Need help on choosing between an 11-87 or benelli slug/turkey gun

[Robertesq1]

Hello all, this looks like great site, been lurking a few days and hope the brain-trust here can help.

I' m thinking about getting a dedicated deer/turkey-goose shotgun, either:

a Rem 11-87 with two barrels 1. a fully rifled cnantilever and 2. a turkey super full choke.

Or

A Benelli Rifled deer shotgun with an extra turkey bbl


My quandry: Bennelli is lighter but has a tapped receiver which means either the scope stays on or I loose my zero, The remington has the cantilever mount so changing bbls is of ne effect but its heavy and does not do as well with lighter loads. Any help or comments are much appreciated.

PS: Is the camo worth it

[mauser06]

what benelli are you talking about? i assum the superblack eagle...now...i dont know much about slug guns but id say the SBE...you can take the scope off after deer season and turkey hunt in the spring with the bead and put it on after turkey season and sight it back in and be alright...that would work in my state atleast..even if i fall turkey hunted id have a few weeks to get the scope on and sighted in...sure its a task and youd have to shot a few rounds...but the benelli is known to be one of the best autoloaders out there....and really your zero shouldnt mover THAT far off that resighting in is a pain because its not on the paper or something...i think it would be pretty close...id definently shoot it before deer season to make sure its hitting correctly...but i love to shoot....even my deer rifle...some guys never shoot their deer rifle after its sighted in..i also hear good things about the 11-87...im sure its a fin firearm and youd have no problem going with that route....and it would be nice no having to mount a scope and take it off frequently....but youd still probally want to shoot the scope to make sure its still on to be safe...atleast i would....either way you go you should be pretty happy.....and with turkeys camo can make all the diffrence....if they see something they dont like they are gone..camo blends in a bite better then wood or black and if you have to move a tiny bit you may get away with it with a camo gun if you do it at the right time and are careful about it...but if he sees something black and shiny moving he will probally bust you...oh ya...welcome to the boards this is a great place with alot of great guys and alot of info....stick around.....if you hunt and shoot at all youll like this place......i learned alot...i dont know much but thats what i think about your question.....more educated guys will be here soon dont worry

I have an 11-87 I use for trap and duck hunting. The action is not smooth at all. also loading in a hurry can be tough cause there is this small latch you got to push on to get a shell in. Also the rubber band has broke on me that seals the gas' s and now it was a single shot, so I carry extra. I heard they changed thier design a little. I also got a Browning Gold last year and am greatly impressed. Especially the quick load feature. This comes in handy for when you run out of ammo, and need that one last shot, you simply lay a shell in the bottom and it automatically chambers it and ready to fire. Great for goose and duck hunting since you I use steel and you usually need to keep banging at goose with steel shot. Bad side to this is the cantilever barrels are much more expensive than the 1187 so I bought this one with the deer barrel for 600 dollars, but the shotgun barrel is 360 dollars. The cantilever rifled barrel for the gold is 400. Thats alot. But the gold has a one piece gas piston design which is good.

I don' t have any experience with Benelli, but definately don' t want a slug gun withscope on the reciever. i fought with that for years with an 870.

[dvdegeorge]

My suggestion is not to make the same mistake as many do,YOUR DEER GUN IS YOUR DEER GUN AND YOUR TURKEY GUN IS YOUR TURKEY GUN.BUY TWO GUNS.CANTILEVER BARREL IS NOT VERY ACCURATE BECUASE OF BARREL GOING ON AND OFF NOT IN SAME POSITION EVERY TIME,AND YOU KNOW THE OTHER PROBLEM WITH RESIGHTING OF THE SCOPE.

[Robertesq1]

mauser06: Thanks for the thoughtful reply. The benelli M1 Field Slug Gun is what I was considering (as seen here: Http://www.benelliusa.com/firearms/slug.tpl). Yes, I agree that it is wise to sight in before going afield and am sure many hunts or shots were spoiled by those that did not take the time. I suppose I could use some quick - release mount for the scope and get used to shooting with the rail in place.

bigcountry: Well, that' s not a glowing report on the 11-87, some searching shows that they can be finnicky - one of my concerns.

dvdegeorge: Thanks for your comment about dedicating a single gun/game and I agree in general but felt this dual use would be ok. I used my old 870 with difft barrels and was very happy, maybe I am expecting too much but what was of greater interest was your comment that the " CANTILEVER BARREL IS NOT VERY ACCURATE BECUASE OF BARREL GOING ON AND OFF NOT IN SAME POSITION EVERY TIME." Is this a significant issue?? I usually remove the barrel for cleaning at least every 3-4 use. Is this a problem with a cantilever mount that is attached to the bbl?? I would suspect your comment would apply more to the Benelli with its scope mount on the receiver and not the bbl. Somthing I had not considered

[clattin]

I went through the same dilemma last winter. I wanted a gun that would be great for turkey' s, geese and that I could use for deer (southern MI requires use of shotgun). I ended up buying a camoflaged 11-87 SPS-T with a 26" vent rib and an additional rifled cantilever barrel. I found the best price at East County guns www.eastcountyguns.com The gun was deadly business for a big gobbler this past spring and I have yet to use the rifled barrel as I need to get a scope for it and get it sighted in. I don' t have a lot of experience with the gun so far, but it patterned great with a full choke and I' m happy so far.

clattin