Shotgun

Absintheur said:
I would buy the 870, it is by far the most common pump with the most available parts and accessories out there. The only other pump I would prefer over an 870 is a Winchester Model 97 Trench. I like the exposed hammer for a HD gun and that fact you can trombone it is also nice. You can also slam fire the Winchester Model 12.

Gotta love the old Winchesters. Especially the 97's. I like the look on peoples faces when I would take out my Black Diamond 16 ga. 97 :D

My house gun is a early 12 ga. 870 Wingmaster trap that I shortened the barrel on and did some other stuff to it as well. Remington and Mossberg both make great shotguns, but as others mentioned, there are a lot of aftermarket goodies for the 870 if you want to play around with it...
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The cheaper wal mart model 870's came with lower quality ( and smaller) magazine springs, and a different follower. The Various law enforcement, marine magnum, (he "BDL model)and the rifled sights model with interchangeable barrels all had the same upgraded springs as the police and marine masgnums.

This was back in the late 90's when I last went to Remington armorers school.

The Shorter springs seemed to function ok, but we always changed out the springs with the longer ones if we didn't have them already.

The Mossberg is a great gun but I'll take a steel reciever 870 over it. I've had multiple models of both.

I recently got rid of a Benelli M1super 90 and with medium to heavy loads it was almost unbeatable as far as putting projectiles down range quickly. With 2.75 inch oo buck 12 pellet baby magnums it put more projectiles down range than some full autos. Great for close range ambush, counter ambush stuff

No good with light loads, and non lethal stuff,and door breachers which is one of the main reasons the later models came out. Overall, a devastating firearm. Joe
 
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My early M1 90 I modified to be able to handle light loads .Now it's reliable with heavy target and with just an occasional light target problem. I don't know how the new ones are.
 
I'll throw another vote for the 870. The first firearm that I purchased myself was an 870 wingmaster with a slug barrel. $200 used 21 years ago. I picked up a shot barrel a few years after that. It's been heavily used in the field and I haven't had any problems. The 870 Express can be purchased with both barrels for a reasonable price. All that said, my Benelli M1 Super 90 would be my preference to clear a room.
 
it's pretty much the same thing as with knives - either a Benchmade or Spyderco is of proven quality and will cut stuff, so beyond that it's personal preference. But, just as with knives, you probably WILL start out with something basic that meets your needs, and then somehow - you'll have multiple high-end firearms.

(my bedroom gun is a customized 870 w/tritium front sight & Knoxx recoil-reducing pistol-grip stock)!
 
farmboy said:
I'm curious. Why is it do you think they cost less at Walmart?
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I think we're talking about the 870 express, which is a no frills finish. Supposedly it is a bit more prone to corrosion, which should not be a deterrent if one takes care of their gun. As far as pricing, any gun will cost less at Wal Mart, because Wal Mart buys a lot of volume and the workers' wages are not the greatest.
 
I'm left-handed, so my favorite pump gun is the Ithaca 37.It ejects out the bottom.
 
I just purchased the Remington 870 Express 20 GA. with 18" BBL and factory installed Knoxx Spec-Ops pistol grip stock. To me that was the best way to go for home defense. 20 GA. buckshot or slugs has been shown to have stopping power and less recoil than a 12 GA. for the shooter(s).
 
I am also a proud owner of an 870 Express.

The only thing I did to the 870 was to replace the factory forend and stock with walnut furniture. Also bought and 18.5" barrel with rifle sights, so when I'm done busting clays with the 28" bbl, I go switch and start shooting slugs.

The 18.5" stays on when at home. Since there's no kids in the household, I leave it unlocked in the "cruiser ready" position, with 5 shells stored on the buttstock carrier- I usually store 3 #00 buckshot and 2 #2 3" magnum loads in it.
 
tjiscooler said:
I was thinking about buying the spec-ops Collapsible Stock that suppsedly reduces recoil by 90% which is good because im not that big and itll make it easyer to handle.
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Don't get a 12 gauge.

Get a 20 gauge. Half the recoil and just as deadly at close range.

Standard 20 gauge shell is 2 3/4" long. The 20 gauge 3" magnum gives you a bit more power. I believe you can safely fire 2 3/4" out of a 3" magnum chamber, so you should look for one chambered for 3" shells.

Buy a few boxes of buckshot and a few boxes of copper sabot slugs. They typically come 5 rounds to a box. Pick up a big box of steel T shot as well -- because it is cheap, and it is better than birdshot.

Order one with an 18" - 20" barrel for home defense -- the shorter the better (unless you really want the extended tube magazine). I believe interchangable barrels are available for both the Remington and the Mossberg.
 
fudo said:
I'm left-handed, so my favorite pump gun is the Ithaca 37.It ejects out the bottom.
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I really like the old model 37s. Great guns.
Dicks Sporting goods has 870s on sale right now. I believe they are $239 after a rebate. Twenty or twelve gauge. I'm not sure if thats with two barrels.
 
