It totally doesn’t matter, get whichever feels the best when you shoulder the shotgun.

I’ll also add that while I love my CZ rifles and pistols, I’m underwhelmed by the fit, finish, triggers and quality of CZ shotguns. And it has nothing to do with the fact they are made in Turkey because we have several SA-08’s in the family and I’m a fan of them. There are a number of good semi-auto brands out there: Winchester, Browning, Benelli, Beretta, Weatherby, Franchi, Remington and Mossberg are good.

Look at the Beretta A300. They do come in non-camouflage. I have one and love it. My A300 has been used for dove, qual, duck, and geese with no issues.

If you can get over the camouflage, look at picking up an A400 Extreme (buy once cry once). I have one of these as well. Much nicer than the A300. Since there is now a new A400 Plus version, the "older" ones can be picked up for about $300-400 less than this time last year.

Used AL391 12 or 20 by a long shot
A300 12
A5 12, 16 or 20
Benelli Montefeltro
Benelli M2
Winchester auto
Browning auto
Personally I’d pick all of those, in that order, before an 1100 or 1187.

Recently purchased a Benelli Montefeltro semiautomatic which I love ; light weight, kicks not bad, good control for under $1k @ Academy. Worth looking into.

I believe the Remington 1100 Special Field 20 gauge with the straight English stock is the finest dove gun I've ever owned.

When I was hosting dove and quail hunts in the 80’s, I used an 1100 in 12 gauge. It really was a good shooting gun. I wore it out finally and replaced it with an old Remington Model 11. Bought a new Browning A5, but sold it and stayed with the old Model 11. But, the real important thing I learned in those years is to never ever buy another gas operated shotgun. Buy a recoil operated shotgun. They run so much cleaner. No gas system.

One day in South Texas we had been shooting doves like crazy, and when we limited out we went back to the ranch house. I immediately started cleaning my crudded up 1100. One of my customers walked past me and put his A5 in the rack and was walking toward the house. Since I was the host, I asked if he wanted me to clean his shotgun. No, he said, it isn’t dirty. I guess I had that BS look in my eyes, so he quickly took the gun apart and showed me. The bore was probably dirty, but the action had no carbon at all. Heck, when I got back to Houston I immediately started a search for a used A5, but found the Model 11. And we lived happily ever after.

Gas...dirty and bad. Recoil..clean and good.

I guess that I am like an extinct dinosaur. Why not a pump in a Remington 870 or Ithaca Model 37? Both models are highly dependable and have withstood the test of time. Shells cycle no matter how dirty they are. As far as second shots why not make the first shot count? Watch the dead bird to the ground and then go find the bird without having to say to oneself, "Now where did the other one fall?"

As far as recoil is concerned I used to be a dedicated 20 gauge shooter. Lately I have discovered the joys of shooting 3/4 and 7/8 ounce loads out of my 12 gauge Ithaca Model 37. The 3/4 ounce load about 1250 fps feels I am shooting my .22.

As an added bonus I can easily load some heavy 1 1/4 ounce loads for a 12 gauge that can leaves bruises on your shoulder if you think that more pellets in the air is better than pointing the shotgun in the right direction to begin with.

I used an 11-87 for years. It fit me well, was reliable to a fault and hit what I pointed it at. The only negatives I found were that it was a little heavy and cleaning it was more work than on other guns. I only gave it up because I discovered the Benelli Montefeltro, which does everything the 11-87 does with less weight and easier cleaning.

I'm going to go against the grain on the Beretta's though. I have a 20 gauge AL391 that functions about as well as the one in this story - https://www.randywakeman.com/BerettaAL391Urika2Gold20.htm. I've had it looked over by a couple gunsmiths and tried a variety of solutions and its still a jamamatic. A quick search on the Internet shows that I am not alone, as many 20 gauge owners have had similar experiences. And I just got back from a boy scout shooting event and 2/3rds of the 20 gauge A400's didn't function properly. Simply unacceptable.

I concur the sa-08 and element versions are great. Mossberg has them now. Have new and old A5, older remmy's, they all work flawless with maintenance.

I said 20 gauge 1100 but I agree with you. Have a couple older 870 Wingmasters and they balance nice and kill the heck out of dove. Also have a an older Remington 11 in 12 gauge that is a pleasure to shoot. Its hard to beat the old Remington shotguns......

Another vote for the Weatherby SA 08 20 gauge. The gun shoots extremely soft, fast and eats any brand of shells I run through it. I didn’t have the extra funds for a $1k+ dove gun, so I went with the SA 08 after tons of research. The fit and finish aren’t as nice as my buddies Benellis but for the money I don’t think it can be beat.

I think I finally decided on the Benelli Montefeltro 20 gauge. How did I do? LOL

You did very well.

The Montefeltro is 4+1. What plug should I use? Any specific brand y’all use?

Any stick that's a little longer than 2 shells..

Cut a bamboo skewer a little longer than two shells and drop it in front of the follower. Voila.

I am pretty sure that is what a lot of manufacturers do... or used to do. "Plug" is a bit of a misnomer I guess.

Marvelous shotgun choice. No gas system to clean and way prettier than the old A5 pattern shotguns.

Generic plugs are about $4 they can be cut down if necessary. A Benelli Montefeltro plug is about $15 and available at Midway and a couple of other places.

I bought my Grandson a gently used Beretta A300 Outlander last summer. Great gun.It has spacers to adjust the LOP and shims to adjust cast and drop. He averages 4 boxes a week shooting skeet with it. Very reliable.and digests my 7/8 oz reloads.

Another vote for the A300. Simple and works

Just placed the order for The Montefeltro 20 gauge. Can’t hardly wait to get it in my hands.

Now let’s talk shells. Brand specifics, 2 3/4 or 3 inch and 7,7.5 or 8? What do y’all recommend for South Texas Dove?

My advice isn't brand specific but I would buy sporting clays competition loads The promotional loads tend to be loaded with soft shot and be extremely dirty.

I shoot 2 3/4 7.5, but plenty 6 shot of the birds are flying high and fast. I shoot Remington Heavy Dove.

It doesn't take much to bring a dove down -- other than putting it in your pattern. Number 8, particularly if you are shooting light loads, provides you with a dense pattern, but realistically, I don't find any difference in anything between #9's and 7 1/2's -- again, provided the gun is pointing the right place when the primer pops. With light loads (an ounce or under) #6's can leave some holes in your patterns, but only about enough to blame for 2% of your "misses".

If you save your shells for reloading (or for someone to reload) then buy Winchester AA's (or whatever target shell your reloading friend likes to use). If you don't save them for reloading, then buy the cheapest promo shells you can find. They'll kill as many doves as shells priced triple their price. Field grade Federals used to have a sloped rim which allowed some extractors to slip over it, and the plastic they used also made for sticky tubes and were bad news in many autoloaders; but that it probably a thing of the past.. Pretty much anything out there is fully adequate for doves.

SHHHHHHHUSH

get a 1oz load of #8, 1250FPS Winchester AA's
much lighter recoil and very deadly on dovies.

the AA's have a $2.00 a box rebate, buy a "flat" (10 boxes), cut out the SUPC codes, fill out the rebate form. in about 6 weeks, you will get a $20.00 check from Winny. NO BRAINER

dont go CHEAP on crappy dove loads.