Okay y'all. In the market for a cammo shotgun for a crane/goose/duck hunt. Which ones do u recommend?

If you are hunting in red dirt better get a Benelli.

For cranes you want something that will shoot 3.5".

Browning or Benelli and you'll be good.

Really depends on budget and how much you shoot personally I shoot a berreta a400 becuase I shoot a lot but I know several people with Benneli versa max that love them

Yeah. I will be outside of Lubbock.

If you hunt a lot I would get an A 400, if you are just going to go once a year get an 870. No need to shoot 3 1/2" unless you like more recoil and higher ammo prices.

Think this will be a 3-4 time a season deal.

I would suggest a Benelli M2, use 3" number 2s you will be just fine.

I would shoulder as many as possible and choose from the ones that felt right.

I made the mistake of thinking 1 needed 3.5" when i goose hunted in lubbock in college. Got a good used extrema2 and 10 boxes of black cloud. Now i love the extrema, went through 4 boxes of the 3.5" and the other six have sat in the case for years now. Like others have/will say, unless you like the recoil and prices its conpletely unnecessary. I was dove hunting and had one of the black clouds in my vest from duck season the previous year. I was hammering the dove and reloading by feel. In shooting high brass all morning since the birds were flying high. Was NOT prepared for that 3.5, SOB almost took me off my feet.

What's the difference between the a300 and the a400 besides price?

the A400 is the new design you get the kick off option, a rotating bolt the gas system is self cleaning,and it cycles much faster and the chokes are different. With that said my wife shoots an A300 and it has been a darn good gun.

I have an ol Mag-10 and it works great...

I used to goose/duck hunt a lot on the east coast. Several new shooters thought you needed a 3 1/2 shotgun. I was a broke college kid so I used my Mossberg 500 shooting 3 inch 2 shot. Honestly, I shot more geese than guys with 3 1/2 inch not because I'm a better shot but because I enjoyed shooting my shotgun and didn't flinch at the recoil.

Now I shoot a Berreta Outlander and love it. The recoil is very mild. If I were you, I would look at Berreta, Franchi, and Beneli. Also, I would stay away from 3 1/2 inch, just my opinion.

Beretta a400 xtreme in optifade camo

I always laugh when I hear that a shotgun is self cleaning, there ain't no such animal.

On the issue of cycling, you can't pull the trigger faster than any shotgun can shoot in a hunting situation, even with the slowest cycling semi out there. It may be possible trick shooting but I doubt most of us could do it.

Fast cycling and self cleaning are nothing more than marketing gimmicks.

Not trying to pick on you RLUM, I'm sure you were repeating what Beretta has to say about the A400.

So instead of adding to the forum you just talk some chit and laugh. please tell us what your opinion is and add to the thread. the man asked what the difference was other than price. I can tell you that if you have broke down an A400 you can see that the gas system has a cleaning effect every time you fire the gun, I know because I have drug mine from North Dakota to the mud fields of the Texas coast and never had a problem

If not into the shotgun sport shooting, I would just go with a good pump like Beneli Nova or super nova. I have a Remington 870 express magnum and like the ability to shoot 3.5s when I want. Had a Mossberg 835 that I still miss, sold it when I bought a Beneli SBE the first year they became available. That old 835 patterned better than any magnum shotgun I have ever owned.

In that blowing red dust of West Texas no gun is self cleaning, be ready to clean them after every hunt, on windy days have had pumps and the SBE clog up with the red dusty sand.

As far as shooting a semi auto fast, I shot a skeet league one year with a Benelli M121 which was by far the fastest cycling semi-auto I have ever fired. After that tried a few semi-auto shotguns some others were using and felt like I was waiting on the gun to cycle several times.

For cranes I prefer turkey loads, they pattern well and #6 heavy shot will break a crane neck at 50 yards. Shoot that crane head a lot like you would a dove and watch them drop.

The A400 is a good shotgun, I in no way was denigrating it. If it fits, is within his budget, and he likes it then I believe it would be a good buy for the OP. What I am am stating is that their is NO self cleaning shotgun. Just because you have never had a problem doesn't correlate with your A400 being self cleaning. Inertia shotguns run cleaner than gas shotguns but no shotgun can clean itself. If your A400 tube is cleaner than other shotguns you've seen it means that the piston is getting dirtier faster. Regarding cycling speed it is a moot point when hunting.

I was laughing at shotgun marketing, not the poster and believe I stated my post wasn't aimed at the poster. I also believe an A400 should be purchased for reasons not including cycling speed and mythical self cleaning.