sdkidaho

Oh, and as far as your question goes - I've only really read about the SBEII jamming on light loads, and that seems to even be hit and miss, meaning that some of them do, and some don't. I think it depends on how you break the gun in, at least that's my guess.

I love my Xtrema 2 - wouldn't trade it for any other auto. I love my Nova - wouldn't trade it for any other pump. Any gun will have negative feedback - any gun.

Nice muley.

That's because you're such a ***************. As for the DU vs. Delta matter, I sent DU an email a month ago asking who I could ask a few questions that I had about DU as I was trying to decide where to become a member. A lady responded immediately telling me that she would answer my questions or have someone else answer them. No response after I sent in my questions. I just emailed her again, asking if she could indeed answer my questions, or at least let me know if my questions were to go unanswered. I was polite, but somehow I'm betting I receive no answer. Now, if I had a million dollars to give them you could bet they'd be rushing to answer my concerns. Oh, and MbBullet - no one said that DU didn't do anything, there were just questions about some of their practices. Those are fair statements and concerns when one is deciding who to give their hard earned money to. I'm actually not even sure why you even posted?

Glad to hear you're ok and that no one was hurt. That's the most important thing.

Wow - great story! Congrats man.

What, no pics?

Seriously though, someone needs to try it. I vote for Tucker! Wonder what kind of crud that would make for you to clean out of the gun. O.o

LOL Yeah, then you could have your potatos ready to go at the same time!

Cool. Didn't know that. I'd love to get a Canvasback. And a Redhead. And a Pintail. And... well, you get the idea.

Dreamer You can find negative stuff about each gun, without fail. What it boils down to is that there are going to be some lemons from each manufacturer (hopefully that percentage is extremely small), and that coupled with the fact that you can't please everyone no matter what you do. Meaning, there is always going to be someone complain no matter how nice the gun is. I didn't get to shoot both before I decided on which to purchase, though I really wished I could have, but shouldering both I can say that I don't feel like I'm swinging a 2x4. The SBE II is definitely a bit slimmer in that regard but not so much that I feel like I'm swinging a board around. I absolutely love my Beretta. It was a great purchase and I haven't regretted it at all. I do however believe I would have enjoyed the SBE II as well, though (just not as much ). For me it came down to recoil. I knew the Xtrema would be a softer shooting 12 gauge and so that was what sealed the deal for me. Some guys don't mind the recoil and so that's not a consideration for them. I'm convinced that Benelli and Beretta make two of the finest autoloaders there are, and the only way you're going to be able to decide is to see what features each has, and see which appeals to you the most. Shoot both if you can (though that is rarely an option, at least it wasn't for me) and that would certainly help you decide. Benelli was my first shotgun, and it's one I'll own for a lifetime, but that won't keep me from owning other shotguns that perform just as well. As for the negative press each shotgun gets, take the time to look at what the problems are that people are complaining about and determine if they still exist (Xtrema 1's shooting left was a problem, but rarely seen in Xtrema 2's) or if it's operator error (Failure to fire in SBE II's due to not shooting heavy enough loads, yet we seen that complaint continually). Complaints seem to come down to the old saying of "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" or rather - complain loud enough and everyone will hear you. Not to say that some issues aren't valid, because there certainly are problem guns out there, but there are problem guns out there in every brand, make and model. The two guns you are asking about are both awesome shotguns and depending on what you want, you'll be happy with either. Best of luck.

Great to hear from you, man! Very cool about your hunting trip and your banded goose. That sounds like an excellent trip. Sounds like you got in plenty of shooting as well - very cool. I've shot three ducks since the season opened and I thought I was doing great, but that's nothing compared to the 40 you and your dad got! I dreamt about getting a banded mallard, does that count? Keep us updated man - glad to hear from you! Darby

My first Drake Mallard:

This is an article from a couple of years back, but it's just as true today as it was then: Read Article here.

What's that conservation project called? The one in your area?

Wow. Yeah, I'm not impressed with that scenario at all. Having public land surrounded by private land -sucks- big time. We have some nice area's that would be awesome waterfowl, turkey and deer hunting, but they aren't easy to get to unless you have a boat. Maybe that's just my problem, (not having a boat) but it sure sucks that there is public ground, that would be excellent to hunt on, but you can't get to because none of the private land owners want you to cross their ground. I understand their concerns, strangers on their place, garbage, gates left open that livestock can get out of, etc., but not all hunters are irresponsible. I really don't like that DU did that to your hunting area. That seems totally wrong. There's nothing you can do, as in speaking with the local Game & Fish to gain access? That totally seems like they screwed everyone but that one guy.

