Shotgun?

For clays, which I shoot alot, I would recommend a Benelli or Beretta semi-automatic. You can use a pump for clays, but you will be more proficient with a semi-auto. If you're worried about recoil, leave your man-card at the door!

The biggest advantage to a pump, is every piece of crap criminal recognizes the sound of the pumping gun.
 
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jaymack9100 said:
For clays, which I shoot alot, I would recommend a Benelli or Beretta semi-automatic. You can use a pump for clays, but you will be more proficient with a semi-auto. If you're worried about recoil, leave your man-card at the door!

The biggest advantage to a pump, is every piece of crap criminal recognizes the sound of the pumping gun.
Click to expand...

Another advantage of a pump is that it will function with a variety of loads without any adjustment. The autos I'm familiar with have trouble with light loads or some reloads.
 
jaymack9100 said:
For clays, which I shoot alot, I would recommend a Benelli or Beretta semi-automatic. You can use a pump for clays, but you will be more proficient with a semi-auto. If you're worried about recoil, leave your man-card at the door!

The biggest advantage to a pump, is every piece of crap criminal recognizes the sound of the pumping gun.
Click to expand...

Another advantage of a pump is that it will function with a variety of loads without any adjustment. The autos I'm familiar with have trouble with light loads or some reloads.

Sorry for the double post but I got a weird message needing to wait a minute between posts??????????
 
Having worked on and handled 1000s, yes 1000s of Remington 870s, 1100s and 11-87s and Mossberg 500s, 590s and maybe 100 Benellis and Berettas, I would say that you can't go wrong with any of them
except that i have some reservations about the Benelli Nova. However, it is pretty hard to break an 870. Cops do it, but they have to try. ;) If you would prefer a semi-auto, I would recommend the Remington 1100.

Over the last 15 years, we have had very few Mossbergs come back for service. They do hold up well and all parts are field replaceable. If the magazine tube gets crunched, you just unscrew the old one and
put in a new one. On Remingtons, it's a factory job.
 
The biggest thing with shotguns is the fit. I'm a big fan of my mossberg maverick just because it fits me to well. I also had a Benelli nova, but I had to add a pad to it to make it fit right.
 
I'm leaning towards the Remington Versa Max. Like some people have mentioned, you have to "try it on" first, so I'll be heading out to the stores this weekend to do just that. Thanks for input!
 
RonSC said:
Check out pawn shops/gun shops for used a vintage 870 WINGMASTER w/ standard 2 3/4" chamber and vent rib 26" modified barrel. Don,t waste your $ on an 870 Express...these shotguns are a POS and do NOT hold up. ..trust me on this!
For a bit more shekels you may find a vintage Winchester Model 12 argueably the finest pump ever made. Newer ain,t
Necessarily better.
Ron
Click to expand...

What??870 Express a POS? Wow, I never have heard that....I guess I will take the one I have ran over 5000 shells through and dispose of it....
I have replaced the mag tube spring and follower. That is the only parts I have replaced. I have shot squirrels, skeet, turkey shoots, 3 gun (with a barrel swap), and countless rabbits with this shotgun over the years, and have never had a problem. Maybe you just got a lemon. Even though I recommended a FN, you can't go wrong with an 870. The Express & Wingmaster are both good guns.
 
red1965 said:
What??870 Express a POS? Wow, I never have heard that....I guess I will take the one I have ran over 5000 shells through and dispose of it....
I have replaced the mag tube spring and follower. That is the only parts I have replaced. I have shot squirrels, skeet, turkey shoots, 3 gun (with a barrel swap), and countless rabbits with this shotgun over the years, and have never had a problem. Maybe you just got a lemon. Even though I recommended a FN, you can't go wrong with an 870. The Express & Wingmaster are both good guns.
Click to expand...

I have the 870 Express with the factory extension and synthetic furniture. It's never FTF or FTE for me. I've only put about 250 shells through it though, from slugs to 00 buck shot to birdshot. I've heard the 870 Express and the Wingmaster have the exact same parts, the Wingmaster has a couple additional steps in finishing though.
 
IMO, you need two shotguns: 1 for HD, 1 for Clays.

I don't know much about clay guns, but I'd probably look at a semi-auto Remington 1100 for a cheapie or a Benelli for a nicer one..... you could also look into over/unders.

For HD, you need a shorter barrel 18-20 inches.... most HD guns are 4+1 and higher.... some are 8+1. I prefer a traditional stock, but there is the Knoxx Spec Ops which can reduce recoil. The pump guns I'd consider are:

Benelli Nova
Remington 850
Mossberg 500 (note the safety on the top, may not work as well with a pistol grip)
Winchester 1200/1300/12/120 (which would have to be used)

All should work well for HD if they are in good condition. The bottom three used could be had cheap. Long barreled ones can be chopped, but check your state laws.

