Semi-automatic shotguns are enduringly popular with the gun-buying public. For people coming into the sport of shooting they tick many boxes. Firstly, they are relatively cheap so first-time buyers are immediately drawn to the attractive price tag. Also, it should not be overlooked that the option of a third shot is a lure to newcomers to the sport. This is especially true in a pigeon hide which is where many coming into the sport start. Although as we gain more experience we discover that the third shot is rarely used other than in desperation but it is part of human nature to think three is automatically better than two. Very few beginners can shoot a 'threefer’ - three shots for three cleanly killed pigeons.

For gamekeepers, the semi-auto is often the tool of choice and extra shots can make the difference between downing the partridge-predating crow or not. Most semi-automatics are robust and are up to taking the mud spattering that comes with life across the handlebars of a quad bike. Many 'keepers do favour multi-shot semi-automatics that require a firearms certificate for fox drives in the Spring as handling matters less on ground level, running quarry and the number of cartridges expended in pursuit of the elusive fox isn’t a factor as long as the fox is stopped. There’s no room for finesse in fox drives - it's about getting the job done. Ten shot semi-autos are not best suited to flying quarry as the point of balance changes with every shot.

They are highly versatile guns and, with a few exceptions, they tend not to be that expensive as the parts are cheap and easy to fit together. Semi-automatics generally (with a few exceptions) fall into one of two categories: recoil fed and gas-fed.

Gas-fed semi-automatics rely on the cartridge. When the cartridge is detonated rapidly expanding gases drive the shot down the barrel at 900mph. Some of those gases are bled off through two small barrel ports that channel the gasses to blow a piston back in the action. This forces the bolt back which ejects the fired case and reloads a new cartridge as it comes forward again. This is the reason that typically semi-automatics prefer heavier cartridges over lighter cartridges. Some of the most popular gas-fed semi-automatics are the Beretta series, the most recent being the A400 in all its guises, the Browning Maxus, the Winchester SX3 (broadly similar to the Maxus) and the Fabarm XLR range.

A recoil-fed semi-automatic is a very clever design and does not use the gases. Inside the bolt on the best-selling Benelli M2 is a relatively large coil spring. The head of the bolt rotates to lock into the breech. The main body of the bolt is floating and as the gun moves backwards through recoil the spring is compressed by the bolt slamming into the back of the rotating bolt head that is moving to the rear with the rest of the gun. The energy stored in the spring only releases when the first stage of the recoil is over. When it does release, the spring's energy drives the bolt back unlocking the rotating bolt head and all the other necessary steps in the cycle: ejection, re-cocking and reloading, take place. All of this happens in a fraction of a second.

Recoil-fed semi-autos include the Benelli series, (Benelli designed the 'Inertia Driven' system) and the Franchi Affinity 3. Interestingly, both these companies are owned by the Beretta Holding Group who also produces the eponymous A400 gas-fed gun - cleverly they have a foot in both camps. The popular Franchi Affinity 3 has the return spring in the fore-end rather than the stock as in most other semi-autos. This allows for a much slimmer grip behind the trigger but also makes the fore-end naturally more substantial which is an asset. Benellis have a deliberately enlarged fore-end to make it more comfortable to grip. With gas-fed semi-autos the working parts of the piston in the fore-end mean they have the opposite problem - sometimes they can feel a bit bulky in the front hand.

Recoil-fed semi-autos must have a cartridge of sufficient weight to load up the recoil spring. 21gram, light loads will almost certainly not work. Both types of semi-automatic can be tuned to take a particular load but, as with all shotgun shooting, it's best to find a cartridge you have confidence in and stick with it. Both styles usually come with stock shims that allow you to customise the gun fit to your needs.

Recoil-fed semi-autos don’t need much cleaning because none of the dirty gases are used to cycle the action, it all leaves the barrel. For this reason, they are popular working tools for 'keepers but they are not without their issues. Having had several in my time I found that when crouching in a pigeon hide or a foreshore gutter and I placed the butt on the ground, it was enough to disengage the rotating bolt head for the firing pin not to reach the primer. After walking miles this is infuriating when your one chance at a goose sails past unsaluted. I accept this was driver error, not the gun, and it can be rectified by just pulling the bolt handle back to half re-cock and make sure the head is fully rotated in the breech, but it happened enough for me to consider other options. Now you are aware of the issue you can of course avoid it. With fewer moving parts recoil-fed semi-autos are arguably more suited to rigours of mud and sand that you find in a duck hide or on the saltings although avoiding plugging your barrel into mud or snow is vital as it is much harder to check it has no blockage.

Gas-fed semi-autos need to be cleaned, but over-cleaning can also be an issue - there is a happy medium. However, the felt recoil is noticeably less than recoil fed guns which need to be firmly in the shoulder to work. In a future of big loads of steel shot this will be a factor for some like me who find excessive recoil unpleasant.

There is a lot of unnecessary snobbery surrounding semi-autos, but if you understand how they operate they can be the perfect tool for the job especially if you loathe the idea of making your prized over and under or side by side work for a living. You ought to be aware though that to match the overall length of more refined firearms in your cabinet, the length of the action on a semi-action can make a 28” barrel feel like your 30” over and under and a 30” semi-auto is overall a very long gun. Unloading a semi-auto safely is crucial and the best option on a Benelli or Browning Maxus is to press the magazine cut-off switch to the side and allow the magazine to empty one cartridge at a time rather than racking the bolt to chamber them and then unload. This works differently on different models and if you are in any doubt about how they work ask your local gun shop or gunsmith. Barrel flags inserted in the chamber are often used on clay grounds to show the gun is empty but many ‘keepers use a cartridge case in between the bolt face and the breech as a practical solution in the truck and in the field.

Is a semi-auto the right choice for you? If you are involved in any kind of pest control then they are certainly worthy of consideration. Older over and unders may not be proofed for High Performance (HP) steel. Side by sides are almost certainly not although both will take standard steel. The fact is that the most effective loads with steel are HP and the most comfortable guns through which to use big loads of steel are semi-automatics, particularly gas-fed semi-automatics. The combination of a lightweight gun with the recoil absorption properties of the action means that the popularity of semi-autos will not diminish any time soon. Although some people regard this as heresy, I have no problem with someone using a semi-automatic at game as well as pigeons and wildfowl. It is discrimination based largely on prejudice and the accusations can easily be beaten back. Firstly, you don’t have to load the full three shots in your semi-auto, you can load two - you are therefore not ‘cheating' or showing disrespect to a game bird. Secondly the accusation that they are unsafe because it's not easy to see whether it is unloaded I find curious as almost everyone slips their gun at the end of a drive. Thirdly, that they are viewed as militaristic because of the synthetic stocks ignores the fact that almost every model is available in a wooden stocked version.

Although considered ‘wrong’ for British game shooting (but not in the US where they are often preferred), they come into their own in a hide where ease of loading and the absorption of recoil on a busy pigeon day are a bonus. They might just be a great all-rounder for effective steel shot in the future, but do please remember to pick up your empty cartridges.