Really? I admit up front that I know very little about either organization, but if you go the DU website and see their annual report for 2005, I don't get the impression that the money they are given is being squandered. Where your DU dollars went (according to their report): 87% - Waterfowl/Wetlands Conservation 11% - Fundraising and Development 2% - Administration and Human Resources So essentially 13% was used by DU, the company. That doesn't seem out of line in the overall picture, does it? Of course you'd have to see the 87% broken down to ensure they weren't padding their numbers, but assuming they put that 87% back into waterfowl conservation, that's a fairly impressive number. From their website about 2005: By all accounts, last year was productive for DU’s conservation business. Our goal was to conserve more than 177,000 acres during fiscal 2005, and we exceeded that goal by 126 percent, conserving more than 220,000 acres across the United States. Tangible results like these, results that you can see, visit and appreciate, make fulfilling DU’s mission worth all the effort. Doesn't sound like a really bad place, but again, I know nothing about DU or Delta, other than what I've read here and on each of these organizations websites. Where the DU dollars came from: 32% - Federal and State Habitat Reimbursement 27% - Conservation Easements 25% - Events, Sponsors and Membership 11% - Major Gifts and Endowment 5% - Royalties, Advertising and Other [ 10-16-2006, 07:30 PM: Message edited by: sdkidaho ]

Welcome aboard.

The first pond I came to I saw some ducks a ways down, so I snuck up on them and jumped them. Once they were in the air I shot one and it hit the water. Waded in and retrieved her (the one on the left in the picture) and figured I had gotten a Green-Winged Teal hen. I walked back in further to another pond and noticed a Drake Mallard, but I was certain he had busted me, though I could not see him moving much at all, so figured he was watching me. The grass was really tall and fairly thick so I eased off and came around for a better angle. When I stood up I figured he would jump up, but... he was already dead. I'm guessing he had been wounded in the days before and landed there in the little pond, eventually dying from his wounds. Further back in I came upon another group of ducks, I couldn't tell what they were (I really need to remember to bring my binoculars) but there was plenty of cover for me to sneak up on them. I put my first duck down in a spot where I could find it again (yeah, I kinda neglected to buy something to hold the ducks once they were down) and started to sneak up on the other group. Once I got close enough I stood up and up they jumped. There was between seven and ten so I picked one and shot. Down came two! I thought WHOO HOO! At least I thought that until they hit the water, both of them with heads up and I then I thought Oh crap, I've only wounded them. The furthest one away started to lift off again so I shot at him again, and I could see the pellets pepper the water all around him. He dropped a couple of feet but then began to climb again and by that time was too far out to shoot at, and then made it around the bend where I could no longer see his progress or what he was doing. The other was still on the water and then moved to shore and was walking up the mud to the tall grass and so I thought Oh crap! I'm going to lose that one in the tall grass! And so I aimed and shot again, but she kept on walking. I hustled across the water and looked and looked for that bird but could not find her. I waded back across and picked up my first bird from where I had left it, and then came back again and looked some more and finally found the other bird. I was really glad to find her as I felt really bad about wounding them and thinking they were going to wander off, suffer and die. After finding her I went down the edge of that water scanning for the bird that flew around the bend. I didn't see anything on the water, or near the edge but further down I could see more ducks and was sure it was the first group that I had dropped those two out of. I figured that maybe the wounded one had made it to them and was with them as it wasn't too far from where I had first shot, maybe 300 yards. I snuck up on them and then figured I'd just jump them and the cripple would be the only one left. No such luck. Everything on the water flew off, so... I'm sure I wounded that other bird but could not find it once it flew off. I spent some more time checking out those ponds, making sure I had looked well enough and then headed back home. Was a definite bummer to wound one and not find it. Definitely don't like that feeling. On the way out I heard some branches breaking in the woods next to me and thought it must be another hunter so I held up. I then saw a flash of brownish tan and stood there waiting. A little forked horned whitetail came within about 10-15 yards of me and stood there looking at me, unsure of what to do. We watched each other for about a minute then he took off like a flash. All in all, it was a good morning of hunting. Beautiful day outside, only about 35 degree's, but I had a great time. Darby

My first ducks: I'm no expert, but I believe these are Green-Winged Teal hens. Had a good time this morning.

Ayup.

. . The second is of Tim Bradley, he's shooting a Beretta in it, but he's the new Benelli guy that they announced a while back. An interesting blurb from someone close to Benelli: "He's the guy that everyone seems to think shoots for Beretta. That's because Tim made an attempt to get Beretta's attention by making his own promo video with a Beretta Logo so as to show them what he could do. Benelli USA liked it and Beretta was too busy to look. Their loss!"

Save the pic to some place that hosts pictures for free like photobucket.com - Tucker hates that one so maybe he's got some other suggestions but I've had good luck with photobucket.

I hope you have a great trip! It'll certainly be a tough thing that you endure, but man... you're young and you have a lot of hunting to look forward to I think. Work hard to recover and always keep a positive attitude and you'll do well in life, no matter what life throws at you. As long as you can keep your head up and enjoy life as much as possible, you'll do well. Good luck on your hunt, it sounds like an excellent time and is definitely something I'd like to do some day. Keep us posted man, we're thinking of you and will put in a good word with the man upstairs for everything to go as good as possible. Knock off some feathers for me. Darby

Now I have to hire someone to do it??? That method sucks, dude. Just so you know.