Looking for a nice Pump Gun

I was in the market last year for a 12g and I found the mossberg 835 to be the gun for the price I wanted to pay . I waited a few months and found one a pawn shop that had never been shot for under $200 and now I have/want to get another barrel (it came with only a 26" field barrel) I am in the market for both a rifled and smoothbore slug barrels and it will be complete. The 835 is a smooth crisp working gun much like an older wingmaster (my buddy has a few) in my area you can find one for under $350 but you have to look.
 
ive owened a bunch of 870s and even the express will smooth out with some time. imo they are the best shotgun for the money, scatterguns dont have to be pretty to work well. besides, it doesnt bother a guy as much when they get banged up in the field/truck
 
Do they still make the Ithica line? My dad had a "sweet 16" model that I inherited and it was a very nice, smooth-operating pump gun.
 
Remington has now made over 10,000,000 870's over 60 years. I own 2 of them (1 for hunting, 1 for personal defence) and are the only shotguns I will ever need.
 
you cant go wrong w/a 870.

that said i have also had great luck with ithaca, savage, mossberg, even an old "western field" from sears (its a rebranded mossy 500), crazy as it sounds the old western field/mossberg i have has seen a lotta use and is as smooth a pump as any i have tried, its also the only 1 i have with only 1 action bar, of course 2 is better but i havent ever had any binding/etc with the 1 i have like that.

imho its so smooth because its been worked so many times.

i guess i have been lucky all the pumps i have owned, and all the ones my dad owned (and its been a lot lol) which are now mine have all been 100% with never ever any problems, and a few have been cheaper off brand ones like the western field, but they all have been 100% reliable and though may have differed a bit in smoothness/ergo's/etc they all were perfectly functional.

now auto shotguns, thats a different story alltogether.
 
mwerner said:
Do they still make the Ithica line? My dad had a "sweet 16" model that I inherited and it was a very nice, smooth-operating pump gun.
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Actually, yes.

http://www.ithacagun.com/

I like the Ithaca 37 more than the Remington 870.

The Ithaca is lighter, smoother, the bottom eject is nice, the engraving is neat (rolled or otherwise), and the slide release is on the front of the trigger guard guard like with the 870, but on the right side, where I can actually press it with my trigger finger.

Interchangeable barrels might be an issue, though. Guns with a serial number lower than 855,000 (made before 1963) won't accept them. The factory can refit an older shotgun to accept interchangeable barrels, but it's very expensive.

Also, the older models can "slam-fire". If you hold down the trigger and cycle it, it will fire as soon as it locks into battery. It's a lot of fun for rattling off shots in a hurry. A quick google suggests this feature was eliminated prior to 1990.
 
heres a crosspost from a gun forum on the difference/benefits of the Express/Police/Wingmaster...

"The Express will smooth out after a few hundred shells through it, and the matte blue finish soaks up CLP great which will prevent rust. If you want a Police barrel, you can buy one from $100-$160, and sell the original barrel to recoup most of the cost. A LE forend is about $20 if you need one to run a side-saddle, or you can just trim down the sporting model for free.

The bottom line is do you think its worth an extra $150-$250 for a machined ejector, parkerized finish, and a smoother action

or

Is it better to spend about $30 for the Police small parts, (really the $10 machined extractor & $5 carrier dog return spring are the only parts that is really needed to upgrade for any real advantage) have to smooth out the action by shooting it (or lubing it very well & running the action for a hour while watching tv), and having a rough finish that requires the same care as parkerization?

The 870 Police, 870 Express, and 870 Wingmaster are literally the same shotgun. 2 of them just get more QC & nicer finishes at nearly 100% more cost. Considering 870s are about as easy as Glocks to work on, and you can replace all but 2 parts at home, the added expense of the Police is better spent on shells & range fees."
 
kozak6 said:
Actually, yes.

http://www.ithacagun.com/

I like the Ithaca 37 more than the Remington 870.
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I found a nearby shop that is an Ithaca retailer. I'll check it out. As I understand it, Ithaca's gone through a few owners lately. Hopefully it doesn't affect product quality.

woody d said:
heres a crosspost from a gun forum on the difference/benefits of the Express/Police/Wingmaster...

"The Express will smooth out after a few hundred shells through it, and the matte blue finish soaks up CLP great which will prevent rust. If you want a Police barrel, you can buy one from $100-$160, and sell the original barrel to recoup most of the cost. A LE forend is about $20 if you need one to run a side-saddle, or you can just trim down the sporting model for free.

The bottom line is do you think its worth an extra $150-$250 for a machined ejector, parkerized finish, and a smoother action

or

Is it better to spend about $30 for the Police small parts, (really the $10 machined extractor & $5 carrier dog return spring are the only parts that is really needed to upgrade for any real advantage) have to smooth out the action by shooting it (or lubing it very well & running the action for a hour while watching tv), and having a rough finish that requires the same care as parkerization?

The 870 Police, 870 Express, and 870 Wingmaster are literally the same shotgun. 2 of them just get more QC & nicer finishes at nearly 100% more cost. Considering 870s are about as easy as Glocks to work on, and you can replace all but 2 parts at home, the added expense of the Police is better spent on shells & range fees."
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I'm looking into this now too - building an "Almost Wingmaster". What's the best place to look for these parts, Gun Parts?
 
I just read an explanation from Remington regarding the differences between the 870P and the 870E. The most concerting part was talking about a "locking" safety that requires a "key" on the commercial guns? That doesn't sound user friendly at all.
 
