danez71
Member
Small correction to an otherwise good post.
The Mavericks safety is in front of the trigger (closer to the barrel).
The Remington 870s is behind the trigger (closer to your palm)
Best Shot Gun on Budget
- Thread starter Lycidas Janwor
- Start date
- Status
Small correction to an otherwise good post.
The Mavericks safety is in front of the trigger (closer to the barrel).
The Remington 870s is behind the trigger (closer to your palm)
Armored farmer
Member
And that's why I use 1911s and wingmasters. I probably have 25-30k registered ATA targets with one of my 870s.
yup that's why i use 1911's, j,k,&n frames
I would look for early 1990s parkerized 870 Magnum. They had parkerized finish, black painted chrome bolt, forged extractor and magazine spring retention system that did not require dimples near the end of magazine tube. I found one in very good condition for well under $300. I would skip Mossberg or Maverick because cheaper to make doesn't make it better. The only reason US military ended up with Mossberg 590s is because Remington did not compete with Mossberg knowing their end product would be more expensive, therefore, would not be chosen.
kBob
Member
"So, perhaps a pistol grip,....."
NO. Not if you are thinking Mossberg 500 series. The thing that makes the 500 attractive to many if not most is the location of the safety where it is easily reached by the shooting thumb. You can't really do that from a separate pistol grip. I have even had some difficulty tripping off the safety on 870 pistol gripped guns because of the change in the angle to reach the safety the separate pistol grip gives.
Yea Olde Gunsite school in the dark past was not excited about pistol grips on shotguns and they shot them a lot more than most folks here and their teachers went on to set the standards for many state police shotgun training.
The only times having a pistol grip on a shotgun made any sense to me was the old High Standard semi auto bull pup and when you just had to have a folder......though I used to think the original factory 870 over folder was the gun you had to absolutely need to shoot to shoot. Some of the single shots with pistol grips were semi attractive to me, but then when I tried them they seemed slower to reload and while that is generally fine when hunting, makes the single shot even worse for home defense.
I know pistol grips look all tacti-cool and several hot rodders around here are all about them. Here are a couple of questions to consider........Folks talk about control when shooting with pistol grips, but do you know of any style of shooting that requires control more than the doubles shots at skeet? See many pistol grips on the skeet range?
I know some gun snobs think you look like a dork in the shops when you ask to work the actions and throw the gun to your shoulder pointing at some safe direction, but is there any other way you can get a feel for what might work for you in the store? Holding the gun in your hands and fingering (thumbing?) all the controls is the only way to know what might best work for you.
Be safe.
-kBob
NO. Not if you are thinking Mossberg 500 series. The thing that makes the 500 attractive to many if not most is the location of the safety where it is easily reached by the shooting thumb. You can't really do that from a separate pistol grip. I have even had some difficulty tripping off the safety on 870 pistol gripped guns because of the change in the angle to reach the safety the separate pistol grip gives.
Yea Olde Gunsite school in the dark past was not excited about pistol grips on shotguns and they shot them a lot more than most folks here and their teachers went on to set the standards for many state police shotgun training.
The only times having a pistol grip on a shotgun made any sense to me was the old High Standard semi auto bull pup and when you just had to have a folder......though I used to think the original factory 870 over folder was the gun you had to absolutely need to shoot to shoot. Some of the single shots with pistol grips were semi attractive to me, but then when I tried them they seemed slower to reload and while that is generally fine when hunting, makes the single shot even worse for home defense.
I know pistol grips look all tacti-cool and several hot rodders around here are all about them. Here are a couple of questions to consider........Folks talk about control when shooting with pistol grips, but do you know of any style of shooting that requires control more than the doubles shots at skeet? See many pistol grips on the skeet range?
I know some gun snobs think you look like a dork in the shops when you ask to work the actions and throw the gun to your shoulder pointing at some safe direction, but is there any other way you can get a feel for what might work for you in the store? Holding the gun in your hands and fingering (thumbing?) all the controls is the only way to know what might best work for you.
