Budget (OK cheap) pump shotguns

TimJ

TimJ

Well-known member
Last weekend while standing in muck up to my knees and trying to keep the wood stock out of the water best I could I decided I might need a different shotgun. There is no sling option other then the slip on leather ones for my current 60 year old shotgun. Although it is usually very reliable it also doesn't like too much slop getting into the action. I like classic guns but it might be that this type of situation calls for a plastic newfangled weapon. I've also thought that a more dedicated turkey/predator shotgun wouldn't be a bad idea. Being able to change chokes would be a modern innovation I wouldn't mind too.

I've been looking at the Mossberg 500, Maverick 88, H&R Pardner Pump and the 870 Express. Anyone have feedback on any of these? The Novas that I have shot weren't very comfortable to me and the price on them has been going the same way as the other B guns. I also do not want a 3 1/2" pump gun. I will still shoot nearly all 2 3/4" thought whatever I have.

First glance I think the 500 is probably the best match for what I want. The 88 is almost the same gun with just a different safety. The H&R is an 870 clone that doesn't take the same barrels and I've heard some have feeding issues. The 870 is a fine gun but... well I have never been a big fan of Remingtons. No real reason and I could get over it. This will only be a part time mud gun so that is why I am looking cheap. I know you get what you pay for that is why I'm not looking cheap semi-auto, pumps are easier and cheaper to make right.

Or I could just pick up an old Stevens 311/5100, open the chokes, seal the heck out of the stock and somehow have a sling stud added. This is actually more my style but might not be as useful.

Any recommendations welcomed.

Tim
 
If I had to choose, out of those guns I think I'd take the 870. I have a 500 from when I was a kid. The fore end rattles too much.
 
Tim

I have an 870 Express I bought the first year they came out, 1987. No telling how many rounds have been pumped through it. It has only improved with age. Very smooth. I don't know if the Express has been cheapened, I suspect it has, but would not hesitate to buy another one over the competition. If there ever was a "cheap classic" the 870 Express is it. Try one, you might just warm up to Remington.
 
I like my Nova

Fits me well.

I've field stripped it on an island in Boston Harbor and reaasembled in <5 minutes

It takes a beating and keeps going BANG.
 
John

Not trying to be rude but the forend on a Nova looks like a dildo. We call it the Benelli Phallus. Think about that the next time you pump it BWAHAHAHAHA.

Eric
 
Maybe thats why my nephew shoots so much with his black nova.

I shot a deer with my brother's 870 express a few years ago and it was smooth and worked fine. I have shot a couple 500s and the rattle is a little strange, not a deal breaker but I know what you mean. I think some of that slop and rattle is what makes them so reliable, they are used by the military for a reason.

I might look for a used one so then the 870 is probably the best choice. I still can't see me warming up to a remington. :)

Tim
 
I used to shoot a Mossberg 500 with great sucess. I then traded 'up' to an 870. I haven't shot any more ducks with the 870. The 500 should serve you well.
 
Tim,

I was in your exact situation three years ago. I only had older guns with wood stocks and they were taking a beating between the blind and the goose pit. I went shopping for a bare bones gun strictly for killing ducks in snotty weather, which would fire reliably if left in the woods or the bottom of a duck boat overnight. I bought a Beretta 3901 citizen from a local gun shop for around $550.

I know you are looking for a pump-action, but if you can find one of these guns they work great. I wouldn't be worried about buying one of them used either. I have fired over 2,000 rounds through mine, clean it about twice a year, and its still going (no rust too!).

Check out the field and stream review of the gun below and good luck!

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gun-nuts/2012/03/best-bang-your-buck-beretta-3901

If you don't want to spend a little extra on a semi, go with the 870, my buddy has been shooting one for 15 years and hasn't cleaned it in the past 5 seasons. He wants it to die before he buys a new one and it just keeps shooting.

-Zach
 
Last weekend while standing in muck up to my knees and trying to keep the wood stock out of the water best I could I decided I might need a different shotgun. There is no sling option other then the slip on leather ones for my current 60 year old shotgun. Although it is usually very reliable it also doesn't like too much slop getting into the action. I like classic guns but it might be that this type of situation calls for a plastic newfangled weapon. I've also thought that a more dedicated turkey/predator shotgun wouldn't be a bad idea. Being able to change chokes would be a modern innovation I wouldn't mind too.

I've been looking at the Mossberg 500, Maverick 88, H&R Pardner Pump and the 870 Express. Anyone have feedback on any of these? The Novas that I have shot weren't very comfortable to me and the price on them has been going the same way as the other B guns. I also do not want a 3 1/2" pump gun. I will still shoot nearly all 2 3/4" thought whatever I have.

First glance I think the 500 is probably the best match for what I want. The 88 is almost the same gun with just a different safety. The H&R is an 870 clone that doesn't take the same barrels and I've heard some have feeding issues. The 870 is a fine gun but... well I have never been a big fan of Remingtons. No real reason and I could get over it. This will only be a part time mud gun so that is why I am looking cheap. I know you get what you pay for that is why I'm not looking cheap semi-auto, pumps are easier and cheaper to make right.

Or I could just pick up an old Stevens 311/5100, open the chokes, seal the heck out of the stock and somehow have a sling stud added. This is actually more my style but might not be as useful.

