Which shotgun for HD and clay shooting?

[ysr_racer]

Shotguns are all about fit. If the gun does not fit you, you will not shoot it well. Go and shoulder a few that your interested in. Better yet see if you can rent one, or if someone would let you shoot their gun.

If it does not fit, you must get rid of that ****.

[JagerDog]

An AR style pistol grip isn't friendly to the safety position on the Mossberg.

I do like the one-hand capability of an AR style stock in HD mode and have Speedfeed on my 870. But I have enough shotguns I don't need to reconfigure.

[pennstater]

Nice Wingmaster!

Ain't that nice? Really like the Wingmaster's. He did that one fine by not over doing things. It is all anyone needs for the house.

[LowThudd]

An AR style pistol grip isn't friendly to the safety position on the Mossberg.

I do like the one-hand capability of an AR style stock in HD mode and have Speedfeed on my 870. But I have enough shotguns I don't need to reconfigure.

With a 500 a Maverick cross bolt safety trigger group can be used. Not so much on the 930.

[serper3]

I don't own an A300, but a friend has one and he swears he has never cleaned it.

I shoot the piss out of mine, and clean it once a season whether it needs it or not.

It's probably the simplest gun to disassemble there is.

They do mean the gas system like mentioned here. other older gas guns were a pain because of this. i already have probably 1500 rounds through my a400 and have never cleaned the gas system. my friend has probably 6,000 through his without cleaning his gas system. he shot his for around 3-4k rounds without cleaning it at all. just make sure its lubed up appropriately.

Since we're giving opinions, here are mine:

re: 'semi or pump':
Doesn't matter if you're only shooting trap, but if you plan on shooting skeet, 5 stand, or sporting clays a semi will make that easier. Though plenty of people shooting 'just for fun' use pumps, no one that is competitive does (not that it matters in your case, if you find that you want to compete you'll get a different gun anyway). As a purely fighting shotgun I'm not sure I'd want a semi, but that's just me, and I'm not a gunfighter.

why would you want a pump for an hd gun? you are 1,000 times more likely to short stroke a pump than have an issue with an a300. once a pump is short stroked it is usually a pain to get it shooting again whereas if an auto has an issue they are usually easier to get shooting again, at least in my experience. again an a300 will be infinitely more versatile and effective in clay shooting. shooting just trap gets boring after a while and is such a small piece of clay shooting.

[XVIga_Rob]

Nice Wingmaster!

Ain't that nice? Really like the Wingmaster's. He did that one fine by not over doing things. It is all anyone needs for the house.

Yes Sir! I like the KISS formula.

[NapalmCheese]

why would you want a pump for an hd gun? you are 1,000 times more likely to short stroke a pump than have an issue with an a300. once a pump is short stroked it is usually a pain to get it shooting again whereas if an auto has an issue they are usually easier to get shooting again, at least in my experience. again an a300 will be infinitely more versatile and effective in clay shooting. shooting just trap gets boring after a while and is such a small piece of clay shooting.

Because I use a pump gun to shoot about a billion ducks every season (seriously, I'm that good, or at least I shoot that many rounds, maybe not that many ducks) and short shucking is not something I'm worried about. Even if I did short shuck, there's not a lot that can't be fixed by running the action again, hard, and pulling the trigger. If a semi jams, fails to feed, whatever, you now have to grab a little nubbin on the side and hope you have enough purchase on it to run the bolt. Like I said, I'm not a gunfighter, I'm just some dude that shoots things so I can turn them into food.

Let me put it this way: the person that takes a shotgun class that lasts 8 hours for two days has 16 hours of practice running their gun with some induced malfunctions. The person that hunts with their gun all season, every season, has 4 months of practice every year running their gun and dealing with malfunctions in stressful situations and crap weather.

[pennstater]

Because I use a pump gun to shoot about a billion ducks every season (seriously, I'm that good, or at least I shoot that many rounds, maybe not that many ducks) and short shucking is not something I'm worried about. Even if I did short shuck, there's not a lot that can't be fixed by running the action again, hard, and pulling the trigger. If a semi jams, fails to feed, whatever, you now have to grab a little nubbin on the side and hope you have enough purchase on it to run the bolt. Like I said, I'm not a gunfighter, I'm just some dude that shoots things so I can turn them into food.

Let me put it this way: the person that takes a shotgun class that lasts 8 hours for two days has 16 hours of practice running their gun with some induced malfunctions. The person that hunts with their gun all season, every season, has 4 months of practice every year running their gun and dealing with malfunctions in stressful situations and crap weather.

Maybe also, most people prefer the less expensive pumps. They are always on sale someplace.

[Horrendo Revolver]

I'd get a Mossberg Field/Security Combo. 28" field barrel and 18.5" HD barrel. The first online dealer I checked has them for $550.00. If you are going to go with just a field barrel I'd shoulder a standard 930, SA-08, V3 and A300 then pick the one that shoulders best.

Self cleaning shotguns are a myth. Though I prefer gas I've never seen one run cleaner than an Inertia gun.

[Garandimal]

A good HD load makes a big difference.

How many rounds of this do you really need to stop the threat(s)?

GR

[baekacaek]

They do mean the gas system like mentioned here. other older gas guns were a pain because of this. i already have probably 1500 rounds through my a400 and have never cleaned the gas system. my friend has probably 6,000 through his without cleaning his gas system. he shot his for around 3-4k rounds without cleaning it at all. just make sure its lubed up appropriately.

Hmm, few thousand rounds without cleaning (gas system) sounds pretty good in my opinion. I've heard that the Mossberg 930 need to be cleaned after few hundred rounds. Of course I dont have one so I can't validate/invalidate the claim. Just from what I've heard so far, the "self cleaning" feature for A300 does help a ton.

[pennstater]

baekacaek,
As I mentioned, I do have/shoot a 930. Not sure technically how a A300/A400 self cleans or remains clean as I do not own one. The 930, as with many gas SG's, are pretty easy to clean. Once you've done it, simple task. Preventive maintenance goes a long way. I only have about 1500-1600 shells thru mine, have cleaned twice. All gas guns need to be cleaned, lubed and wiped down. BTW, did you get my PM?

[baekacaek]

baekacaek,
As I mentioned, I do have/shoot a 930. Not sure technically how a A300/A400 self cleans or remains clean as I do not own one. The 930, as with many gas SG's, are pretty easy to clean. Once you've done it, simple task. Preventive maintenance goes a long way. I only have about 1500-1600 shells thru mine, have cleaned twice. All gas guns need to be cleaned, lubed and wiped down. BTW, did you get my PM?

Yup, got your PM, thanks. Im probably not going to buy any time soon though. Going to do some homework, take my time, try out different guns before deciding on one. The Mossberg 930 is on my homework list though

[pennstater]

Excellent. Not rushing into buying and researching is good.

[XVIga_Rob]

This is the piston out of my A300, with about 300 shells fired. Pretty clean and 100% functional. It will easily wipe clean with a soft dry cloth. The rings were lined up for the pic. Just like the gas rings on an AR bolt, you would run them off set.