Which shotgun?

[mossy]

Let me translate that for you. "tactical" or "police"= $$$$$$$$. Get a mossberg and spend the extra cash on ammo.

[mossy]

If you want the best consider an Ithaca 37. The best pump ever made, no stamped parts, all machined, also a John Browning design. Expensive, but will only increase in value. It is the oldest design still in production. Will be made forever, God willing. EDIT: except of course the Remington 31with ball bearings.

I bought one used on Gunbroker for under $350. The riot model is so much better made than anything found at your LGS.

new ones:
http://www.ithacagun.com/defense37s.html

OP said he wants a gun for home defense. Why spend extra money on a hard to find gun, that has a good chance of getting confiscated if ever used in HD. I know if my mossy 500 is ever confiscated can be easily be replaced for less than $400 and i can find one at any gun shop.

[Pearlpower]

Most all of the shotguns are good; buy something with a reliable history, and get out there to learn to properly use it as the misinformation about slide noise and spread are BS, the former makes noise so any perp knows where to aim/shoot instead of scaring them, and for the latter, there is no such thing as not aiming a shotgun, spread is beyond most HD scenarios. B
To be honest, in a HD situation, I rather not grab either of my SGs, but that's me.

[sholling]

My first choice would be a Benelli (M2 or M4) tactical shotgun. Benellis are 100% reliable. Unfortunately they start at 150% over your budget. My second and third choices would be a Remington 870 or Mossberg 590 in that order. Both are extremely reliable and are available in configurations holding up to 9rds for roughly $500. You don't need any fancy bells and whistles other than a place to mount a weapon light.