What's Your Favorite Pump Gun!

R

rc

New member
All repeating pump action shotguns are really amazing machines, but some are just better designs! I've used Ithacas and BPSs and Mossberg 500s and Winchesters. But it seems that of these, a solid argument can be made for the Model 500 series as the best combination of design features that with a real mettle safety and trigger housing would be about perfect. The low cost, that's just a bonus.

But I have to admit, when one wants a butter smooth action above all else, the award for best pump goes to the Ithaca pump!

While taking some of the best design features from several guns, the BPS just doesn't have the smooth handling characteristics of the Ithaca even though much of the design is the same.

And the Remington 870, the most "popular" pump shotgun in America seems to be more temperamental than the others....

So what's your favorite shotgun? rc
 
My favorite pump gun

Winchester Model of 1912.

Field grade, 30" full choke 12 gauge

Made in the 1920s

it was my 16th birthday present, bought at auction for $125, it amazed me that my Dad was able to spend that much, we didn't have much money back then and it was close to half a month's wages for him. I know he hoped to get it for less, but there was one guy bidding against him which drove it up. Dad gave me the money, I want and paid for it, and as I was carrying it back to our seats, the other guy asked me "what is it?"

I read the words on the barrel, "Winchester Model of 1912".
He said "I'll give you $200!"

I said, "no, sir..."

There's other slicker working pumps today, but that one and I have a special connection, especially now that my Dad is many long years in the home of the wind. That gun is going nowhere, except to my grandson, eventually.
 
In order of preference

870
BPS
Benelli Nova
Winchester 1300

I think the Browning BPS is the best gun of the bunch, but it is a little heavier than I care for and I just shoot the 870 better. And I think that is a big part of why it is so popular. It just balances and points well for most people.

The Mossberg 500 has some design features that rule it out for me, but the Mossberg 590 addresses most of those. For a personal defense gun I'd rate the 590 a tie with the 870.

Never heard of an 870 being temperamental. None of the ones I've seen were.
 
There are some reports of rusting with the Remingtons and poorly finished chambers that cause shells to get stuck and fail to extract.
 
i have a older light weight remington 870 in 20ga with a modfied 28" vent rib barrel and it gets hunted the most for small game over all my other shotgun(26)
 
My favorite pump gun of all time is the Remington Model 31-the pump-actions on these shotguns are slicker than frog snot on a mirror. In terms of contemporary pump shotguns, my vote goes to the Browning BPS.
 
I've only owned two in my life and now only have one.

BPS- great action, great trigger. But I could never get comfortable with the stock. Sold it.

Ancient Wingmaster- LOVE this shotgun. The action and trigger are like melted butter.
 
Remington model 17
20 gauge pump . My grandfather bought it in 1929 . He had a good job at the Standard Oil Refinery in Baton Rouge , Louisiana and could afford the trim new Remington Pump to hunt squirrels, rabbits quail and woodcock with . As far as I know it was the only shotgun he ever owned . Passed down to my Dad who passed it on to me .
It has always been my favorite to hunt small game and birds .
Light and trim ...just a joy to carry and shoot .
Gary
 
I shot trap for years and years with an old Remington wingmaster. The safety and slide release always seemed in the wrong place and that damn loading gate would snag gloves in winter months, but the gun always felt right when shouldered and pump action was well worn and really smooth. That being said, I now own a mossberg 500, all the controls are in the right place, I'm still trying to get used to it after 15 years and I can't hit a damn thing with it.
So, logically, I say the mossberg 500, but my heart says the old Rem Wingmaster wins.
My brother on the other hand has had the same Ithaca 37 for at least 30 years, probably closer to 40 years, and says all other pump guns are pure rubbish so...who knows.
 
My experience is wide and varied, but generally with very little time on any given model that I didn't personally own. So, I have to fall back on what I grew up with and what I own:


Winchester Model 25.
The M12 is a runner up.

The Model 25 is everything good about the M12, minus the extra weight, bulk, and complication of the unnecessary take-down feature.

My M25 is a 12 ga, of 1952 production, with a serial number composed of only 5s and 0s.
Lots of stories. Lots of history. It has been bent. It has been broken. It is completely worn out. It even blew up once...
My grandfather bought it for $35 in about 1968, I estimate, in quite poor condition. From there, its life has been a roller coaster.
 
16 posts and not one picture? What's wrong with you guys?

First shotgun I ever fired was a Winchester 25 in 1970 when I came home from the service. Since then I've owned 2 pump shotguns, 2 were Mossberg 500's and a S&W Eastfield model. I'm on the second 500 now.

Wish I could say I've fired them all but I can't. But here's a picture of my 500 Mariner.

2iUzYOxl.jpg
 
IMHO the Old 97 Winchester is about as good as it gets. It fit`s me better than any shotgun I ever put to my shoulder. I even carried a 97 WIN in Viet Nam in 1968 & 1969, never had a single problem with it. I have two of them now.
ken
 
I'm a fan of the Ithaca 37, with the Winchester Model 12 a very close second.

For years I wanted a 20 ga 37 Featherweight with the ribbed "corn cob" forend. When I worked in a gun shop one day, somebody walked in with one and wanted to put it on consignment. It was covered in surface rust and was so dirty the manager wouldn't take it in. I bought it for a song, took it home and started cleaning it. After a lot of 0000 steel wool and light oil, all the rust disappeared and it looks terrific today. Real steel and walnut, smooth action and a joy to carry.
 
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