Wichester 1200 v. Remington 870 v. SPAS 12

Which of these do you recommend? (plz read the op)

  • SPAS 12

    Votes: 11 16.2%

  • Winchester 1200

    Votes: 11 16.2%

  • Remington 870

    Votes: 42 61.8%

  • None of the above

    Votes: 4 5.9%
  • Total voters
    68
F

Firepower!

New member
Hello Friends

I am in the market to buy a new shotgun to be used as HD, and may be for hunting in the woods. Please not that hunting is secondary use since I have Beretta 391 Tecknys Gold for that purpose. The primary purpose will be HD in urban as well as on the ranch enviornment.

Winchester 1200, Remington 870 and SPAS12 are the only option avialable to me here. There are others like Mossberg 500 etc, but they dont match up. Where I am Winchester and Remington will cost me about 1000$ and SPAS for about 1400$. I really dont mind the price differene between them. Availability of parts is not an issue.

Thanks.
 
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I would probably go with the Remington 870 as they are still currently made and there are lots of parts out there should you need one. The Spas is a heavy complicated gun. IIRC, there was also a recall on the safety mechanism. The Winchester 1200 is a good gun too, just not made anymore so parts may become a problem down the road.

Just my $.02.
 
500 doesn't match up? Howso? Availability of parts for a Spas 12 IS an issue whether you're in Asia or on Pluto. Go with a SPAS-12 based on what you say. But I personally prefer Mossberg over Winchester and Remington's defense/tactical guns and I've put countless hours and countless shells into determining that.


I say Spas-12, because come on, the Terminator used it. If you're going to pay a thousand where you are for a gun thats worth 250-350 (Winchester, Remington) and only 400 more for the Spas, get the dang Spas!
 
I keep an 870 as my hd goto. I think if you look almost anywhere you will be able to find a suitable one for well under a thousand dollars.
 
Well..... I would also have to say the tried and true Remington 870. The Spas is really not worth the extra money in terms of usage (especially not when considering you could be using this shotgun as a hunting gun as well)
Really, as far as I am concerned, the Spas is good for one thing... a collectible. They are neat guns and all but they aren't all that practical.
 
870 pump is a good gun / I don't know that the Win 1200 pump is any better ( maybe not as good ).

SPAS 12 - just makes no sense to me .....pistil grip, etc ...

You've left out a lot of guns:
Browning BPS pump
Benelli Nova pump
Benelli M-2 Tactical
Benelli M-4

If you want a higher end HD gun/or just something a little different from an 870 pump - why not go with the Benelli M-4 selling new for around $ 1,600 and its a lot of gun for the money.
 
I've owned all three. Many years ago

The spAs handled like a set of barbells, had to be used as a pump with birdshot. I bought it as an investment, remembering how the High Standard model 10 shot up in value after it ceased production. Then "Terminator" came out, and the spAs became commonplace, investment money down the drain. And frankly, I think they look stupid :barf:

The Remington was, well, an 870. In other words, excellent. There are so many variants & mods, you pretty much have your choice as to what you want. If I could keep only one shotgun, it would probably be an 870.

I ended up keeping the 1200, as I liked it best. Just a personal choice. I don't know what I did with it. Like I said, this was a long time ago.

I now have a 1300 with rifle sights, extended mag. I love that thing, smooth as silk, beautiful fit and finish, but it's a bit big. Shoots slugs like a rifle, keeps all 9 pellets of 00 on a sheet of notebook paper at 15 yards.

I really like my little H&R 1871 "Pardner Pump," $160 from Dicks. Handles well, seems to be well-built, easy to shoot.

For me, a pump is the only way to go. They always go Boom.
 
"Where I am Winchester and Remington will cost me about 1000$ and SPAS for about 1400$"



The first thing I'd do is find some place else to shop for guns.

My vote is for the winchester
 
I have owned all three. The Remy is the one I still have. A Police Magnum would cost you around $500, give or take $50.
 
I own an 870 and a SPAS 12....I like the 870 because it's simple, easy to find parts for and light....three things that the SPAS isn't.
I recently had to make my own recoil buffer for the SPAS because such parts are no longer available. Due to the SPAS issue I had to make a rush purchase of a bare bones 870 tactical....$250. ...twist my arm. Cant be the functionality at that price...I'm just so slow with a pump!
I'm getting more into 3-gun matches so I see a Benelli M4 or a Saiga in my future.
 
I'd go 870. The others are no slouches, but I'd worry about reliability on the SPAS- they're rather more complex than a straight up pump gun, and complexity means more things to go wrong. Between the Winchester 1200 and Remington 870, well, I have an 870 and it feel like it will last forever. The 1200 might well do so as well, but I have no direct experience with them.

For those making other gun recommendations or complaining about prices, remember that Firepower! is not in the US, so things are a bit different in his homeland.
 
There are others like Mossberg 500 etc, but they dont match up.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to figure out how a Mossberg 500 doesn't match up to a Remington 870. I've owned both and used both quite a bit and I much prefer the 500 to the 870 (I sold the 870 a long time ago and still have the 500). Our unit also phased out their 870's and upgraded (IMO anyways) to 500's....9 years later the 500's are still running strong. :cool:

If you haven't firgured it by now I vote....."none of the above"...I'd go with the 500. :D

Next would be the 870 though.
 
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