Pump Shotgun advise

Winchester model 12's are entirely affordable now. Older ones with worn blueing but otherwise sound can be found for $300.00 and less. Willing to spend $400.00? There are some nicer ones at that price. Of course there are the high-end ones out there costing thousands. They don't interest me. Mine was made in 1914, 100 years old. The blue is worn almost entirely away. Well used, it's beautiful. Except for the recoil pad, it's made of nothing but steel and walnut. Even the cartridge lifter is machined steel, not stamped. There is no aluminum. I paid $225.00 for it. It functions reliably, like the day it was made, 100 years ago. It's got longevity.
 
Glad you got the answers you were looking for.

My advice would be Win Model 12 or Rem 870. I don't care for the Mossberg, but it a serviceable gun, and generally cheaper.

My advice is also to ask shotgun questions in the shotgun forum, you are likely to get more responses than in "The Art of the Rifle" forum.

moved.
 
I personally went with the Mossberg. I chose it mainly because I like the controls better. As for the combo, when I bought it it was about $30 cheaper to get the combo instead of buying the barrel separately.
 
Can't go wrong with either one. My advice is go to the store and shoulder both and see which one you like better. There are some decent sales going on right now for the 870 express.
 
I could find no listing for a slug barrel in my older Gun Digest', doesn't mean Winchester never made one.

I did find a listing showing the 1200 and 12 prices, M1200 $100 and the M12 $825. Eight times the price of a 1200.
 
Both are good shotguns. Some of the features of the Mossberg are better like the way the shell retainers are held in (pressure only, no staking required) or location of the safety (it's ambidextrous).

I also like the Rem 870. Steel receiver, easier trigger group (for me) to work on and parts are easier to get (Mossberg tells armorers to exchange trigger groups if there's something wrong with the old one - that said, Numnuts/Numrich/Gun Parts Corp. will still sell you the parts if you know how to work on the Mossberg trigger group), more variety (left hand for me!).

If I was cash strapped, I'd go with the price.
 
Keep in mind that the 870 and 500 ran the Ithaca out of the marketplace twice and the Model 12 out permanently. Both have been in production virtually unchanged for over 50 years, and anything you could want is available.
The reason Model 1200 barrels are so cheap is the number of working shotguns to go with them keeps shrinking.
I never caught the Model 12 fever. They were very good guns, but frankly as long as a pump shotgun works impeccably, feels good to me, and looks decent, I don't care about the manufacturing process. I had an acquaintance who collected them, and he had a lot of excellent examples, but I swear he spent more on gunsmiths than I did on guns. He used to take two of them whenever we went duck hunting. I don't remember him ever needing the second one, but it said something to me about confidence. Game warden cautioned him to keep one cased, and got to where he wouldn't even look at the one in the case if he checked us.
 
There's a lot to be said about what you are used to using. I got a 50yr old Model 12 for my 16th birthday. I put that gun through a lot, and it never once gave me anything less than the best it had. It truly became a gun I could shoot well by "feel" alone. (for me, [Yoda voice] the Force is strong with that one! :D)

I've got an 870, its a great gun. Better in some ways than the model 12. Twin action bars and interchangeable barrels, slick and versatile. Good feel, if not quite the same as my model 12. About the best choice you can make today for a pump gun.

Unless you have nostalgia for the old guns, you'll get more from newer designs. If you do have that bug, nothing else is quite the same. :)

My old 12 is well past the belle of the ball stage, now pushing 90, but trust me, she can still cook with the best of them, if I do.
 
Twin action bars mean nothing, the gun needs them to operate and hold parts in line. If those bars weren't there parts would fall out!

Had that happen at the range, two guys shooting a 870 with cheap value pak shells had a stuck shell.

I pulled the barrel off and out came the bolt, removed the stuck shell and replaced the bolt and they were off and running again.

But both bars are there for good reason.
 
Mossberg for hunting, 870 for tactical. And if you're only looking for bird gun and don't plan on shooting slugs, look at the 835 instead of a 500. Same action as a 500. Just beefed up a bit for 3.5 and overbored barrel.
 
The model 12 has a single action bar. On of the (few) complaints about it was that if you twisted the forend, you might bind the action.

Twin action bars generally avoids that, and provides a smoother "feel" to cycling. That's what they're there for.
 
cw308 said:
Need your input on a 12 gauge combo. Will be used for bird hunting & deer, looking at the Rem. 870 express combo & Mossburg 500 combo. Or is it best to buy the shotgun & extra barrel. What pump would you advise.
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Benelli Super Nova. PM me and I will tell why, I have owned all the above and the NOVA is superior.
 
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