First Semi Recommendations

Winchester SX4.

 

Gently used Benelli

 

Like the recommendations but the “best” gun will be the one that fits or can be fitted to you. Imperative you shoulder each gun and have someone that knows what they are doing there to help you out. Bottom line.

 

Gun fit is probably 80-90% of good wingshooting. Shoulder a bunch of guns. Close your eyes and snap the gun up and down a few times. Bring it up, open your eyes. Is the gun on plane? Is the weight between your hands? If the gun isn't on plane, are there shims to adjust for both cast and drop? These are critical for good shooting. Next choice is inertia vs gas. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Gas guns tend to be a little heavier, but lighter on recoil. Inertia may be a little more forgiving in terms of cleaning and dirt. I currently have 4 semi autos, two inertia and two gas. I use my Beretta Xtrema 300 as my primary gun and my Beretta 302 is my backup. I also have a Stoeger 2000 and a Browning double auto. All work fine. The Xtrema is easiest to shoot, and has the best patterns of all of them. The Extrema uses the older style recoil system vs the A400, but has the same barrel and guts, so it is basically a poor-mans A400. The price can be about 1/2 of the A400, so Iconsider that a bargain. The current model is called the Beretta Extrema A350, but is virtually identical to the 300, with some cosmetic differences. See online for anywhere from around $900 to $1100 at various dealers, so I guess it would be in your price range. Gun comes with shims for cast on and off, as well as adjusting drop up to 65mm

 

A Browning Silver can be had for about $950. Very reliable and soft shooting. Can be had in 3" or # 3 &1/2".

 

...wearing heavy clothes like cold-weather hunting. Certainly affects how my gun fits...

 

Don't buy what I got is my only advice,
I bought a Steiger 3500 cause I was like heck yea a benelli for 1/3 of the price...
You get what you pay for
I like inertia guns cause they are simple
But I've also seen my buddies beretta a400 fire underwater and suck muck up and still shoot a box of shells after. ...

 

If I was keeping it under a $1,000... I'd go for a 3.5" browning silver

 

What don’t you like about your stoeger? I love my m3000, I actually prefer it over my benelli! I haven’t had one problem with it in 5 year. Another gun that I have been eyeing is the retay masi Mara sp.? I have shot one a few times and it was very crisp and light! I have heard nothing but good things about them. They may be worth a try!