DHart Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 It seems to me that the SX3 might be a great choice for 3-gun, defense, clays, and hunting due to the ready availability of different length barrels (short for defense, longer for 3-gun and hunting, longer yet for clays), which can be purchased separately, and the availability of Nordic extensions for the mag tube. Has the SX3 been well received and commonly used in 3-gun? Do you feel the reliability is there for defense applications? The VM is appealing, but it seems it is difficult if not impossible to buy separate, different length barrels for it. That's what has led me to the SX3. Is the SX3 a good alternative to the VM in terms of reliability? What downside is there to going with the SX3? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) Oops... Edited April 4, 2013 by wgj3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) I've been running mine (SX3) for about 2.5yrs and still like it very much. I've had no trouble with it at all. I went with the Briley extension, bolt handle and oversized carrier release, but I'm sure the Nordic stuff is equally effective. Add: the replacement barrels are fairly pricey, had my 28" tube cut to 24" instead of replacing it. Edited April 4, 2013 by wgj3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHart Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've been running mine (SX3) for about 2.5yrs and still like it very much. I've had no trouble with it at all. I went with the Briley extension, bolt handle and oversized carrier release, but I'm sure the Nordic stuff is equally effective. Add: the replacement barrels are fairly pricey, had my 28" tube cut to 24" instead of replacing it. Thanks for the input, SS. Though additional barrels for the SX3 are pricey... at least they are available! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poortrader Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I use a SX3 with a 28in barrel. NC +6 extension And briley bolt release. Everything else is stock. It's the Flanigan model so I can't bring myself to opening up the loading port. I bought a 24in barrel (almost $400) last year and I only used it in 2 matches. I can't decide which one I like better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poortrader Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I wish there were more accessories available for the SX3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon9 Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 DHart, Looks like you are going through the research frenzy/phase most of us go through. Best of luck. Odds are you will be ok with whatever you end up buying. Here is one more thought which may or may not appeal to you. Get the semi-auto shotgun you want to compete with whether it be an SX3, SLP, M2, VersaMax, 930, 712 etc, in the barrel length you want. Then buy a used 24" or 18" Benelli Nova for around 300.00 instead of a shorter barrel. Carlsons Chokes sells Benelli Nova Barrels from 259-300. You end up with 2 shotguns and you have the potential to play in any division you want from Tac-whatever to Heavy Metal. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomfab Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 What goes bang everytime? A Benelli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHart Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 (edited) DHart, Looks like you are going through the research frenzy/phase most of us go through. Best of luck. Odds are you will be ok with whatever you end up buying. Here is one more thought which may or may not appeal to you. Get the semi-auto shotgun you want to compete with whether it be an SX3, SLP, M2, VersaMax, 930, 712 etc, in the barrel length you want. Then buy a used 24" or 18" Benelli Nova for around 300.00 instead of a shorter barrel. Carlsons Chokes sells Benelli Nova Barrels from 259-300. You end up with 2 shotguns and you have the potential to play in any division you want from Tac-whatever to Heavy Metal. Just a thought. carbon! You have me so nailed! And you are such an enabler!!! Oh... if you only knew of the shotguns I have already... but I definitely do need at least a couple more semi-auto shotguns! I think I'm pretty much set on picking up a VM Tac 22" as my next semi-auto. And I wouldn't be surprised if I wound up adding a SX3 down the road a bit, as well. I really would like to have each of these guns. I have a number of firearms that I would be fine with liquidating in order to bolster my semi-auto shotgun stable. I am a bit of a shotgun-a-holic. As for a Benelli.... I could see trying out an M2 along the way, somewhere... we shall see. I handled a Benelli Super Sport the other day which I was impressed with... sort of a skinny little thing, but sweet.... I have no idea if it would be suitable for 3-gun, however. At present, the only semi-auto that I have is the Browning Maxus Sporting Golden Clays with 30" barrel, that I recently picked up to be an alternate gun to my Citori 725 Sporting 30"(O/U) just for sporting clays. (In the past, semi-autos that I have had are an 1100 Competition, an FN SLP, and an 1100 Skeet... all sold at this point. Good guns, just not quite "good enough.") This Maxus is a fantastic gun... limited to just 4+1, due to the fore end design, but what a sweet gun on the clays range! I've got about 1000 rounds through the Maxus in the last three weeks and it has performed flawlessly. It just reaches out and dusts those clays! My wife caught a pic of me (here in Arizona, just a couple of weeks ago), having just nailed a "true pair": as you can see... the rabbit on the ground and the bird in the air, with the second shell still in flight. (Click photo for full size.) The Maxus is an awesome shotgun, I just love it! It isn't suitable for 3-gun, however, due to capacity. The wife with the Maxus: (Click photo for full size.) Due to the .223/5.56 ammo situation, I don't see myself being able to do very much at all with 3-gun, even when I do get the VM Tac. But I have been able to shoot 100 rounds on the clays course, every other day or so, for the last couple of months no problem... Thank God for that, given these trying times for ammunition. Sporting clays is just such a total hoot! I am addicted. Edited April 5, 2013 by DHart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHart Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 What goes bang everytime? A Benelli. Would a Benelli Super Sport (with a mag extension) make for a good 3-gun shotgun? I handled one in a Sportsmans Warehouse the other day and really liked the feel. Is the SuperSport essentially an M2 with carbon fiber treatment? The Benelli line seems so confusing to me... so many models and hard to know which models have essentially the same guts, but with varying other features. I admit to being confused by the Benelli line up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinWolv Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 What goes bang everytime? A Benelli. Except for the ones that choke during stages just as much as any other shotgun out there.........whether it is cheap ammo, people hanging too much stuff on them so the inertia system doesn't work, who cares.......it choked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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