Ever since seeing yesterday's episode of American Shooter I just can't seem to get the idea if buying a shotgun out of my mind. I hadn't thought of buying one up till now but suddenly I have to have one. Doing a quick search over at GunsAmerica.Com I see they are selling between $800-$1000 so I want to first gather as much info as I can.

While I would really like to get the M4 Super 90 it appears unlikely to happen anytime in the near future. Also, there are some legal questions about that model so I am going to settle on either the M1 or the M3.
Could someone please explain the differences of these two models. What are the advantages to owning one over the other?
Also, what other shotgun manufacturers would you group in the same class as Benelli?
And finally, are there any discussion forums similar to this site online that deal with shotguns?

The primary difference between the M1 and M3 is the issue of auto vs. pump/auto.  Whereas the M1 can only be fired in semi-automatic mode, the M3 can be fired in either pump-action or semi-automatic mode.  At any rate, both models operate using the inertia-based recoil method, which produces a pretty smooth and consistent feeling when you fire the gun.

Nevertheless, the other small detail you should think about is whether or not you'd like to fire reduced-recoil loads from your shotgun.  If so, I'd go with the M3 due to the pump-action feature.  Although my M1 does cycle reduced-recoil loads, some other people out there claim to have difficulties cycling such loads through their M1s.

As for comparable quality, the only other shotgun I would even consider ranking alongside the Benelli M1/M3 would be the Remington 11-87.  However, having extensive experience with both Benelli and Remington, I would still have to say that Benellis are a little bit more smooth and reliable.  On the other hand, the Remington 11-87 is a heck of a lot cheaper than the Benelli M1 or M3.  Thus, I guess it all just depends on how much you'd like to spend.

Also, I forgot to add that HKPRO ([url]www.hkpro.com[/url]) sometimes has threads dealing with Heckler-Koch stamped Benellis.  You might want to go there and search for older threads.

I have an HK stamped Benelli and it is true that you can empty the magazine before the first shell hit the ground. I have tried reduced and high brass loads and they both will cycle my M1S90.

One thing though, it hurts like hell if you are not used to it. The 1187 seems to have less recoil compared to the M1S90 but it is not as smooth nor as fast as the latter.

What I did was have a professional gunsmith shortened the stock on mine so I can easily bear it to target even at forward stance and then installed an expensive decelerator pad.

Go with a non-pistolgrip stock. YMMV!