first shotgun purchase questions

[sandmanx408]

Hey fellow calgunners,

Im relatively new to the forums and as a firearm owner i just bought my second piece a couple days ago, I am already planning on buying a shotgun soon.

It is going to be mainly for Home defense, but i would like to take it to the range and maybe go clay shooting once in a while. basically i want a good all around gun, but like i said mainly for home defense

I was looking at mossbergs, bennelis, beretta, saiga, and Remington

Ive kinda favoring the Remington, because it is an American company and the 870 is a proven firearm.

I went clay shooting a few month back in September it was AWESOME.

A tactical pump 12 gauge

few things i wanted to know

any other recommendations and why?

Can i buy a tactical model and purchase a seperate longer barrel and swap them out as i go clay shooting? (my friends mossberg had this)

how is maintaining a shotgun different from maintaining a pistol?

any advice would be great theres no rush because i cant even buy another firearm for 30 days because of the one i just bought recently, but by then it will be spring time and i would love to go out soon with my own

also looking to spend from 500 to 600, but those prices are not hard prices, if someone can justify spending some more and show me the value, I would consider it but understand im not willing to drop much more than what I said

Thanks in advance

[Champagne-N-Beer]

Hi sandmanx408!
For maintaining a shotgun versus a pistol, much is the same, just a different platform. Good cleaning, maintenance and a little tlc will have any decent shotgun running for decades. Not sure why you need to wait 30 days...
You can certainly swap barrels for different types of shooting, or run chokes and achieve different patterns, allowing for a range of shooting scenarios, but this has advantages and disadvantages as well.
For some great all-around shotguns in your price range, myself being a fan of pump and semi-autos for such purpose, some of my favorites are the Remington 870 wingmaster, Winchester super x 1, Remington 1100, Beretta A301,2,3 (but of the series the 302 is my fav).
My reasons, they are tried and true in terms of reliability, simple enough to maintain (even the Super X once you understand how it functions and what to pay attention to), very popular for their time so parts are readily available and not overtly expensive. If the gun fits well your shoulder will thank you, and the ones mentioned above are are relatively soft shooters, sans 870, (for there cost of entry to shooting) so lots of shoulder time doesn't develop bad habits versus a gun that kicks like a mule which will lead to terrible habits.
But, with not being in a rush, the best thing you can do is try as many as possible and see what works best for you ( ie stock, comb, drop, weight, balance, swing, bead/sight picture and pattern etc). Can you borrow from friends or go to range a try different guns?
For HD as a primary, some of the ones I mentioned will work but are not there market (see super x1, Beretta) but because they are great guns I mentioned them.
But for my 2 cents, the best HD gun in your range is the 870, but certainly not the best for busting clays.
As reference, to me, all-around is like driving a square peg through a round hole. So a great HD gun (870) isn't my first thought when I think of a trap gun. And great upland bird isn't a great brush gun. Similarly, a fantastic pigeon gun is not a sleek o/u clay gun nor a duck/waterfowl or turkey gun or a rifled deer gun. Good luck with the search and welcome to the sport. Get ready for a serious addiction!

[jay_cue]

30 day rule only refers to new handgun purchases. so private party transfers, and long guns don't apply.

[Carpenter 409]

I know Remington and Mossberg offer packages with hunting and home defense barrels in one package. Big 5 sells these one and off through out the year. I have a Benelli M3 with a shorter "Breacher Type Barrel" and a Stoeger 2000 shotgun. The Stoeger is an inexpensive shotgun that is a semi auto. The Benelli is a convertible which means you can use it as a pump or semi auto. When Benelli upgraded their receivers years ago they sold the licensing to Stoeger to keep producing the old receivers under the Stoeger name. I will be the first to admit it is not a Benelli but shoots real nice and I have had no issues. Eventually I do want a Remington 870 Police but not real pressing purchase right now. There are more accessories for Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 and 590 than any other shotguns on the market.

As to a shotgun for home defense, I am not a fan of shotgun for home defense. I think it's to easy to point and shot instead of identifing your target and getting an aimed shot off. In the dark you need to have your wits about you, last thing anyone wants is pointing and shooting at something moving and killing a loved one. With a handgun you really need to aim which requires you to really eyeball your target. If your worried about over penetration look at frangible ammo. Also a shotgun is longer than a pistol and allows an intruder more to grab onto if it ever comes to that.

Look at shows like cops when they search a house for a hidden suspect you see them with handguns drawn not shotguns. Its easier to use a handgun with one hand if you had to but hard to do with a shotgun.
Just a thought, I know some people will say shotguns are better for home defense but it all comes down to training and that's I thing what we should be talking about. Training=Best Outcome Possible.

Good Luck with your decision and what ever you pick up practice regularly.

