what is a good model shotgun?

[brokenhalo9]

a great model of shotgun would be the AA 12.
full auto, drum clip, grenade rounds, what more can you ask for?

[redrex]

I had a lawyer and gun owner once describe the situation to me like this: Bad guy has broken in, you confront him with said shotgun, he does something stupid and you shoot him.

Now you are on the stand facing a grand jury, this is Cali after all, and they are trying to decide if you were just a normal person forced to defend yourself or some gun nut just waiting for the chance to shoot someone. The victim and no you are not the victim here, is of course seen as just some poor boy who accidentally entered your home while wearing all black and carrying a knife at 3:30am.

The DA brings up exhibit #1 Your shotgun. Which do you think would look better? That pistol gripped, weapon with a side saddle, heat shield and bayonet or your everyday bird gun? How did one guy put it. "What, this old thing. Heck I was just lucky I was able to find a couple shells to load it".

Me? I've got the Mossy 500 Big 5 combo. One second it has its short barel, clipped on flashlight and buttsock sleeve shell holder, the next it's just a plain old bird gun that I go clay shooting once or twice a year with.

[ZombieTactics]

... The DA brings up exhibit #1 Your shotgun. Which do you think would look better? That pistol gripped, weapon with a side saddle, heat shield and bayonet or your everyday bird gun? How did one guy put it. "What, this old thing. Heck I was just lucky I was able to find a couple shells to load it" ...

OLD LAWYER SAYING: "If you did the right thing, it doesn't matter what gun you used. If you did the wrong thing, it doesn't matter what gun you used".

Regardless, you'd have to be asking for it to own some of the configurations I've seen.

[5539]

The guns suggested above are good, but which one is Good for you?

Before you buy, go to a few ranges, rent and try.

I recommend that you go to JD's website, www.aiptactical.com and read the information, he has provided.

Try to eliminate, The woulda, coulda, shoulda syndrome and research many threads, so you don't have buyers remorse.

You may find that you can, better handle a smaller gauge, 12 gauge is not for everyone.

Tactical Shotguns, are not permited, as a rule on Skeet and Trap Ranges.

John

[JWD87]

What do you guys think about the Franchi SPAS

[cali_armz]

a great model of shotgun would be the AA 12.
full auto, drum clip, grenade rounds, what more can you ask for?

id love to get an AA12, but i dont think those are legal, even in semi auto configuration.

i could be wrong though, as i dont remember seeing it specifically named in the roberti-roos AW guide

[cali_armz]

What do you guys think about the Franchi SPAS

SPAS 12 is a really cool shotgun. id be ecstatic if i could buy one. the SPAS 15 is even cooler, but those are incredibly expensive. plus you cant get replacement parts on them because both models are discontinued. i suppose maybe you could machine the part yourself if you had access to the proper equipment, but honestly, if i owned either of those shotguns, i wouldnt shoot them much. id just look at them, and tear up the range with my mossberg and saiga 12

[Richard Erichsen]

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

If you don't ever plan to hunt with it, that takes a few features off the list (cylinder bore barrels are cheaper than those with threaded in chokes). If you have a budget of $1500 or so, that will pretty much cover every semi-auto shotgun, or a very decked out tacticool pump gun. If you have a budget of $600 or less, you still have a huge number of options - shotguns are about the biggest bang for the buck outside of the C&R war relics.

As for "looking" tactical, lets face it, there are a lot of crap accessories out there that are either of questionable usefulness, add needless weight/bulk or break the first time you drop the weapon or bang it against a door jam. I speak from experience having wasted some jing on accessories I later regretted.

If you have no prior shotgun experience, there are some great pump guns out there that will get the job done, even if cost pressures have meant fit and finish isn't what it used to be. Depending on the shooting style you end up training to, high quality sights may or may not be critical.

Mossberg and Remington are your top two domestically, both have large numbers of accessories available, some better and more useful than others.
Winchester and Ithica still make great shotguns, but they are a small subset of the market and accessories are harder to come by if you want pistol grip, forward vertical grips, folding/collapsible stocks, LPA sights and the like. Among the Euro crowd there is FN with its TPS and Benelli with the Nova and SuperNova shotguns.

