For These Best Selling Semi-Automatic Shotguns, +$1,000 Price Tags Are the Norm

Semi-automatic, or autoloading shotguns are the most modern and technologically advanced shotguns on the market. Like other types of shotguns, autoloaders are highly versatile firearms. Capable of firing a spray of lead pellets of varying sizes, or a single slug, shotguns are well suited to a variety of purposes including bird, small game, and deer […] The post For These Best Selling Semi-Automatic Shotguns, +$1,000 Price Tags Are the Norm appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

Feb 18, 2025 - 14:47

For These Best Selling Semi-Automatic Shotguns, +$1,000 Price Tags Are the Norm

Semi-automatic, or autoloading shotguns are the most modern and technologically advanced shotguns on the market. Like other types of shotguns, autoloaders are highly versatile firearms. Capable of firing a spray of lead pellets of varying sizes, or a single slug, shotguns are well suited to a variety of purposes including bird, small game, and deer hunting, as well as home defense and recreational shooting.

24/7 Wall St. Key Points:

The versatility and advantages offered by semi-automatic shotguns have made them popular firearms for hunting, home defense, recreational shooting, as well as military and law enforcement.
While autoloading shotguns are available in a variety of makes and models, new firearm sales data shows that Americans have some clear preferences.
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Along with break- and pump-action shotguns, semi-automatics are among the most common types of shotguns in the United States — and semi-automatics have some distinct advantages over the alternatives. Unlike pump-actions, which require the shooter to cycle the slide to re-chamber a round before firing, semi-automatics use the pressure of a fired round to cycle the bolt, a process that not only reduces recoil, but also allows shooters to fire as fast as they can pull the trigger. Additionally, semi-automatics can typically be loaded with two to three times as many shells as double-barrel break-action guns.

With a high magazine capacity and a rapid rate of fire, semi-automatic shotguns are used by militaries and law enforcement agencies around the world. These same advantages also make them popular with civilian gun owners — particularly for home defense and water fowl hunting. Not all semi-automatic shotguns are created equal, however, and firearm sales data shows that Americans have some clear preferences for certain makes and models. (Here is a look at the most versatile hunting cartridges.)

Using a report from Gun Genius, which analyzed sales data from GunBroker.com, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 most popular semi-automatic shotguns in America. Shotguns are ranked on sales volume in the 2024 calendar year, though exact sales figures were not provided. Supplemental data on the approximate base price for each make and model are from online retailers, including GunBroker.

The 10 shotguns on this list are manufactured by six brands, including Benelli and Berretta companies that each have three models on this list. Notably, the advantages offered by semi-automatic shotguns do not come cheap, as approximate base prices for these models range from $750 to nearly $2,000 — and variations of many of these models can come with far higher prices. For comparison, many of the best selling pump-action shotguns cost only a few hundred dollars.

One shotgun on this list — the Browning A5 — shares a name with what is widely considered to be the first commercially successful autoloading shotgun. Between its introduction in 1902, and its discontinuation in 1999, Browning sold millions of A5, or Auto 5, shotguns. The current A5 production model was introduced in 2012 and is mechanically simpler than its predecessor. (Here is a look at the most popular firearms in history.)

These are the best-selling semi-automatic shotguns in the United States.

Why It Matters

gun Idaho | Bird Hunting Series

Perhaps the most versatile firearm on the market, shotguns are capable of taking a wide variety of game, from waterfowl and upland birds, to small mammals and deer. Shotguns are also commonly kept as home defense weapons, and are the only firearms suited to recreational trap and skeet shooting. Semi-automatic shotguns are especially popular in the U.S., and while there are many brands and configurations to choose from, certain models have emerged as clear favorites.