What's the best place to look for these parts, Gun Parts? ......Brownells
 
wintermute said:
I just read an explanation from Remington regarding the differences between the 870P and the 870E. The most concerting part was talking about a "locking" safety that requires a "key" on the commercial guns? That doesn't sound user friendly at all.
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i leave mine unlocked on my Express models, and have NEVER had it "accidently" engage even firing 12 ga 3" 000 Buck....it is not such a bad idea if you leave your gun "out"(in a closet, etc.) when you have kids over., just remember to put the key to unlock it on your key chain:thumbup:...or if you dont like it, it can be removed
 
I have my Grandfather's Ithaca 20ga. I believe it was made in 1956. I hunt upland with it. If you can buy an old Ithaca I recommend that you do.
 
i like the new Ithaca riot/hd guns theyre making. ive only owned one Ithaca and it was stolen from me. (dirty scumbag)
 
I just picked up a 1983 (verified by Remington customer service) 870 Wingmaster in really nice condition for $380 with tax included. It had a non-original 28" barrel with brass bead and fiberoptic sights on it (fine by me). When I racked it, it was soooooo smmmmooooottthhhhh, and all thoughts of the BPS disappeared. MAN, those things are scarce! I almost made up my mind to pick up a BPS, and there it was sitting behind a Winchester 20 gauge on the used rack at my favorite shop. The owner showed me two waranty repair slips on two new 1100s that he and his friend recently picked up. 50 shots down the barrel and they each had eight or more pieces that had to be replaced. The words "action spring" jumped out at me from the pages. I'm glad I found a nice old one.
 
Just to throw another nicely made pump shotgun in the mix, the S&W 1000P\3000 pump shotguns made in Japan were very nice guns. They were available in the 90's, not sure if they are still made under this name or not. As my friendly gun dealer said they took a Remington 870 and improved upon it.
 
No love for Mossberg in here?

I have had good success with a 500 and a 590A1. The 590 is very well built. My only complaint with the Mossy's is where the damn action release is located.
 
wintermute said:
I'm in the market for a nice 12 ga. pump gun for shooting skeet/trap/clays (informally), upland game hunting, and heck, why not, home defense. Remington 870 was the first thing that came to mind, but the Express ones that I handled seemed pretty junky - actions like dragging over broken glass, plastic bits :eek:, ugly laminate stocks, etc. Not what I'm used to. And I haven't been able to find a Wingmaster, for the life of me, at any shop. I've heard that the Mossie 500s might be a better bet, but I'm looking for something nice, something with some walnut. Has anyone tried out the Browning BPS? Because that might be the way I'm going, although I'm guess they're not made in the U.S. :mad:. I'm not familiar with the Winchesters, either. I know that the Benelli Nova's awesome, but not what I'm looking for right now.
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mossie quality is not as good as Remmy's hate to break that to ya. i would take a remmy any day of the week. winchester's quality is hit or miss as well.

why pump? why not semi auto? pumps are way overrated.. i grew up with pumps until i got a hold of my dads 30yr old remmy 1100 semi auto.. i wont own another pump.. by the time you rack and shoot twice i have killed/ destroyed the target already and going to get a drink.. if you want a quality semi auto shotty that wont break the bank go with the Remmington 1187.. i have had one since i was 16-18yrs old. i am 32 now.. she has NEVER jammed, NEVER broke, same original spring and O rings.. love those shottys
 
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BOK said:
No love for Mossberg in here?

I have had good success with a 500 and a 590A1. The 590 is very well built. My only complaint with the Mossy's is where the damn action release is located.
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fuck a mossberg.. they are POS... i would take a winchest over one of them :barf:
 
wintermute said:
I just read an explanation from Remington regarding the differences between the 870P and the 870E. The most concerting part was talking about a "locking" safety that requires a "key" on the commercial guns? That doesn't sound user friendly at all.
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you can thank the goddamned lefty pussies for that shit.. they are passing all kind of laws trying to add locks and what not to our weapons.. they might as well try to pass a bill that removes our trigger finger :mad:..
 
FWIW, I'm a certified Remington and Mossberg Factory Armorer. I train with both, hunt with both, and work with both professionally for several decades now.

I'd say either gun is going to serve your needs just fine. We use both extensively (more than a few hundred rounds a year - instead thousands and thousands of rounds a year!) and both serve the mission well. All our military and LEO clients use either Remington, Mossberg or Benelli and rarely do we have an issue. As an Armorer I feel like the Maytag repairman most of the time. Highly reliable. Best thing for a shotgun it just shoot it to get it smoothed out! That is the best medicine for it.

Anyway, you initially expressed interest in the Remington 870. If I were you I'd go with the Remington 870P (Police) model instead of the Express model. OR buy the Express model and get an armorer to upgrade it to the police grade gun. It is a considerable upgrade and a better gun. Basically the same gun, but they put different components in it. Yes there are more differences between the Express and the Police models besides the safety. That seems to be the most obvious, but there is actually more upgrades "under the hood" and out of sight that most don't realize. Some are minor and some are significant.

For example, the magazine tube spring is 16" on the Express and 22" (or 28" for extended mag) on the Police for more positive feeding. The Mag Spring Retainer is different on both shotguns. The Police Shotgun has heavy duty springs throughout the gun and it only has machined parts throughout instead of MIM parts. You can buy a replacement barrel for the Police gun to make it upland or duck/goose etc. It is just a thought.

I hunt with my Police gun all the time. You just need to put a plug in the mag tube to make it hunter legal. Just a thought.
 
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