# New Browning A5 or Browning Maxus



## gonewest (Oct 3, 2014)

I started a thread the other day on what hunters thought was the best duck gun. Thanks for all the opinions. I thought I would start another. I went out and shouldered some today. The Browning A5 shouldered well and felt light. The Berreta auto felt ok but not as nice of fit for me. They didn't have the Benneli SBE or Browning Maxus to try. My question is though can anyone tell me what they thought of the A5 vrs the Maxus. And maybe some experiences. Thanks again. I found a shop with a Maxus_ will look at tomorrow._


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## jonesy16 (Sep 19, 2011)

I would go with what feels best. I picked a sbe2, mostly because it is a lefty gun and it felt great. If you get a chance to shoot a few take it, sadly most guns are not like cars, they don't always offer a test drive on a new gun.


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## TINGOOSE (Apr 16, 2010)

I love my maxus and have roughly 5-6000 rounds through it. Was gunna upgrade to the a5 but I don't like the hump


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## JeffroSoup (Jan 19, 2013)

TINGOOSE said:


> I love my maxus and have roughly 5-6000 rounds through it. Was gunna upgrade to the a5 but I don't like the hump


I agree with the maxus that is what i have used for the last 3 years for duck, geese, turkey, clays and it still has yet to jam or malfunction once. I do like the SBEII but it costs more and one time last year my buddys sbe2 turned into a single shot 5 minutes into the midle zone opener.


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## Mike B (Nov 21, 2005)

Great price for the Maxus and versa-max at dunhams!!!


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## iboat (Mar 3, 2008)

I vote a5. Shot on 5 stand and i could not miss! Cycled light target loads just fine.

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## planecrazy29 (Jul 21, 2012)

gonewest said:


> I started a thread the other day on what hunters thought was the best duck gun. Thanks for all the opinions. I thought I would start another. I went out and shouldered some today. The Browning A5 shouldered well and felt light. The Berreta auto felt ok but not as nice of fit for me. They didn't have the Benneli SBE or Browning Maxus to try. My question is though can anyone tell me what they thought of the A5 vrs the Maxus. And maybe some experiences. Thanks again. I found a shop with a Maxus_ will look at tomorrow._



Which Beretta? I just went through this excercise myself. I initially wanted the A5. It shouldered well for me and is very light. I spoke with a number of people who had shot the Beretta and told me it is the best hands down. I did end up with the A400 xtreme and honestly couldn't be happier. Keep in mind that the SBE and the A400 come with drop and cast shims and the A400 (don't know about the SBE) comes with stock spacers to adjust length of pull. I guess what I'm saying here is that both of these are customize-able to your liking. I am a lefty and was able to switch cast to left handed and the safety to left handed. The Beretta is a gas piston design and is supposed to be self cleaning and ultimately reliable. I have about 300 1 1/8 oz loads though it and just a box or so of 3" duck loads. I just cleaned it for the first time this weekend and I've had exactly one issue (fail to feed...) that I blame on a bad hand load or a mis-load of the gun by me. 

Overall I'm very happy with the Beretta. I forgot to mention that this is not a lightweight gun, however the extra 1/2-1 lb on it and the Kick-Off recoil absorption system makes shooting the gun a true pleasure. It will cycle 4 shells in one second and with 3" steel loads you feel esentially nothing. 

Whatever you decide be sure to put in plenty of range time to get accustomed to your new gun. Each shoots differently and you want to work out the quirks before you hit the blind. There really is no best gun....


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## magnum801 (Oct 27, 2005)

I have one of each. The A5 is a very simple gun to maintain and is very reliable. I have two issues with MY A5. It kicks harder than any shotgun that I have ever shot. It also will not shoot target loads.
The Maxus requires a little more maintenance and is also very reliable. The Maxus I have will shoot any ammo that you put in it. 
They are both great guns and have adjustable stocks so gun fit shouldn't be a issue. 
These comments are MY option and not meant to start a argument or piss anyone off. 

