Gas Operated vs Inertia-Driven

What's the functional difference to the average hunter? Do both operate similarly and offer comparable reliabilities? Is one preferable over the other for different types of hunting? Thanks for y'all's help.

I lean more towards inertia driven personally. I shoot an SBE Benelli. Love the gun and have had no hick ups with it.

Gas guns like my older Beretta 391 seemed to be stingy with some shells. I had to shoot certain brands and sizes to get it to cycle correctly.

Not knocking Beretta at all. I still think they are great guns! But inertia driven guns just seem smoother.

Just my opinion.

Does one generally translate to less felt recoil? Is either generally less forgiving when it comes to getting wet or dirty from being in the woods/marsh/etc?

Generally speaking gas guns have less recoil.

I shoot gas guns, browning gold hunter, yes there are allegedly newer and better models out there now. I have had little problems with it jamming, cycling or being reliable. Which is why for the past 20 years I've been shooting it.

Take it as a grain of salt, there will be alot of responses that this gun or that gun is the best and yadayadaya. Its no different than the Chevy, Ford, dodge, Toyota agreements. For the most part everyone makes a good gun these days and its all about finding a gun you like and shoots where you look.

I have an inertia and a gas. I like them both but prefer shooting the gas. I duck hunt with the inertia gun because it is camo but it is nice gun too. The gas gun actually cycles lighter rounds better but I can cycle 2-3/4 1 oz. loads fine out of either and that is as small as I plan on going.

This. Kind of like a putter in golf. They all work, but they work better if they look / feel right.

I have and shoot both. Gas guns have less felt recoil in my opinion. Not a big difference, but some. I enjoy shooting both. Gas guns are a little harder to clean but not so much so that it would influence my decision to buy one or the other. I will say store bought light load shells burn much dirtier than they used too. Get the gun that fits you. The birds won't know the difference in gas vs inertia.

Gas guns are for girls.

I’m a gas gun guy, gas seems to keep muzzle jump down more compared to inertia, with that said they are all good but all will wear out.

I can quantify the differences between gas vs inertia in one word; reliability & simplicity (ok, two words

a. Kansas hunt, we drove up knowing that there was a possibility of getting hit with a winter storm. Second day we were there we got hit and woke up to two feet of fresh snow. Everyone with gas guns were stuck with single shots because their shotguns wouldn't cycle. The only shotguns that worked were the two inertia shotguns. Temps were single digit, wind chill below zero with 30 mph gusts and snow blowing sideways with visibility about a hundred yards.

b. Alaska hunt for eiders, the guide suggested inertia shotguns which unfortunately a couple the guys didn't have. Cold, wet snow/sleet, wind and we were a hundred yards offshore in a low-freeboard skiff. The only shotguns that worked past the first 15 minutes or so were inertia driven. The gas guns went tits up from sleet and cold, the second they got wet and icy they were done. The Super Vinci's worked like a champ.

fwiw, the guts from my Super Vinci can fit on the palm of my hand. It's mind blowingly simple and doesm't get fouled from mud or debris. The whole shotgun takes seconds to field strip and breaks down into three pieces.

Ask yourself, how many gas operated vs recoil (inertia) operated semi-auto pistols do you see on the market? Not a damn one that I'm aware of.

fwiw, the most popular auto shotgun in history is..... recoil operated. The venerable Browning A5.

Grandpappy knew better than to use a gas shotgun

John Browning had 128 firearm related patents and considered the Browning Auto-5 his greatest achievement.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

I prefer gas guns because it happens that the guns that handle better for me are gas. I’ve never had a failure on any of them, albeit I’ve never hunted Alaska in the conditions mentioned above but have hunted snowy and icy conditions with single digit temps, and I don’t baby my equipment. Both systems are reliable and disassembly, reassembly and cleaning isn’t rocket science on gas or inertia guns. Inertia or gas shouldn’t be the deciding factor in which gun you buy.

And isn’t even remotely close to the Benelli inertia system.

Different beasts all together, now the Fake A5 is a different story

I have had both freeze up in the panhandle. Both require maintenance for really cold weather. Can’t use cheap oil on gas and inertia better be dry as you can get it. Atleast from my experience. End it’s know where you gun will have sticking points, and being prepared for them.

