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What's you favorite value 3 gun shotgun?

I'm trying to get geared up to start shooting 3 gun comps once we move to Houston. I have rifle and pistol handled...just need a shotty. I'll get a Benelli M4 at some point, but most of my hobby budget is going towards track days on the bike.

gigag04 wrote:What's you favorite value 3 gun shotgun?

I'm trying to get geared up to start shooting 3 gun comps once we move to Houston. I have rifle and pistol handled...just need a shotty. I'll get a Benelli M4 at some point, but most of my hobby budget is going towards track days on the bike.

Look for a semi-auto shotgun that has "Mossberg" engraved on it. There are signature edition for 3-gun competition at less than $700.

http://www.mossberg.com/product/shotgun ... lass/85118" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm still trying to work my schedule around getting to my first 3-gun competition. Everything I've read and heard from folks that do them is that semi-auto is the way to go. It can be done with a pump, but two guys I know that use pumps are looking for a semi.

Also, depending on your experience with a shotgun, a more traditional style versus the pistol grip M4 is more preferred in 3-gun competitions. I too, once considered the M4, but ended up with the more traditional style M2 3-gun model, but I'll admit that I've never fired a shotgun with a pistol grip, so I don't know what that's like.

C-dub wrote:I'm still trying to work my schedule around getting to my first 3-gun competition. Everything I've read and heard from folks that do them is that semi-auto is the way to go. It can be done with a pump, but two guys I know that use pumps are looking for a semi.

Also, depending on your experience with a shotgun, a more traditional style versus the pistol grip M4 is more preferred in 3-gun competitions. I too, once considered the M4, but ended up with the more traditional style M2 3-gun model, but I'll admit that I've never fired a shotgun with a pistol grip, so I don't know what that's like.

Pistol grip on a long rifle is only useful when shooting from behind a barrier/cover and the shooter body is 100% behind cover.

Haven't shot IDPA or three gun in years now, knee problems prevented it, but when I did my Mossberg pump was just fine. I discovered early on, by borrowing others' shotguns, that I don't shoot fast enough to really justify a semi-auto anyway.

Remington Versa Max Tactical. I know this is heresy, but I think it's superior to a Benelli M4. It's what I own now. I have a extra one sitting in my safe for $1399.00 (just keep in mind that's $1399 + tax - Texas wants their fair share too )

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=hNyySD18wuU[/youtube]

Benelli M2 is still the favorite of most. It is the most reliable of all the shotguns I see at matches. I've been running one for 6 years or so now and wouldn't trade it for any others. The Remington Versamax got a strong start when it first came out due to it's low recoil and innovative gas system but a number of people that were shooting them have switched back to Benelli's. Many of the Versamax's that have come out shoot far off from point of aim and require a lot of barrel bending to get them on target. Next most popular is the FN SLP. They are pretty good all around guns, have some issues with pistons breaking but that part can easily be upgraded. Also in use are the Mossberg 930's which are a good value.

I have a JM 930 ($600) but good luck finding one of those. I got lucky and the Academy in my town had one in stock. I'd call them and see if your lucky. When I bought mine there were 2 in TX. Odessa and Houston. Versamax is getting some nice reviews on Enos forums.

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll keep my eyes open.

Several of my friends are shooting the Benelli. They say it is superior (after you get all the mods done) and more reliable than the other semiautos. I have not shot theirs or any other semi auto. I have been sticking with my 30 plus year old 870 as we only used pump guns huntin ducks/doves growing up in south Louisiana (what I know) and I want to use the same thing I would use in home defense. I put an 18 inch barrel on it and a magazine extension tube as well so I am limited to 7 shots (not the 9 or 10 you can get with other shotguns) but that is not the end of the world. I did have the barrel threaded for choke tubes as the cylinder bore choke that was in the 18 inch barrel I bought was too open to take some of the steel we shoot at the impact zone (you will need improved cylinder or tigher and high brass 6 shot to turn that spinner they have - it is a bear). One thing worth noting, at the last match, there were more than a few failures to function on the semiautos in the squad I was in. Don't know what brands of shotguns that they were, just noted the issues. I have never had an issue with a pump and we used to really abuse them when hunting in the marshes back home. They became walking sticks at times when we were in really deep mud and about to fall. We would rinse them out, pour the water out of the barrel and keep going. Never an issue with any of them (they did get a good cleaning when we got home :-) ).

With a little practice, you can get to be pretty quick with the pump. At the last match (week and a half ago), we had to shoot a slug at each paper target (1 target on each back corner of the bay) before moving to bird shot on the other targets. The SO commented that he never saw me cycle the shotgun between the two slug shots and he was standing just to the right of me. Guys with a semi can be a little faster than that but it is only important if you are trying to be one of the top competetors. My cost to get in the game was pretty low since I had the 870. A benelli all tricked out will run you some significant $.

Benelli M2 (11026) is preferred over the M4 for 3G. You can start with any pump or semi to see if you like 3G before spending a lot. The key is capacity and reloads. You can shoot Tac Ops with 8+1. The more your gun will hold, the less often you have to reload. Most use shotgun caddies on their belts. Weak hand reload. Look for video from Army AMU for technique. The faster you can reload, the better you'll do. Get some dummy shotgun shells (Brownells has a box of 25 for about $25 as I recall). They are inert shells so feel exactly same as real ones. Practice reloading.