Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am looking for a good multi-purpose sporting/hunting semi-auto shotgun (ie: turkeys, grouse, doves, skeet). I have always trusted Remingtons and own an 870, but would like a semi-auto. What do you think is best and why? I like the looks of the Stoeger 2000, but cannot find any objective reviews. Any opinions?

Thanks in advance.

Edited to include the much fairer sex.

Don't know anything about the new ones, but I have a 20+ year old Remington 1100 12ga. that my wife and I put almost 400 rounds through yesterday. Even though the action was embarrassingly dirty, it cycled without a hitch. After disassembling it for cleaning today, I'm surprised it fired at all. Short of getting a rock jammed in it, I don't think anything would have stopped it. I also like the option of being able to swap barrels for different uses.

coyote3

If you like Remmy and intend to shoot it alot:1187

Love my Remington 1100s. One's my trap gun and the other is my all-purpose skeet/dove/quail gun. For turkey, probably most people would recommend a 3" magnum or 3 1/2" super magnum chamber. Rem 1100s have 2 3/4 chambers but on 1187s you can get 3" or 3 1/2" chambers. But you don't HAVE to use a magnum for turkeys. I know a guy who hunts dove with a .410 and he does very well, sometimes even embarrasing yours truly with his trusty old 12 ga.

One of the best deals going right now is a synthetic stock Remington 1100 at the CLOSEOUT sale price of $328 at Walmart. That's been more than a few months so they may all be gone. Somebody on this board got one recently so it may be worth a shot. (pun intended)

I'll give another nod to the 1187.  I LOVE mine, got it second hand and it is wonderful.  coyote is right.  Aside from a rock in the action, it'll cycle every time.  I will say to keep a spare "O" ring with you.  When this thing goes (as it surely will) you've got a really cumbersome single-shot shotgun.  Aside from that, the 1100 and 1187 shotguns are tanks.  I wouldn't trade mine for the world.

-Gloftoe

Gotta put in another vote for the 1187. take mine in the duck blind and end up drop it in the mud. Still works for me. Trust us, you will be happy with it

Check out www.shotgunsports.com discussion boards for recommendations ad nauseum.

The boys will tell you this:
  The Rem 11xx is great, the Beretta 391 is greatest, the Bennelli is great but felt recoil is more and service is not as good.  The Franchi is getting more attention.
  Some Walmarts had some Remingtons in plastic with mat finish for $350-380 that they were snapping up.
  The Russian Baikal M-153 is worth a look if you are looking for a price gun --$350--hammer forged barrels, chrome lined, shoots anything including steel and 3 1/2" shells.
  www.eaacorp.com

I don't have anything bad to say about the 1187, but if I were making this same purchase I'd go with the Browning Gold w/ 3 inch chamber.

They are really sweet to handle and totally reliable.  I've got 5 Browning shotguns and I love 'em.

No Benelli fans out there?  Come on folks!  I, personally, don't own one because I don't want that much money wrapped up in a shot gun, but they are fun to shoot.  

My wife has a Remington 1100 and a Belgium Browning both in 20 ga. and I love to shoot the crap outta those!

Also, after personal experiance, I advise you to steer clear of Mossbergs.  Others may disagree, but it is just my opinion.

Thanks to all for input!!!!

i really  like the browning auto 5

must get one

I have two. Both 12 guage which you will probably want since you mentioned Turkey and also Skeet.

Browning Gold Sporting - 30" barrels, chambered for 2-3/4" shells only. You can get the hunting version if you need the longer shells.

Beretta AL390 - 28" barrels, chambered for 2-3/4 or 3" shells. I bought one of  these in black synthetic stock at WalMart for $529!!

I do not own, but have shoot the Remington 1100.

The Browning has the nicest wood and blueing, and is the easiest to field strip.

The Beretta is probably the most popular for clay shooters who put more rounds thru their guns than pure hunters do. Probably the most durable of the three.

The Remington is a great shooting gun but its design is a bit older than the other two.

All three are gas operated. If you plan to do any significant amount of clays shooting you do not want a recoil operated gun. The recoil operated ones do not reduce kick like these three gas guns do.

My vote goes to the Beretta 391 with either 28 or 30 inch barrel.  I was thinking of getting one for trap and sporting clays, as the lack of recoil is unbelievable, but as I didn't want to run all over creation on the sporting clays range to retrieve my shells for reloading, I opted for a Beretta over/under with 28" barrels for clays and a Browning over/under with 30" barrels for trap.  I'm still thinking of getting the 391 though.

What does an 11-87 go for NIB?