Best Duck Hunting Shotguns

A note on how this page is linked

Amazon does not sell firearms, so unlike every other roundup on this site, nothing here is an affiliate link. Each buy button goes straight to the maker's own product page, and we earn nothing if you buy one. Guns are bought through a licensed dealer with a background check wherever you live, and the rules around transfers differ by state, so treat every price you see online as the start of the process rather than the end of it. Everything else on this page works the way the rest of the site does: published specifications, sources under every claim, and no testing claims because we do not test guns.

How to choose a duck gun

Chamber length first, and be honest about what you shoot. Four of these five take 3 1/2-inch shells; the Mossberg 940 Pro Waterfowl is a 3-inch gun. That single spec decides whether the gun can run the heaviest goose loads made, and for a lot of duck hunters the answer is that it never needs to. A 3-inch steel load of number 2s kills ducks to any sensible range, 3 1/2-inch shells cost more and kick harder, and plenty of people buy the chamber and never load it. If you hunt geese in fields, buy the bigger chamber; if you hunt mallards over decoys, it is optional. We go through that argument properly in 3-inch vs 3.5-inch shells for goose hunting.

Gas or inertia is the real fork in the road. A gas gun (the Beretta, Browning, Winchester and Mossberg here) bleeds propellant gas to work the action, which spreads recoil out and makes heavy loads noticeably softer to shoot. It also puts fouling inside the action, which is why Mossberg publishing a 1,500-round service interval is worth reading. An inertia gun (the Benelli) uses the gun's own rearward movement, stays clean far longer, weighs less, and hits your shoulder harder with the same shell. Neither is better in the abstract: pick the one whose downside you mind least.

Fit is the spec nobody shops for and everybody should. A shotgun is aimed with your face, not your eye, so the stock has to put your eye on the rib in the clothes you hunt in — which in January means over a heavy coat, when length of pull effectively shortens. Two guns here publish real adjustment: the Mossberg moves length of pull from 13 to 14 1/4 inches and adjusts cast and drop with shims, and the Benelli's three shims give four drop and two cast positions. The Beretta, Browning and Winchester publish fixed stock dimensions, and Winchester at least publishes what those dimensions are, plus a 13-inch compact version.

Chokes are part of the purchase price. Benelli and Beretta each include five tubes, Browning includes three extended goose-band tubes, Winchester includes three flush tubes, and Mossberg includes four including an extended X-Factor. Extended tubes are easier to change with cold hands and easier to identify in a blind. Also check that any choke you run is rated for steel: steel shot is mandatory for waterfowl everywhere in the United States, and older full chokes are not all rated for it.

Corrosion is the thing that actually kills duck guns. Salt marsh, rain, mud and a gun left in a case wet does more damage than rounds fired. Browning's Cerakote finish on barrel and action is the strongest published answer here; Benelli's BE.S.T.-coated models go further again at a higher price. Whatever you buy, the honest maintenance rule is that the gun comes out of the case at the end of the day, not at the start of next season.

Weight is a carry-versus-recoil trade. These run from 7 pounds (Benelli, Winchester) to 7.4 (Beretta) to 7 pounds 9 ounces (Mossberg). Lighter is better on a long walk into public water and worse on the shoulder over a morning of goose loads. If you hunt from a blind you drive to, take the weight.

How we scored these

Shotguns are scored on a published-spec rubric of their own: action and construction (30%), fit and adjustability (25%), waterfowl features (25%), weight (10%) and warranty (10%), published in full on how we score. Construction is scored on chamber length, action type, barrel and receiver materials and finish; fit on published length of pull, shims, spacers and the drop and cast adjustment the maker lists; features on chokes included, capacity, sights and controls. Warranty separates almost nothing here, because only Benelli publishes a term we could read (10 years, with registration inside 30 days) — Beretta, Browning, Winchester and Mossberg do not publish one on these product pages, which scores 4 under our shared warranty basis. Where a maker's site blocked automated access, the specs come from a named publication or retailer listing and every row says which. We do not shoot or pattern these guns, and no score here implies we did.

Who should skip all of these

Anyone buying a first shotgun on a tight budget: a pump gun does the same job for a quarter of the price, and best duck hunting shotguns under the four-hundred mark is the list. Hunters set on a 20 gauge, which is a real and growing choice for duck hunting and a different conversation — see 12 gauge vs 20 gauge for duck hunting. Anyone whose current gun fits and works: a new shotgun is the most expensive way to fix a shooting problem, and a shooting lesson or a season of practice is cheaper than any gun here. And anyone who has not yet bought decoys, waders and a way to stay hidden, because all three of those put more birds in front of you than a better gun does — start with the duck hunting gear list.

Decide three things before you shop: whether you need a 3 1/2-inch chamber, whether you want a gas or an inertia action, and whether a factory stock will fit your face over a winter coat. For most duck hunters who also shoot geese, the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 answers all three at once and carries the only real warranty here; if recoil is your limiting factor, the Beretta A400 Xtreme Plus is the softest-shooting 3 1/2-inch gun made; if the gun has never fit you properly, the Mossberg 940 Pro Waterfowl adjusts more than anything else on this page; if your water is salt, the Browning Maxus II Wicked Wing has the best corrosion package; and if the budget is the constraint but you still want a 3 1/2-inch semi-auto, the Winchester SX4 Waterfowl Hunter is the gun. Every link here goes to the maker's own page, we earn nothing on it, and the actual purchase happens through a licensed dealer. For what goes down the barrel, see best goose hunting loads and shells, and for the rest of the kit, see best waterfowl hunting gear.