Shotguns

The FN Police Tactical shotgun came with two stocks. This shotgun was made by U.S. Repeating Arms in New Haven, Connecticut, for FN Herstal. (Unfortunately, the New Haven plant has closed, as weve previously reported in "Short Shots.")

Looking at the market for semi-automatic 12-gauge shotguns with a price tag of under $1,000 can give shooters quite a variety of options.Questions like Should I decide based on price or go for the pretty package? or How does the handling, balance and function of this model compare to the others? all seem to ?ow together. More often than not, the bottom line is often the bottom line - how the purchase hits the pocketbook.We jumped into the issue with three semi-automatics that ranged in price from $435 to $907. The low-end model was the recently released Stoeger 2000; it was followed by another newcomer, the Franchi I-12 at $749; and the highest-dollar member of the trio, the veteran Remington 11-87 at $907.Acknowledging that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, each of the models has its good points and bad points based on appearance. Some shooters prefer the wood and metal look of the Franchi and Remington, while others favor the spaceage features of the Stoeger.One of the major surprises in checking out the three models right from the box was the very pleasing trigger pull of about 4 pounds for each shotgun. When an out-of-the-box shotgun arrives with a trigger pull of less than ?ve pounds (heavier trigger pulls are favored by most manufacturers for safety reasons), a new owner should put a check mark on the plus side of his ranking ledger. A lighter trigger means that the shooter can be smoother in the move, mount and shoot practice of engaging targets.All three of the models also received favorable marks in their ease of assembly and disassembly for cleaning. Although the Remington is gas operated and the Franchi and Stoeger are ?xed-barrel inertia-recoil operated, all test models found favor during cleaning sessions.On the handling side, we focused on smoothness to the target and how the shotguns allowed for ease in follow-through. Balance and ease of handling rank almost as high as reliability for most shooters.Our test ammunition for the trio on the sporting clay argets was Winchester AA 2.75-inch 2.5-dram shells in both No. 8 and No. 7 1/2 shot. Both shells were 1 1/8-ounce loads, with an average muzzle velocity ranging from 1,100 to 1,145 fps. In addition, each of the shotguns was tested with a few Federal 3-inch 1 1/4-ounce steel BB shot loads with a muzzle velocity of 1,300 feet per second to check out recoil from heavy loads. Heres our test report:

For the serious shotgunner, the 12 gauge is the workhorse for whatever job is at hand, whether skeet and trap, sporting clays, or the majority of hunting applications. Yet the 28 gauge remains a favorite as an alternate gauge, and there's good reason for this.

The 28 gauge patterns about as well and consistently as the 12 gauge, albeit without quite as many pellets, so it makes an excellent target choice. And because the gauge offers reduced recoil and guns come in lighter and smaller configurations, it's an almost perfect choice to introduce children, women, and any generally nervous beginner to the shooting sports. It's also suitable for bird hunting, although, naturally, at somewhat reduced ranges compared to the 12 gauge.

When Browning introduced the $2,050 525 Field No. 013085813 in 28 gauge, and then we heard that Savage was introducing a new over/under shotgun line dubbed the Milano, one of which was a $1,433 28 gauge, we wanted to see how the new entries fared against an established 28 gauge from Ruger, the Red Label No. KRL-2827BR with the straight "English" stock, $1,702.

We put the guns to the test on several sporting clays ranges, stretching from moderately easy to fairly challenging courses. We also shot them standing at 40 yards as measured by a Bushnell rangefinder (as if for patterning) and from the Shooter's Ridge Steady Rest on Midway USA's MTM portable shooting bench for point-of-impact tests on the National Target Company's shotgun patterning target (all proved accurately regulated). Trigger pulls were measured by an RCBS trigger pull gauge provided by Midway USA.

Here's what we liked and didn't like about the trio:

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.

Seemingly radical ideas about the relationship of vision, timing, and tempo undergird Gil and Vicki Ashs shooting instruction.

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.