America's shotgun?

Can't think of anything other than the Remington 870.

870 works for me, and about 11 million others.

I'm with 56hawk, the venerable Remington 870 Wingmaster...

could be the 870...but my vote goes for the model 12 Winchester

While the 12 bore pump is definitely an American icon, don't discount the humble break action single shot like the H&R.

Remington 870

While the 870 is a great choice. My vote goes for the Ithaca M 37!

Im going to say the Mossberg on this one. Good enough for the marines and good enough for me.

Based on total sales, I have to say the Remington 870.

Sheer numbers have to suggest the 870 is America's modern era utilitarian shotgun.

However, I would suggest that the question be in two parts. The early era of American historic pump shotguns experienced a lot of successful designs and would make the choice harder for the years of say 1880- 1950. Consider numbers sold in those years before the 870. Namely the Model 1897, Model 12, Model 37, Model 31, etc, could make arguments for consideration.

Here is a link I found discussing the Classic American shotgun...

http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/gear/2007/09/classic-american-shotgun

I'll have to split my vote between Ithaca 37 and Mossberg (specifically the 500).

gotta be the 870...

The Remington 870 has outsold all others, but i do like others as well such as the Winchester model 12 and Ithaca 37.

In 2012 the 870, prior to 1960's m37 and model 12 take the cake! (Im partial to the m37m myself)

I'm an American and this is my favorite shotgun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwWowQDX8eY

The obvious answer is of course the 870. Where others are fine guns there is a reason they are not the leader in sporting use, Law Enfocement and anywhere a shotgun is called for. Understanding that reason make one a knowledgable gun owner. The Remington 870 has led in all these areas because of the design and that is why it is the 1911 of shotguns.

Others want to voice their opinion of one design over the other, I simply say over 10 Million sold Proves the 870's domination in the Market and the reasons are obvious. Now, let us all hope "Freedom Group" doesn't screw this up.

Oh yea, there are as many Remington 870's in the Armory's of the USMC as there are Mossbergs.

The Remington 870 has led in all these areas because of the design and that is why it is the 1911 of shotguns.

Click to expand...

Yes and it has outsold all others for many decades. As far as other popular guns go...well they are versions of other Remingtons as well. Take the Ithaca 37 it is basically a Remington model 17 which is an improved model 10 and the mossberg 500 is a revamped Remington model 31. Now the model 12 Winchester is an entirely different animal and will always be considered by many as the finest hammerless repeater ever devised.

What about one of these?

The Ithaca M37 definitely deserves an honorable mention, if not first place...
Longest produced pump action shotgun IIRC

Hmmm. I'm going to go with a single shot shotgun. They were affordable and many folks had them as they moved out west.

870 hands down. I'm not saying that there aren't better shotguns out there, but more 870s have been sold than any other shotgun. It's reliable, simple, and affordable.

870...

Model 12 gets my vote.

870.