Bargain guns?

J

JimL

New member
I see shotguns for thousands of dollars. When I ask at a gun shop about house guns I can find various models around $300.

Generally speaking, are these guns "too cheap?" Will they fail or blow up in your face?
 
Generally they are guns that have the "house label" on them. I just seen a Sears pump Ted Williams model at a store for $199. It is a Winchester 1200 pump that was made for Sears under contract. Nothing wrong with it just marked Sears not Winchester. There are many guns out there like that some are very good some are very bad. You really have to be knowledgeable when looking at this type of firearm.
 
Ya get what you pay for..........in most cases. Best thing to do is educate yourself. Dig on the internet, and ask around which is just what you are doing by coming to this website. I spent 600 bucks for a Remington 870 police shotgun. It will outlast me if taken care of which is what I am doing. Good luck!
 
You can get a Rem 870 Exp,a Moss 500,or a Mav 88 for under 300 dollars.

You won't wear one of these out and odds are they won't blow up.
 
Yeah man, my Mav 88 I got for less than $200... just a different name on the same gun, can't go wrong.

Similar in rifles, I got my Stevens 200 .308 which is a Savage under a different name... its the way to save.
 
I'd rather have my mossberg 500 than a fancy $3000 o/u. I'd be scared to put a ding in it or scratch it.

A good pump like the 500 or 870 is incredibly reliable and very durable, when you pay for a nice O/U you are mostly paying for engravings and pretty wood.
 
I've never seen a Mossberg or Remington pump gun worn out to the point of being unsafe or unreliable.

I have seen Model 12s and 97s thus,though it takes a couple hundred thousand rounds to get to that point.

Shotguns are simple devices as firearms go. On pumps, the things that gang aglay are shell latches and carriers, small springs and firing pins.

In half a century of pumpmanship, I've broken two firing pin springs, had one shell latch come adrift(Still functioned fine and a good smith fixed it gratis) and seen one firing pin that broke being dry fired in cold weather.

A US made pump, from the Maverick(Yeah, Mexican labor on US machines) to the older Winchesters and Remingtons lasts much longer than we do.

My wingshooting 870, Number Six, is older than my spouse. The paltry few thousand rounds put through it so far have merely slicked it up a mite.

My grandkids, if any, may think it archaic but it will work, even if we run a case a shells though it each and every week, and take it to Argentina yearly.

Same with the others. US made pumps love high round counts.
 
Expensive does not equal longevity

I have a 16 ga Winchester 1200 pump. The bed of my truck would not hold all the shells that have been through it. I think I paid $99 plus tax in 1972 for this 'cheap' shotgun.
 
There are bargains. I found a mint 870 express Friday that I can get for $165 out the door. I don't need another gun, but may have to bring that one home Monday if it is still there.
 
House gun info

Numrich Arms/Gun Parts Corp. catalog has a "crossover" list to research who the manufacturer was of the various house brand guns. Sears, Western Auto/Revalation, Montgomery Ward and others. Handy for repair parts and to put a value on guns. If the gun/pawn shop has a gun sale sign up, stop and look. I have a Mossberg 835 and an Ithaca 37 that I gave only $150 each for, if they aren't good shotguns I don't know what is.

"The love of violence is inherent in the human (male) spirit. The attempt to train it out of boys is both futile and immoral." Chairman Jeff Cooper
 
"Bargains" is a relative term. Even a $3,000 gun can be a bargain, depending on what it is, current market value, and what it is being compared against.
 
For 99.99% of shotgun users (HD, hunting, whatever) there isn't much that a $250 Mossberg or $300 870 won't do.

By "house gun" do you mean a gun for home defense?
 
House gun, a well known mfgr. making guns for a private retailer. Such as just about every mfgr. making guns for Sears, M. Wards and others.

Some people out there are willing to pay a little extra for the wood, fit, finish and engraving of a more expensive gun. Your Mossberg will do everything my Ithaca does and maybe more, but I like the wood and handling of my M37 pump.
 
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Price doesn't always mean better performance or reliability.

All my NEF/H&R Pardner type single shots that cost between $69 and $129 NIB, the beat Mossy 500 farm gun at $60, and the NIB $219 Mossy 500 I've bought over the years all still work like new.

Judging a gun by it's price tag is much like judging a book by its cover.
 
If you check on the auction house's, the prices starting and sold you will find that the higher quality guns retain their prices while the cheaper built guns will go for a song. There are people out in the world today willing to pay for higher grade guns, built with materials different than what you will find in the Mossberg. Check your fire control group, it's made of plastic, my Ithaca is all machined steel. No stampings, no plastic.

Years ago Winchester built the 1200,1300,1400 series of shotguns, they were made as cheap as possible with out making them unsafe. The co. management was banking on the co's. reputation to sell them, after the guns hit the market, everything went down hill from there.

What you have are fine serviceable guns that do the job very well, but not to everyone's tastes.
 
Judging a gun by it's price tag is much like judging a book by its cover.
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And thinking that a NEF, Mossberg or similar has anywhere near the quality craftsmanship, handling or balance that a nice O/U or SxS has is laughable
 
In some area's of the world if you showed up with a pump (high grade one) to hunt, the owners of the club would ask you to leave till you got a proper gun to hunt with.:D

And it one time O/U's were looked down on too.:eek:

Also remember quality doesn't mean flash, fancy engraving, or shiney finish.:D
 
And thinking that a NEF, Mossberg or similar has anywhere near the quality craftsmanship, handling or balance that a nice O/U or SxS has is laughable
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Craftmanship only matters when one fails or for resale value. If neither a high dollar or low dollar fails, or the gun isn't bought as an investment - then craftmanship is moot.

As for handling and balance, that's a factor of individual perception and not a factor of the gun. If someone has no problem hitting clays, birds and small game with his $100 K-Mart Blue Light Special - is it a lessor handling or balanced gun than a fine $20K Holland & Holland? Apparently not.

What it usually comes down to is gun-snobbery.
 
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