I started off with a Benelli SuperNova and after trying to resolve a straightforward problem with their service and repair center, I finally gave up and traded it. I ended up with a less costly Mossberg 590A1 and haven't had a problem yet, though I've been warned Mossberg service isn't substantially better than Benelli's. Gone are the days of taking your weapon back to the dealer and having them fix most of the problems right there on the spot.

A few things I ended up changing or having to fix on my Mossberg:

A screw in the receiver that holds on the front of the picatinny rail was stripped and had to be drilled out and re-tapped. I didn't send it to Mossberg for this after I was told I had to wait 3 weeks for it to be returned (which I understand could easily be over a month). I sent it to a gunsmith in Texas who fixed the stripped hole, fitted the 6 shot side saddle I sent with the gun and performed work on the barrel's forcing cone, threaded the muzzle for a choke and cleaned up the trigger pull by lightening it and reducing the overtravel. I fitted a Knoxx SpecOps recoil absorbing pistol grip stock kit (comes with matching front stock), bought the Knoxx cheekrest and sidesaddle (probably not worth it in retrospect) and replaced the magazine extension with a Nordic Components extension and mag clamp, to which I added a SureFire flashlight and pressure switch. I also bought upgrade tritium night sight inserts to fit into my front and rear LPA sight bases. With regard to flashlights, the LED lights are well suited to this application, the bulb types don't seem to last long even with sparing use - something to do with the recoil rattling the filaments around or some such thing.

I bought the 20" 590A1 thinking I wanted 8 round magazine capacity, in retrospect an 18" would have been more than adequate and handier as well. If you need more than 6 rounds in the magazine, the side saddle can be used to keep the weapon topped up. 12 rounds total on the 18" model with 6 round side saddle would do the trick and would be the way I'd go if I had to do it again.

I chose the Mossberg over the Remington because I shoot left handed and wanted an ambidextrous safety. After changing to the pistol grip stock, this became much harder to manipulate since the safety position is optimal only for traditional semi-pistol grip stocks. I usually end up toggling the safety with my right hand while my left hand is in the ready, the thumb just can't reach it. Remington's safety is at the trigger guard, which wouldn't be so bad, but I'd need to have it reversed to use my left index finger or find the odd lefty model.

The FN TPS is a clone of the Winchester 1300 sold in pistol grip and traditional stock formats. The Winchester 1300 was one of the quickest, if not the quickest pump actions out there. Winchester makes a Super X shotgun which is purportedly as fast as the old 1300, but accessories are few and far between. I learned to shoot on a hand-me-down 1300 that I had for years, but sadly sold it in college not realizing what a great gun I had.

The Benelli styling wasn't what interested me, but I got sold on some hype and had problems with the slide lock and didn't care for the handling or all the plastic the receiver is literally encased in. Your mileage may vary, some owners sear by their Benelli Novas and SuperNovas. They can chamber 3.5" shells, owing to their primarily sporting use, but that's not too helpful on an HD weapon where 2.75" shells are all the power you'll need at 15 yards or less inside your home.

Good luck.

-R

[Richard Erichsen]

Probably the single biggest issue with owning a shotgun is knowing how to use it - spend some money on training with your shotgun - the gun is cheap, the ammo might not be so cheap as time goes by and your life, well, precious.

[Halfey]

That is like asking "what is the best model car?"

Ask 10 different people and you will get 10 different answers.

The best thing to do would be to take the top 5 and shoot them and see what you like.

Just like there is no "best" car their is no "best" shotgun

[7.62 Charlie]

Rem 870
Rem 1100
Mossberg 500
Mossberg 590
Benelli super 90/M4

I always pick the gun that shoulders best.

[nrvnqsrxk]

http://www.aiptactical.com/Build_Your_Weapon.html

[jetman624]

My first firearm was a Remington 870. It goes bang when I pull the trigger and shoots where I point it. What more can you ask for?

I use it for trap and skeet...

[ZombieTactics]

I am still confused. Why would someone want to buy a model shotgun instead of a real one?

Oh. Wait. Nevermind.