For a semi HD gun, I'd look for:

Benelli M2 and M4

CWL said:
Why would an auto have reduced recoil? My Beretta semi is famous for how hard it kicks.

You can easily purchase a pump shotgun that either comes with 2 barrels for sporting and a separate one for HD/SD, or you can get a second barrel aftermarket.
Click to expand...

Semi's use some of the expanding gasses to operate the action. That energy doesn't get transferred to the shooter like in a pump.
 
My 18 year old brother just bought his first gun, he bought a Mossberg Maverick 88. It was $220, he likes it so far. It is a good gun if you don't want to spend a lot of money.
 
RonSC said:
Check out pawn shops/gun shops for used a vintage 870 WINGMASTER w/ standard 2 3/4" chamber and vent rib 26" modified barrel. Don,t waste your $ on an 870 Express...these shotguns are a POS and do NOT hold up. ..trust me on this!
For a bit more shekels you may find a vintage Winchester Model 12 argueably the finest pump ever made. Newer ain,t
Necessarily better.

Ron
Click to expand...

Why ever go with just a 2 3/4 chambering if you can get a 3 inch? Then you can shoot both?

While the Wingmaster is a step above an Express, the Express is a good running gun... with the police models being a little better than the plain Express.
 
What is your budget? I can recommend anything from used pumpguns at ~$150 on up to $1000 autos. I do like the recommendation of two separate guns but at the least you'll need two barrels. You can get a massberg 500 combo with a longer vent rib barrel and a shorter HD barrel for about $300.

While you're out shopping I would hit the pawn shops and anywhere that carries used guns looking for anything made by a reputable manufacturer. There's also armslist.com, basically craigslist for guns.
 
You can't go wrong with a Benelli. They make a great shotgun. Believe it or not I actually like my Remington 870 tactical better though. Plus the barrel on the 870 is really easy to swap if you need longer for hunting or target shooting.
 
If you can find an older Remington in good shape, it would be worth considering. I wouldn't buy a new one.

If you're set on buying a new pump, I would look at a Browning BPS. Far better made than current Remingtons, in my opinion.

But I would agree with some of the other posts - a true clays gun and a HD gun are quite different. Not to say you can't do the one with the other, but there will be compromises.
 
Get a 12-gauge Remington model 870 Express Super Magnum...I have one that I have customized for defense / offense, and it's AWESOME!

DJF_7653-1.jpg
 
I really like my Benelli Nova. I've really only used it for clays and even though I have people look at me funny and tell me my barrel isn't long enough, I do pretty well. I attribute the fact that I do well with it to it fitting me really well. It's a very natural mount for me.
 
UffDa said:
Having worked on and handled 1000s, yes 1000s of Remington 870s, 1100s and 11-87s and Mossberg 500s, 590s and maybe 100 Benellis and Berettas, I would say that you can't go wrong with any of them
except that i have some reservations about the Benelli Nova. However, it is pretty hard to break an 870. Cops do it, but they have to try. ;) If you would prefer a semi-auto, I would recommend the Remington 1100.

Over the last 15 years, we have had very few Mossbergs come back for service. They do hold up well and all parts are field replaceable. If the magazine tube gets crunched, you just unscrew the old one and
put in a new one. On Remingtons, it's a factory job.
Click to expand...

Not to thread drift, but I'm interested to know your reservations about the nova. I have a supernova and I love it. I bought the "hd" version w/ the 18 1/2" barrel and I would like to get a longer one for clays/turkey. But it works alright for those applications. The LOP is a little long but you get used to it.

Recoil feels significantly less than my mossberg 500. Especially with steel loads.
 
The dimensions of the gun.
A short gun is better for close up and a long gun is better for far away. So you can either get two guns, or one gun and two barrels, or try to compromise in between.

Auto vs pump
Pick your poison. There is nothing wrong with either and both have their benefits.
[video=youtube;t_1-E6qFuXk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_1-E6qFuXk[/video]
^hickok45 has something to say about the pump vs semi auto. My thinking is that both are pretty reliable and will get the job done. If you are confident in your ability to cycle a pump gun in a stressful situation then it really does not matter. If not then I would lean towards the auto since when fed right it will cycle regardless of your stress level.

Specific model
Get what you can afford and feels comfortable to you. Then go out and shoot it, practice reloading it and clearing jams etc. If you intend to use it in an HD role then set it up so you can get to the gun and ammo relatively quickly. Drill this (NOT WITH LIVE AMMO!) with a stopwatch until you can get it up and ready to go in a reasonable amount of time. I have a Remington 870 express super magnum set up in a hunting configuration.
 
jaymack9100 said:
The biggest advantage to a pump, is every piece of crap criminal recognizes the sound of the pumping gun.
Click to expand...

At my house, the first thing the criminal will hear from my shotgun is BOOM! Loading my firearm while facing a deadly threat is the last thing I want to do. YMMV
 
Just walked out of Wal-Mart today with an 870 express for $320. Hard to beat that!
 
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