In the market for a new waterfowl gun

[Hale_Abels1]

Im in the market for a new Waterfowl shotgun. Currently have a 20ga Benelli M2, love it, but it doesn't cut it. The 12ga version of it doesn't take 3 1/2, so thats out of the question.
Ive been looking into the SBEII and the super vinci both great guns, but thought maybe something else than a benelli so i have been looking at the Franchi intensity along with the versa max.

What are your thoughts?
the good bad and the ugly for these 4 guns?
Looking to get some feedback on these rather than just reading the site, which each one says along the lines of "newest..best..fastest... blah blah blah.. in its class."
any suggestions other than these?

 

[ilovesprig]

Im in the market for a new Waterfowl shotgun. Currently have a 20ga Benelli M2, love it, but it doesn't cut it. The 12ga version of it doesn't take 3 1/2, so thats out of the question.
Ive been looking into the SBEII and the super vinci both great guns, but thought maybe something else than a benelli so i have been looking at the Franchi intensity along with the versa max.

What are your thoughts?
the good bad and the ugly for these 4 guns?
Looking to get some feedback on these rather than just reading the site, which each one says along the lines of "newest..best..fastest... blah blah blah.. in its class."
any suggestions other than these?

IMO...........The SBE is the finest fowling shotgun ever made.....Points great, light weight, and almost never needs cleaning.......

.

 

[Hale_Abels1]

Im in the market for a new Waterfowl shotgun. Currently have a 20ga Benelli M2, love it, but it doesn't cut it. The 12ga version of it doesn't take 3 1/2, so thats out of the question.
Ive been looking into the SBEII and the super vinci both great guns, but thought maybe something else than a benelli so i have been looking at the Franchi intensity along with the versa max.

What are your thoughts?
the good bad and the ugly for these 4 guns?
Looking to get some feedback on these rather than just reading the site, which each one says along the lines of "newest..best..fastest... blah blah blah.. in its class."
any suggestions other than these?

IMO...........The SBE is the finest fowling shotgun ever made.....Points great, light weight, and almost never needs cleaning.......

.

epic photo!

 

[NBK]

IMO...........The SBE is the finest fowling shotgun ever made.....Points great, light weight, and almost never needs cleaning.......

.
[/quote]

And you forgot the - "and it belts the crap out of you" part! ;D

I have an SBE and it rocks! It also rocks you when the trigger is pulled!

 

[ilovesprig]

John,

A lot of people have said this.......A friend of mine literally tested the Beretta Extrema (with kick-off) next to a SBE ll.......Neither of us could feel the difference......I have felt differences in different shells, but have yet to feel the difference in the guns......And unlike the SBE, the Beretta Extrema is very front end heavy, does not point well, and has a safety in front of the trigger......But like baseball bats......What feels good to me, may not feel good to someone else.


ps......I loved K-55's when I played baseball.......lol

 

[NBK]

Steve,

The Beretta A391 Extrema is the old system and shouldn't be compared to the A400 Extreme Unico. In fact, they are two different animals and in know way can they be compared to the M1 Super 90 or SBE regarding recoil. It's night and day. The "Blink" system is not only more efficient but it is also now the fasted cycling production gun in the world (yes - faster than the M1 Super 90). Below is a snipet from an independent review regarding recoil -

A400 Extreme Unico
Low Recoil (70% Recoil Reduction)Low-Recoil

"The Xtreme features several recoil-reducing features, such as the Kick-Off MEGA or “M” for short and the Kick-Off 3 recoil-reducing system to help take away some of the punishment.
The M is a hydraulic dampening system, which according to Beretta reduces axial movement—the recoil that causes a stock to bruise the cheek after firing a few volleys. The Kick-Off 3 addresses recoil from a new point of view.
In laboratory tests, recoil from a semi-auto shotgun has two distinct peaks. The first is upon firing, while the second is the impact of the bolt against the back of the receiver. The Kick–Off 3 is a hydraulic damper that reduces this second peak, and decreases the wear and tear of the shotgun"

The proprietary Blink technology or Blink gas-operating system is the heart of the new Xtreme, with claims of it being 36 percent faster than other semi-auto shotguns. The system features a rotating bolt, with a new feeding system and a self-cleaning piston to ensure the shotgun operates in all conditions.

 

[Aeon]

As a early adopter and lover of the Super 90, mine is a HK Super 90 Montifeltro. I have both the 28" and the 21" upland barrels. I have replaced every spring on the gun and yes it's the fastest quickest and thinnest 12ga shotgun on earth. In its upland config it's scary fast and weighs very little

Imagine me on my first trip with my brand new Beretta A400. It felt awful and why the hell did they move the safety. A number of ducks survived that first trip because of that. I was ready to cut 2" off the barrel it just felt slow (I have the 26") the front grip felt like a 6x6 beam in my hand.

Then something happened, I started to shoot really well with it. The safety was committed to my subconscious. That fat fore-grip felt normal. What was going on? The forward weight that felt so wrong was smoothing out my swing. Follow through was better and I was waiting a bit longer to shoot and the bad habit of rushing when not needed was curbed. The recoil was less and barrel climb was much reduced. Modern high velocity ammo has a sharp kick and it softens that greatly. So the fastest gun on earth slowed me down and made me a better shooter. Reliability is the best of any auto loader I have ever owned. I hunt out of a layout boat and between my dog and me it's wet almost all the time.

It's not and never will be a do it all shotgun. Extreme is in the name and it's an extreme waterfowl gun. If you want the Swiss Army knife shotgun get a M2 or maybe even a Legacy Montifeltro. They are almost everything the A400 is, Almost


Ps. Yes I'm in a tree and no there are no elk in Arizona.

 

[ilovesprig]

I agree that the A-400 is a species specific gun (waterfowl)......But in a thread like this many guys would want a gun that can shoot more than just waterfowl in a 12 gauge......... IMO, the SBE ll is still the best waterfowl gun and it can be used for any other kind of bird hunting because it is lighter, points better, thinner profile, and is shorter over all (balanced 26")......Actually held one yesterday. And the A-400 felt no different to me as the Extrema.....Long, front end heavy (gas op), and a extremely high comb (may be adjustable)......I did agree it would make a great boat oar.......lol

Oh, and that front safety is just the wrong place to put it after years of practically every gun with a rear safety.......I would not buy a Vinci either for just that reason alone.