Total shotgun novice looking for some help!

M

mr00jimbo

New member
Hey all!
I'm 19 years old and the only gun that I currently have is a Sig P220 9mm. I've been into handguns cause they're easier to operate, IMO and more fun at the range...however in Canada you can't shoot them unless it's at a range, so I'm looking for a shotgun and a .22, both for regular plinking.

i've narrowed the shotgun i want down to either a Mossberg 500 or a Remington 870, but I know both have their ups and downs and will not instigate a "which is better" argument lol.

I'm leaning towards the 870.
Some general questions, sorry if they sound "stupid."

-What's the difference between the regular 870 and the "super magnum" or whatever?

-Looking for a good recoil pad; limbsaver or whatnot any good? Any recommondations?

-Now I'm going to be shooting this gun when I go visit my sis and her hubby; she constantly has bears around her area. I love bears, they are one of my favorite animals BUT if one attacks me I will not hesitate to put it down; which would I need for that; a 2 3/4" or 3"?

-What exactly are "chokes" ? I don't wanna do anything too fancy, I want something that will shoot both slugs and shots out of the same barrel; is it a smooth barrel that'll do that? I don't need super accuracy as of yet.

-How easy is it for the 870 to come apart and clean? Is it hard to put back together?

-How "reliable" are they?? I am a big fan of keeping my stuff maintained...how easy is it to clear a jam?

Thank-you!!
 
Both are good choices and very easy to disasemble and clean. The super mag is 3 1/2" some people preffer that one for turkey and geese because it gives you longer range ability. Chokes are usually described as IC improved cylinder, M modified, and F full. the fuller the choke the smaller your pattern is supposed to be. 2 3/4 or 3" slugs are okay for bears. you can shoot any rifled slug from a smooth bore barrel. Someone else can probably shed more light into this subject of in depth details.
 
I have had two shotguns, both 870s. My first was a 24" barrel camo Super Magnum and I originally bought it for hunting. I sold it only because I never went hunting. I then bought an older, circa 1956, 870 to use as an HD weapon and I really love this gun. Both were great.

To answer some of your questions, basically any shotgun you pick up will be smooth bore and the rifled shotguns are only for slugs. And most will have the improved cylinder. You can shoot any shotgun ammo, in that particular guage, through this choke. Buck, Bird, or Rifled Slug. The nice shotguns will have screw in chokes to allow you to taylor your pattern with what load you are using. If you get one of these just use the improved cylinder choke and you'll be fine.

The Super Magnum 870's will take up to 3 1/2" shells while the regular shotguns will take 3" shells, some only take 2 3/4" shells. As far as recoil reduction I'd have to tell you to take a look at www.knoxx.com. They make replacement stocks for Mossy's and Remmy's. I have their compstock on my 870 and it really helps reduce the recoil. My follow up shots are much faster and I can shoot all day without any pain. Their SpecOps stock is said to work even better, but I didn't like the looks. And if you plan to carry extra ammo visit www.mesatactical.com. Their sidesaddels are awesome. Way better that the plastic ones and only slightly more expensive. Plus their customer service is great.

As for defense against bears I'd say you need to stick with slugs. Buck shot just won't have the penetration needed to reliably take down a bear. I have rilfe sights on my 18" and I can put slugs center of mass on a human sized target at 100 yards. And use the most powerful load you can handle, ie 2 3/4", 3", or 3 1/2". Even if you have a bead sight you should be able to be pretty accurate with slugs at the ranges you'd be defending yourself at.
 
870

You should find someone to take you out and give you a shotgun basic course. If you lived near portland OR I would be happy to.

The 870 is super easy to clean. even eaiser than your sig. you don't need to disassemble it to clean it. just clean off the bolt face and swab out the barell. If you want to fully take it down it is 1 "nut" and 2 pins that push out and a squeeze of the "op rods" Note mine was 30 years old before i learned how to take the bolt and triger group out.

the 870 is very very reliable, only issue comes from the user not fully pumping the action (short stroking).

