Which gun

[Wildfowler]

Which gun do you prefer semi auto or pump/slide? What are the pros and cons of each?

[grnheadhunter85]

Personally i prefer a Semi-auto......i shot alot of heavy the loads and the gas actions on my Super X-2 & Super x-3 cut down alot of the recoil.......but a con with the gas guns is that you have to keep them alot cleaner than a pump. I know of a lot of guys that dont want to have to break their gun down and clean it once a week. Much rather clean it once during the season...personally i clean mine on monday nite while im watching Monday Night Football.

[QuakKillz]

I know of a lot of guys that dont want to have to break their gun down and clean it once a week. Much rather clean it once during the season....

I don't even clean mine ONCE during season!

I think in 5yrs of owning my 835 I have cleaned it....................3 times, only when it goes swimming....


so, I would say, I prefer pump, never owned or shot anything else though, so I am biased

[A5Mag12]

I prefer both.

[QuakKillz]

Dang, I think you may need a couple more shotguns.

I'd need more than a couple to have that many.......

I want a 935, as much as I love my 835, the semi should be comfy too....

[A5Mag12]

That's only part of them.

[QuakKillz]

That's only part of them.

oh my ......

[Tom_faber]

I love my Nova, I have thought about going to a semi but I like the restraint that I get with a pump. Cause I know too many guys that will rap off all 3 shots before I even get a second off. I know that I have a lot more restaint cause every time I go they are always asking to bum some shells off me, even though we brought the same amount. Most of the time I will let them but lately with the prices of shells going up and up, I have re-thought my decision several times.

[grnheadhunter85]

pump/auto......theyve both got 3 shells to be shot!!!

[Wildfowler]

pump/auto......theyve both got 3 shells to be shot!!!

Are you also limited to three???

[duckhuntingdogstand]

Legally, yes unless you are hunting during the white goose conservation order then you can remove your plug and have 5 shells. I think???

I think our rules just say you can pull the plug out of the gun. I believe you could put an extension on and hunt with 9 if you wanted to.

[duckhuntingdogstand]

Which gun do you prefer semi auto or pump/slide? What are the pros and cons of each?

OK...back to the original post...

I own both types of gun. I recently traded my BPS-10 (and some $) for an SP-10, but not because I like the semi better, but just because the Remington fits me better. I want to start shooting a 10ga again since I feel it is superior to the 12ga 3 1/2, but that is another thread.

I have been shooting a Nova for the past 5 years or so. It's HARD to beat a Nova or an 870 when it comes to hunting in TOUGH conditions. My Nova has broken ice, been used as a boat paddle and in general asked to do things that you just should not use a shotgun for. It has never complained. It is super reliable. Yeah, the pump is slightly slower shooting than a semi, but I have no problem emptying my Nova on ducks that come into the dekes! I am going to need a second to get back on the bird (or on the second bird )anyway. I think Tom Knap shoots something like 7 hand thrown clays with a Nova.

I would think that you should consider WHERE you are hunting for sure. If it's really tough conditions for the gun (dragging it 1/2 mile through a bean field or slew), a pump may be a better decision. If hunting from a pit blind that you are driving up to, I don't think it would matter that much from a functionality standpoint.

Budget would have to come into play for me too. You can get a top of the line pump gun for several hundred less than a top notch semi. IE I paid $299 for my Nova, and an SBEII is running over $1200.

I feel that the gun's FIT is MUCH MUCH more important than if it's a semi or pump. I would NEVER buy a shotgun that I had not personally shot, or at least shot one exactly like it. Even within a brand, the fit can vary a lot. My Browning Sweet 16 is probably my favorite gun to shoot. I sold the BPS I has because it fit me so poorly.

[WI_LabLover]

Goose field hunting - Super Nova or 870 (take any abuse you can give em)

On the water for ducks - semi (Super X2 or my Extrema)

When I hunt both on the same weekend I typically screw up in the layout blind waiting for the pump to cycle and then realize I'm the cycler!

[GooseHunter Jr]

I orefer a pump.....but I did finall but a SA and I like it, but my heart is still with a pump!

[ozarkhunter]

i like the semis ...to lazy to work the others ,,,,,,

[Lostknife]

ditto on the picking the gun for the application. I use a modified Browning BPS-10, custom stock and 26" barrel w/briley chokes. What I like about this gun most is that I can use handloaded ammo for a light 12 load to the heaviest 10 loading and all with the same gun. For upland a Beretta recoil operated 12 with fibreglass stocks and also a BPS 12. I have seen guys on the skeet field who can shoot a BPS/Ithaca faster than most guys do with an 1100 but I defy any of the semi's to cycle faster than that Beretta/Benelli, which can handle ANY weight loadings flawlessly.

[Lostknife4]

ditto on the picking the gun for the application. I use a modified Browning BPS-10, custom stock and 26" barrel w/briley chokes. What I like about this gun most is that I can use handloaded ammo for a light 12 load to the heaviest 10 loading and all with the same gun. For upland a Beretta recoil operated 12 with fibreglass stocks and also a BPS 12. I have seen guys on the skeet field who can shoot a BPS/Ithaca faster than most guys do with an 1100 but I defy any of the semi's to cycle faster than that Beretta/Benelli, which can handle ANY weight loadings flawlessly.

Update: THe new SBE works like a charm.........

[FastDuckMotors]

THe new SBE and the Extrema II does as well I think.

[MallardMauler]

my citori white lightning has never jammed. never. not even once.

[Lostknife4]

my citori white lightning has never jammed. never. not even once.

I shot the highest score on the local trap field and it held for many years with a Browning Superposed, I carried it everywhere but it just didn't seem right paddling the canoe thru the mud with it and alas I sold it. I must say though that I had NEVER had a problem of any kind with this beautiful piece of craftsmanship. It had 30" barrels, M&F and was the 3" 12 ga model. It just wasn't fast enough for the third shot ....LOL and after a few boxes of 3" it kind of got your attention.