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

From my experience with the 391's and SX2's I'd put the A350 first, the SX3 second and the Remington third. I found the 350's and 391's fairly easy to keep clean. I ran my 391's fairly dry though, not much oil or lube on anything except the slides.

The beretta A400 is the softest recoiling 12ga that I've shot. I went on a duck/goose hunt and had the chance to shoot the SX3, Maxus, A400, new A5, SBEII with 3" and 3.5".

Haven't had the chance with a Versa Max but I've heard great things. I believe it is a few ounces heavier than the comparable gas autos.

I dropped my A391 in the salt water while waiting for the sun to come up on a bay Duck Hunt. Took it apart, let it air dry, put it back together and it ran perfect. The Benneli that took a dive with it locked up.

Mine seems to have less recoil with 3 inch duck loads than it does with 2 3/4 dove loads, and that’s what everybody that shoots it has said

X2

Fabarm...best gas auto.

Are they simple to clean? My inertia guns are far simpler to clean than my memories of the old Remington 1100.

I bought a Fabarm L4S last year after reading all the glowing reviews by a pro shotgun reviewer and it proved to be unreliable for my usage. I hunt quail off a rig and my favorite guns are an old Super X2 Light Field which does good if you keep it clean and a Remington 1100 Special Field which does better cycling light loads but still needs the gas system cleaned about every 4-5 days of hard hunting. I have a 20 gauge A400 that for some reason hung up like a fool for a while but as of recent has been reliable. My guns get really dirty when hunting off the rig and I've seen every brand and model out there hang up after a few days of this punishment. I shoot a lot, all light loads because of a bad shoulder injury that will not tolerate recoil so gas guns are a must for me. I know a lot of people bad mouth 1100's but to me they kick less and shoot every time with a minimal of cleaning. I clean the gas system every trip (4-6 days) and strip them down once a year. I can tell you for a fact a Fabarm L4S will not cut it on a dusty bird hunting rig so if you are in the market for an L4S for lighter duty let me know because I have a nice one that is not getting used.

Supposed to be. I've been kicking around giving my SBE II to my oldest son and going with a gas gun. I spoke to a reputable gunsmith and discussed the A400 option and he suggested the XLR5 waterfowler if I didn't have to go to the 3-1/2 shell. He told me to check into some of the Kent 3" shells that will perform very well in place of a 3-1/2.

I'm curious to see if it has enhancements over what the post above saw with his Fabarm. I've been checking out the Randy Wakeman reviews... but still looking for some honest feedback.

One thing good I will say about Fabarm is they offer the best customer service I have ever experienced. When my L4S started to jam on me I called them and they had me send the gun to them. They could find nothing wrong with it and returned it to me free of charges. Even videoed test firing! The gun is not hard to clean (doesn't even have a recoil spring in the stock) but it has to be cleaned daily in cold weather dusty conditions to keep cycling. I shot doves with it in warm weather and it did just fine, cycled 1 oz loads perfectly. Just won't take the rough service I put a gun through hunting quail in dusty west Texas.