Available in a variety of versions to fit any hunting need, the Weatherby SAS delivers impressive performance at a decent price.

After hunting ducks and various upland birds with Weatherby's gas-operated SAS autoloader, I have decided it is one impressive shotgun for the money. Contrary to what usually happens in today's market, its price has actually dropped by $100 since the gun was first introduced, and from what I see, the quality is still there.

The field grade SAS has a suggested retail price of $699, but I've seen dealers turn them loose for a bit less than that. It is the grade I have hunted with most, and it is available with a 26- or 28-inch barrel. Regardless of the barrel length you choose, it will come with three screw-in chokes that are notched for easy identification when installed in the gun: improved cylinder, modified and full.

Other field-grade features include cut checkering on the buttstock and fore-end and a recoil pad thick and soft enough to cushion the kick of heavy loads. Substitute black fiberglass for walnut, decrease its price by $50, and you have the SAS Synthetic with the same barrel options.

Spend a bit more money with Mossy Oak's Shadow Grass camo finish, and you're ready for ducks and geese. A Break-Up pattern, also from Mossy Oak, transforms the gun into a turkey killer--this variation is available in 24- and 26-inch barrel lengths with modified, full and extra-full choke tubes included. The ventilated ribs of both camo models wear a brass mid-bead and a front sight with fiber-optic insert--as does the sporting clays gun.

The sporting clays gun works equally well at skeet and in the hunting fields. It is the most expensive member of Weatherby's SAS family, but it still costs less than field-grade guns offered by some of the competition.

Regardless of whether you buy it with a 28- or 30-inch barrel, it will come with improved cylinder, modified, full, SC-1 (sporting clays 1) and SC-2 chokes. The SC-1 choke has .007 inch of constriction, making it a bit tighter than skeet but considerably looser than improved cylinder. SC-2 squeezes the shot charge down by .016 inch so it falls about midway between improved cylinder and modified. (SC-2, by the way, works nicely with steel shot.)

: The slug version of the SAS features a cantilever and something all slug guns should have: a Monte Carlo stock. It helps align your eye with the scope.

Whereas chokes in all other models fit flush with the muzzle of the barrel, those included with the sporting clays gun are the extended type for quick and easy switching.

The slug gun is the latest SAS variation. In addition to a 22-inch rifled barrel with cantilever-style scope mounting base, it has something all deer guns should have: a Monte Carlo-style stock. The high comb puts your cheek snugly against the wood and aligns your eye with the center of the scope.

But there's more. If the amount of drop at the comb is not exactly right for you and the scope you choose, you can employ a special shim system included with the gun to make it right. Simply remove the stock and install the correct shim for the amount of drop you need. Those same shims can also be used to introduce cast-off into the stock for a right-handed shooter.

This versatility is not unique to the slug gun. It's a standard feature on all SAS models.

Regardless of the model, all SAS shotguns I have examined had extremely nice contrasting figure in their walnut buttstocks. Cut checkering on the stock and fore-end measures 20 lines per inch. This work shows nice craftsmanship, evident by a lack of flat-topped diamonds or unsightly runovers.

WEATHERBY SAS Type: Gas-operated semiautomatic Gauge: 12 Chamber length (in.): 3 Barrel length (in.): 22 to 30 Capacity: 2+1 Weight (lbs.): 7 to 7 3/4 Accessories: Screw-in chokes, stock shim kit Price: $649 (Synthetic) to $799 (Sporting Clays) Weatherby

All except the field and sporting clays models come with quick-detachable sling swivel posts in the buttstock and magazine cap. Nominal weight will vary a bit among the wood-stocked guns due to slight variations in the densities of their stocks, but the field grade with 26-inch barrel I have been shooting tips the scale at 7 1/2 pounds. The barrels of all models have lengthened forcing cones, and they wear a 7mm ventilated ribs up on top.

The self-compensating gas system of the SAS enables it to function with everything from light 2 3/4-inch, one-ounce target loads to the heaviest three-inch turkey and waterfowl loads. Its chrome-lined bore resists rust and is sturdy enough to handle steel shot.

I found the magazine cutoff to be especially handy when hunting waterfowl; on several occasions it has allowed me to quickly replace a duck load in the chamber with a goose load and vice versa.

At the pattern board, the Weatherby delivered the center of its pattern dead on my hold point for elevation, and while it shot a bit to the right, it was not enough to use as an alibi for missing in the field.

The improved cylinder, modified and full chokes delivered pattern percentages of 41, 52 and 64 percent at 40 yards with 2 3/4-inch Federal Premium high velocity ammo loaded with 1 1/4 ounces of No. 6 shot at 1,400 fps. The modified choke averaged 64 percent with Remington 3-inch Nitro-Steel loaded with 1 3/8 ounces of No. 2s.

The SAS delivers solid performance at a good price. Whatever you choose to hunt, this may be the shotgun you've been searching for.