Shotgun or Rifle?..

M

MilitaMatters

Inactive
Really need some help deciding lol..

I know exactly which ones I want for each choice, but sadly the one bane of the married man is money. I can only afford one or the other.

My purpose for buying would be defence, general marksmanship training, open-carry, hunting and cheap shooting.

My options are a Mossberg 590 12-gauge or an AR of some kind.

I am experienced with both shotguns and rifles but I was wondering what the ups and downs of each were. Ammo price, hunting limitations, practical limitations, weight, etc.

If anyone has more questions let me know and I'll try to answer them as I can.

Thank you,
-MM
 
There really is no such thing as "general marksmanship training" with a shotgun.

I am not sure about about the point of "open carry". A rifle will likely be lighter and easier to carry. What was the point of open carry?

For hunting a shotgun gives you many, many more options for short ranges under 150 yards for practically all types of game. This does not mean "better" just more options. It is very difficult to hunt past that range with a shotgun.

For "cheap shooting" cheap 12ga target loads are about the same price as cheap 5.56 ammo. However shooting cheap target loads in a shotgun is mostly less enjoyable then in an AR unless you are into skeet or trap. Since you are not I would not see the point.
 
MilitaMatters said:
My purpose for buying would be defence, general marksmanship training, open-carry, hunting and cheap shooting.

My options are a Mossberg 590 12-gauge or an AR of some kind.
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The Mossberg 590 with a 20" barrel isn't going to be much good for hunting except possibly as a slug gun. Home defense it serves a role, but the rest it's pretty much worthless compared to a good AR-15. I'll just go ahead and say it, open carrying a rifle or shotgun while not illegal in a lot of places is going to bring you a lot of unwanted attention. Don't be surprised if you don't have law enforcement called on you for open carrying a long Gun.

For the majority of what you want to do an AR will serve you better. However, for about $800 You could pick up a decent bolt action rifle with scope and a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870. Which would do everything on your list well, and still be within the price of a nicer budget AR-15.
 
Neither. A self defense shotgun is almost useless in hunting and an AR in 223/5.56 isn't legal in most states to hunt deer.

If you want an opinion you have to tell us exactly what you are going to do.
I have a Mossberg 500 with 28 inch barrel. It has killed geese, grouse, pheasant, quail, squirrels, raccoons..... and one deer. This gun will do 100% of my needs but I like options.

I have a Winchester 94 in 30-30 that has shot grouse, squirrels, raccoons and quite a few deer.

In the long run if you want to shoot birds get a shotgun but the one you chose although being the "best" from Mossberg isn't the best for hunting. Besides cylinder bore is a horrible choice. At least get a gun with interchangeable chokes.

If you want to shoot 4 legged animals then get a rifle but probably not an AR in 223.
 
n AR in 223/5.56 isn't legal in most states to hunt deer.
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Most of the states that do not allow 223 do not allow 30-06 either. There a few states with weird restrictions allowing only shotguns or straight walled rifle rounds. There are only 4 states that allow rifle hunting and do not include 223.

I wouldn't hunt anything larger than deer with a 223. And I'd not use a 223 for deer if I had something larger. But with good bullets a 223 is every bit as effective as a 30-30. I wouldn't stay home if that is the only rifle I had.

The AR platform is very versatile. They are far lighter and more compact than any shotgun. More effective for SD or HD. They can be very accurate for hunting or target practice and are very inexpensive to shoot. Recoil is a small fraction compared to a shotgun. An AR will hit you with about 5 ft lbs of recoil. A shotgun loaded with slugs or buckshot closer to 30 ft lbs. About the same as a 300 WM.

The shotgun you are considering is not a versatile design. It is HD and SD only and not really suitable for hunting. A hunting shot gun with a shorter barrel such as one of the Mossberg 500's with a 24" tukey barrel would make a better dual purpose gun since it will use interchangeable choke tubes. It could be used for hunting or skeet shooting and with a shorter 24" barrel make an effective HD or SD gun.

The obvious answer is to get both. The question is which do you get 1st. I'd buy the AR 1st, but there is no wrong answer.
 
They are far lighter and more compact than any shotgun.
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Not really..............most ARs are well north of 7#

For what the OP wants to do:
My purpose for buying would be defence, general marksmanship training, open-carry, hunting and cheap shooting.
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without further clarification as to open carry and hunting, we're all just speculating

Either will work for HD and cheap shooting
 
What are you hunting? Because if it is fowl of some kind it basically renders the AR nearly useless (and illegal for hunting fowl in many places)
 
You can have more fun on a budget with a shotgun. Pick up some cheap shells, a case of clay birds, and one of those plastic hand held throwers and you can get the whole family involved. Ever tried skeet shooting with an AR? Don't.
If you get a shotgun with screw in chokes you can hunt deer, turkey, waterfowl, small game, Bigfoot. Whatever. :D
 
no such thing as "general marksmanship training" with a shotgun.
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Sure there is - kind of.
Not in the usual sense there is for rifle and handgun maybe, but hitting the intended target always requires training and practice.
For shotguns, there's the clay sports and my favorite - steel challenge type matches if available.
Or some kind of home made version if not.
Being able to quickly engage multiple targets is essential for developing home defense skills, too.
 
