New gun selection

Not a word has been mentioned about this gun so OK here comes some heresy. Browning A-5. Nothing sounds better than the solid clank of a square back closing up. Now I admit that I've been shooting a Extrema for the last few years for ducks. That's mainly because my A-5 is a 3" Belguim made gun and I wanted to try the 3.5 inchers for a while. Yes the Beretta is ultra reliable. But so is the A-5. OK so you have to change rings of different weight loads. How many time has anyone mixed heavy duck and target loads in the same box? But that's only on lead loads. there's only one ring setting for steel. The choke taper are almost 3inches long. My gun throws a 90% pattern with BB's. That's an effective range of 60yds on geese. And, you can buy a used Japan gun for $500 or less. My 2 cents worth.
 
Gray, I am right with you...my waterfowl gun is a A-5 Magnum. Put a cheap plastic stock on it, because I could not afford to keep replacing the fancy walnut stocks. I have shot this gun for more than 20 years, and I bought it used then. I take decent care of it, but it is my duck gun, so there is some where on the bluing, some scratches, and some pitting. I have actually thought about having it refinished in a more durable coating, but it is not bad enough yet to do that. I did take it in saltwater last year, I would rather not do that again... so I picked up a new in the box TriStar Viper, DU model for $300. What a piece of fecal matter! It is so light and the original recoil pad was really a butt plate with a strip of rubber in the middle, bruised my should shooting clays in a t-shirt. So I modified it to take a Mossberg Limbsaver. Then it would not cycle consitantly, a rivet that holds the magazine keeper spring let loose. I made a new one from a SS screw, so that is now fixed, and it cycles, but then the operating lever fell off during a hunt! TriStar did send me another, so hopefully I have worked out all the bugs on this gun... The only thing good about it so far, is I shoot it well, so I am willing to try to make it work. Once I know it is reliable, I'll likely put it away for salt and field hunts and just use the A-5 in the freshwater.

Don't see many A-5 Magnums, but if/when I see a deal, I'll get another, just to have it.

Dave
 
First off there is no gun I can shoot as well as an A-5 Browning, but having said that, unless you know a competent gunsmith you can't keep this gun functioning.

I used to have my gun stripped and cleaned professionally three times a year, as well as thorough cleaning myself after each use. The gun is so complex my cleaning was limited.

In sub freezing temps the gun cycled very slow or not at all, and once the action was wet from a well meaning, shaking retriever the action would freeze shut.

The simplicity of guns like Benelli, for reliability and ease in stripping for cleaning, is a giant improvement on the semi-auto shotgun.
 
I quit shooting 3.5's when i figured out a 16 gauge 2 3/4 in 1 once loads did just fine out to 35-40 yards. Now I shoot bismuth or kent matrix #5s without the punishment.
 
My Name is Rich Newman and I'm an 870oholic.
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Rich, looks like you got 4 old wingmasters and a super mag.... if thats the case your grandkids will be shooting the brown guns, and if your supermag sees another 5 years, you aint hunting enough!

I lost my old wingmaster a couple years ago. brown gun 3 inch, 30 inch vent rib full choke. Bought a 26 w/ rem chokes for it once we swapped to steel. I had this gun since I was 12, so that means I got it in 1983. I kept this gun in my trailer box for dog training, shot it every day of the year, sprayed carb cleaner in it to hose it out the night before dove opener. Carried it in the box all the time, in case I had a super mag crap out on a hunt, and finally when i retired my black cripple smacker, I went back to shooting my brown wingmaster and carried a supermag as a back up and cripple smacker. Pin broke in the trigger housing one day at the most inoptune time, I had a 30 minuite window on a coffin hunt to be hid well nuff to kill 4 greenheads real quick while the dark hid me... screwed up the day having to swap out guns, but thats the only time that gun ever let me down. rob'd the trigger housing out of my dad's old 870 (1965 model, shiny chrome it was cool), and went back to shooting. Either left it in the gun rack on my 4 wheeler one day when picking up from training with a thundstorm coming, or left it laying out in the field. Spent hours combing that field for the gun, and sent word to everyone I know that trains there. My wife even called memphis police dept to see if anyone found it... ha. memphis police dept doesnt return found guns for any reason... they wouldnt even look. Id still shoot it every hunt if I had it, it was that good. travis
 
