Upgrading my shotgun

[Jbotto]

I can tell you that I've got 4 really nice shotguns that average about $1700 each. I've also got an old 870 express. Guess which one I shoot better with and Haskins never let me down. Waterfowl gunt probably 25 to 30 days per year. I doubt I'll even hunt with the benellis this year.

Yet another post that shows we could be friends! I have a handful of 870’s that are all set up differently. I still mainly grab the same worn-in express that I shoot better than the rest.

 

[Nick87]

Yet another post that shows we could be friends! I have a handful of 870’s that are all set up differently. I still mainly grab the same worn-in express that I shoot better than the rest.

Yup the more wore that thing gets the better I shoot it. Got all hung up on benellis a few years back. Don't get me wrong they make an awesome gun, but was having issues with it and pulled the 870 out that I hadn't shot in quite a few years. Geese came in and I shot a triple with it. Kinda thought to myself why the hell did I ever "upgrade" from this thing.

 

[Idahoarcheryhunter]

Pumps are great, most reliable. Like everybody else 870’s have been around a very long time for good reason. Personally I’ve shot a semi auto for about twelve years now but will always have a few pumps laying around. Lots of good options out there on both sides of the coin that don’t break the bank either.

 

[Don Fischer]

Well My early gun, not first, was a Mossberg 500 12ga. Only had a 2 3/4" chamber but people have been shooting ducks and geese for a lot of years with 2 3/4" shell with no problem. I have an old Ithica mod 37 in 16 ga and really nice gun but I seldom take it our and won't coinsiuder selling it. I'm a SxS shooter. Have three AyA's and two CZ's to go with the Ithica. Two 16's I never get to, a 20 I got just to have two 28's my go to guns and a 410 I used to back up a 28 with till I got the second 28. Lot of really good guns out there in any action you'd care to get and about any guage you care for. But opinion's on the internet are popularity contest's and we pretty much all swear by what we use or the most expensive you can buy!Sounds to me like your getting either a pump or an O/U. Go to sporting good store's and look at all you can. Find one that feels good to you and you like looking at and holding, that's the gun to start with. Guns are a very personal thing! if your gonna throw in deer also, get a shotgun and a rifle. don't try to make a shotgun a jack of all trades! About any new shotgun you get today will come with screw in choke's. If you get a used gun look for mod choke. Mod pretty tight for shots on grouse but tad loose on ducks and geese. Should work well on doves, pheasant set. I've killed an lot of birds with a mod choke from grouse to a few geese. Your question is one with a lot of right answer's, just depends on what you like. I don't hunt water foul or doves anymore but if I did I'd take one of my 16ga's, the mod 37 or the AyA.

Where do you live in Oregon?

 

[FairWeather]

Well My early gun, not first, was a Mossberg 500 12ga. Only had a 2 3/4" chamber but people have been shooting ducks and geese for a lot of years with 2 3/4" shell with no problem. I have an old Ithica mod 37 in 16 ga and really nice gun but I seldom take it our and won't coinsiuder selling it. I'm a SxS shooter. Have three AyA's and two CZ's to go with the Ithica. Two 16's I never get to, a 20 I got just to have two 28's my go to guns and a 410 I used to back up a 28 with till I got the second 28. Lot of really good guns out there in any action you'd care to get and about any guage you care for. But opinion's on the internet are popularity contest's and we pretty much all swear by what we use or the most expensive you can buy!Sounds to me like your getting either a pump or an O/U. Go to sporting good store's and look at all you can. Find one that feels good to you and you like looking at and holding, that's the gun to start with. Guns are a very personal thing! if your gonna throw in deer also, get a shotgun and a rifle. don't try to make a shotgun a jack of all trades! About any new shotgun you get today will come with screw in choke's. If you get a used gun look for mod choke. Mod pretty tight for shots on grouse but tad loose on ducks and geese. Should work well on doves, pheasant set. I've killed an lot of birds with a mod choke from grouse to a few geese. Your question is one with a lot of right answer's, just depends on what you like. I don't hunt water foul or doves anymore but if I did I'd take one of my 16ga's, the mod 37 or the AyA.

