I can't really argue with you there Bowser. Always get the best you can afford, and in the case of shotguns it doesn't really cost that much to move into something better.
Maybe I came across harsher than I intended and if so, I apologize for that. It just seemed like any time anyone even asks a question about a Chinese gun they get jumped on for it.
Like I said, I don't own any of the Chicom stuff anymore either and probably won't be buying any in the forseeable future, but I do still track the progress of thier guns, both commercial and military issue, mostly for general knowledge sake. If someone's curious about them I'll pass on what I've learned.
I'd actually really like to test, or hear the results of a test, of one of their cheapo pumps (The Ithaca clone is $79 dealer now!) and see how they actually do perform. Think about it, their SKS's were selling for $79 or so and 99% of them performed like champs so price isn't always indicative of function. I'd had a few Chicom SKS's in the past and a bunch of my family and buddies did also until we moved on to Russian SKS's and European AK's or AR's and FAL's and whatnot. They all performed very well and most were bought during the sub $100 price days.
Still, I think we all more or less know why the prices are so low on them and where the money's going. While the situation isn't quite as some would make out over there there are certainly some serious issues with China. I look at it from three angles though:
1) we're all adults and can make the moral decision as to who we buy from on our own.
2) There are some cicumstances where I'd still consider recommending a ChiCom gun. I know some folks for whom spare cash is mighty hard to come buy.
If I was sure that the cheap Chicom shotuns performed as well as their SKS's did, then I might say that's a case of the end justifying the means. I'd rather see someone on a very limited budget with an all steel 5 shot pump 12 gauge than just about anything else they could get in that $100ish dollar price range like a Lorcin or a Jennings pistol. The good it could contribute here outweighs where the gun came from IMO.
Kinda like Israel using Nazi stamped 98k's after it's formation following WW II. The guns came from a reprehensible source, particularly to the Jews, but the fact was that surplus Nazi weapons were cheap and readily available and the Israeli's put them to good use. Sometimes that end use means more than where the tool came from.
3) Whether the Chinese intended it or not, they've served a useful function by bringing the military rifle into the everyman's life in the US. Many, many folks who'd have never bought an M-1, or M-14 or AR-15 picked up an SKS in their import heyday. It took the military rifle out of the hands of the collector and into the hands of the average American. I've heard the SKS referred to as the new militiamans rifle as it's low cost, large numbers, and ready availability have made them ubiquitous across the country, even in the hands of hunters and casual shooters.
Frankly, I'm quite comfortable with a well armed civilian population
. Much like the Israeli's using the tainted 98k's for some good I see all those Chicom SKS's finally doing some good here in the states too. They certainly arent harming anyone here and they make a nice comfortable buffer zone of armed citizens that any force, foreign or domestic, would have to deal with should circumstances ever come to that. Of more immediate gain, it took the "assault rifle" issue beyond the usual "gun nuts" and brought in a much broader group of folks who would now be impacted by by laws like the so-called Assault Weapons bills. The liberals have long tried to divide gunowners between hunters and military collectors by saying they aren't going after hunting rifles or "sporting" arms. That may well be true to their thinking but a hell of a lot of those hunter now own "evil assault weapons" thanks to the Chinese
. They now have a bit more reason to see that anti-gunners are in fact after their guns too.
Anywho, now it's time for me to get off
mysoapbox! Just something to think about.
In the meantime, I agree wholeheartedly with you, if you can afford it, you're much better off with the American 870, or 500, or, in the case of this post 1897
.