Let me start by saying this may be a little lengthy but im in a pickle and need some advice from fellow THF'rs...

Start with this... i am an avid duck hunter out of east texas, can count on one hand how many trips i have not limited out the past 2 years. I have alway shot on the cheaper end of guns from an 870 to a mossberg to last years stoeger 3500... im finally at a point to get a nice shotgun to tote. First instinct as i walked in to bass pro last weekend and with full intentions on purchasing, browning a5 or a maxus... after talking with multiple sales guys, they diverted my attentio. To the new beretta a4000. Then found myself looking at the franchi affinity... being the cheapscape i am with finances it really caught my eye as my fiance will soon be getting into the hunting world... hmm 2 franchis for price of 1 a5 or maxus. So now i am at a crossroad. Not a whole lot of reviews out there on the franchi affinity 3 or 3.5 (except its the same set up as benelli inertia system with out the rubberized and ergonomics of the sbe2) but plenty on the browning lines and beretta. Anyone have some input on the thoughts. Knowing that you would be buying 2 guns within the start of the season, what direction would you go. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

The primary issue is: which gun fit best?
It helps if someone that truly knows gun fit can watch you mount ANY gun you want to buy.
It doesn't matter what you pay if you can't hit anything with it.

As far as price...you know you get what you pay for. Nothing ruins a hunt quicker than a busted gun, even if it cost a few bucks less.
If you're planning on owning this gun for a good number of years, how much extra per year is the better firearm?

Just .02.

If the Franchi fits you, by that I mean when you shoulder the gun you are looking straight down the barrel, then buy it. I would let the fiancé shoot the 3500, if it's a gas operated semi auto. The reason is the inertia shotguns kick more than the gas jobs. That's if you want her to keep hunting with you. If not buy her a 10 ga. SxS and feed it 3 1/2" mag shells

I'd get the Maxus out of the choices provided.

I have an older franchi gas gun (712).....it shoots great and has never failed in over 5k rounds. I just bought the new A5 last year....now the franchi is a loaner. I too wanted the a400 when it first came out, but after handling, the gun felt clumsily wide and did not fit me well. I love the a5 and put it through hell last winter. 5 degree goose hunts....waist deep duck hunts, rain and snow....I dropped it in a bout 2' of water chasing a wounded duck, picked it up and emptied out the water and the gun never missed a beat. Also, the A5 is based of the SBE2 mechanism as the patent ran out...easiest gun to clean and it will shoot any load without issue.

You can count on one hand the trips you have not limited in the last two years but, you feel the need to buy a new gun. Why? Obviously whatever you're shooting now works.

Because he wants one!! and everybody knows . Ducks killed with a $1600. gun are deader than those killed with an $800 gun

I have a Franchi Intensity (the 3.5" Affinity) and it is a **great** gun. Bear in mind that the Franchi is not a gas gun, which has positives and negatives. The negative is that the gas guns are supposedly softer shooting, while the positive is that it's an amazingly easy shotgun to keep clean.

Personally, I find the Franchi to be soft shooting, but that's just me. FWIW, I think the Franchi is an exceptional shotgun.

You might be on to something there. I bet if I pick up a sbe 3 I won't even have to shoot at them. I'll just point it at them and they'll fall out of the sky.

Franchi can't touch a Beretta. I'm actually a Benelli guy but was in the market for a gun for my son. I belong to a gun club and they have a good variety of guns for classes. After using all sorts of guns. It's very obvious Beretta and Benelli are the go to guns. They are balanced really well and cycle so much smoother. I know it sounds silly but those two really stand out when you shoot them next to each other. Beretta has the patent on a perfected gas operated gun. All the others are kind of working around it.Benelli has their patent on the inertia system and it's simple and sweet. It cycles so much smoother and is so easy to break down. Now with all that said I wanted a Benelli for my 9 year old son but it was going to cost 900 for a youth gun and I wouldn't get it till mid November so I kept looking even though the Benelli felt the best to me.

I decided of a Weatherby SA08. It's basically a copied Beretta. It doesn't have the gas chambers up top and underneath like a Beretta which I'm guessing is the most efficient way to do it. They have them on the sides of the fore stock. It feels much smoother to me the the Franchi and is light and balanced. It really eats the recoil well. Maybe even better then the Beretta. The only draw back is there are these gas cylinders that need to be used depending on the loads being shot. It's not that big of a deal. I don't think I've ever shot light field loads with heavy high brass at the same time. The best thing about the Weatherby is it's half the price of a Beretta.
A new one can be had for 450 if you shop around.

Buy the gun you want and forget about price. I'm very frugal but the thing is you are probably going to have this shotgun for the rest of your life so you might as well buy the best one (within reason). Six months from now if you buy the one you wanted you will have forgotten about the price but if you go in trying to save money and get something you don't like as much you'll always long for the one you really wanted. I've always been partial to the B guns but Franchi's are not bad....I'm not up to date on this model though.

Also that was a badass humble brag about almost always limiting out. I want to say it's almost expert level trolling it was so good...but if you are serious good for you haha.

if you have the money...Beretta and don't look back

I've shot the A400, SBE2, new A5, Maxus and SX3

A400 has very light recoil but I just don't particularly like the feel of the gun and how it feels when you shoot it but I bet you could get used to it. I think it's the recoil system. Very reliable. I hunt almost every weekend with a guy that is going on 5-6 years with his and is very happy with it.

SBE2 i really like a lot and if I wasn't so happy with my new A5 I'd get one and still might.

New A5 is my current waterfowl gun, I really like the way it shoulders and feels. It has a very crisp action but recoil is a touch heavy but not bothersome for me.