Where do you live in Oregon?

I’m in Eugene. Pretty interested in all the species that can be hunted at the Fern Ridge WA. I’ve only got about $500 to work with, so I’m thinking about an 870, or a Stoeger OU. I used to have an 870, and I did quite like that shotgun, so I’m kind of leaning towards that option, and holding onto the 20ga too.

 

[Jbotto]

I’m in Eugene. Pretty interested in all the species that can be hunted at the Fern Ridge WA. I’ve only got about $500 to work with, so I’m thinking about an 870, or a Stoeger OU. I used to have an 870, and I did quite like that shotgun, so I’m kind of leaning towards that option, and holding onto the 20ga too.

If I was walking with it more than I’d be sitting with it, a 20ga would be my choice. I’ve started hunting chukars a bit here in WY and that 12Ga 870 started to feel like it’s 20lbs fast.

 

[PorterHouse]

Based on your budget and parameters, my vote would be a Mossberg 500 or an older 870 Wingmaster if you can find one in good shape (you couldn’t pay me to have anything made by Remington in the last 5 years give or take…too many QC issues).

On the other hand, if you can stretch your budget another $150-$200, the Beretta 300s are great guns (semi-auto with 3” chamber). I’ve been using its predecessor, the 3901, for the last 10-12 years and that thing is bombproof. It just runs!

FWIW, semi auto will kick less than a pump or O/U. And as someone else already mentioned in the thread, unless you get into goose hunting, there’s really no need for a 3.5” chamber, especially with modern waterfowl loads.

My $0.02…take it for what it’s worth. Happy shopping!

 

[Ben Lamb]

A $500 o/u isn't going to be as much gun as you want, but a $500 pump will outlast you & keep shooting for years to come.

I'd go to your local gun store & shoulder the pumps they have & see which one fits best. The Benelli Supernova is a great value, and the 870 is still the standard to beat.

Get the 12 gauge as well. Far more versatile & ammo is generally easier to find.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I’m in Eugene. Pretty interested in all the species that can be hunted at the Fern Ridge WA. I’ve only got about $500 to work with, so I’m thinking about an 870, or a Stoeger OU. I used to have an 870, and I did quite like that shotgun, so I’m kind of leaning towards that option, and holding onto the 20ga too.

Avoid Stoeger. Junk! And terrible customer support. Very bad combination.

You will not need 3.5" for anything but wasting money on ammo and orthopedic surgery. I shoot tons of geese with 3" BB @ 1550 fps.

Fixed modified would be good for just about everything (sorry, Don, but since steel shot has been mandated full choke isn't for waterfowl ... modified with steel pretty much gives same pattern as lead full choke and shooting steel in full choke usually gives a ruined barrel). If you find a nice used full choke shotgun you like, don't worry. For a nominal fee any gunsmith can open full to modified on just about any shotgun (a few exceptions though so check with smith before buying).

 

[runningmt]

Hard to beat an 870

 

[Seamaster]

For waterfowl an 870 in 12 ga. would be my choice. With target loads it is fine for doves also. For doves and grouse either a 20 ga or a 12 will do the trick. If you get an 870 don't get an older model with a fixed choke, but rather get a newer model with screw-in chokes.

 

[MNElkNut]

There always has to be a dissenter in every group and I will take that role in the 870 lovefest. I had a couple and they were junk. They jammed. They broke. They didnt fit me well at all. I missed with them when I could hit with other guns. Watched my uncle shoot at a deer with his...boom, pump, click, pump, boom, pump, click, pump, etc.

I have been shooting my Beretta 390 since 1996 and have had exactly 1 jam. Shot in trap leagues for years, so this gun has a LOT of rounds through it. My 870 had 30 jams in a few years.

