jclay91 12 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) Iv got a second hand berretta a303 semi. 2 years ago cost me £300 and that was money well spent. I find it a quality gun, has never jammed or not ejected and iv put thousands of cartrdges through it. All varying weights and shot sizes. So for around the £300 mark, cant go wrong with one of these how old is that gunthough, they stopped making them a long time ago, you could get a brand new escort with a 3 year garantee for not much more than that, or a bit more and get a baikal mp153 (rugged reliable guns)...remington 11-87, es100, benelli m2, vinci, al391, sx3...get something that will last, something that fits, the options are endless the problem with the beretta a303 as mentioned in previous post is it would be abit dodgy putting alot of steel loads through it you would be mad to put high performance steel through it and you should only use light loads of slow steel through quarter or open choke...which isnt really suitable for geese and i wouldnt even recommend it on flighting ducks bismuth would be fine through it but pricey! get a newer gun that has the fleurs mark and atleast a 3inch chamber Edited June 23, 2011 by jclay91 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
samearl14 11 Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Some good points there. But id have my beretta over a new escort any day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjr88 50 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 such a usefull tool even when out with the terrier what carts were you using to drop old charlie , and what was the distance ? I'm still waiting to get my first fox with a shotgun Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jclay91 12 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Some good points there. But id have my beretta over a new escort any day. i would much rather have a beretta 303 than a new escort IF i didnt do alot of goose flighting on the foreshore unless i could find a suitable (safe) non-toxic cartridge that would go through the beretta they are a much better gun and hold ther value as for shooting foxes...the majority of foxes shot with shotgun are shot on small game/rough shoots when flushed, more than likely with 30-32g 6's but when i purposely go out for a fox with the shotgun (not often, centrefire is the best tool for the job) i use winchester magnum XX 2 1/4oz buffered shot cracking cartridge that holds great patterns out to around 40-45yards through a loose choke most people use BB's...i wouldnt go any bigger (patterns will suffer) and no smaller than 4 (they wont pack enough punch at range) no lighter than 36g loads this is just my opinion, some may totally disagree which is fine by me, i know we all have our own preferences Edited June 24, 2011 by jclay91 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ratsmasher 36 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Some good points there. But id have my beretta over a new escort any day. i would much rather have a beretta 303 than a new escort IF i didnt do alot of goose flighting on the foreshore unless i could find a suitable (safe) non-toxic cartridge that would go through the beretta they are a much better gun and hold ther value as for shooting foxes...the majority of foxes shot with shotgun are shot on small game/rough shoots when flushed, more than likely with 30-32g 6's but when i purposely go out for a fox with the shotgun (not often, centrefire is the best tool for the job) i use winchester magnum XX 2 1/4oz buffered shot cracking cartridge that holds great patterns out to around 40-45yards through a loose choke most people use BB's...i wouldnt go any bigger (patterns will suffer) and no smaller than 4 (they wont pack enough punch at range) no lighter than 36g loads this is just my opinion, some may totally disagree which is fine by me, i know we all have our own preferences I shot my first a few weeks back using 36g no.3s and they worked fine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richie10 345 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Went to the shop and they had a Winchester SXP Black shadow so I got that, looks well put together. Anyone have any experience? Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bullmastiff 610 Posted June 27, 2011 Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 Just looking through the web, your lucky to get one, their not coming into the country in any quantity until November and most people seem to be pre-ordering them before they even arrive! All good reviews from all the ones I've read, looks like a good buy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
leonnile 0 Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 so cool.i stick it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Richie10 345 Posted June 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Just looking through the web, your lucky to get one, their not coming into the country in any quantity until November and most people seem to be pre-ordering them before they even arrive! All good reviews from all the ones I've read, looks like a good buy Cheers Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MOO 730 Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Iv got a second hand berretta a303 semi. 2 years ago cost me £300 and that was money well spent. I find it a quality gun, has never jammed or not ejected and iv put thousands of cartrdges through it. All varying weights and shot sizes. So for around the £300 mark, cant go wrong with one of these how old is that gunthough, they stopped making them a long time ago, you could get a brand new escort with a 3 year garantee for not much more than that, or a bit more and get a baikal mp153 (rugged reliable guns)...remington 11-87, es100, benelli m2, vinci, al391, sx3...get something that will last, something that fits, the options are endless the problem with the beretta a303 as mentioned in previous post is it would be abit dodgy putting alot of steel loads through it you would be mad to put high performance steel through it and you should only use light loads of slow steel through quarter or open choke...which isnt really suitable for geese and i wouldnt even