I want a shotgun...

B

BAB

New member
...but I need your help in picking one. I don't know much about them, and have never even fired one. I don't have much to spend either ($400-$500 or less). The main duty of this gun would be home defense. I am leaning towards a pump-action. What should I look for as far as...make? model? capacity? rifled/smooth bore? etc, etc. Thanks to all for your help!

Dennis--sorry if this, being a shotgun question, would have been more appropriate on the "Shotgun" board, but I felt it would get greater exposure here. Still, if this is a problem, feel free to move it over! :)

[This message has been edited by BAB (edited August 09, 1999).]
 
Remington 870 Express 12 gauge pump...modified choke and get the sub-model that will handle 3 inch shells. Not too spendy, good quality and can be serviced by anyone.

oh yeah...smooth bore
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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"




[This message has been edited by DC (edited August 09, 1999).]
 
DC, somehow I just *knew* you would suggest the Rem870, just from your mentioning of it in other postings :) I went to Remington's website to check it out...it does look nice! I didn't see anything though about a "sub-model", unless I missed it. Could you elaborate?

And also, what's the capacity of the 870?

Thanks!

[This message has been edited by BAB (edited August 09, 1999).]
 
Mossy. 500 or 590, depending on your wants/needs. I have a 500 which takes 5+1 3" shells. Cost about $250, IIRC. Action on it is smoooooth, patterns well with different shot sizes, and a lot of different barrels.

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A vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.
Vote Libertarian - For A Change.
 
I should have said "option" instead of "sub-model"

Just like you have the option of different chokes, you have the option to get it that uses standard 2 3/4in, or also 3in shells.
Capacity...5 in the tube and one in the chamber.

I have the 870 Wingmaster...its a bit more spendy and a bit "prettier". I recommend the Express as its cheaper (but has the same time-tested Wingmaster action), esp as you say its primary will be home defense. Also, get the 26" barrel

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"




[This message has been edited by DC (edited August 09, 1999).]
 
BAB,
You'll get more exposure on this forum and I doubt that you'll get any better advice than the folks here can give you.

Some of the shotgun experts may not be interested in the General Discussions here. So, if you are interested in modifications to your shotgun might want to check the shotgun forum too.

Me? I bought a Mossberg 500 because it was cheaper than the others. I leave the chamber empty (San Antonio ordnances...) but I have seven #4 buckshot in the tube, six more in the sidesaddle, plus five slugs on the stock. If I can't win with 18 shotgun rounds, I got into something pretty bad or I was awful slow.

Oh, I have the .45 to use to fight my way to my shotgun! ;)
 
Thanks for the input so far. Looks like it's narrowing down to Remington 870 and Mossberg 500. I'll have to go check 'em out and get a feel for 'em.

Okay, now DC recommended a smooth bore. Can one use slugs in a smooth bore? Generally, what are the duties of a smooth bore vs. a rifled bore?

Thanks!
 
Out of all of the possible shotgun choices for home defense, one couldn't be better equipped than with the Remington 870. However, I'd like to add a few things.

You can find new and used 870's all day long at just about any gun show. Try to stay with the 870 Express Magnum in 12 guage, therefore you can use 2 3/4 or 3 inch shells. The Express Magnum comes stock with a matte finish (similar to parkerized), satin oiled walnut stock and forearm, and usually a 28" vent rib barrel with choke tubes. A piece fitting this description can be found for as little as $200 (but more likely between $225 - $300 at most shows).

Once you have acquired this beauty, you'll need to dress it up a bit for your specific purpose of home defense. This is why it is preferred to buy a used one. Firstly, and most importantly, get a magazine extension so your shotgun can hold as many as 7-8 rounds. These can be found through catalog houses like "Cheaper Than Dirt" (CTD) for about $30. Next and second in importance is to fit it with the shortest barrel you can find over 18". Remington makes several Express Magnum improved cylinder barrels in this short dimension for around $75-$100 (have seen them at gun shows for $75). Then get yourself a pistol grip to replace your stock (about $16 at CTD). You can also get a pistol grip forearm (also $16 at CTD). If you've gone this far, go ahead and get a barrel clamp with sling swivels ($5)(this allows your magazine extension to be clamped tightly against your barrel) and a sling.

You can also get a BeamShot laser ($80) for your new piece with a push button mounted on the front pistol grip. Now, load it up with OO or OOO buckshot in either 2 3/4 or 3 inch shells and you'll not only be ready for the bad guys, the look of your new doodad alone will scare them silly!!!

A close 2nd choice is the Remington 1100 or 11-87, doing similar modifications as above, except the stock (which cannot be shortened or replaced with just a pistol grip). This is a semi-automatic and is very easy to operate with one hand.
 
DC is right on recommending the Remington 870. I would suggest the 870 express as the best choice. There are other cheap shotguns out there but none will last as long as the 870, also parts for 870's are everywhere and every half baked gunsmith can work on them.

