Reccomend an all around Shotgun

offcamber

offcamber

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Looking into a a 12 gauge for home protection and general shooting. Not a hunter so besides home defense uses would be playing is skeet, general destruction of items out in the back 40[grin] ect

Don't have a budget but don't want to spend a fortune either. Something reliable easy to maintain.....etc...

Suggestions?

Thanks
 
Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 woudl be the 2 choices I would go for. Prob err towards the 870 myself.

Affordable, readily available and lots of accessories to choose from for either model.

I've seen used 870s selling for under $200 in my travels.
 
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It's not fancy, but a Mossberg 500 is inexpensive and works well.

Remington 870 is nicer, but more expensive.
 
I agree, an 870 or 500. The 500 is closer to indestructable and less complicated and the 870 is a little smoother. Both are great choices.
 
offcamber said:
Looking into a a 12 gauge for home protection and general shooting. Not a hunter so besides home defense uses would be playing is skeet, general destruction of items out in the back 40[grin] ect

Don't have a budget but don't want to spend a fortune either. Something reliable easy to maintain.....etc...

Suggestions?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Got any lefties in the house? If so, the Mossberg 500 series is easier because of the tang mounted safety. The Remington 870 Express is inexpensive, durable, and widely distributed.

713973409_LkK9V-M.jpg
 
Look in the used rack - you can find a ton of good shotguns for short money. Ithaca 37 (very good for lefties with the bottom ejection), Rem 870, Mossbergs, even old Browing A5s can be had pretty cheap.

If you budget is really low - you can pick up good single shots (H&R, NEF, etc) for under $75 just about anywhere.

If time isn't critical, you may want to hold off till January. It's hunting season now, and people may be getting rid of shotguns to pay for Christmas bills once the seasons are over.
 
Mossberg 500 is my vote. If you do decide to hunt with it then you have a plethera of barrel choices.

I agree with tuna, wait till after Christmas if possible.

(p.s. All of this is true with the 870 as well.)
 
Remington, mossberg, browning, and winchester all make good guns.

I have 3 pumps, a mossberg 500 (rifled slug gun), a winchester 1200 (bird gun) and 1300 (smoothbore slug gun). All great reliable guns.


Question is do you want an auto or a pump?
 
I promise that the overall majority of replies to your OP will be the Remington 870 and/or some manner of Mossy pump in 12 gau. There is a good reason this is going to be true. You can't beat them for the price, reliability and number of options you have to mod them. I personally have a number of shotguns for various purposes and various price tags. If I had to choose one of mine to grab in an emergency situation, it would be the 870. Happy shopping!
 
Another thumb up for the 870. I like guns that work, and can be counted on to work most every time. The Remington and Mossberg pumps work. The Remington 870 has been around anf worked for decades. Is there a more popular shotgun in the U.S.?
 
Shooter McGavin said:
I promise that the overall majority of replies to your OP will be the Remington 870 and/or some manner of Mossy pump in 12 gau. There is a good reason this is going to be true. You can't beat them for the price, reliability and number of options you have to mod them. I personally have a number of shotguns for various purposes and various price tags. If I had to choose one of mine to grab in an emergency situation, it would be the 870. Happy shopping!
Click to expand...

Lol, so true. Anytime someone asks for the opinion of a "all around" or "first" shotgun, no doubt that mossberg 500 and rem 870 are the primary choices proposed to the OP.

Note: the 870 is the most popular and best selling shotgun in the world.
 
offcamber said:
I think I'd go with the pump....nothing says get the f*** out like the sound of a shotgun being pumped.
Click to expand...

Then I would go with a Mossy 500 , Remington 870 or Winchester 1300 with a 22 inch smooth bore deer barrel. You can shoot slugs and buckshot out of it for home defense and have decent manouverabilty with the shorter deer barrel.
It also will work well for blowing stuff up on the range.

In addition I believe each of these is offered in a combo package where you get the deer barrel, a bird barrel and 3 chokes so you could use it for skeet too if you want.

