Update, maybe should be a new thread since I betrayed myself and bought a cheap Mossberg instead of the Benelli.
Got a 3 inch 12 gauge with two barrels, screw in chokes, scope mount and red dot sight for under $300 total. Nastygunz, I ordered a shotgun scope mount from one of your links and will mount a Bushnell red dot when all the parts get here.
I'm not very recoil sensitive, won't shoot it all that much and this will do for what I want. I plan to pattern some #4 buck and some 00 buck in the Federal flite wad stuff that shoots tight patterns way out there for many guns. Will see how it does in mine. It would be nice to have a 50 yard deer gun. If I don't like how the buckshot performs I may buy a rifled slug take-off barrel on e-Bay as well, looks like plenty of them available for under $100, and they come with a built in picatinny rail.
Meanwhile, have been scouting deer trails and tunnels though thick coastal brush and am half done with a tree stand overlooking a narrow trail slot, made of natural materials on site. Would like to be all done with any tree stand or cutting of shooting lanes by early June and then leave it alone till deer season in October.
I just discovered the short little 1 1/2 inch shotgun target loads. Those should be great for our kind of grouse hunting. Has anyone shot them in your shotgun? I'd like to use them with the red dot and shoot high enough over the grouse to catch only his head in the edge of the pattern. I HATE birdshot in grouse meat!
