I have used an original Benelli SBE (H&K import) for nearly 30 years duck hunting. I don't think you need 3.5 inch capacity to occasionally duck hunt so I would get the M2.

I don't know how many rounds have been through the Benelli but it was used in a commercial hunting operation and has dispatched thousands of cripples. Thousands upon thousands. I'm afraid to put a number on it because y'all would accuse me of lying.

Best shotgun ever made. And I've owned all the rest of them right along with it. The Benelli has been the one to get treated like a rented mule. Broke ice. Dropped in lake. Found in 3" of water/mud in the bottom of the boat. Given to clients countless times when their jamomatic shotgun they brought got mud or ice in it and froze the recoil spring or maybe the weather turned the WD-40 they were using to something the consistency of honey..... and it has stood the test of time. It ain't even close to being worn out.

Best auto shotgun ever made. I'll qualify that. I'd give a Browning BPS or older 870 high marks as well.

So you mentioned the M2, what is the difference between a M2 and a SBE aside from being able to shoot 3.5s? I have not found much more than that in my digging so far.

Man you got the best most versatile shotgun on the planet now in that 870 Super Mag. I'm just given ya chit, I have the same desire for a nice semi auto. I think I've narrowed mine down to a SBE2, Beretta A400, Winchester SX4 or a Franchi Affinity 3.5 unless I run across a mint Beretta a391 Xtrema 2.

Theres always one in the crowd.....

Im somewhere in that list of shotguns too...

Essentially nothing more than the ability to shoot 3.5 inch shells from the SBE.

Browning Maxus or a Winchester SX 3 would be my choices with the Maxus being the top . I love mine and have had zero issues . Now if Browning started making the original A 5 again that would be a different story . Still my favorite auto of all time .

Don’t buy before you look at a Berretta

M2 and a400 should be at least held to see if you like the way they feel

I just bought a Remington v3 for the same reasons. All round shotgun that shoots any load. Lightweight and lowest recoil of any 12 gauge. I'm very happy with it. Just have the right Allen wrenches if putting and optic on.

I am a Browning guy, I'm not gonna bad mouth any of them because I havent shot many other brands. I own a new er A5 (thousands of rounds thru it in 7 or 8 yrs) I also have a gold 10ga. Got a old rem 870 wingmaster. Have shot Benellis, SB1, SB2. It's all in what you want and have good luck with.

I’ve got a Super X2 in the classifieds that’d be a good fit, for a whole lot less than diving into a newer B gun. It’s a Belgian, Winchester version of the Browning Gold, with some simpler internals. The SX2-4, and Gold, Silver, and Maxus all run updated versions of the SX1 op system, which (arguably) is as good as anything gas ever done..

Not to hijack the OPs thread, but have they ironed out all the issues the V3s use to have? I know when they first hit the market they had all sort of problems. My buddy bought one and had to send it off to Remington twice. I couldn’t believe how soft shooting those guns were.

Now that I think about it he may have had one of the original ones when they first came out. Versamax maybe?

M2

Most money I put aside for new Remington products, especially shotguns, usually gets spent on lotto tickets. Odds are better.

....and when any inertia auto ever made has been around 100+ years and will run in the same conditions an old Auto 5 will, then folks can start calling it ‘best’ and have a heckuva more logical argument. There’s inertia, and then there’s serious moving mass.