Remington 870

Just get the cheapest 870 with synthetic wood and get a Mossberg 18" barrel. You can use it for hunting with the barrel that comes with it and the shorter barrel for home defense. Swaps in and out in less than 30 seconds.
 
This started life as your standard 870 Express.
Added the Blackhawk stock and 18.5" barrel over time.
It's an 870. You really can't go wrong.
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Just get the cheapest 870 with synthetic wood and get a Mossberg 18" barrel. You can use it for hunting with the barrel that comes with it and the shorter barrel for home defense. Swaps in and out in less than 30 seconds.

^ This.

I got a nice Wingmaster used and ordered an 18" (technically 18.5") barrel for it. It takes longer to wipe my greasy fingerprints off the barrel than it does to swap it.

In case it sounds confusing, Mossberg makes barrels for the Remington shotguns. It'll run you $100 or less, just make sure you get the right finish to match your receiver (blued vs. parkerized). You wouldn't want a criminal to not take you seriously because your hardware doesn't match.
 
Only issue I have had with my 870 is the shell latch has worn to the point that it no longer releases the shell to load into the chamber when I pump it, effectively removing the pump action aspect. Accurate as all hell, and loads of fun to shoot, as is obvious by the amount of wear that shell retention leaf has on it.

Mines a .410 though, haven't shot a 12 or anything(same shotgun I first went hunting with, lots of sentimental value)
 
^ This.

I got a nice Wingmaster used and ordered an 18" (technically 18.5") barrel for it. It takes longer to wipe my greasy fingerprints off the barrel than it does to swap it.

In case it sounds confusing, Mossberg makes barrels for the Remington shotguns. It'll run you $100 or less, just make sure you get the right finish to match your receiver (blued vs. parkerized). You wouldn't want a criminal to not take you seriously because your hardware doesn't match.
I was a bit confused by that, thanks for clarifying! I knew Mossberg could easily swap barrels, but I didn't know if the 870 could. Let alone buying a Mossberg barrel for an 870. I don't know anything about shotguns yet... Time for research
 
Only issue I have had with my 870 is the shell latch has worn to the point that it no longer releases the shell to load into the chamber when I pump it, effectively removing the pump action aspect. Accurate as all hell, and loads of fun to shoot, as is obvious by the amount of wear that shell retention leaf has on it.

Mines a .410 though, haven't shot a 12 or anything(same shotgun I first went hunting with, lots of sentimental value)
a competent smith should be able to fix easy enough
 
I have an 870 Wingmster that I estimate to be from the early 60s. It still works great - it even cycles cut shell slugs perfectly fine if you just make perforations around the shell instead of cutting all the way around and making it overlap. I wouldn't use cut shells for hunting, but when the zombies come I'll be all set with several boxes of #7 and my 870. (It was still hitting a dinner plate sized group at just under 50 meters with the cut shells - pretty much as good as I could do with the store bought slugs I was testing).
 
Yup, everyone here pretty much hit the nail on the head. Also keep in mind that if you look around enough you can find some pretty cheap used barrels from NES or other forum members as well. I was in the same boat as you a couple years ago and ended up getting an 18.5" 870 with a 2 shot mag tube extension. Looked around for a bit and was able to track down a 28" barrel from the late 90's that looked brand new from someone on a different forum. Got the barrel, 2 chokes and a wrench for $50 shipped. Guy sold his 870 a while ago and had the extra barrel floating around and just wanted it gone

Other than than I would take je25ff's advice and get a Mossy barrel for it. Really cant go wrong either way
 
Looked around for a bit and was able to track down a 28" barrel from the late 90's that looked brand new from someone on a different forum. Got the barrel, 2 chokes and a wrench for $50 shipped. Guy sold his 870 a while ago and had the extra barrel floating around and just wanted it gone


The 28" barrel is great for geese. I use 3" and 3.5" shells in my 28" barrel 870 super mag and it has enough oomph to knock down migratory geese at a decent range.

hint: by migratory, I don't mean the bullshit geese you see around in New England. I'm talking about the monsters that fly up and down the midwest of our country from mexico into Canada. Those are real geese, not the grass fed bullshit that you see pecking around here year round.
 
Thanks everyone. Do I get the 12 or 20 gauge, I know nothing about shot guns.
do they come with real wood stocks? I like wood s much better that plastic.
Do you know if four seasons has good prices on these? What is a good price?
i will shop around but I appreciate your thoughts.

Then the hard part, currently I only have pistols, how do I convince the wife she has seen this one before?
 
how do I convince the wife she has seen this one before?

if it's an issue, call it a future heirloom.

As far as wood goes, there are "better" versions of the 870 with nice wood... I don't recall what they are called, though. Wingmasters or something? Maybe I'm wrong. The barrel and receiver are also blued instead of coated.

The wood on a low cost "standard" 870 is pretty cheap. It nicks up easy and scratches on corn stalks, switch grass, and the like. I wish I had gone with the synthetic though. When I (my dad) bought mine at a tender age of 14, they had run out of the synthetic stocks. So I went with wood. At the time we didn't want to miss the mail in rebate thanksgiving special (came out to be $275 after rebate).
 
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I hate that I sold my 870magnum express. 1st gun I ever had when I was 16, use to go hunting on my friends land in Rutland. I miss that gun.
 
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I love my 870 Express.

I'm currently looking for a basic monte carlo wood stock and a wooden police forend. It'll cut down the weight on the front end and the Monte just fits me better.
 
just make sure you get the right finish to match your receiver (blued vs. parkerized). You wouldn't want a criminal to not take you seriously because your hardware doesn't match.

I've got a mismatched 870 that serves double duty at home and in the field. Can't speak for the criminals but the turkeys don't seem to mind. [smile]
 
I've got a mismatched 870 that serves double duty at home and in the field. Can't speak for the criminals but the turkeys don't seem to mind. [smile]

I guess as long as the criminals only see a circle, followed by a bright flash, followed by a bright light, they'll never know.
 
Wingmasters have the nice wood.

Ha ha, nice wood.

The blued Mossberg barrel matches my Wingmaster blued receiver nicely, for those who care about that kind of thing.

My used 870 came with a recoil enhancing pad. After I shot it the first time I ordered a Limbsaver specific for the 870 (not a slip-on) and it works like a champ. Now I can miss a lot more clay pigeons before my shoulder starts to get sore.
 
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