To that point, leftover Mobil 1 from oil changes keeps the berettas cycling like a champ.

I have a qt in my truck always as it’s what I use also.

I use dry lube. The only thing I like sticky is in a woman's panties.

Just shoot a Benelli, then you dont have to take Pep-Boys to the blind with you!

And for those that don't want to spend the Benelli money try Franchi

Don’t clean that Benelli and let me know how that works out for you... you might want to Stop by pet boys and toss some carb cleaner in your truck

No such thing as a maintenance free shotgun.

gas gun when the weather is nice, double barrel when the weather is bad, inertia if I want to get in touch with my feminine side.

a lot depends on your loads- a pump will knock the pss out of u w large loads........gas inertia, just preference- I prefer the Extrema- was thinking about the SBEIII for a second gun

If I had a feminine side down there I sure as hell wouldn't tell anyone, much less let anyone touch it.

I think what he is saying, is if there is an inertia gunner out there, he has a feminine side they can touch. But I don't know, everyone thinks I know everything but I don't.

Fixed it for you.

I’ve never ever seen a auto 5 jam. And all the rest do.

+ 1

I just went through this whole ordeal as I was shopping for a new shotgun Last week. Spoiler alert: I ended up with a bereta A400 Xtreme plus.

Ive had one auto shotgun, a browning Maxus, for 10 years. I just had the bug for something new. I went and shot an A400 and SBE3 side by side. For me the difference in felt recoil was really only noticeable with 3.5” turkey loads. In 10 years I have shot maybe one box of 3.5” shells so my decision became the A400 or a benelli M2.

Will the inertia be more reliable, maybe. If I take care of the gas will it run for me, probably. So it all came down to how the gun felt. The fore end on the sbe3 and M2 felt short and narrow to me and the gun didn’t feel as balanced. So I walked out of Scheels the new owner of a A400 XP in optifade timber and I couldn’t be more happy with my purchases.

My side by side has never jammed on me.

I was being silly

Nice gun! I do like being able to handle the different guns at Scheels without having someone hand them to me.

Inertia: Pros lower maintenance, cons higher recoil....
Gas: Pros lower recoil, cons higher maintenance...

I got an SBE2 because I’m ADD and don’t like cleaning and pampering a gun, and high recoil does not bother me. I clean my gun once a year before hunting season. It’s going on 13 years now, the more I abuse it the better it shoots.

https://www.wildfowlmag.com/editorial/gas-vs-inertia-which-shotgun-is-best-for-you/280169

I couldn't agree more.

This!

Speaking of recoil, my Super Vinci has little recoil. The downside is it's bulkier than the SBE but I prefer a lightweight shotgun due to the type of waterfowl hunting I do.

fwiw, any lightweight shotgun, be it recoil or gas operated, is going to have more recoil. The exception is an old school A5 which most folks say kicks like a mule. I have one I let folks use as a loaner and I get a kick out of watching them shoot it for the first time. The A5 light 12's are a little more forgiving.

Gas auto = less recoil and more cleaning. Tends to be a little less reliable in cold weather due to slower powder ignition speeds and thus lower gas pressure. (Physics is physics) We rarely get that kind of cold weather in Texas. Think below 15-20 degrees.

Inertia = generally a lighter shotgun, comparably more recoil. Tends to be a little more reliable in cold weather and bad conditions. Clean once a year. Generally need to watch whether the bolt is fully in battery to prevent missed opportunities at birds. Also make fairly pleasant upland guns due to light weight. A nice all around choice.

Long recoil semiauto = aka the Browning Automatic, Remington Model 11 and other clones of John Browning’s masterpiece made from 1903-1998. Heavy, more recoil than gas but less than inertia due to the overall weight of the shotgun. Practically always go boom. Swab the barrel out once after nasty weather hunts or putting up for the season. Full breakdown cleaning every few decades. (That’s not a joke.)

This 👆

As do I.

I hunt exclusively with a 1965 Auto 5. Just took it out of the box in 2018.

My Citori once failed to shoot on the second barrel. Afterwards I learned that Citori's have inertia cocking mechanisms.

Two barrels and two triggers. The only way to rock the birds.

My son, who knows a thing or two about guns swears by Mobil 1 .