Sidearms & Scatterguns First shotgun for the wife?

[david walter]

My wife is a fantastic shot with a handgun and with her M4. She wants to try hunting, and specifically Turkey hunting.

I'm thinking semiautomatic shotgun, but which one?

All in like a Benelli Super Black Eagle?

Or something less expensive for her to learn on?

12 gauge? She’s 6 foot, so I’d don’t think recoil will be a problem, although she doesn’t like recoil at all. Hold over from the idiots at FLETC having them shoot 870s from prone.


90% hunting. Maybe 10% social use

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Can’t beat a benelli semi auto, they reduce felt recoil incredibly well too. SBE’s are nice but I’d personally stick to a 3” gun if you ever want to shoot any clays. The 3.5” guns even the Benelli’s can have issues running with 2 3/4 target loads even the thigh brass stuff.

If you’re not going to shoot any migratory birds that have capacity limits and your state doesn’t have capacity limits for turkeys (Most don’t) I’d just get a Benelli M4 and put a red dot on it and get a couple different chokes. It does literally everything.

 

[Eric_F]

A shotgun for people that don't like recoil I'll always recommend the Beretta 1301 / A400. I've got the former and it's so smooth compared to the Benelli inertia system.

 

[vh20]

A shotgun for people that don't like recoil I'll always recommend the Beretta 1301 / A400. I've got the former and it's so smooth compared to the Benelli inertia system.

Yep, I was going to say whatever the current version of the Beretta gas gun for 2-3/4” AND 3” is. It will be better on recoil than the Benelli inertia system. An older Remington 11-87 is a great turkey gun, but I don’t trust their recent production. The Beretta is a good, versatile gun that can be used in many pursuits and do well in all of them. I’d stay away from 3-1/2” guns for the reasons already stated, unless you plan on waterfowling with it and not shooting clays or other 2-3/4” loads.

 

[Boon20]

The beretta shotguns for hunting hands down. They will out preform the benelli's expecially when dirty.

 

[stemikel]

Another vote for Beretta 2 3/4-3”.

 

[sboone]

I vote benelli vinci and slap a cheap red dot on it for turkey. Get the 24" APG camo model. Its one of the lighter semi autos on the market and still manages recoil very well. I use it for everything, 2.75 6's or even 7.5 for pheasant and quail, 7.5 for dove, and 3" 2's for duck and geese, will handle 3" Turkey loads just fine. Ive went for a swim during duck season a couple times with that gun and it still would cycle the 3" duck loads without a hiccup afterwards, but you still oughta clean it when you get home. Stay away from the mossberg 930/935. Im sure I'll step on someones toes, but 4/4 guns were/still are complete turds. The best of the bunch was a breecher model and it needed cleaning after 3 boxes of shells, religiously like clock work. The rest were basically straigh pull bolt action with pseudo semi auto components.

Tristars will shoot well until they no longer do because they eat themselves alive

Ive looked at a 20 gauge retay side by side a benelli M2 20gauge. WITHOUT shooting either, the retay actually seemed like the better gun, easier to use/larger controls, and a little lighter, smoother.

Beretta owns Franchi, Stoeger, Benelli, as well as a couple others I think.

 

[sam4886]

As a cheaper option, I've got a Winny sx4 that has worked great the last few years. It's light, very soft recoiling because it's gas operated instead of inertia, and shoots the light target stuff and up to 3 1/2" goose blasters equally well.

I generally clean it once a year after all my hunting seasons are over and haven't had any real issues. It does start to slow down a bit the last couple weeks of the season. Probably 4-500 target/dove loads a year plus all the shells and grime from a fair amount of bird hunting from oct-Feb.

 

[coyotekiller]

I’ll second the A400 with kickoff. Have 3 and a benelli montefeltro silver. Wife likes shooting her a400 and browning gold over the benelli.

 

[Mauser06]

I know several guys running Weatherby 20ga semis in the turkey woods...forget which model exactly but they love them. One is a pretty picky guy and he now has several. Other buddy bought one for his teenage daughter because he liked his so much and she liked shooting it.

I mention it because they were fairly reasonably priced. Under 500 if I remember right.

 

[Novak77]

I run Benelli's for birds and have an A400 loaner for clays. IMHO you cannot go wrong with either.

I did just recently get the wife a Syren L4S sporting and it seems she can do no wrong with it on the clays course. Plus its probably the only shotgun she has ever shot that actually fits her almost perfectly lol.

 

[lr123]

I have an sbe2 and an a400 and the beretta is much softer shooting and cycles light loads much better than the benelli.

 

[RedDogN8]

I'm a fan of the Win SX4. However looking at the A400 in 20 gauge.

I have a Benelli Legacy, and while a decent gun... not a fan so it just sits in the vault.

 

[spife7980]

I’ve got an older beretta 391 and it’s great, can’t say I’ve ever noticed recoil. I also remember being some what impressed with a stoeger for the 400 buck price.

 

[gac700]

Browning Gran Lightening in .28 gauge works for my wife and I.

 

[Baron23]

I too have a SBE for waterfowl but I would not recommend it as an all around gun for multiple uses. Great for waterfowl....can paddle a boat with it and it still shoots.

I also have a Beretta gas gun and would agree with the above that if its in your budget (and wow, have prices gone up) then one of these would be most versatile.

 

[krw]

There is a Beretta 391 20ga in GB now. No Reserve, started at .01. I have one and Love it!! Load it up with TSS and it would be a Turkey killn machine. Screw holosights and red dots on Turkey guns!! No dog in hunt in the one on GB, I always watch 391’s

 

[MarshallDodge]

My ex, who was 5'5" 125lbs, has a Beretta 20 guage that I got her off the used rack at a gunshop and fit her perfectly. I remember the recoil on that being exceptionally light with trap loads.

 

[Prebanpaul]

Dave, way in on what else she will use this for. I have owned every benelli from a 90, to an m4. I currently am turkey hunting with a berretta 1301. My uncle kills more turkeys than anyone I have ever heard of, just switched over to the single shot 410.

Its really hard to beat a Remington 870 turkey gun.

 

[MarkCO]

I know several guys running Weatherby 20ga semis in the turkey woods...forget which model exactly but they love them. One is a pretty picky guy and he now has several. Other buddy bought one for his teenage daughter because he liked his so much and she liked shooting it.

I mention it because they were fairly reasonably priced. Under 500 if I remember right.

Weatherby Element. They are a fairly decent copy of the Benelli system. I just picked one up, in 20g and it is wonderful. Shot a 24/25 out of the gate with it on the Trap 16 yard line. It is just a shade over 6 pounds and really nice as a hunting gun. They also are available in 12.

Shot 4 rounds of trap with it Thursday, and it does have more recoil than my larger, heavier 12g gas guns. But still, for $500, pretty impressive.

For the OP, the aforementioned Weatherby, a Franchi, Berretta, Browning, etc. I'd do the research, present it to the wife and then let her handle them, preferably rent them for a round of trap or two, and then let her decide.

 

[Maelstrom]

I am going to be the oddball here. I use a Remington SP-10 10 gauge for turkey and goose. The gun is heavy enough that the recoil is less than my 12 gauge semiautomatic shotgun. If her primary use will be turkey hunting I would look at a 20 gauge or even a .410. With some of the new turkey loads the 20 gauge is all you need. My nephew killed his first bird this year with a single shot .410 at 38 yards. Dropped the bird DRT.