Travis you are correct. The one on the left is the same as your stolen one. It's a 1953 wingmaster magnum, I bought it for 350.00 already reblued and had the 30" barrel cut down to 26" and had True chokes installed. If this gun could talk I bet it would have some stories. Next is the supermag I had to have when 3.5" shells came out. I had the barrel ported and had a middle bead put on it and a R3 recoil pad. I use this gun for everything. It throws a wicked pattern at turkeys. I'd never get another hunting gun ported though, too loud. It does decrease muzzle jump though I only use the big shells for turks now. It has a nice layer of rust on it that has grown on me. The one in the middle is a standard weight 20 gauge. It's a 12 gauge reciever with a 20 gauge barrel. I've heard the barrels on these are worth $400.00 I didn't pay that for the gun. It's choked skeet. I use it for clays, bunnies and grouse. Then there is th 870 sps deer 3" I bought this because I wan't to get away from useing rifled slugs It shoots challengers that are half the price and just as if not even more accurate than rifled slugs. I can also screw in a turkey choke and use it for turks. Last is my dads 2 3/4" wingmaster I think it is from the 70's I used it for deer with the rifled barrel on it. I'm hoping to restore it and use it for pheasants after I get rid of the rifled barrel. All of these where aquired for less than the price of a new SBE II. I think every Benelli has $500.00 worth of marketing added to the price tag. Someone has to pay Tom Knap's and all the other big shots sallaries. Obviously it works because everyone is swallowing up the hype about these guns. Where will these guns be in 60 years. Pobably not in service like my 1953 wingmaster.
 
I made the mistake of buying a Charles Daly 3 1/2" pump gun for hunting Eiders in Maine. It had a ported barrel. John Bourbon, made me sit 10 ft to the side and slightly ahead of him as the muzzle blast was to annoying. Could not use the gun in a boat or blind, traded it way.... fine for turkey I would guess, but not for waterfowl. Dave
 
The barrel on my Bennelli Nova rusted after the very first trip in the duck blind and I fought rust on the barrel up until I sold it.
 
If T loves dogs he'll go for a freakin' Boston Terrier pissing on his wader boot in the blind...THIS IS A TEST!

I figure these Eye-Talions use some old WWII circa scrap and lots of it probably gets dragged out of the Med with a crane and sits on the beach for a couple decades before it gets smelted down into billet steel. You know, surely there's some salt built in!
 
I think every Benelli has $500.00 worth of marketing added to the price tag. Someone has to pay Tom Knap's and all the other big shots sallaries.
Click to expand...
Tom Knapp is now with CZ-USA, shocked the heck out of me. Maybe they will go down in price, yea right. Tim
 
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I shot sporting clays with Lee Harker when he had a Remington 28 ga auto - don't remember the model - but it had a ported Cutts Compensator on the end of the barrel. That little gun was the loudest shotgun I have ever heard - and we had earplugs in. It was so loud it was painful. I won't hunt next to anybody with a ported barrel.
 
aint never hunted with a boykin, but Ive seen several I wouldnt mind too. Might be a dyed in the wool bad azz black dog fan, but I am open minded. Heck I even run a yellow AND a chocolate these days. i got desire to train an off breed, and chessies still scare the crap outta me, but Id like to see a little 14 inch tall can of whoop azz on a duck hunt.

First time I ever heard a ported barrel was on the trap range... I thought dudes gun had blown up. Ear muffs and all, turned around and told him he had to go or I did. He sat down, and we alternated rounds from then on. Incredible anyone would want to do that to by standers. Might as well smoke a big cigar upwind of normal people if you just want to alienate people that bad. travis
 
Carl,

Did you have the camoed version of the Nova? I have the camoed version and I cannot get the thing to rust. Through it in the bottom of the boat, drag it through the mud, hunt the salt...the barrel has never seen rust and it always shoots. I took a nice fall one day and filled the entire gun with material in the gun I could have planted taters. I took it apart and sloshed some water in it and it went back to hunting. I love the Nova. It is ugyly but I really like this gun.

Don
 
Nope I had the flat black version.
Function-wise, I didnt have a problem with the gun.
Just never really like the way it fit me and I wanted a semi. That is why I got my Berretta 390.
Sold the Nova to buy my son a youth model 20. Other than that, I would have kept it for a backup gun.
 
My partner used to shoot a ported Mossberg 835. It was loud, but not painfully so. But I definately was happy when he stopped using it.
The first time he saw and shot my Berretta 390 back in 2003, he went to Wally World that afternoon & bought him one.
He hasnt shot the 835 or 3.5" shells since.

I
 
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