The Maxus would be my choice in a gas gun. I like the way it feels and I've owned a Silver hunter for about 13 years now that always goes boom no matter what I put in it or how many I've put down it. They are very similar.

Sx3 is basically a Maxus with a different look. Buddy of mine has put his through everything. He has shot thousands of dove with it and going on about 7-8 duck seasons.

If recoil is a issue I'd say Maxus or a400

If you want an inertia gun go with the SBE or A5 which ever feels better.

Let's get back to Barney's idea of the 10gaSxS for the girlfriend. I would be cautious about this because if you get shooting geese on pass shooting or some high flying cranes it will be embarrassing when she is dropping them and you are only getting a flinch from the cranes, so I'd make certain I'd only get her a single shot.

As far as your nice semi, wait till the boat overturns in 6 ft of water and see who is crying the hardest, you with your 870 or all your buddies with their soft shooting semis. Lot of ducks been killed with 2 3/4 shells and if that recoil is too much .....

Go with your gut.

If you're not going to go with your insticts, then take your fiance and have her pick out a shotgun. Save the difference until you can come back and buy a nice shotgun to tote. Otherwise, you're going to be wanting to upgrade from the Franchi.

nice issues to have. I would get the franchi affinity.

Browning Maxus owner here. Its a very light smooth operating shotgun. My wife is fine picking it up, and I've been told a few times it kicks like a 20gauge. Haven't had a single failure/issue with it with about 900shells down barrel in both hunting and clays. In terms of quality, the only thing that felt unrefined of the Maxus was the length of pull spacers. Found those to be very cheap and add a less appealing look to the shotgun.
My next purchase will be a A400. My father owns a Xplor with the Kick-off system, and felt recoil is the same as the Maxus. For the very slight increase in price over the Maxus, this shotguns seems to ooze quality over the utilitarian feel of the Browning. That being said, the Browning is easier to clean, add or remove the plug, and customize length of pull or cast and drop at comb. Browning Invector-Plus chokes seem to be slightly easier to find as well.
All that considered, I can say I'm more accurate with my good ol'870 magnum then anything else.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions and details. Just for the record-- yes we hunt large numbers and no one ever believes we shoot limits all the time til they come wjth us. Was not a brag just a note to explain that the post and description for opinions is not for some forum troller that has little to no experience or one who is just blaming the gun for missing. 100s of man hours scouting, learning and $ on gas nearly year round with spirals worth of notes.

Anyways... so here is what im seeing many have said use the one that "fits" you best. Anyone have a description for that or how to measure a fit. Heres where i came from, 870 was won at a DU banquet a while back, shot it til the gun became unreliable, then wanted a semi and got a deal on the m3500. That now has some issues and i dont trust that it will go bang every time, so money being set aside for this venture just leaves me looking at 4 different options. (Dont know if this helps in the fitment category)

As far as the fiance, she shoots my 338 lapua like a champ and really enjoys the outdoor life. Shes become an avid bowfisher with me and so now onto train her to duck hunt. She shoots m3500 fine, has shot 1187, and 870 as well.(only at clays as of now) Buying myself and her a pair of guns is the goal (my contribution for something new lol)

We have a Franchi Affinity and an A300. Had both for 2 or 3 years and have used them for dove and duck. They are both fine shooters and cost about the same. I think they were in the $800 range when new if I'm not mistaken. We have never had a problem with either. The balance is slightly different so I tend to prefer the Franchi and my son tends to prefer the Beretta but not to the extent we couldn't trade and be just fine. I don't notice any difference in recoil despite one being inertia and one being gas. Both are easy to clean as well. I know the A300 is not the A400 but I can't imagine being disappointed with either.

This is truth. I have done this in the past. Bought something I didn't want as much because it was a hair cheaper. Then annoyed I didn't just buck up and do what I wanted (assuming both of the prices as still within reason).

On a purchase like this, something you will have for years and you will use a lot...buy the gun you want. If that happens to be a gun that is a few hundred bucks more expensive, then just do it. I am not saying that more expensive is better or more reliable, but you will just be annoyed you didn't buy the one you want.

In regards to brands, I don't know much about Franchi, but I don't believe you can go wrong with Beretta or Benelli. You will find people that like one more than the other. And this is because of two reasons... 1) they usually like the one they own better than the other and 2) the gun just fits them better

Find the one that fits you and you'll be happy.

Jbaker...I was just pulling your leg a bit about it being a humble brag post or expert level trolling. No need to explain yourself..it's all good and I'm happy you are getting into those birds like that. Enjoy it!

As far as fit goes...I'm not expert on telling someone that but mount the gun, swing it and see how it feels. Try it with all the ones you are looking at. It's kind of one of those things that when you know if feels right then you know.

Thanks guys. Going to try this weekend for this... stare at a spotnon the wall at a disctance off with boy eyes open, shoulder each of the SG's and then close the non dominant eye to see which is best. Good idea on judging fit?

This is hoping that the trip to houston for support goes well and can make it to bass pro monday evening at besdt

Update... had a worker hand me a bunch of different shotguns without knowing what each was and ended up choosing my best fit as the franchi intensity and remington v3. After much debate back and forth finally went with the intensity. Went and shot it the next day and destroyed some clay birds. Shot better than i ever have with amy other gun. Would highly recommend this shot gun. Fiance knocked down a ton of clays as well. Couldnt be happier. Thanks for input THF

Because it fit.

poor mans Benelli,

Franchi makes a great shotgun.

Fit is SO important on a duck/goose gun. Most are too long given all the clothing worn and funky shooting positions (laying on the ground)

Especially for your gal. She will do terrible if her LOP is too dang long

Also, the only Franchi I owned was a 28ga Aspire, over under, the comb was too high, I sold it