Shotguns

[jfs82]

Thanks everyone, got a lot to digest here.

 

[KJH]

I would avoid Mossberg pump and autoloading shotguns at all costs. I sell guns for part of my living... I don't want the hassle of a return.

For a "just to have one" gun, I wouldn't get excited about a Nova unless the price was spectacular. A used 870 would be my first choice, followed by a new one. The newer Remington 887s are in the same category as a Mossberg. A Winchester SXP would be ok if the price was right. The Browning BPS is a quality piece, but the bottom load and eject is either a curse of blessing depending on who you are.

 

[Reburn]

benelli super nova FTW.
Shot one for many many years before going to a benelli super vinci then to a super black eagle 3. 870 is a workhorse as well but it went the way of the dodo for the super nova which just killed for me better.

Never looked back from by super black eagle 3 though. fired 2 cases of 3.5 fasteel duck loads and never a hiccup or a cleaning.

Get what fits best. get a 3.5 mag. you can put 3" in a 3.5.......not the other way around.

 

[BigMuddy]

Sad to hear that the iconic 870 Remington has gone down hill. They are (were I guess) great shotguns. My ranch partner has a Nova and he swears by it. He has taken some turkeys at "way to far out there" with that gun.

I agree with the comments on the Mossberg. I shot the 835 when the 3.5" shells were first made available. No turkey in woods is worth what it felt like shooting that thing. It didn't pattern all that well either.

Good luck in your search.

Dan

 

[TNKnoxville]

I've had Remington's, Mossberg's, Browning's and Benelli's. The Benelli's fit me best. I'm 6'3" have big shoulders and chest. The Nova and Super Black Eagles where a good fit with just a little shimming. The worst were the Remington's and Mossberg's. You really have to shoulder each gun to see what works.

Was looking to pick up a turkey only gun and got a Stoeger P3000. Benelli Nova design, owned by Benelli made in Turkey. Gun was $269 put a Carlson XR Turkey choke on it an it's shooting lights out out to 40 yards. Not fancy and no shim kit but it fits perfect for a Turkey gun.

Never really needed the 3.5", 3" works fine and doesn't rattle your teeth as much!

 

[Desk Jockey]

Get on gun broker and buy a late 70's Remington 870 in good condition.

They're a fraction of the price of the "new and improved" crap being pushed today.


they will out last you and your grandkids.

Yeah. Not to confuse the OP but I agree with this.

Problem is those old remingtons are getting harder to come by. Used to be you could pick up an old wing master or retired police magnum for peanuts and turn it into something nice with a new stock and finish and a little work and still come out ahead on $$$. Tougher to do these days where those guns price when you can find them.

I have a nice old 1187 I love. My 870 are on “loan” to various “friend” that may never give it back . I sold my last 1100 when I went Benelli and don’t think the new ones are worth the price they are asking. I bought a new 870 to build a slug gun. The trigger was so bad I swapped out the whole trigger group. Throw in a few other mods and I could have bought a savage bolt slug gun for the price. Did the same thing with a turkey gun. Started with a Remington express. Tweaked some internals - ejector etc. Didn’t like the stock. Put a scope mount on it for an RDS. Added an aftermarket choke. By the time I was done, I had way too much in it compared to just buying a really nice turkey gun from another brand. I may be a bit biased because I have had mixed success with 700s over the last 10 years too. One shoots like a laser. The other is all over the paper. Triggers, stocks, more tinkering...anyway I have grown to love brands like Benelli and Tikka that you pay a bit more for upfront but then you don’t end up having to half rebuild them to get them shooting well. End of rant...

 

[letrbuck]

As everyone else has said, fit is everything. I have personally seen some Mossbergs have issues so I don't consider them... some people swear by them

I bought a Nova when they were first released. I have killed more critters with that gun than I'd ever be able to remember. It has never given me issues and has thousands of rounds through it. It has been used as a club to break ice out to set decoys, and as a canoe paddle on 2 different occasions. Had the action completely coated in ice and still functioned fine.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I love my Remington 870s, old and new. I haven't had any issues with them not doing what I want them to do.

