SBE, if you are serious, I mean serious goose hunter than sure, 3.5" would be nice. But it shoots the price of the gun up. Raises the wieght a good deal.

I like the golds. Always have. Got my second one last week. But won't buy them for more than 700 dollars. You have to find deals. I wouldn't mind the SBE. But I can't see the cost difference, myself. Also not sure if SBE has a cantilever deer barrel. One more thing I don't like is the SBE limited use for low powered loads. They kick much harder IMO than a Gold or even 1187 due to the recoil operation.

You will be happy with both. Only I don't like with the gold is the hunter series comes with a glossy barrel and matte reciever. I just don't understand that.