[sandmanx408]

thanks guys didnt realize the 30 day rule was for pistols and not long guns, with that as soon as i get my tax return i will probably go out and pick something up, but I am in no rush

i was looking at an 870 Express on remingtons website, theres a combo package, for it it says the 20 inch barrel is rifled and the 26 barrel is rib vented barrel do i care about those kinds of barrels??

someone told me that a rifled barrel can only shoot slugs is that true?
didnt realize there was so many options

and i do agree that i do feel more comfortable with my pistols as primary Home defense firearm currently (i do sleep with my M&P9 in my bed). but i would like a shotgun in the house, something really goes down (i pray this never has to happen) but the pistol is to fight my way to the safe, the shotgun in the safe is to send the bad people away.

I was going to start another thread about training, and wher ei can go but ill save that for another day i just want to focus on geting a decent punp action shotgun

[anti]

Yeah, rifled barrels are for sabot slugs... made mainly for guys who can't hunt deer with a rifle like in most of Illinois. You would use rifled slugs in a smoothbore and do not shoot them out of any choke tighter than improved-cylinder.

[Bill Steele]

My recommendation would be the Mossberg 500 Combo kit, but I would not recommend the Big 5 version. Historically the Big 5 kit comes with a fixed choke field barrel.

I would get the Combo kit that comes with screw in chokes for the field barrel. That kit comes with IC, Mod and Full chokes for the field barrel and you can get others.

Just go on Gallery of Guns and use Gun Genie to find MB's number 54169. They will get quotes for you from FFL's local to you and if you purchase it, ship the gun like 2 day to your FFL of choice.

I think the link below will take you to the gun, but you will have to start the search over using your zip code to get quotes from FFL's local to you.

http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/Default.aspx?item=54169&index=20&mfg=Mossberg&mdl=All&cat=All&type=All&cal=12+Gauge&fin=&sit=&pid=&inv=

Good luck.

[bigbearbear]

Everyone's situation is different, but most people shouldn't be playing commando and "clearing" the house of bad guys. As such, the length of a barrel doesn't matter too much if you simply barricade yourself, point the shotgun towards the avenue of approach and wait for the cops to arrive.

I recommend getting something that you will enjoy and use frequently, typically shotguns designed with clay shooting in mind. I have a Benelli SuperSport and a Benelli M2 Field Compact for my wife. Both are nice for clay shooting but they also do double duty as our primary home defense firearms. When you're shopping for your shotgun, look for these features:
1. Bead sight. You will want this for clay shooting.

2. Min. 26" barrel length. I recommend this because one of the best trap field in the SF Bay Area is Sunnyvale Rod & Gun club, and their min. barrel length requirement is 26". Los Altos min. barrel length is 24" and Coyote Valley is 22". Bear these in mind when shopping for your shotgun.

3. Straight stock. They are easier to swing.

I favor semi-autos myself, they are equally good at their roles of clay shooting and home defense. They also handle recoil better, allowing you to shoot a lot without feeling tender on the shoulder. Pumps are workable but when you start shooting doubles, you'll be at an disadvantage due to the need to manually pump the action.

The one thing you do not want to happen, is to buy a tactical shotgun and it end up sitting in a corner somewhere, completely neglected because it isn't much fun to shoot.

[sandmanx408]

im thinking of it.more as we talk and i think some of you are right, i have 686 and mp 9 Those can be my hd guns, i Think a 26 inch barrel Would be the way to go to enjoy my shotgun more

[Arson]

Whatever shotgun you purchase, pattern it w/ different types of ammo. Look at the spread at different distances. Maybe 7, 10 and 15 Yards. My choice is Slugs, but I know the Spread of 00 Buck at those distances. My Choice is a Mossberg 590A1 Blackwater, with a Benelli M3 as Backup.

[Volksgrenadier]

If you want "one ring to rule them all" then an 870 or Mossberg 500 series, might be ideal. Proven platforms, American made, bazillions of aftermarket products -including a handful of actual useful ones- and barrels to suit whatever application you choose.

[midlife]

If you want to shoot clays well, make sure to buy whatever gun fits you best. I'd start by reading the stock fitters bible. Best book on shotgunning. Period.

Ideally find a gun with adjustable comb and recoil pad. And at least 28 inches.

[glockmeister]

I bought one of those Big 5 specials during the holidays, Mossberg 500 with two barrels. I just took it out this past weekend for an introductory round of trap. LOVED IT!!! First time shooting trap and had a blast!! I didn't do too well, but had a ton of fun, 8 of 25. Already have plans to shoot trap again this coming weekend and already kicking around the idea of upgrading.

[Soggoth]

One more vote for either Rem 870 or Mossberg 500. I was in the same boat couple years back, went with 12G Mossberg 500 Combo from Big5 and still consider these one of the best 320 bucks I have ever spent
I've got Mossberg over Remington because it seemed to fit me better overall and I really like the tang safety.

Using it for recreational trap shooting and hunting as well as HD (which means the gun with 18.5 inch barrel just sits under my bed most of the time) and it works flawlessly.

[sandmanx408]

i think ive narrowed my search to either a remington 870 express or the benelli nova, my friend has a mossberg 500 already

theres a big 5 by my work and i was looking at the benelli, seems like a well built gun both were 26 inch barrels

do either have a short barrel i an buy later if i ever do honestly itll be a range/trap gun to have some fun With

my mp9 and 686+ can be my hd guns after i thought bout it