Franchi Affinity 3 Compact 12GA 3" 26" Realtree Max-5 4+1 Semi-Auto Shotgun 41020

I own 2 other Benellis, all compact stocks. When you're a smaller stature shooter you want a good fit, especially in situations when you have to shoulder and point quickly. Affinity, being a subsidiary of Benelli, was all the convincing I needed, not to mention both of these brands don't skimp on quality just because it's a compact gun. Too many other brands do that. They either consider smaller stature shooters unable to appreciate quality in a firearm or they just don't care. That said, the inertia drive is different than my Benellis—spring is in the forend vs stock. It's left me concerned about dirt and grime from outside but so far it's not had any malfunctions that I can ascertain are from the environment. It's been dove hunting in corn fields and duck hunting on creeks. My Benelli M2 has similar dimensions (except it's compact stock was still about .5-1" too long). It's black so getting a shorter stock, 12ga, 26bbl AND camo was a bonus. That said the Affinity seems a little front heavy. My assumption is the inertia drive being in the forend AND shorter stock. It's not hurting my swing for sure! It's actually improved on it. I have 2 friends with Stoegers (the other subsidiary of Benelli)—I'd consider them budget guns. Since I had all three to compare I noticed the machining on the Stoegers do not match the Affinity and definitely not the Benelli. Extractors are sharper on both Affinity and Stoegers, this being a possible reason for the jamming that my friends experience with their M3000 and M3500. The foreend is slender and long, which I like. The handgrip is a little too slim for my tastes and it's at a more severe angle than my other guns. That may have something to do with the drop being about .5" more than the others. I'll remedy that with the shims they include. Breakdown and reassembly was a little difficult at first (note the manual leaves a lot to be desired, sometimes illustrations don't match to references—use youtube instead). But after 2-3 cleanings stuff slides together much easier. I'd reco breaking it down and cleaning it BEFORE shooting it. For a midlevel priced gun it's worth it. If it was out when I got my Benelli M2, there is a really good chance I would have skipped the M2. Right now the biggest problem is trying to decide what to do with Benelli M2. It'll make a good backup if I need it. ;-) Get one, you won't be sorry.