Go with the shotgun, they are very adaptable. Get a slug barrel with a scope mount for deer and a 18.5 barrel for home defense. The 26 inch barrel it comes with covers everything else. Now you have all the bases covered.
I have a Rem. 870 with the above except the short barrel is 20 inch with a Carlson turkey choke. It's my go-to farm gun.
 
MilitiaMatters,

You've asked for two "tactical" choices to do hunting and home defense.

If you are hunting birds, get a shotgun. Doesn't have to be a Mossberg 590, especially since magazine restrictions make having an extra long ammo tube useless for hunting.

If you are not hunting birds, get a 30-30. Even a break action single shot rifle will do you for hunting deer.

But you can get a shotgun and a 30-30 used for the cost of an AR or Mossberg 590 new. And for home defense, if you can't do it with a hunting shotgun and a 30-30, odds are you can't defend it with an AR or M590 either.

Jimro
 
What are you hunting???? What can you legally hunt with.

You talk about Budget and then mention an AR.

For the price of a decent AR you can get a Lower grade (but excellent) Remington 870 and a Ruger Amercan (comes in several calibers).

If I had to shop on a budget, but wanted to do all you mentioned, I'd get the 870 and a Ruger in 308. There isnt anything in North America you couldnt hunt with those two firearms and you'd have less then $800 in the pair.

If I could only have one, it would be the Rem 870. I have molds where I can make buck shot, slugs, and bird shot. Could shoot that sucker pretty cheap.

There is a lot of competition you can do with the Shotgun, Trap, Skeet, Sporting Clays, and even shotgun steel matches.

Then again, I dont hunt birds, I cast bullets for my 30 cal rifles, I can shoot a 308 cheaper then I can 22s at todays prices.

I have nothing against ARs. I have 3 of them, but they're not the end all of shooting. Not near as versital a bolt gun.

EDIT: I just checked Cabela's. You can get an Ruger American for $450 and a Remington 870 for $350. Thats $800 for the pair that will do anything you want. If you shop around, at Walmart and such you can beat that.

You want find an decent AR for that, not to mention you're limited with what you can do with the AR.

If you're looking for tacti-cool, then by all means, get an AR.
 
You can legally hunt anything with a shotgun. Many places won't allow you to hunt any game animals with a .223.

A decent 12g shotgun will give you more options than an AR for all the things you mentioned.
 
A 12 gauge shotty with deer slugs can take deers out to about 50 yards. With buck it can take them or coyote out to about 25 yards.

With birdshot, you can take all kinds of birds.

Shotgun, no brainer.
 
If I was on a tight budget and wanted a versatile long gun, I'd start with the Remington 870 in 12 gauge and then buy a shorter barrel for home defense and some different chokes to go with the stock barrel for hunting.

I could hunt small game, birds, hogs, bears and deer with the longer barrel using appropriate ammunition and chokes. When I was done, I could put the short barrel on for home defense.

My next purchase would be a decent .22lr for marksmanship practice. Then a center fire rifle to use for hunting at longer ranges.
 
For the price of an AR you could buy a maverick 88 and a Savage axis. IMHO there are no one gun that does it all well. Every one has it's pros and cons. Prioritize your needs and pick the one that best fits.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk
 
"...bane of the married man is money..." Not enough money applies to everybody. No need to be married. snicker.
"...an AR of some kind..." Your Federal government has a hate on for AR's right at the moment. That alone might become a consideration in the near future. The .223 is kind of limiting too. Ok for up to deer if it's legal where you are and you use the right bullet(that being critical), but it's no good for anything larger.
Daft hunting regs are everywhere too. Parts of Southern Ontario have calibre restrictions put in place so long ago nobody remembers what bunch of idiot civil servants did it. Nothing over .275 or .270 in some of 'em, by the cartridge name, not the bullet diameter.
A 12 gauge shotgun is more versatile. Put a rifle sighted smooth or rifled barrel on and you're set for deer. Change the barrel(you can buy a combo that comes with a slug and a bird barrel) and you're set for birds and other small game. However, like Old Bill says, they ain't for marksmanship training. Too much felt recoil.
"...A 12 gauge shotgun with deer slugs can take deer out to about 50 yards..." Fixed it for you. A slug is good for a lot farther than 50 yards. Accuracy with a rifle sighted, smooth bore can be expected to be 2 to 3 inches at 100 yards. Less than that with a rifled barrel.
Buckshot is far too unreliable to hunt with. Even at 25 yards.
 
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