I couple of my buddies who just purchased 870's have had nothing but problems with them. One didn't extract the shell, then it wouldn't feed from the magazine ect.

 

I have a mossberg 500 and it is a great gun. I also have a Remington 870 and a Winchester model 1912 all in 12ga. Out of all of them I prefer to use the mossberg. 20 ga are good to use on smaller birds, I have a Ithica model 37 20ga and this is one of the smoothest shooting shotguns i have ever used.

 

I have a 1187 Premiere Trap 12 ga (Remington) and have had it for many years. I love it.

 

Awsome...this is just what I wanted...and education on shotguns and yall havn't let me down. So it appears it's down to the Mossberg 500 or the Remington 870. I'll have to try that fit thing out that Benny Hanna mentioned. Also I'm a bigger guy at 6'2" 270lbs so if I had to carry a little extra weight around with the 500 I should be ok...kind of use to it with the beer belly and all..lol.

I forgot to mention when we were shooting there was about 4 diffrent shotguns out there, three 12ga', a 20ga then a 410 (is that considered a shotgun)? I liked the pump action. Also one of the 12ga was the mossberg home defender http://www.academy.com/index.php?pag...350-01883-0231 I wasnt to fond of it. Once agian thanks for all the info yall and keep it coming.

 

There are very few problems with the 870, its been the best selling shotgun for the last 50 years or so. I'm not doubting your buddies having problems, just they are typically rare.

Yes the 410 is considered a shotgun. the 410 refers to the caliber, meaning it is a .410 bore. The other shotguns are in "guage" which is determined by the following. If you were to take a lead ball the same diameter of the bore, how many ***** would it take to weigh a pound. 12 guage, takes 12 *****, etc.

 

one word: benelli

 

Here's another question...do I need a permit or license to get a shotgun?

 

All I know is Remington. We have a couple 870s (12 ga) and between them all we have never had a problem. Not a real heavy gun which is nice when we are driving deer and I can usually pump a few boxes through before I start to feel it. I don't do any trap shooting anymore (although I think I'm going to get back into it) so I can't comment on that since it's been many years since I've last done it.

 

Driving deer? Trap shooting?

 

huh

I use them for hunting (which you said you may look into doing). I don't trap shoot (skeet, whatever) anymore so I cannot comment on how they perform for that (and I cannot recall what I used to use (not my gun) when I used to do that).

 

I was curious as too what Deer Driving and Trap Shooting meant...sorry. :o

 

gotcha driving deer - not literally hopping on their backs and yelling "giddy up!" - usually involves a few hunters "driving" the deer (walking in the woods, kicking up the deer) to a hunter / hunters in an area. Basically you "drive" the "deer" to the hunters so they can blast 'em

trap shoot / skeet... I use the terms interchangebly. Don't know if it's correct or not, but around here I usually just hear "trap" shooting. Hope that helps

 

sure did

 

you can go beyond the remington and mossberg.

the browning bps is very good. i personally am going to get a benelli supernova this summer. they're fairly light so ill use it for upland, and turkey. ill probably get a rifled barrel too and use it for deer. then im going to use my browning a5 for waterfowl and clays.

 

My experience is that the first gun you put up, the Mossberg Maverick, it is total crap. I shoot with a large group of people every dove season and the guys who have this gun buy a new shotgun after their first weekend shooting it.

The Mossberg 500 has been around for ages, and is a very solid gun.
The Remmington 870 has been around for even longer and is considered the best pump ever.
The Benelli Nova Pump is becoming a new favorite for almost all hunters due to the consruction of it and the abuse it will take.

My wife and I both shoot the 870 Express 12g. We both like it, and We both shoot great with it.

There used to be a big thread on the shotgunworld forums about the 870 Express and all the problems it had. The reason there used to be a ton of failures was the parts were not as refined or deburred like they were for the Wingmaster versions. A few hundred/thousand rounds thru them fixed them right up, but there is a chance for issues like this to keep occurring.

Ammo differences have already been explained pretty good actually before. When I go skeet shooting, I use 7/8oz #8shot loads. There is no kick, and I can generally shoot 20-25 per. not too bad, plus its lighter so I can fire 1-2k rounds a day.

good luck with your buying decision. Skeet shooting in general is a blast, and you will have nothing but fun. Look around in your area for shooting clubs to join, cause you can get alot of tips and training there.