Craig22

Hey Mudhen, What refuge did you shoot? I shot Sac a few weeks ago, and there were a lot of spoonies. I shot last Wed. at my club and we shot 14 ducks and 2 geese in that north wind. The think this cold front has brought in quite a few new birds. I'll try and post pics, but I've been having difficulty figuring out how. Any tips would be helpful.

As far as a quality gun you can't go wrong with Benelli. i would buy an M-2 or SBEII in a heart beat if not for the price. i have a Franchi and I love it. The Franchi line is also made by benelli. Good Luck and good shooting.

i'm the chairman for the DU Chapter in Sacramento, CA. i deal with Gun dealers all the time for our dinners. Everybody thinks they are getting a great deal on a Stoeger M2000, but all I have heard is they run into problems. It is the least expensive Auto on the market for a reason. Also if you already have an 870 then there is no reason to buy a nova. They are the same. i know guys who have shot 870's for 20 years and they haven't had problems. There really aren't any quality auto's to get for under $500. if you really want an auto for under $500 i agree with nateDog and look for a used Beretta, Browning, or Mossberg. Auto's are really touchy and it's easy to run into reoccurring problems if you don't get a quality gun.

Whamo, It depends on what price range you are looking at. From what you've stated as to being a fisherman who will hunt occasionally, the SBE II or M-2 are pretty expensive guns. if you are set an an auto look at Beretta, Franchi, or Browning shotguns. They are all very dependable shotguns at a little lower price range. SBE's run about $1400, M-2's are $1100, and you can get a good shotgun in the $600 -$700 range especially for quail, or pheasant. i have never shot 3.5" shells and have always been successful hunting. 3" is plenty. As for Camoing, I hunt a lot of ducks in natural cover so I have a camo shotgun. if you are hunting out of a blind then black or wood will work fine. Camoing really only helps with Duck and Geese. Not dove, quail, or pheasant. Plus getting a camo gun adds about $150.00 to the overall price.