My friend's son brought his first shotgun last year, he just deer hunts and wanted a Benelli but for a week's worth of hunting it was a wise purchase. I told him to get the 1187 with the Monte Carlo stock, but he didn't listen. He mounted a scope and with the normal stock vs the Monte Carlo stock what a difference, the scope lines up so much better the MC stock. Yes there are better semi auto shotguns on the market, but for the money you can't beat the 1187 or the 1100 from Remington

The action on the Savage could be stiff/rough, I lapped the bolt and bolt rails, and it became smoother, and I agree even with it done it's not as smooth as my Sako
Here is a picture of my two 1187s (20ga on top, 12ga on bottom)