Shotguns-semiauto-12

Many all-around hunters like to keep a "user" shotgun in their collection to handle situations where rough and tumble conditions may not be favorable for a fine fowling piece. As a veteran shotgunner once said of his well-worn scattergun: "She might not be the prettiest gal at the ball, but she'll keep you dancing."

An inexpensive, all-purpose shotgun can be a useful tool. Whether you hang it on a gun rack in the back window of your pick-up truck (unloaded please) or store it at the hunting lodge to help the cook keep meat in the stew pot, you don't want anything too fancy.

Falling into that "user" category are two semi-automatics — an ADCO Diamond GE manufactured in Turkey and a MK Conquest Model 901 from Germany — we recently put through a shooting test both in the field and on some Five-Stand clay targets. Both shotguns carry a MFRP of under $500 and each featured 3-inch chambers that provide versatility in a variety of wingshooting conditions.

The concept behind extending the firearms' chambers beyond the normal 2.75 inches for standard length shotgun shells was developed to increase the tools of today's modern shotgunner. Waterfowl and turkeys are just two of the bird species that can send a hunter looking for 3-inch loads. The bigger birds often require more knockdown delivered by the longer shells, which allow for extra powder and shot.

Not every hunter needs to shoot 3- or 3.5-inch magnum shells. In fact, a 2.75-inch chamber is usually enough for hunting. Should you buy a more expensive 1100 or a cheaper Spanish gun?

In the wide world of shotgunning, you got your tube-fed pumps and semiautos, your one- and two-shot break-action single shots, over/unders, and side by sides, and the occasional bolt action. But few shotgunners have beheld a magazine-fed pump or semiauto, which on the surface at least, offer simple operation and a lot of capacity.

We recently tested two box-fed shotguns from overseas that are sold in America. The first was the Saiga Semi-Auto 12-gauge, $380, which we obtained from CDNN, P.O. Box 6514, Abilene, Texas 79608; (800) 588-9500; fax (915) 695-4898. European American Armory of Cocoa, Florida, imports the Saiga from Russia. Documents packed with the Saiga describe it as appropriate for "amateur hunting of small and medium winged game," but to our eyes, it was configured much more like a self-defense shotgun. This was due in part to the gun's black metal and plastic finish, rifle-type open sights, and five-round magazine (5+1) capacity. Ditto that for the Italian Valtro Model PM5 (Versione Calcio Plastica, MSRP $350), a slide-action seven-shooter (7+1) that came with an attached pistol-grip stock, sights, a thread protector/Cylinder choke, and a wrench.

For many years, the Benelli line of Italian-made shotguns were imported into this country exclusively by Heckler & Koch Inc. in Sterling, Virginia. However, this distribution arrangement was not renewed when it expired at the end of 1997.

In January 1998, Benelli started handling its own importing, marketing and distribution through a newly-formed company called Benelli USA Corp. The new company is headquartered in a facility near Beretta's Accokeek, Maryland location.

During the first part of this year, Heckler & Koch began importing the Fabarm line of shotguns. Established in 1900, Fabarm (Fabbrica Bresciana Armi S.p.A.) is the direct descendant of one of the great gunsmithing dyna...

These two companies make largely unheralded shotgun models purportedly earmarked for the competition clay market. We test them to see if we'd pay their steep prices.

Winchester's new Super X2 12-gauge auto-loader series is designed to go head to head in the marketplace against well-established marques like Browning and Beretta. Price-positioned at MSRPs ranging from $725 to $938, the X2s come in a variety of finishes, ranging from the 3-inch chamber field models with walnut stocks to the 31/2-inch black synthetic and Mossy Oak Shadow Grass camo guns for waterfowlers. But these new products seek to enter a field crowded with quality guns, so we wondered how the new Winchester guns would stack up against their prime competitors—and also against history.

Toward that end, we acquired two X2s for evaluation, a 3-inch 12-gauge field gun, $725, with a walnut...

[IMGCAP(1)]We have wondered why gun makers dont do more of what boat makers do nearly every day: Pop a hull and closely duplicate your competitions best product. Of course, its intellectually dishonest and sometimes illegal to do that, because, designs, like any other intellectual property-are supposed to be owned by their creators. But the reality is that a good-performing boat will soon see clones of itself on the water, with only small degrees of design separation in inconsequential areas.

Certainly, the same process happens in gun manufacturing, and were we not worried about getting our asses sued off, wed mention a few egregious cases that weve noticed here and there. A much m...