New Guns and Gear for 2024: Shotguns

By Phil Bourjaily and Chris Jennings

Every year, shotgun manufacturers roll out new and upgraded models for waterfowl hunters. Here’s the latest roundup waterfowling guns for 2024.

DU’s Shotgun of the Year: Browning Maxus II Ultimate

This elegant 12-gauge 3-inch semiautomatic scattergun features an engraved nickel-plated receiver, 28-inch blued barrel, special DU serial number, and a lustrous oil finish on its exclusive grade 3 walnut stock and forearm. Browning’s Power Drive gas system functions reliably with a variety of different loads while taming recoil, and the Lightning Trigger claims the fastest lock time of any autoloading shotgun. This stunning firearm is available exclusively at DU events. To find an event in your area, visit ducks.org/events.

1. Benelli Ethos A.I.

Benelli is using one of its newest technological innovations to change the way that barrels and chokes are bored, resulting in increased velocity and denser patterns, according to the manufacturer’s testing. Benelli calls this new technology Advanced Impact, or A.I., and it makes its debut on three different 3-inch 12-gauge configurations of the Ethos shotgun. There’s the Sport, which has a walnut stock, 30-inch barrel, and many extras designed for clay-target shooters. And there’s also the Supersport, which comes with a synthetic ComforTech 3 stock and 30-inch barrel. The Ethos Cordoba BE.S.T. combines A.I. in a 28-inch barrel with Benelli’s high-tech surface protection treatment, making it one of the company’s most advanced guns and a top choice for waterfowlers. benelliusa.com

2. Benelli Montefeltro Ultra Light

Benelli combines the Ultra Light with the Montefeltro for its newest superlight semiauto. This gun has the lines of the restyled Montefeltro combined with the weight-saving shorter magazine tube and carbon-fiber rib of the Ultra Light. In addition, it has the easier-loading mag spring and shell latch of the redesigned Montefeltro along with the positive locking bolt, which is designed to eliminate out-of-battery misfires. It weighs 5.3 pounds in 20-gauge with a 24-inch barrel and 6.3 pounds in 12-gauge with a 26-inch barrel. benelliusa.com

3. Benelli 828U Steel Field

Benelli offers a new steel-framed field version of the 828U over/under. It includes all the innovations of the original alloy-framed gun: a shim-adjustable stock, the effective Progressive Comfort System recoil reducer, and a removable trigger group. The steel frame adds an extra pound of weight between your hands. It also has a AA walnut stock and a grayed steel frame. The 3-inch 12-gauge model comes with 26-, 28-, or 30-inch barrels. The 3-inch 20-gauge version is available with 26- or 28-inch barrels. benelliusa.com

4. Breda B3.5SM

If the B3.5SM looks familiar, it should. It’s the original Super Black Eagle made by Breda, which licensed the design to Benelli. The 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge inertia gun features a choice of a 28- or 30-inch deep-drilled barrel for superior performance. It has been updated with an enlarged bolt handle and closer button and comes in black Cerakote, Mossy Oak Bottomland, or Realtree Max-7. bredafucili.com/en

5. Browning A5 20-Gauge

This year Browning launches a 20-gauge version of the inertia-operated A5, which joins the 12-gauge and Sweet 16 already in the A5 lineup. The humpbacked semiauto weighs just over 5 1/2 pounds and comes with a 26- or 28-inch barrel. The Hunter model comes with gloss walnut and blued metal. The Lightning model with the classic round-knob grip is now available in 12- and 16-gauge with a choice of 26- or 28-inch barrels. browning.com

6. Browning Citori Composite

The venerable Citori over/under is now offered in a black composite-stock model that makes it an attractive choice for waterfowlers. The stock comes with an adjustable comb, so this gun can be customized for use in the trap field and the duck blind. It comes in 3-inch 12-gauge with a choice of 26-, 28-, or 30-inch barrels. browning.com