The big plus is the huge number of accessories available. You can easily extend the magazine to hold more rounds, change barrels in a snap, add stocks, shell holders, sights etc. If you want to go hunting, you can change from a slug barrel to a standard barrel with screw in chokes quickly (just remember that some types of hunting require the magazine to be plugged to hold only two shells).

Shotgunning is my favorite activity and at present I own only two guns, a high dollar K80 and an 870. The K80 shoots clays and the 870 everything else, if y2k is as bad as they say the 870 will be my first choice.

Geoff Ross
 
BAB,

I used to have a Mossberg model 590. It had an 8 rd tube, bayonet lug :), heat sink on the barrel, plus accomodation in the stock to hold 4 more shells. Oh, yeah, it was chambered for 3" shells. Not bad for $340!

I "used to" have it because we sold it to help pay for my Texas CHL ($150 class, $140 to the state. Ow!). Will be purchasing another sometime, as it is our priority in firearms purchases to get another shotgun in the house. BTW, my wife has shot a Moss 500 with pistol grip and just loves them.

My $.02 (do I got change comin,? ;))

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"Is fhe'arr teicheadh math na droch fhuireach"
-Sarabian Oomodo

If it isn't Scottish, it's CRAP!
 
One more good thing about the 500: if you get it with the short barrel and take it to the trap range, you'll irritate the hell out of the other shooters in two ways:

1) Being able to hit clays with a short cylinder bore, and
2) The muzzle blast/concussion is fearsome.

Speaking from experience, I am. :)

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A vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.
Vote Libertarian - For A Change.
 
Yeah, you can use slugs in a smooth bore but as its not rifled your accuracy is iffy after say 30 yds or so...you'd still hit an elk, just not necessarily where you intended.
Rifled (slug) barrels will play hell with your shot pattern and really lead up after awhile when shoot buck or shot loads.
Better to shoot slugs thru a smooth bore than shot thru a rifled barrel.

I've never bothered to get a slug barrel, but as K80 said they are easy to change over

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"
 
Remington makes a HD home defence gun in the 870 12 gauge It is listed in the catalog under HD.

Cost about 350.00

It is not listed on the web site, but you can pick up a catalog in you local gun shop.

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"Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms under our own possession and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?"
- Patrick Henry
 
but from what i have read on the mossberg line only the 500 has changable barrels

the 590 is a one barrel pony

dZ
 
dZ,

What you said about the 590 is probably true. I don't know if mine had a changeable barrel or not, and wouldn't really care when I buy another as I'm disinclined to fiddle with it. If I have a shotgun for home defense, that is strictly what it is for. That's just me, though. If you want to change barrels and shoot clays and hunt duck and hunt deer and slice potatoes with the same gun, great! Guess I'm just lazy... :D

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"Is fhe'arr teicheadh math na droch fhuireach"
-Sarabian Oomodo

If it isn't Scottish, it's CRAP!
 
The difference between the Wingmaster and the Express is in the finish. The former is polished and blued and the latter is beadblasted and blued. Savings in labor is passed onto the consumer in a lower priced gun. I'd go Express for self-defense. Less glare and less care (about wear on finish).

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt
 
Let me be the next to put in my vote for the Remington Express.

I am very much against the use of pistol grips, however!
They interfere with the easy use of the shotgun's slide release (esp on Mossbergs!), and ruin the ergonomics of the safety. They also add considerably to felt recoil. I've been trying to figure out for YEARS what the benefit to a pistol grip (or worse; two pistol grips!) are to a "tactical" shotgun, other than to make them look "dangerous."

Good modifications for a home defense gun are: ghost ring peep receiver-mounted rear sights, a sling (which requires swivels), a quality magazine extension to bring the magazine capacity from 4 to 6, and a butt cuff, which will keep from sliding around on the stock if you put the buttstock sling-swivel through the elastic. I'm very impressed with the toughness of the synthetic stocks, too.

Nice thing about 870's-- they are the standard, and are EASY to find good parts for. They're well-supported, too; everybody works on them, and Remington is quick with replacement parts and (free)manuals for them.

Who could ask for anything more?
 
Parkerized Mossberg 590 with Ghost Ring sights! Sidesaddle shellholder and speedfeed stock. That's what I keep with my knife for household intruders.

<img src=http://members.aol.com/kingknives/mossberg.jpg>

Hey, if I ever poked anybody I could say "at least I didn't shoot you" (just kidding)!

[This message has been edited by kingknives (edited August 09, 1999).]
 
Throw in one more vote for Mossberg. I've been very happy with my 590. Around here we refer to it as the "House Howitzer"!
 
Of course, if you want to go first class, check out the Remington Marine magnum 870.
High capacity magazine, stainless steel action and barrel, black plastic stock.

These guns are made for sailboaters who travel around the world. They resist corrosion and require less maintenance, ideal for people who want them for self protection but won't shoot them often and won't do the normal maintenance. the Remington model is stainless steel, mossbergs model is plated.

Geoff Ross
 
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