Any recommendations welcomed.

Tim
Click to expand...


Sling stud is no biggie at all. You can put a barrel band sling stud on or solder one on. I have a barrel band on my citori that I've carried a damn long ways and it hasn't slipped.
 
I have had an 870 express since 1992. I do not baby it and it has been a reliable gun up until the last day of the season last year. The ejector pin broke. But after 15 years of hard use in Fresh and salt water I am not to disappointed. Like Eric said they may have lowered the quality since then though but I am not sure. It works dirty. I have dropped it in the mud, and walked over to some "clean" water and dunked it to rinse the mud off and it worked fine for the rest of the day. I tripped in 15deg weather and dunked it in the water. By the time I made it back to blind I had to pop the pins out and beat the trigger assymbly on a rock to get the Ice off and it worked flawlessly afteward. The best part is I don't feel bad beating it up becasue it's just a 870 express.
 
I just got a Rem 887 Nitro that I'm pretty impressed with. I haven't shot a lot of shells throught it yet but out of the box it's pretty smooth. It was designed with MUCK in MIND!

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Remington174-8878482-Nitro-Magnum-Shotguns/706402.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3D887%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=887&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

Comes with built-in sling attachment points. The price is pretty attractive too.
 
Tim,


Can't go wrong with a Mossberg 500. I have one that I purchased new in 1980. I have several barrels for it and it perform fine for what ever it's intended use is. It has been used in a salt water environment for most of it's life other than some surface rust and it is still very reliable. It's been totally submerged in tidal mud, disassembeld, cleaned out in freezing salt water then rinsed with a bottle of fresh water and continued firing for the day. I don't mind if it gets wet, muddy or banged around. It is a work horse. I have several other shotguns but the 500 is like an old Timex watch, it take a lickin and keeps on ticking. It will be going in for service this year for the first time ever due to a worn extractor. This gun has had tens of thousands of rounds through it so I can't complain.

Our 870 is also a good gun but has not seen the heavy use the Mossberg has.

Good luck, you can't go wrong with either one.
 
another 870 vote.

I paid 211 for mine years ago as part of a "truckload sale" at Fleet Farm. first gun I ever bought, it was the express model not the wingmaster. I figured I was cheap, was not going to use those other 3 chokes and all that purty wood would just get scratched.

that said, I have shot so much through it over the years the ejector clip is worn and now needs to be replaced. It will occassionally hang shells. I now use an auto, but I will say I have never found a gun that just seems to point itself and just "fits" more guys that that gun. only issue I ever had was 'short stroking" on overhead birds, but that is my fault.

I used it a ton layout hunting and just started using WD 40 to clean it like several other layout hunters on the salt do and honestly, best thing I did for that gun, ran smoother, less gunk and stopped rusting.
 
Eric

I think the designers at Benelli prefer the term "modern"

I treat my duck gun like a tool. Water, mud, muck, dog pee and ice. As long as it goes BANG every time I pull the trigger and cost me under $300 I like it.


John

Not trying to be rude but the forend on a Nova looks like a dildo. We call it the Benelli Phallus. Think about that the next time you pump it BWAHAHAHAHA.

Eric
Click to expand...
 
John

I hear you. I used my 870 for years until I hung it up for an Italian job that cost considerably more. After six or so seasons it was nothing but trouble. Got rid of it and started using an M1 which some loser stole last year. Now I have an M2 and the old 870 still sees a lot of action. That 870 is one piece of hunting equipment that Thomas will inherit because I'm not getting rid of it. Definitely got my money's worth, and then some.

Eric
 
I recieved a used 870 Wingmaster 20 years ago as a 13th birthday present. It's still one of my favorite guns to shoot, becuase of the memories and because the action is so smooth. There is just something nice about a smooth pump gun, whether is a Model 37, Model 12, 870 Wingmaster or BPS... My recommendation would be a used 870 Wingmaster or BPS with synthetic furniture. While not as cheap as some of the guns mentioned, do you duck hunt for the frugality of it :)
 
Tim
To ad to the story: I bought a new 870 a few years ago--never got use to it---traded it the first year of use for a new Beretta--happy now.
wis boz
 
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+1 on the Beretta 3901 (I have the 390, which is essentially the same gun) and the 870.

As for the 870 vs 500 argument, it's sort of Chevy/Ford thing. Take your pick and it will probably work.

Don't forget to look used--there are a ton of used 870's and 500's, and there really isn't anything that can go wrong with them.

My 870 Express cost me just over 200 bucks with 4 chokes in 2006, and I don't think the prior owner did more than take it out of the box, assemble it, and trade it in.
 
Tim - I've shot a Remington 870 since 1972 and wouldn't own another gun. I've own as many as 5 at once. #1 selling shotgun of all time. I currently own 2 of the 870 Waterfowling Editions and simply love them. I am tough on equipment and that includes my guns. 870's take a beating. I've had them covered in mud before and power washed them at the carwash before. For the money, can't beat them...
 
Tim, Get over it;-) Buy an 870 and then you can worry about other things. Anything that has been around since 1950 can't be bad, just like me! Seriously, I understand preferences but you won't regret an 870.
 
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