Pardon my limited knowledge of shotguns, but why do you need two barrels, one for slugs and one for shot? Cant a standard smoothbore barrel shoot both?
 
It can but for slugs you don't gain anything with the longer barrel and the shorter barrel is easier to maneuver while deer hunting, climbing into tree stands and such. On the other hand the longer 28 inch barrel swings smoother for aerial targets. Normally the short barrel is left at cylinder bore, also it can be rifled to help with accuracy with slugs and the longer barrel will have choke tubes to help pattern the shot at various ranges.
 
ok, thank you everyone for your help and guidance! I think ill go for an 870 unless i handle one i like better. But which model should I get and which barrel(s)? there's a lot and they all look the same to me...:o
 
Don't modify your shotgun until you have shot it enough to know why you want to change it based on experience. A lot of people get a shotgun with a full length magazine tube only to find it is so heavy they can't hold it up at all (or at least not very long). They also miss the fact that they can't swing it very well at a non-stationary target (i.e. they can hit a B-27 silhouette but, can't swing it on a moving target).

For a cheap shotgun, Wal-Mart with the Remington factory rebate is the best deal for a good quality shotgun. Old Ithaca Model 37's are nice, so is a Remington 870 Wingmaster or Police Magnum. I never warmed up to Mossbergs or Winchesters.

The real sleeper is the Benelli Nova pump. The Italians know how to make a good shotgun and the Benelli Nova's are one example of how they take a classic and make it better. That shotgun handles better then a Remington and is the smoothest pump I have used. The local mass market place has the 3" model with solid stock for $350, 3 1/2" with solid stock for $380, and the 3 1/2" with comfor-tech recoil adsorbing stock for $480.

A word of advice regarding accessories, take the money for a the magazine extension, side saddle shell holder, etc. and use if for training. If you can't solve an anti-social situation with 5 rounds in the tube, 8 won't help. With practice, you can shoot a few and load a few automatically and you will retain the lighter weight "nose" of the shotgun and you will have a higher virtual capacity magazine. I have moved on to a Short Barrel Shotgun (SBS) personally because I like the better handling characteristics in tight spaces like my house and I really like the lack of weight way out front (I can focus on the swing to make up for the lack of smoothness more inertia would give me with a heavier shotgun).
 
I will add that a shotgun, or rifle for that matter, is not the firearm to have in your hands if you are going to try and clear your house rather than calling the police. I consider these firearms to be defensive inside the house. Once you start prowling your house you have shifted from defense to offense. Their place is defending a bedroom or staircase. I live alone but do have the occasional overnight guest (my ex-wife) who stays with me at times. The proverbial "bump in the night" that wakes me up is dealt with in the following manner. First a lamp or overhead light goes on in every room of the house at the same time except my bedroom (the hall outside my bedroom is lit) and a tape player with a loop tape starts playing the announcement "THE POLICE HAVE BEEN CALLED". I keep at least one lamp with 100 watt bulbs in each room. Second I wait a few minutes to let a possible intruder exit. Normally 10 lights going on simultaneously along with the tape will make even a stupid thief leave. Next I turn off the tape player and listen, if all is quiet I arm myself with a handgun. If my ex is there she will be on the far side of the bed on the floor with my H&K 121 and a cell phone. I will then clear the house room by room checking doors and windows. If I do hear someone moving about my house after I turn off the tape player I will immediately call the police and stay barricaded in the bedroom. I keep a little flashing strobe light with a front door key attached to toss out the bedroom window for the police. This is basically what my father would do except he would herd us all into his bedroom while using a shotgun to defend the staircase. I also had a similar plan when my daughter was young and living at home.

Why a handgun? because when clearing a house a long gun becomes a liability. You either have to lead around corners with the barrel thus giving a BG something to grab that has pretty good leverage or you can use high or low ready which is easy to sweep away and step inside of when you come around a corner. A handgun can be held close to the body and is much harder to wrestle away or step inside of. When all is clear I use my ex's middle name so she knows it is all clear and I am coming back into the bedroom.

For the lighting I use the Radio Shack Plug N Power units. Radio has dropped these but the are still available from the manufacturer at 10x.com. 50 bucks will buy a control pad and 8 remote switches, a single button will turn everything on at once. Trust me this will scare the pee out of a BG, blind him with light, and confuse him badly.

I know it does not sound very macho to hide behind the bed with a gun but my first priority is the lives of my family and myself. Everything is my house is insured but I have to be alive in order to collect.

One other thing, no members of my family have a key to my house. If my brother pisses off his wife and wants to sleep on my couch he has to ring the doorbell or better yet call me first. I do not want to shoot a drunk friend or family member by mistake.
 
Absintheur said:
[...]Once you start prowling your house you have shifted from defense to offense. Their place is defending a bedroom or staircase.[...]
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Absintheur, as always this is a very good post, with very good advice.:thumbup:
I was gonna suggest something similar, but since I have no experience with guns other than on the range or while hunting, I didn't say anything.
 
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