My advice would be to find a gun that fits you as your first priority. Ask friends to shoot theirs, go to a trap range and see if they have some rentals. Just shoot a bunch and then pick what you like best. And if that is an 870, just hope it isn't one of the ones I had!

 

[longbow51]

I'm for sure not a pump gun expert, but it seems, like with other things Remington, just from seeing comments on various groups, it matters when they were made. Old, foolproof, then not so much, then junk. Now, under new management, don't know.

 

[RaiderRich]

Not much to add to the discussion but yes a pump shotgun is a great versatile option. I own both Mossberg 500s and Remington 870s. Both are reliable. The Benelli offerings from what is said are great as well though I have no experience with them. Definitely go 12 gauge and get at least one chambered for 3" shells but better 3.5" shells. They can still shoot the shorter shells. Find something that has a choke tube option and has an offering for a rifled barrel if you will use it for big game. Go to the gun story and handle a few and see what feels good.

 

[OntarioHunter]

A few comments on the above comments. First, the fella with the Jambmaster 870 was without a doubt shooting a cheap Express model of later vintage. For years Remington kept making those with rough machined chambers that would grab shells and jamb or fail to eject. It's an easy fix at the gunsmith. Some folks fixed it themselves with drill and polishing compound. What's less easy to fix is the crappy metal and finish that rusts if you sneeze on the gun. As I said, 870 is a good workhorse ... just stay away from Express models unless you know it's an older (very older) model.

Next, don't shy away from a nice older 12 gauge Wingmaster with fixed full choke. Lots are available relatively cheap. Factory fixed modified were more uncommon and now more in demand so they usually bring a higher price. For starters there are TONS of aftermarket choke tube barrels available for 870 at very reasonable prices. As I mentioned above, reaming out a fixed full barrel to modified is a cheap fix (probably only slightly cheaper than just replacing the barrel). And finally, you can shoot steel through a fixed full 870 barrel. I did it for most of thirty years. It's one of the few factory barrels built tough enough to take it. Modified gives a better pattern but I killed hundreds of honkers with mine. Just don't shoot bigger than BB steel or more gas than 1550 fps. You can find this verified numerous places on the web. But if I still shot that gun I would probably get another choked barrel for it because I now hunt a helluva lot of uplands and shoot a lot of skeet.

A 3.5" gun has a receiver that is half an inch longer (even designated 2.75" older guns usually utilized 3" receivers). A longer gun is no fun to carry and a longer action doesn't cycle as efficiently. It's all unnecessary. In the unlikely event that you decide to undertake the enormous expense of getting into waterfowl hunting (decoys, calls, blind, DOG, etc.), MAYBE then consider stepping up to a huge, brutalizing, expensive to shoot, totally unnecessary, designated goose gun. But a fixed breech 3.5" cannon? No. If you go that route, get an auto or you will be unhappy ... out of money and likely physically hurt. Shoot a 3.5" once and you'll see what I mean. Add to that the fact that almost all 3.5" guns are relatively new and, for whatever reason I will NEVER understand, purposely designed to be lighter weight. A pump action is generally always lighter than an auto. Lighter = more felt recoil. In the case of 3.5," a fixed breech, lighter weight pump gun will have MUCH MUCH more felt recoil than an auto. Years ago I put my 870 3" magnum away because I am one of the unfortunate few with fragile retinas prone to spontanious detachments (three in the left eye and numerous tears in both eyes). I bought an old Browning A-5 long recoil semiauto 3" magnum with 31" barrel, specifically because it's probably the heaviest twelve gauge shotgun ever made (for weight it was a close race with the old magnum Remington 1100s but those guns could ONLY cycle 3" shells). I later switched my A-5 to plastic for durability but added weight to compensate. I'm guessing it's still nearly ten pounds unloaded. Besides being safer for my eyes, I shoot a heavier gun better. Less inclined to flinch and it swings better. Light guns are too whippy. Anyway, every once in a while on trap league days when weather is really crumby (like today!) I'll dust off the battered old 870 to shoot a couple rounds. After the first station of shooting mere trap loads I always ask myself how the hell I put up with that brutal jarring for decades. I simply cannot imagine the punishment 3.5" shells would dole out in that gun!