 

[NDGuy]

Just bite the bullet and get something sexy. Like a Benelli Montefeltro or a similar shotgun. You may luck into good wood grain like this that looks pretty and shoots amazing!

If you have to stick within budget I would get an older 870, SXP, or Benelli Nova. All solid for what you are paying.

 

[Sodbuster]

Go with the auto loader.
Recoil will be softer with any size shell you shoot.

Benelli super black eagle 1,2,or 3.
Eats anything you put in it and has spacers to adjust the stock length and cant to your shooting style.

You don’t need 3.5 inch shotgun shells but they work and you may want to try them.
Can triple as a coyote calling gun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JD5521]

Agree. Shotgun is all about fit for wingshooting.

I haven’t found a Remington shotgun that I was happy with in a longtime. Just still don’t think they have their mojo back.

I know you said you don’t like autoloaders but I am close to 15 years into a Benelli m2. “Ole Ben” has downed everything from squirrels to rabbits and pheasants to to quail to chukker to ducks to geese. I flirted with 3.5 inch shells and an SBE for a while but it didn’t do it for me. Back to Ole Ben. He goobles up 23/4 inch shells just fine. 3s work great but in a light gun, are not fun. I clean him once every 4-5 years if he needs it or not. In 1000s of rounds, I can only remember 1 or 2 ejection issues and once or twice he hasn’t gone fully into battery or I have pulled the bolt back a bit while walking. In any event, I can probably count the misfires and malfunctions one one hand. The team Benelli guns regularly run them over 100k rounds before retiring them. Just tough as hell and worth every penny I paid.

THIS!

 

[isu22andy]

Get the autoloader. Dont need to spend 1800 dollars on a Benelli. Ive seen Stoeger M3500s run right besides my Benelli SBE . Same concept and parts, just a little cheaper machining and metal . Still a 5 year warranty on all the parts.

 

[Sodbuster]

Don't have to do the Benelli . I had two version 1's and traded them in for a pair of the 2's . Chrome lined barrel, Cryo treated steel and they moved the safety behind the larger trigger guard.
Our lesser Goose season in the spring is no limit and a hot cornfield can be shot all day then go right back the next day. Lots of gunning gets done.
Been playing with Tungsten turkey loads for awhile and the killing range on that stuff is amazing.It is also the hardest shot going so a quality barrel and choke tubes are must as an investment for me.

i use leftover buffered, copper plated turkey loads for close quarters coyote calling in the thick stuff.
If I am lucky there may be multiple yotes show up for fast action.

That Stoeger looks like a replica of the SBE but I have never seen one in the field.

I still recommend the auto loader and a stock that fits the OP.
Use the closed eyes, mount, open eyes and look down the barrel method as mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[mcndrew]

Not even considering the metal quality: Remingon’s QA/QC, in my personal experience, has been abysmal.

My 700 had the receiver drilled and tapped on a different axis than the barrel (using up 2/3rds of scope’s windage). A friend’s fancy grade stainless 700 had a burr in the barrel and shot 8-12” at 100yards, and another friend’s 870 had the famous anti-extraction grooves in the chamber.

The 700s are from the late 90s-early 2000s, the 870 from 2016.

Mossberg 500 ad: They feel cheap, but much more owner serviceable than 870s and ive had decent customer service.

Aside: Im very curious about the made-in-China, Remington licensed 870 copy. Limited accessory options or i’d have one...

Not even close to the quality they used to be unfortunately. Sad as they were such an iconic "working mans" shotgun that still had more heirloom potential over the other offerings in similar prices. How many if us had a wingmaster passed down to us? Even the 870 expresses from the 90s and early 00's were wonderfully builtshotguns.. current production appear to be melting pot metal down and instead of CNC machines they're paying prisoners with cigarettes to do the work with a file

 

[hodgeman]

Agree.
I know you said you don’t like autoloaders but I am close to 15 years into a Benelli m2.

^^^ This. My M2 is 13 years old and has decked almost everything I can hunt with a shotgun. I swab the marsh out of it once a year out of pure guilt. For a "One shotgun for everything", an M2 is a pretty compelling choice. I had a pile of 870s and Mossbergs before the M2, never looking back now.

