Trying to get some info on some guns. What are the pros and cons of the Beretta A350, Winchester SX3 and the Remington Versa Max? Which is the most reliable....which is the softest recoil.....which is easiest to clean...is there one that doesn't operate well in freezing temps...etc.
Thanks

My buddy has a Versamax. Very little recoil but has given him a few problems also. He's switching to a Benelli if that tells you anything......

A300 has been flawless for 3 seasons thus far. Recoil is very manageable and take down is simple. Handles very well for me.

I don't know about al those but my Maxus does everything I want, easily.

I would recommend the Beretta A400 with Kick Off

I do not think you will find a softer shooting 12 gauge and last time I checked it was the lightest and fastest cycling 12 gauge. Takes me same amount of time to clean my gas and inertia guns.

Beretta A400 Xtreme all the way. Softer shooting than A350 and will handle dove loads much better.

I sold my Benelli and got me a Beretta A400 Extreme. Copuldn't be happier. Benelli makes a good gun but inertia guns can be finicky with certain shooters...like mine was.

I’ve had a SBE2 and a A400 Xtreme, I kept the A400 because of how soft it shoots, in my opinion. The only benefit of the SBE2 over the A400 is that it’s lighter and easy to carry on long walk ins. Both excellent guns, though.

can you elaborate on finicky with certain shooters?

MAXUS without a doubt. I bought my Maxus when they first came out, and I've never had it fail me. I've shot every kind of shell you can think of through it. It's been on countless duck, goose, spring conservation snow goose, dove, and sporting clays shoots. It recoils so light that even my wife likes to shoot it. It all comes down to feel for what you are wanting. I chose the Maxus based on how it fit me. It'll handle anything you can put it through. It's very easy to clean/disassemble. I do know that the Berettas are heavier feeling for some. You can't go wrong with Browning or Beretta. I believe once you shoot a Maxus you'll fall in love. That's what happened to all of my buddies once they shot mine. I hope this helps in your search.

I have a SX3 and have zero complaints about the gun!! Has worked flawless for the last 5 years!

With some research you can find plenty of shooters that have had problems with inertia operated guns. With my situation, the testing, different shooters with my gun, some who shoot the same gun(SBE2) different loads etc, my benelli just would not shoot duck loads with me. Black cloud was the only shell that would cycles thru my Benelli with me shooting it. It never would jam with dove loads though. Just duck loads. I held that sumbitch EVERY possible way with several shell brands....jam jam jam. I actually shot it thru 3 duck seasons before I had enough of it....each year trying different loads. grips figuring it was me. Only after I let others shoot it I figured out it was the gun. Some shooters it would not jam on...plenty others it did what it did to me...jam up.

I shoot Browning shotguns because they fit me best off the shelf. Have 12 ga Silver in synthetic that I use for waterfowl and 20 ga Gold Field Grade I use for dove and the occasional upland hunt. I will use the 12 ga for dove in certain situations such as rainy weather or if I’m after highflying WW dove.

The 20 ga has had a lot of use and barely a scratch on it. The 12 ga silver has taken a beating over the last 10 seasons but is still reliable.

Did you feel it was a drawback with the Maxus that you couldn't add an extended magazine tube for the conservation snow goose?

I am shooting a Beretta A300 and love the thing shoot well with low recoil. There is one downside however,after 3 years of hunting hard with it, the gun still does not like to shoot anything lighter then 1 1/8 oz. This really isn’t a deal breaker to me seeing that I rarely shoot loads that light. Other than that great gun

if the guns are not held tight to the shoulder they can experience mis-loading usually due to the gun not fully cycling properly.

I have several older Berettas that never let me down. 1972 AL2 12 gauge (although the loading is a little awkward, it's never failed). Also a 302 and 303 80's and 90's shotguns, all very reliable! I covet the A400 and even the A300 just to see what they will do, but too much tradition and I'm not convinced i'll get even one more bird shooting them!

Beretta A400 XCEL!

I have a Maxus for sale in the classified, just fyi.

No, I did not feel that is was a drawback not being able to have a mag extension. All the conservation hunts that I've been on their wasn't a reason to shoot a mag extension. We had guys with Benellis that would hold I believe 11 shells. They said they would do a quick mag dump on the first volley of birds for the fun of it and they would be done with that mess. After, the hunt I asked them on each volley of birds on average how many shells would they shoot, and they said on average they would shoot 5-6 shells.

Interesting, never heard of that nor seen it in all of my years running Benelli's.

When I graduated from pump to semi-auto some many years ago, I immediately went with Beretta as it was a long time dream to have one. Back then I didn't know the importance of shotgun fit and how vital that is. I shot a cheaper semi-auto and eventually bought an A400 Extreme when they were first introduced. It was a great gun and served me well, but I will admit it did not seem to fit me great even after making the shim adjustments. I also found that it had to be cleaned fairly regularly, or I would experience failure to feed, especially in colder weather where the bolt wouldn't close all the way. This happened on a few hunts and frustrated me while my buddies with Benelli's weren't having issues. After shouldering an SBE2 and liking the feel, I ended up buying one, as it fit me better and the inertia system didn't seem to be bothered by the colder weather. I now own and SBE2 in 28" and SBE3 in 26" and don't think I'll look back. I've sold my A400 (to family) only because I couldn't justify having 2 SBE's plus an A400 (I like 2 guns when I travel for guided hunts, as it's good to have a backup). That said, the A400 is truly is a great gun, and I do miss the kick off system, especially on 3.5" when goose hunting! I do still love Beretta and have one of their O/U's for sporting clays, but for waterfowl I've committed to intertia system, however that's just a preference of mine. Gas guns are great guns, you just have to clean them. Keep in mind Benelli is owned by Beretta, so they aren't as much of competitors as folks think.

Most importantly, I recommend finding a gun that fits you best and points where you point when you shoulder it. Best of luck!

Look up my past threads. I have some about my Benelli experience. After posting those I have had a handful of guys on this forum pm me about them having the same issues as I was having. At the end of the day I think all 3 "B" gun makers make excellent shotguns. But even with that all three are going to make a few lemons. I think I may of had one. Hell I almost got me another SBE2 figuring what in the hell are the chances of getting 2 lemons in a row. I loved the fit of that Benelli....maybe a bit better than my Beretta. I just know that now I have true Semi and not a single shot.

Maxus all the way.

Gas operated, cycles extremely fast, slim like the Benelli's

I prefer gas operated because the gun doesn't rely on the shooters shoulder to cycle the round.

Good point never thought about that, could explain why some shooters have issues with inertia guns. I been shooting an SBE2 since 2008, never had an issue with it and I have shot 1 oz loads to 3.5 inch loads. I only clean it once a year before dove season, I completely abuse this gun, I don't even use a case during hunting season. This year, it got mud in it and started jamming, so I cleaned it in the lake, worked great after that.