 

[OntarioHunter]

A $500 o/u isn't going to be as much gun as you want, but a $500 pump will outlast you & keep shooting for years to come.

I'd go to your local gun store & shoulder the pumps they have & see which one fits best. The Benelli Supernova is a great value, and the 870 is still the standard to beat.

Get the 12 gauge as well. Far more versatile & ammo is generally easier to find.

Right! A $500 O/U is a headache waiting to happen. Tristar, Hatsan, Mossberg (also made in Turkey), etc. Just junk. I've seen them all come and go at the trap club. One young fella is on his third set of firing pins for crappy Mossberg. He finally bought a used $1,700 (Canadian money) Browning and is now shooting the lights out with it. If you want an O/U that will last, you'll have to pay for it.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I’ve had new and old 870s, even have a couple Express models. I’ve never had a moment’s trouble out of any of them.

There ain’t enough weight difference between the 12 and 20ga 870 with the same barrel lengths to matter. If you want a 12ga, get the 3.5” version. Shooting steel 3.5” loads aren’t bad at all, so don’t like that scare you. I don’t even notice them. For turkeys, I like a youth 20ga.

I’m a big 870 fan and will never buy anything else, as long as they keep making them.

 

[ludville1]

870

 

[Don Fischer]

People have the habit of liking and recommending the guns they use, of course if they like them only. Guy get's an 870 for his first shotgun and use's it the next ten years and never handles another gun and ask him to recommend something and it's probably gonna be an 870! problem with recomendations is few people have used enough different brand's of anything really enough to say which is better. I see $500 O/U's got bashed but I saw a new one in a Bi mart that looked pretty nice to me. if I was into O/U's I'd try one. My 20ga CZ SxS cost me under $500 new and my latest CZ 28ga Bob White cost me $300 with ten box's of ammo and looks new. It not a Purdey but it didn't cost $100K either! I'm not so sure there's a gun on the market I'd call junk, why in the world would any name brand gun maker market a piece of junk. But there are certainly different brands and some I like better than other's but that does not make the other's junk! You want to know what to get? Go looking for what you can find local so you can pick it up and handle it a bit and get the one you like. Could be you'll have a problem here and there and most reputaable companys will take care of it for you. You don't make a living selling products by running off your customer's. Stick to older established brands early on and trade up as you gain experience. Now and then you will maybe get burned, no guarantee you won't get a bad one but get it from a company that has a reputation for taaking care of customer's. Would not phase me to buy a new Remington pump, I just wouldn't go for their inexpensive model's. Samr with any other company. Look for something you like and give it a shot! The only one that has to like what you get is you!

As for $500 O/U's it may be true you won't get much for $500 but, saw, I think it was a, Stevens O/U some time back brand new for just under $500 and if I was into O/U's I'd have bought it. My experience with Steven's is an old 12ga SxS I had years ago. heavy but indistructable! I'm sure Stevens is like Purdy. Now and then a bad one get's out! Steven's has been around a long time, there's a reason for that!

 

[N2TRKYS]

People have the habit of liking and recommending the guns they use, of course if they like them only. Guy get's an 870 for his first shotgun and use's it the next ten years and never handles another gun and ask him to recommend something and it's probably gonna be an 870! problem with recomendations is few people have used enough different brand's of anything really enough to say which is better.

There may be some truth to that. I’ve only shot Benelli, Franchi, Mossbergs, Winchester, and Remington. Even so, I still prefer an 1100, 11-87, or 870 to any of the other ones I’ve shot.