $981. We chose the brand-spankin'-new Xtrema2 from Beretta, again in black synthetic. This model (No. J391D28) chambers up to 3.5-inch shells and hangs a retail tag of $1,498. For our last choice, we picked the SAS Field from Weatherby, No. SVF1228PGM. We had originally wanted this gun with the synthetic stock, but it was backordered at the time of testing, so we went with a wood-stock model. Retailing at $925 in the wood version (the synthetic is $879), the SAS proved a stellar competitor against the two big "B" brands.

Being May when the testing took place, duck and goose seasons were long closed. Thankfully for us shotgun nuts, sporting clays ranges are in full swing this time of year, so it's there we took our trio. The shooting gods must have been watching, because it rained during the entire testing day—is there anything more appropriate to testing duck guns?

We also put all three guns in the freezer, loaded with a variety of upland and steel waterfowl loads, and fired them immediately upon removal for function testing. Finally, we performed a point-of-impact test at 40 yards, both from a bench rest (we used the Steady Rest on the MTM shooting bench from Midway USA) and standing, using the National Target Company's clay shotgun patterning target. Here's what we found.

We search the marketplace to find the best values for our readers, and in looking around, we came across CDNN Sports based in Abilene, Texas. CDNN is a gun distributor that specializes in closeouts. The public can order non-gun items directly from them, but you will need to get your local gun dealer to receive and transfer the firearms for you (usually for a $25 to $50 fee).

We logged on to CDNN's website, , and downloaded a sizable PDF catalog. In the CDNN catalog, we found three similar 12-gauge pumps listed, but one of them (a Hawk) was sold out and would not be re-stocked, so we purchased the two models that were left. The first was an an Armscor 6+1 12-gauge pump No. M30R6, $120; and the second gun was an FN Police Shotgun 12 gauge pump No. 17674 that came with an extra stock for $270.

We asked a four-person test team to run through these guns and to see if these pumps could stand up to the rigors of a Gun Tests evaluation. All in, we fired about 300 rounds of shotshells and slugs through each gun, some of them on the range but most in magazine-clearing speed shooting, the better to stress the operator and product and find out any flaws in the gun's performance. Here's what we found:

Can the American-made side-by-side compete with the best handmade British game guns? In our estimation, no. But if you don't know your stuff, you can get burned on foreign models.

Though it was close, we narrowly preferred the Winchester 1300 Defender over the Remington 870 Express Magnum and Mossberg 590A1 Persuader slide actions.

Evaluated on the clay-target fields and over dogs pointing quail, the sub-gauge Browning gun had a slight edge over the Beretta.

We wanted to know if these smaller, lighter guns were suitable for home protection. Tested: Winchester's Ranger Compact, Remington's 870 Youth Express, and the Mossberg Bantam.

We try out Briley Manufacturing's Side Kick Chamber Inserts and Seminole Gun Works Chamber Mates to see if sub-gauge inserts can make 12 gauges more versatile.

We examine the Browning Cynergy Sporting, the Beretta 686 Onyx Pro X-tra Wood and the Silma Deluxe Model 70EJ.

Many shooters don't like the shoulder-popping recoil of a 12-gauge shotgun, so a logical substitute might be a sub-gauge semi-automatic — such as two Italian imports we tested recently.

We test several loads in an affordable pump gun and learn when enough power is enough and when a lot of power is too much.