 

[Thinkingman]

Go shoulder them and see which fits you the best. They all handle different to different people . Proper fit will make the difference when wingshooting geese. As long as it goes bang you’ll be fine for turkey.

Fit, not somebody's personal favorite!

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Not even considering the metal quality: Remingon’s QA/QC, in my personal experience, has been abysmal.

My 700 had the receiver drilled and tapped on a different axis than the barrel (using up 2/3rds of scope’s windage). A friend’s fancy grade stainless 700 had a burr in the barrel and shot 8-12” at 100yards, and another friend’s 870 had the famous anti-extraction grooves in the chamber.

The 700s are from the late 90s-early 2000s, the 870 from 2016.

Mossberg 500 ad: They feel cheap, but much more owner serviceable than 870s and ive had decent customer service.

Aside: Im very curious about the made-in-China, Remington licensed 870 copy. Limited accessory options or i’d have one...

I believe it. I bought a 700 sps around 2013 that was pathetically built. Similar to yours the scope base mounts were canted off axis, action was rougher than a corn cob, etc... I vowed that to be the last "new" 700 I'd ever buy. I sold it before I ever shot it.

I havent had your luck around mossbergs though. I thought I was shooting alongside the 1st decent one I'd ever seen last summer at a sporting Clay's event. A member on my team showed up with a new one and was proudly discussing the price and how bombproof it was. By the end of 50 Clay's it was doing what every other mossberg pump I've been around does ejecting 2 shells at a time. I'm sure there's some good ones out there, but most of my buddies that buy them turn them into Turkey guns (1 and done) and/or upgrade for a serious waterfowler. I do respect the company and their mission, but man it seems like the issues today are the same ones from when I was a kid and they could have remedied them by now

 

[mcndrew]

Well, we are talking about shotguns that were designed as “economy” tools. I got the cheapo model 500 and definitely noticed a fit/finish difference from a friends higher-end version. My GF got the child’s version of the cheapo model and it had some issues with the shell stop shaving brass and grabbing shells while feeding. Easily fixed with some judicious stoning, but not exactly ready to go from the box...

Curious if you know what the source of the persistent double feed issues you have witnessed are?

Ive also been issued 870s for work and have had sight and ejector issues. I broke an ejector (barrel trunion/stub movement? 2018 marine magnum) and was also issued one already broken (oldschool model). The front sight on TWO rifle sighted slug gun models fell off and through our helicopter basket (in flight). The third one I checked and it also needed to be peened...

The new 870 Marine Magnum (2018) has threads in places that were desined to be brazed, and the re-design with threads for even easier manufacture was poorly or not engineered.

Legacy designs... Modern corporate cost cutting... Inertia driven shottys are very compelling!

I believe it. I bought a 700 sps around 2013 that was pathetically built. Similar to yours the scope base mounts were canted off axis, action was rougher than a corn cob, etc... I vowed that to be the last "new" 700 I'd ever buy. I sold it before I ever shot it.

I havent had your luck around mossbergs though. I thought I was shooting alongside the 1st decent one I'd ever seen last summer at a sporting Clay's event. A member on my team showed up with a new one and was proudly discussing the price and how bombproof it was. By the end of 50 Clay's it was doing what every other mossberg pump I've been around does ejecting 2 shells at a time. I'm sure there's some good ones out there, but most of my buddies that buy them turn them into Turkey guns (1 and done) and/or upgrade for a serious waterfowler. I do respect the company and their mission, but man it seems like the issues today are the same ones from when I was a kid and they could have remedied them by now

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Curious if you know what the source of the persistent double feed issues you have witnessed are?

I don't but to be fair, don't own a mossberg. Just been around several. If I did, I'd be more inclined to look into the issue. It has to be pretty common with the frequency I've experienced it.

I do know it's been going on since I was a kid all the way to (as recently) as last year. Its' actually become quite comical in my group having the spent shell eject along with a live round out of the bottom.

I haven't looked at an 870 for a while now but believe what you're saying based on other things I've seen the freedom group throw out lately.