Be safe.
-kBob
Taurus 617 CCW
Member
I took a tactical shotgun class years ago. There were three brands of shotguns represented there, Winchester, Remington, and Mossberg. Through the entire day of hard use there was only one brand that held up without a single malfunction. That was the Mossberg. I was using a brand new 870 marine shotgun. It jammed so much that I had to use my 1911 pistol for most of the class. The Winchester 1300 also had a bad jam that required a disassembly of the internals to clear. None of the Mossbergs failed and that's why I made it a priority to pick one up for defense. I found mine listed for $200 in a local classified ad. If you really have some disposable cash you can send it off to Vang Comp systems for a full treatment. You will end up with a defense shotgun most people would be jealous to shoot.
Capybara
Member
Avoid the newer Freedom Group 870s. I have bought two of them, one is my AOW and one for clays shooting, they are both junk. Both had multiple factory defects, brand new, out of the box. As far as I am concerned, Remington ceased to exist once the Freedom Group bought them, they put out crappy guns that rarely function correctly from the factory. The older pre-Freedom Group 870s are great though, there are plenty of them out there. If I were buying a new 12ga pump gun today, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money, the Turkish guns are generally a good value.
red rick
Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2009
- Messages
- 3,152
They have a warranty , did you contact Remington ? I hear their CS is good . Mine works great patterns great , and the finish looks better than some from a few years ago IMO . I bought it as a beater gun , but I found I liked the way it handled and patterned . I am using it most of the time now . I let the SX3 and Belgium A5 set more since I got my 870 . I still like my Browning better , but I have had it for 40 years . I like my 870 so much , I bought 2 more last August as loaner guns for guess I invite hunting . One is just like mine and the other is a 20ga. youth . They haven't been shot yet because I couldn't hunt this year ( rotator cuff surgery ) but cosmetically they look good . I bet more than half the shotguns used in my hunting club are 870 Express's . We have a family day turkey shoot before hunting season every year . We use our stock shotguns and I think only 2 rounds were won buy something other than a 870 last year and not the same 870 . I went rabbit hunting with two of my coworkers last year and we all meet at the place we were going to hunt . I thought it was kind of funny , we have never hunted together before , we all got out with 870 Express's . I guess they are just that popular and we wouldn't use them if they didn't work , all three of us are fortunate enough we can buy most any shotgun we want .
Missionary
Member
Greetings
Where we live in ILLinois when up north there is a police supply outfit. They always have 4-10 police trade in 12 gauge shotguns.
So for as little as $135 I have purchased no less than 6 Mossberg 500 trade ins. They are not pristine but all function as well as any new one. Add a used hunting barrel ($45-90) and you have a ready to roll 12 bore that you will not be concerned about if it starts raining of worse. A little dark stain and the stocks look respectable.
Mike in Peru
Where we live in ILLinois when up north there is a police supply outfit. They always have 4-10 police trade in 12 gauge shotguns.
So for as little as $135 I have purchased no less than 6 Mossberg 500 trade ins. They are not pristine but all function as well as any new one. Add a used hunting barrel ($45-90) and you have a ready to roll 12 bore that you will not be concerned about if it starts raining of worse. A little dark stain and the stocks look respectable.
Mike in Peru
If you can fund a used 870 with abused wood or finish issues, it's still going to be a smoother action than a Mossberg pump gun. Also, older 870's don't need modification to add a mag extender.
1911 guy
Member
In your budget, several come to mind.
Stevens 320 is probably the least expensive, but arguable also the lowest quality. It's not "junk" and won't break under normal use. But you can't make a silk purse out of a sows' ear. Chinese import. I got one "free" with a case of 00 buck.
Used 870 and 500 from Remington and Mossberg.
New Mossberg 500. No new Remingtons for me. QC has fallen greatly.
