SBE2 and Beretta AL390.

You will be happy with either one

I can guarantee you will get the same browning reliability out of a cynergy!

I have an A5 and like it. Very easy to clean. Has a great trigger. I have the one that shoots 3 inch shells not 3 1/2 inch. I had great success on Duck and Geese. The most important thing is to get a gun that fits.

I will tell you that it is not easy to get chokes for the A5 as it is still pretty new. I assume it will get better but last year I looked at the big stores and ended up buying them online.

Oh yeah... That's on the list as well

Maybe its your cleaning and not the gun. My 301a as I said takes very little maintenance.

Could be, but I doubt it. Both guns get cleaned equally bad. The AL390 gets cleaned a lot more and is shot a lot less. It's my son's gun, and he always cleans it, I have never cleaned it. And I always give him a hard time how he has to clean his gun more than me, he hates cleaning guns as well...



Gun shoots fine as long as it's kept clean.

I hear you Guy. That 30 seconds of spraying carburetor cleaner in the guns action is just to much work

Spraying carburetor cleaner hug? Never heard of that, I'll have to give that a try.

So the gas gun you neither shoot or clean?

Interesting way to form an opinion about gas guns

Gun was always shot and cleaned under my supervision. So not that interesting.

Sounds like a cleaning issue not a gas gun issue

100% right. Them dang gas guns need cleaned way too often.

Absoultly when you never really cleaned it to begin with.

So he has to clean it because it's not functioning or because you don't like the way powder fouling looks on the tube?

If you are the type to clean your guns after each use, I can apply common sense/logic the gas gun will not take more maintenance, you're keeping both guns clean. But, if you do as we do, we do not clean our guns after each use, we wait till they start jamming, then we break them down and clean them. And we do not clean them again until they start jamming again. The SBE2 will typically shoot 3 to 5 times longer than the AL390 before it starts jamming. We clean the guns the same way so I do not think it's the cleaning. If we took the guns to a pro to have cleaned I suspect the result would be the same. I'm not going to generalize and say this applies to all gas and inertia guns, but that's our guns.

Gas guns have come a long way as far as their reliability but to say one can keep up with an inertia gun with no cleanings is kind of ignoring reality because you don't like reality and maybe you think it somehow slights the gun you shoot. That's dumb if you think that. I think for most it's not a real big deal to clean their shotgun 3 or 4 times a season vs once or twice (those numbers can be reduced for those that hunt less or are not hunting in bad conditions). Gas guns tend to be softer shooters and for most that makes an extra cleaning or two worth it.

Also historically gas guns have just had way more parts and were more of a pain to clean anyway...but newer gas guns are getting easier and easier to break down as well. At this point...gas or inertia..I would not buy based on those two features alone...that's me..I'm not worried about cleanings or felt recoil but I am worried about fit and feel and overall reliability. Obviously fit/feel and overall reliability have to be looked at on a gun by gun basis.

I neglect the hell out of my gas gun and it still keeps kicking. All I do is give it a shot of rem oil about once a season.





These scars are from a 1/2 mile four wheeler ride it took shoved between the back tire and fender. It was packed with black mud inside and out. I stuck it in the water to wash it out, checked the barrel, and haven't touched it since.

Ramball36 you just made the "do not buy used guns from list" on the classifieds.

I love my Maxus, and have a friend that loves his SX3.
Some of choosing a gun is just personal preference.
Browning's just fit me straight out of the box.
If you can't decide between 2 guns, shoot both before you make your decision.

I think I liked my SX3 more than my Maxus.. They aren't quite the same.. something about how the SX3 felt was different. Probably gun fit issue.

If it keeps going boom then there is no issue. Other than a little mud on the outside his shotgun actually looks pretty clean to me. It does not look like he's hunted the thing on the coast because I see no rust.

One thing to consider is whether or not you will be using it for spring snows. The way the Maxus fore stock is built eliminates the ability to attach an extension tube. If that is an issue, the SX3 is basically the same gun. I have the Maxus and my brother has the SX3. Neither of us have had a single problem with thousands of rounds fired between the two of us.

The gun will be used primarily for ducks and possibly cranes or geese every now and then. It sounds like I can't go wrong either way. Inertia or gas is the question. It seems the guys who shoot Benelli lean toward the A5 and others toward the Maxus. Inertia theoretically should shoot cleaner and work better in harsh conditions but guys who shoot gas seem to not have any complaints.

I like A5 because it's different and I like that old school humpback look and feel. I haven't held or shot the new A5 but I have held and shot an old one. Browning claims it will shoot "come hell or high water" but I have no complaints out of my gas silver hunter.

Was pretty set on the Maxus but now leaning toward the A5.

I'll post a limit of ducks with whichever one I choose in the fall.

Thanks for the debate and opinions.