recommend it on flighting ducks bismuth would be fine through it but pricey! get a newer gun that has the fleurs mark and atleast a 3inch chamber there is no comparison even in an old 20-30 year old beretta than a bran new escort you ask any gunsmith or rfd what they would choose a well looked after 30 year old berretta or a bran new escort ...I know what most of them would choose as for the beneli vinci has to be one of the ugliest guns out there that kicks like a mule Edited June 28, 2011 by MOO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bullmastiff 610 Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Iv got a second hand berretta a303 semi. 2 years ago cost me £300 and that was money well spent. I find it a quality gun, has never jammed or not ejected and iv put thousands of cartrdges through it. All varying weights and shot sizes. So for around the £300 mark, cant go wrong with one of these how old is that gunthough, they stopped making them a long time ago, you could get a brand new escort with a 3 year garantee for not much more than that, or a bit more and get a baikal mp153 (rugged reliable guns)...remington 11-87, es100, benelli m2, vinci, al391, sx3...get something that will last, something that fits, the options are endless the problem with the beretta a303 as mentioned in previous post is it would be abit dodgy putting alot of steel loads through it you would be mad to put high performance steel through it and you should only use light loads of slow steel through quarter or open choke...which isnt really suitable for geese and i wouldnt even recommend it on flighting ducks bismuth would be fine through it but pricey! get a newer gun that has the fleurs mark and atleast a 3inch chamber there is no comparison even in an old 20-30 year old beretta than a bran new escort you ask any gunsmith or rfd what they would choose a well looked after 30 year old berretta or a bran new escort ...I know what most of them would choose as for the beneli vinci has to be one of the ugliest guns out there that kicks like a mule Although the Beretta is I'm sure, much better made, I think the point he was trying to make was that the 20-30yr old Beretta won't be proofed for stell shot and probably won't even take 3" magnum cartridges. So would be near useless for a wildfowler these days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jclay91 12 Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 Iv got a second hand berretta a303 semi. 2 years ago cost me £300 and that was money well spent. I find it a quality gun, has never jammed or not ejected and iv put thousands of cartrdges through it. All varying weights and shot sizes. So for around the £300 mark, cant go wrong with one of these how old is that gunthough, they stopped making them a long time ago, you could get a brand new escort with a 3 year garantee for not much more than that, or a bit more and get a baikal mp153 (rugged reliable guns)...remington 11-87, es100, benelli m2, vinci, al391, sx3...get something that will last, something that fits, the options are endless the problem with the beretta a303 as mentioned in previous post is it would be abit dodgy putting alot of steel loads through it you would be mad to put high performance steel through it and you should only use light loads of slow steel through quarter or open choke...which isnt really suitable for geese and i wouldnt even recommend it on flighting ducks bismuth would be fine through it but pricey! get a newer gun that has the fleurs mark and atleast a 3inch chamber there is no comparison even in an old 20-30 year old beretta than a bran new escort you ask any gunsmith or rfd what they would choose a well looked after 30 year old berretta or a bran new escort ...I know what most of them would choose as for the beneli vinci has to be one of the ugliest guns out there that kicks like a mule Although the Beretta is I'm sure, much better made, I think the point he was trying to make was that the 20-30yr old Beretta won't be proofed for stell shot and probably won't even take 3" magnum cartridges. So would be near useless for a wildfowler these days. that is exactly what i was saying i did say i would much prefer a a303 IF i didnt do wildfowling i would have 1 i got rid of myne as i couldnt get cartridges suitable for what i wanted to shoot..not that could be put through the a303 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jclay91 12 Posted June 30, 2011 Report Share Posted June 30, 2011 there is no comparison even in an old 20-30 year old beretta than a bran new escort you ask any gunsmith or rfd what they would choose a well looked after 30 year old berretta or a bran new escort ...I know what most of them would choose as for the beneli vinci has to be one of the ugliest guns out there that kicks like a mule read my previous post i would much rather have a beretta 303 than a new escort IF i didnt do alot of goose flighting on the foreshore unless i could find a suitable (safe) non-toxic cartridge that would go through the beretta they are a much better gun and hold ther value even a not well looked after 303 will be better gun for money than a new escort but no matter how well looked after the 303 is, it wont take the cartridges i use for goose shooting, hence the reason iw ouldnt buy 1 for wildfowling... i think some of the a303's did have 3inch chambers but they were not proofed for high performance steel which means you would only be able to use light loads of slow steel through one and in no tighter than half choke, which isnt much good to any 'fowler yes an escort is not as good gun but you can chuck any 3inch cartridge in and pull the trigger without worrying about damaging the barrels or yourself and with me personally i dont have to wrry about dropping it in the mud or getting it covered in salt water a gun is a tool to me, art belongs on the wall not on the marsh, a cheap tool that does the job is all thats needed for fowling Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrispti 3 Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Browning Maxus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chrispti 3 Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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