Paul


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## jonesy16 (Sep 19, 2011)

planecrazy29 said:


> Which Beretta? I just went through this excercise myself. I initially wanted the A5. It shouldered well for me and is very light. I spoke with a number of people who had shot the Beretta and told me it is the best hands down. I did end up with the A400 xtreme and honestly couldn't be happier. Keep in mind that the SBE and the A400 come with drop and cast shims and the A400 (don't know about the SBE) comes with stock spacers to adjust length of pull. I guess what I'm saying here is that both of these are customize-able to your liking. I am a lefty and was able to switch cast to left handed and the safety to left handed. The Beretta is a gas piston design and is supposed to be self cleaning and ultimately reliable. I have about 300 1 1/8 oz loads though it and just a box or so of 3" duck loads. I just cleaned it for the first time this weekend and I've had exactly one issue (fail to feed...) that I blame on a bad hand load or a mis-load of the gun by me.
> 
> Overall I'm very happy with the Beretta. I forgot to mention that this is not a lightweight gun, however the extra 1/2-1 lb on it and the Kick-Off recoil absorption system makes shooting the gun a true pleasure. It will cycle 4 shells in one second and with 3" steel loads you feel esentially nothing.
> 
> Whatever you decide be sure to put in plenty of range time to get accustomed to your new gun. Each shoots differently and you want to work out the quirks before you hit the blind. There really is no best gun....


Do you like shooting a right handed gun being a left handed shooter? I toyed with the idea but just couldn't do it so I went with a sbe2. I may make the purchase later in life but so far I am happy with my current gun.


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## Wall-llard Willie Jr. (Oct 8, 2012)

If you look at the SBE II and like it but don't necessarily need a 3 1/2" chamber the M2 is very similar but with only a 3" chamber but a little bit cheaper price tag. I really wanted a SBE II but being a mostly broke college goer I settled for a M2 because I'm a lefty, it fit me good, and I do not hunt geese often so the 3 1/2" while a nice option I felt it was unnecessary for my needs.


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## cruiseplanner1 (Aug 6, 2012)

A different consideration for you. I purchased a Maxxus as it is gas operated versus a inertia operating receiver. Reduces recoil tremendously. Maxxus also is super light. Firing that with a mag duck load is like firing a 20 gauge target load. I was tired of the O/U pounding on these old shoulders.


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## SL80 (Mar 5, 2012)

jonesy16 said:


> Do you like shooting a right handed gun being a left handed shooter? I toyed with the idea but just couldn't do it so I went with a sbe2. I may make the purchase later in life but so far I am happy with my current gun.


My son shoots a right handed auto from the left side and says he never notices shells coming out of the gun.


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## john warren (Jan 25, 2005)

i shoot a d/u model winchester pump. i like it because it never fails to go boom.
that being said the one auto loader i saw that i would give a shot is the one with multiple gas ports that are different sizes and locations. it allows the gas mechanism to operate with all shells, supposedly perfectly. i can't remember who makes it, but its one of the big guys.

just looked like a problem solved to me.


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## planecrazy29 (Jul 21, 2012)

jonesy16 said:


> Do you like shooting a right handed gun being a left handed shooter? I toyed with the idea but just couldn't do it so I went with a sbe2. I may make the purchase later in life but so far I am happy with my current gun.


Apologies to the OP for the thread hijack 

I have always shot right handed guns. Some fit better than others. I learned to shoot clays with a Remington 1100 20ga. The shells crossing in front of my face never bothered me. I have only ever seen them a couple times. With the Beretta's rotating bolt the shells eject down so it's even less of a problem. The first lefty gun I got (and the only dedicated lefty gun I own..) is a Savage 17 HMR with a lefty bolt and lefty thumbhole stock. The biggest advantage of the lefty guns IMHO is the safety. I flipped it on the Beretta and now it's so much more intuitive. I no longer have to curl my index finger around the trigger guard to active / deactivate the safety.

Lefty guns are nice but I can shoot a RH gun just as well as a Lefty....I can miss with either


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## gonewest (Oct 3, 2014)

Don't worry about the hijack. I learned a lot from you guys and thanks a lot. I went out and bought the Maxus Stalker today. It felt good and I like the idea of lesser recoil because I will be shooting a lot of 3" mags. Also it does handle the 3 1/2" if I wanted to shoot them. Thanks again now it off to the range to shoot up some shells.


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## eyeball (Dec 23, 2011)

The only thing I don't like w/ my maxis is the shell capacity. Love the weight, speed unloading feature, & the ability to change the first load. But when I drive to the Midwest to shoot snows in the spring I want more than 3-4 shots. I would have never bought the gun had realized this. It is a great gun otherwise. 

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## limige (Sep 2, 2005)

Agreed. Maxus is great but no option for extended mags.


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## 2508speed (Jan 6, 2011)

I bought new and still have an A5 around 1974 in 2 3/4 chamber. I would shoot 2 3/4 mags! Can they still kill ducks?


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