7. Fabarm L4S Allsport

Fabarm’s Allsport version of its L4S gas semiauto combines an adjustable comb with two instantly interchangeable ribs, each of which offers a different point of impact. You can switch it from a flat-shooting skeet or sporting clays gun to a trap gun in minutes. This is one gun for all clay-target disciplines. It comes in 12-gauge with a 30-inch barrel and is available in a left-handed version. fabarmusa.com

8. Franchi Affinity 3

Franchi offers Realtree Max-7 as a new camo option on seven different configurations of its Affinity 3 semiauto. The Affinity 3.5 and Affinity 3 12-gauge models will be available with Max-7 furniture with Midnight Bronze Cerakote metal. The Affinity 3 full-size and compact 20-gauges will also be available in Max-7. The Affinity 3 has long been popular with hunters who want the advantages of inertia operation at an affordable price, and Franchi guns also come with the very effective TSA recoil pad. franchiusa.com

9. Franchi Affinity Sport Trap

Intended as a crossover gun that works for both clays and hunting, the Sport Trap comes in 3-inch 12-gauge with a 30-inch raised vent-ribbed barrel, giving it a solid, weight-forward feel for clay targets as well as ducks and doves. It has barrel ports to combat recoil and a tough synthetic stock with Franchi’s TSA pad. franchiusa.com

10. Mossberg Silver Reserve Waterfowl

The Mossberg International Silver Reserve Eventide Waterfowl is a hefty 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge over/under shotgun with extractors and a single selective trigger. It has a tough Cerakote finish on its metal parts and a synthetic stock dipped in Mossy Oak Vintage Shadow Grass. mossberg.com

11. Mossberg 940 Pro Sporting and Super Bantam

Mossberg adds Pro Sporting and Super Bantam models to its lineup of 12-gauge 940 Pro Series gas semiautos. Both of these new models come with Briley extended chokes as well as enlarged controls, stock spacers, and shims for precise fit. The Bantam, which is intended for use by smaller shooters, features a 26-inch barrel and a synthetic stock that adjusts from 12 1/2 to 14 1/4 inches. The Pro Sporting has a 30-inch barrel, and its walnut stock adjusts from 13 to 14 1/4 inches. mossberg.com

12. Rossi Tuffy

The Rossi Tuffy is a handy gun to keep around camp. This break-action single-shot .410 with an 18-inch barrel, thumb-hole stock, and short length of pull is a gun that anyone can shoot. It also includes sling swivels and a shell holder attached to the stock, and it comes with gray, green, tan, or black furniture. rossiusa.com

13. Spandau S2

A new name in inertia shotguns, the Turkish-made Spandau S2 is an extremely affordable semiauto that comes in 3-inch 12-gauge. The S2 is offered with a 24- or 28-inch barrel in a choice of black or Realtree camo. spandauarms.com

14. Stoeger M3000 Signature

Stoeger celebrates the 100th anniversary of its founding with a special edition of its Model 3000 inertia semiauto. Stocked with select walnut, the gun has an engraved, nickel-finished receiver and a richly blued 28-inch barrel. Available in 3-inch 12-gauge, the gun comes with improved cylinder, modified, and extra-full chokes, so it can pivot from the uplands to the duck blind to the turkey woods. The receiver is drilled and tapped. stoegerindustries.com

15. Syren L4S Elevate

The Syren L4S Elevate is a women’s version of the Fabarm L4S Allsport. It has an adjustable comb and two interchangeable ribs that let you alter its point of impact. It also has a 28-inch barrel and a stock designed for women. A Monte Carlo comb, a shorter length of pull, a tighter grip, and a cant at the toe means that it will fit a woman’s upper body more comfortably. It comes in right-handed and left-handed models. syrenusa.com

16. Weatherby Sorix

The Sorix is an Italian-made inertia gun with a safety and bolt handle that easily reverse for left-handed operation. Its camo synthetic stock and forearm are hand-painted, and the gun also has large controls and an enlarged “competition cut” loading port for fast reloading. The Sorix comes in 3- and 3 1/2-inch 12-gauge versions as well as 3-inch 20-gauge. All are outfitted with 28-inch barrels. The camo/Cerakote guns are offered in gray “Storm,” black “Midnight Marsh,” and tan “Slough” versions. weatherby.com