I actually like my Winchester the best as far as handling goes. It is just a comfortable naturally pointing gun for me.
 
arlow said:
Then I would go with a Mossy 500 , Remington 870 or Winchester 1300 with a 22 inch smooth bore deer barrel. You can shoot slugs and buckshot out of it for home defense and have decent manouverabilty with the shorter deer barrel.
It also will work well for blowing stuff up on the range.

In addition I believe each of these is offered in a combo package where you get the deer barrel, a bird barrel and 3 chokes so you could use it for skeet too if you want.

I actually like my Winchester the best as far as handling goes. It is just a comfortable naturally pointing gun for me.
Click to expand...

I really like my Winchester because I have two barrels for it. I have one for home and swap out when I shoot skeet. It's rugged and reliable so far, as well as being reasonably cheap on the used market. -If only it had a bayonet lug :)
 
MassMark had a kick'n Benelli at the pumpkin Blast.
I'm not sure about the model, but I'm guessing he will let us know in this thread.
BTW, go green.

ETA Atcually, kick'n is a poor description choice. Quite the opposite is the case.
3.5 mags through this shotgun were like 2.75 in my 870.
It also has a shorter stroke.
It's all black and killy with a pistolgrip!
I want one!
 
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I have the Mossberg 500. If I were to do it again I would have gone up one notch and got the ghost ring sights.
Still though, the basic 500 is hard to beat.
 
Remington 870 and not an express series gun. A Police magnum or older wingmaster. Remington took signifigany quality shortcut on the Express series of guns. My Next choice in a pump would be a Mossberg 590A1. If I was getting a semi auto I would get a Benelli M-2 super90 or Benelli m-4
 
Don't feel inclined to go for one of the souped-up "tacticool" guns. If you want it as a HD gun, 4-5 shells of 12 gauge is plenty, and you'll still be able to mount standard barrels on it for field shooting and clays.
 
Pumps are great but if your going to shoot skeet more than a few times a year look into a semi-auto.

To echo others if you can wait till after the holiday/hunting season you can find a large amount of options on the used rack.
Shop around and handle every one you think you may want. An ill fitting shotgun is like wearing underware backwards,sure it does the job but it's not comfortable.
 
Having tried all the ones mentioned (the Rem was an express though, the mossy was a 500) I am partial to my Winchesters, just my preference, nothing wrong with the others.

Have a semi auto with 2 barrels and a pump set up for HD.
 
Going to piggy-back on this thread with another question: What would be your non-pump recommendations for a good shotgun for similar uses?

I've yet to encounter a pump-action anything that I can comfortably hold with my relatively short arms. (The place I need to hold for everything to feel balanced is on bare metal behind the handguard on every pump I've ever held.)
 
If a pump doesn't fit you I'm guessing a semi-auto won't either. How about a double? The cowboys seem to love them. I have a few and they're a lot of fun to shoot.
 
I too was interested in shorter pull shotguns for women. I was thinking of buying one for my daughter for xmas. Remington has some with adjustable butt plates, so you can mix and match to get the LOP right (unfortunately express models only). What I have found out so far:

http://www.remington.com/library/press/2009/Accessories/2009-10.asp

there are adjustable stocks you can add on after market:

http://www.graco-corp.com/adjustable-butt-plate.aspx?CategoryId=25

http://www.combathunting.com/CAMO_GUN_STOCKS-ATI_Four_Position_Adjustable_Shotgun_Stock_Camo.html

http://www.botachtactical.com/blknco.html

http://www.centershotsports.com/pdf/Jack West Press Release.pdf

http://www.nill-grips.com/Shotgun-Stocks_119.html

http://www.shotgunlife.com/Shotguns/shotgun-fit.html

And if you had just won the lottery:
http://www.mackspw.com/Item--i-BERJ682E12

I was a little surprised there were not more options out there. lenght of pull and comb adjustment is pretty important, and unless you are an expert already, you do not know what you need until you try different things many times until you get it right. You don't just walk up the the band saw and modify the stock, 'cause you don't know where to cut it.
 
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