Gas Versus Inertia: Which Semiautomatic Shotgun Is Best?
BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 8 months ago
The debate over inertia-driven autoloaders vs. gas-operated semiautos has been going around the shotgun world since the conclusion of World War II. For more than a century, inertia guns have been in the hands of hunters, thanks to John Moses Browning’s Auto-5, and a Danish gunsmith, Christer Sjorgren, who created the inertia system Benelli and other gun manufacturers utilize. Gas-operated guns came about after WWII with the development of the M1 Garand, the battle rifle U.S. troops used in combat. Starting in the 1950s, Browning, Winchester, and Remington all began producing gas guns. The arguments amongst hunters and competition shooters over who did it best—inertia or gas—have swirled around late-night campfires ever since.
One system isn’t inherently better than the other, but there are benefits and drawbacks of both. And honestly, you shouldn’t pigeon-hole yourself into shooting gas or inertia. My three favorite modern 12-gauge shotguns are the Beretta A390 Silver Mallard, Winchester SX3, and Benelli Super Black Eagle 2. The first two are gas-operated, and the SBE2 is an inertia gun. I like using the guns for different times of the year and different shoots. The Beretta is for clays, ducks, pheasants, and turkeys. The Benelli is my go-to dark goose gun because it patterns so well beyond the edge of the decoys on fickle/stubborn honkers that don’t like to finish in the kill hole. For spring snow goose season, I wanted an affordable, soft-shooting autoloader, and the SX3 fits that bill.
There are few modern inertia-driven shotguns that have unmanageable recoil. Yes, they are going to pound you harder than most gas guns, and if you shoot a 2-ounce 3.5” turkey load out of an A5, it might well rattle your bones. If you hunt and shoot a lot, and you’re an old or smaller shooter, a gas gun might be for you. Two to three months straight of shooting is a lot for one shoulder to bear, and a gas-operated auto will soften some of the felt recoil.
There is more at the link.
I’m not a shotgun aficionado. But I do value lack of recoil would pay a premium for the pleasure of shooting a gun that has less recoil.
Readers who have more knowledge than I do may wish to weigh in on their favorite shotgun, and reasons why.
On April 15, 2020 at 9:25 am, Bill Sullivan said:
I still have my old skeet gun- a Remington 1100- that likes 3 dram 1 1/8 ounce target loads. Recoil is soft enough that it’s easy to shoot 100 or so in a day. For around the camp in northern Vermont, I have an old Mossberg 500 with a 20″ barrel. It has a recoil pad hard enough to butt stroke a Prius, and kicks like the old Savage copy of the A5 that I used to have. But, the 500 will feed anything under any conditions, and we have a lot of bears around. The 1100 doesn’t like heavy loads, and will lock open between shots. Auto loaders seem to have to be tuned to the loads you are going to use.
On April 15, 2020 at 11:50 am, MN Steel said:
Used to shoot skeet as a youth with a New Haven/Mossberg 20 he with full choke, and averaged 21. Now use a mid-80s 870 Wingmaster Magnum for birds and bunnies, and load for varmints during the rest of the year.
Can’t see having a tool that needs to be tuned to a load when I don’t specialize with it. Pumps plain-old work.
On April 15, 2020 at 12:33 pm, ArmyArmstrong said:
Used an 1100 for a long time, sold it and upgraded to an 1187. Both saw blistering use and were great guns!! Then I made the mistake of shooting a Beretta A400 with a kickoff. I went from riding a skateboard to driving a Mercedes.
On April 15, 2020 at 3:49 pm, Sanders said:
I have an old Remington Model 11 that my great uncle carried during the Korean war. It is basically the same as the Browning A5. I always enjoyed shooting it. Then, a few years ago, I bought a Beretta A300 Outlander. I haven’t looked at that Remington for serious shooting, since.
The gas system in the Beretta gives a 12 gauge the felt recoil of a 20, easily.
On April 16, 2020 at 9:08 am, Pat Hines said:
I have a Benelli M1 in a “riot gun” configuration. 18 inch barrel that accepts 3 inch shells, full length magazine, 8 rounds of 2 3/4 shells.
It is a recoil, or inertia, operated mechanism. It can fire very fast, all 8 down range before the first expended case hits the ground. Another way to look at it, this weapon can put more 33 caliber projectiles down range, at a higher initial velocity, than a 9mm submachine gun can.
https://youtu.be/XwUj6jh4z2w
On April 16, 2020 at 1:01 pm, Gary said:
When our federal government masters decreed that we could no longer use lead shot and had to use steel in hunting ducks a lot of shotguns became obsolete for duck hunting. The 2 3/4 and 3 inch shells with steel resulted in a lot of ducks flying away and dying someplace else. Huge numbers of people switched over to the Binelli Super Black Eagle because you could get it in 3 1/2 inch shells. There were no gas operated guns that shot this shell for a long time.
On April 17, 2020 at 12:03 am, Dan said:
I think the biggest issue between the two systems is that gas systems can be modified more easily than an inertia system. Change the weight of a gun using an inertia system and it won’t function as reliably. A gas system can often be tuned to account for such changes. Other than that neither system is inherently superior, just different.