It is highly unlikely for a jam to occur. if it does probably user error.

Really you should think of walking away rather than shooting at a bear.

the 870 comes with a recoil pad. the effects of recoil is over rated. All my grilfriends have shot my 870 with no problems.

Its nice to have one that is threaded for chokes. Never shoot it with out a choke in it. IC and C are good for skeet, M, IM good for longer range stuff like duck hunting. F is good for a little longer range stuff.

you can find out alot about shot guns on remington's website. Including the most common shotgun sports, trap, skeet and sporting clays.

when you learn how to shoot one you will find sporting clays or skeet very entertaining. I like it a lot better than punching holes in paper pistol shooting.
 
Oh I forgot. Nice choice on the Sig. I love my 220 .45acp. And you don't really need to clean a pump shotty all that much or all that well. This comes from a guy who almost gets sick when he doesn't clean his other guns right away. But the 870 comes apart real easy. If you have a non extended mag you just unscrew the nut on the end of the mag and the remove the barrel. If you have an extended mag you take the support bracket off and unscrew the extended mag, then remove the barrel.

The only maintenance I do to my 870 is reapply RemOil ever month or so and run a Boresnake through the barrel after I've shot it alot. Maybe clean the poder residue out of th action every now and then. Pump shotties are very tough and don't need any TLC. Just keep shooting them and the action and trigger will only get better with time.
 
Thank-you for the replis! :)
I'm not keen on shooting a bear for no reason, and would definately walk away slowly...sometimes that doesn't work, though.

only issue comes from the user not fully pumping the action (short stroking).
Click to expand...
If that does occur, how can you "fix" or "clear" it

Oh I forgot. Nice choice on the Sig. I love my 220 .45acp
Click to expand...
Thanks! :D
 
If you short-stroke a pump shotgun all you have to to is re-rack to gun. It will most likely me locked up so you will have to press the button that unlocks the slide and just re-rack. You will be minus 1 live round but you can always pick it up if you have time and reload it.

That's the beauty of the simple pump guns. They are very easy to understand, just like a revolver. And pump guns are made to be pumped rather briskly. Short stroking won't be a problem unless you try to be gentle or stop short during the stoke. If you are firm and follow through it will probably work every time.
 
onemsumba said
when you learn how to shoot one you will find sporting clays or skeet very entertaining. I like it a lot better than punching holes in paper pistol shooting.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth!

My 870's get shot almost weekly now. Sporting Clays is just too much fun to be legal.

Anyway,

I would suggest that the 870 be the gun for you with a 20" rifle-sighted (but smooth bore) barrel. Get a magnum if you can find one. Most of these seem to be choked IC but CYL will work fine as well. The rifle-soghted barrels are great for shooting buck and slug accurately. There are rifled barrels for the 870 but these are only good for slugs and I would avoid these if you can.
I prefer fixed choke barrels which means that I cannot change the choke but this has never been a problem for me. I have a '55 Wingmaster with a 28" fixed MOD-choked barrel that I use for all the clay games and then I use my 20" rifle-sighted barrels for my "social" guns. I have a gaggle of 870's but you only really need one and a couple barrels IMHO.

Mike
 
I Reccomend the 870, because of the abundace of parts and accesories and their hell and back reliability. I love mine. I would reccomend spending the extra money on the 870 Wingmaster instead of the Espress. It has a much nicer finish and is easier to keep clean. As for a .22, I'd go with a Ruger 10/22 for the same reasons listed above. Happy shooting.
 
You will have the best pump gun ever. 870.

The 870s that left my ship when we got, for some odd reason, 590s, had more than HALF A MILLION ROUNDS to their names. Find me any other weapon that can do that, and you've got a winner.
BTW: We broke maybe three firing pins in five years shooting 12 shotguns.
That's it.
 
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