what is a good model shotgun?

[mr.hustle]

looking for something that looks tactical, but really just using for the range and home defense.

[ADAM]

remington 870

[mr.hustle]

mossberg 500 cruiser?
seems like a nice shotgun, at a nice price.

[BigDogatPlay]

The search tool is your friend. Your question comes up a couple of times a week.

But seriously, it largely comes down to a discussion of Remington 870 vs Mossberg 500 / 590, with the odd Winchester 1300 or Ithaca 37 thrown into the mix. All of the above are great, time tested and action proven designs. All have their positives and all have their negatives. The Remington and the Mossbergs are the most readily available these days and at competitive prices.

** The Remington and Mossberg patterns both have dual action bars, which is a great thing.

** Remington = steel receiver, strong and durable.

** Mossberg = aluminum receiver, strong, durable and a bit easier on the weight. Downside is that mounting a side saddle on the receiver for extra ammo on the gun can be problematic over time. Holes have been known to enlarge with recoil.

** Remington = single, robust extractor, in a good design.

** Mossberg = dual extractors, a very good thing, IMO.

** Remington = largest number of aftermarket parts, which is a plus for some.

** Mossberg = fixed magazine capacity on the 500's, either a four shot or seven shot tube, nothing in between. The 590's are a bit more versatile, but not like an 870 IMO.

That said... I own both an 870 Police model (dedicated HD gun) and a 500 with a couple of different barrels for both HD and sporting purpose. Both are excellent platforms.

I recommend shooting with both and see which one you prefer.

[WW2Buff]

Remington 870. Good all around shotgun that will meet your needs for home defense, range use (trap, skeet, slugs) and hunting. It will last you a lifetime and with all the aftermarket parts available you can set it up however you would like. It also comes stock in a variety of different configurations. Good luck with your decision. -Ben

[The Machine]

You said you were looking for something tactical. I like shotguns with a pistol grip and buttstock. Keep in mind that a shotgun must be aimed as with any other firearm.

[Javi]

I'll throw something in the mix:

Benelli Nova tactical.

[WW2Buff]

Check these out as well. On the Mossberg page click the arrows an inch under the Mossberg logo on the right to see more models. -Ben

http://www.remington.com/product-families/firearms/shotgun-families/pump-action-model-870.aspx

http://www.mossberg.com/products/default.asp?id=26&section=products

ETA: My vote is still for the 870, just nice to check out the competition.

[Cali-Shooter]

Mossberg 500

Mossberg 590a1

and for those on a budget, or just want awesome bang for your buck,

The Mossberg Maverick 88 "8-shot security" model.

[Reductio]

First shotgun?

Big 5 Mossberg combo.

[rm805]

Remington 1100 Tactical, I really enjoy mine

[sargenv]

Keep in mind that a shotgun must be aimed as with any other firearm.

Um, proper use of a shotgun is to point it.. you do not aim it unless it is a single projectile on a static target.. The main point of a shotgun is to hit aerial or moving targets and you need point it since it usually does not have any means to aim.. (unless you get a barrel with some kind of sights on it).

[rojocorsa]

The search tool is your friend. Your question comes up a couple of times a week.

But seriously, it largely comes down to a discussion of Remington 870 vs Mossberg 500 / 590, with the odd Winchester 1300 or Ithaca 37 thrown into the mix. All of the above are great, time tested and action proven designs. All have their positives and all have their negatives. The Remington and the Mossbergs are the most readily available these days and at competitive prices.

** The Remington and Mossberg patterns both have dual action bars, which is a great thing.

** Remington = steel receiver, strong and durable.

** Mossberg = aluminum receiver, strong, durable and a bit easier on the weight. Downside is that mounting a side saddle on the receiver for extra ammo on the gun can be problematic over time. Holes have been known to enlarge with recoil.

** Remington = single, robust extractor, in a good design.

** Mossberg = dual extractors, a very good thing, IMO.

** Remington = largest number of aftermarket parts, which is a plus for some.

** Mossberg = fixed magazine capacity on the 500's, either a four shot or seven shot tube, nothing in between. The 590's are a bit more versatile, but not like an 870 IMO.

That said... I own both an 870 Police model (dedicated HD gun) and a 500 with a couple of different barrels for both HD and sporting purpose. Both are excellent platforms.

I recommend shooting with both and see which one you prefer.

I want to add to this good post some stuff about the Winnie 1300 (since it was mentioned).

The Winchester also has twin action bars, and it's easier IMO to take part. (Not that taking a Remington down is difficult, but I feel like the Winchester is a tad easier).

Unlike the Remington, this one has an aluminum receiver--so it weighs less. I would assume this means that it recoils a little bit more than the 870, but hey...


The best part about the 1300 is its action. It has a rotating bolt that locks and unlocks very quickly. I bet that out of all the guns being talked about in this thread, that this one has the fastest action all other things being equal. That being said, I don't know anything about the Nova.

Winchester doesn't sell this gun anymore, but I think FN sells a tac'ed up model for more $$$. The Winnies can usually be found for cheap, to my knowledge. Unfortunately, aftermarket support isn't the same.

[Thefeeder]

><

Winchester Model 12 (not the 1200)...best ot the best in smoothness and quality....down side ...fixed chokes

[SparrowHanger]

looking for something that looks tactical, but really just using for the range and home defense.

You say you want something for the range and home defense. If you mean to shoot skeet and some other games besides singles trap at the range, you can use a pump but it is difficult to shoot doubles with a pump. You may want a semi automatic.

If you go with a pump, I suggest the 870 Tactical. I do not care for a pistol grip and it has none, but you can change that if you wish. It comes with an 18-1/2" barrel and ghost ring sights. Some are turned on by the looks of it's breecher choke. What is nice about the breecher is that you can unscrew it and use standard Remington chokes. It is hard if not impossible to find an 18-1/2" barrel threaded for chokes. (Note that the breeecher choke is a permanent fixtrue on the Mossberg 500 model that has one.)

That is if you don't want to be switching barrels, which is what I do. I keep the short barrel on my 870 for HD, but when I go to shoot trap I put the 28" barrel on. Sometimes I take both to the range to improve skills with the HD barrel. Knowing what I do now, were I to do it all over again I would go with a semi instead of a pump. Since I have the pump, I may just keep it for HD and hunting and get an O/U for shooting clays.