Mossberg 930 probably the only autoloader that will fall within your budget. I read a review recently that described it as comparing favorably to the 11-87.
Stevens 320 is probably the least expensive, but arguable also the lowest quality. It's not "junk" and won't break under normal use. But you can't make a silk purse out of a sows' ear. Chinese import. I got one "free" with a case of 00 buck.
Used 870 and 500 from Remington and Mossberg.
New Mossberg 500. No new Remingtons for me. QC has fallen greatly.
Mossberg 930 probably the only autoloader that will fall within your budget. I read a review recently that described it as comparing favorably to the 11-87.
Stoeger M3000 shotguns are within his budget. I saw one yesterday for $400. Those are good shotguns. It uses the same exact inertia system and basic design as Benelli shotguns. Some Benelli M2 parts actually fit in the Stoegers once some fitting is done and they also use Benelli chokes.
I have one of the M3K's which is the competition models with a larger bolt handle, wider feeding port, larger buttons and so on. It's been a great gun and he could always buy and then upgrade the parts.
http://moaprecision.com
Only issue is that AFAIK they don't they don't make a barrel for them less than 24" inches. Didn't matter for me as I wanted an extended mag tube capable of holding 10+1 rds. Could get it chopped to the desired length and then thread for chokes though.
Last edited:
cdb1
Member
This. I've sold a ton of both. The new 870 Expresses or more prone to surface rust than any new firearm I've ever seen. I'd get a Mossberg.
cdb1
Member
You can get a Mossberg 930 for $500.00 and also a Weatherby SA-08.
O.k. in the past year I have bought two 870 shotguns, both "new/used", meaning pre owned and unfired. One is a 70s Wingmaster, 28" fixed full without a mark on it. A former boss owned it and knowing of my affinity for them offered it to me. A little less than $400. The second is a late synthetic express, 26" with tubes. $200.
The buys are out there.
The buys are out there.
Bought one of the Stevens 320, Big R, additional ten percent discount, total OTD $177. Shot it this morning. 7/8 oz 8s, broke 18/25. Problem was I shoot trap with a dedicated trap gun, this is a true field gun. After I figured out how flat it shot, the last fifteen were crushed.
Gonna pattern it with some three inchers and then present it to childbride for her turkey gun.
I'm pleased with the front end weight, the smoothness and,of course, the price.
Gonna pattern it with some three inchers and then present it to childbride for her turkey gun.
I'm pleased with the front end weight, the smoothness and,of course, the price.
I strongly prefer the Mossberg 500 over the 870 Express. I had one and had nothing but issues. Most of which seemed very common. I'm not a fan of buying a gun that has so poor quality control that you generally have to work on it out of the box. IMO if I was going for a pump I'd look at an older 870 Wingmaster, followed by the Mossberg 500. I'd skip the express completely.
For $500 you can also find an older 1100 or an 11-87 used, and you could probably also buy a extended magazine tube on that budget. I'm not sure this is the way I'd go if this is a defensive shotgun, but I know you said you wanted an auto. For a hunting gun or target gun, these are great.
For $500 you can also find an older 1100 or an 11-87 used, and you could probably also buy a extended magazine tube on that budget. I'm not sure this is the way I'd go if this is a defensive shotgun, but I know you said you wanted an auto. For a hunting gun or target gun, these are great.
Ok, for a great budget gun between the: Maverick 88, Pardner Pump, and the Stevens 320... I would recommend the Maverick 88 hands down. There are 3 reasons why I recommend this.
First is the parts interchangeability. you can change almost everything on the Maverick out for Mossberg parts, except the trigger housing, and the forend (you can in fact change the forend, but you have to purchase a sllde tube assembly first). The pardner pump is limited by the barrel attachment point. It's in a different position as the Remington 870's so barrels don't interchange. Parts for the savage 320 are pretty much Nil, not a whole lot of aftermarket support there.
Second is quality: The Maverick 88's I own (Six in fact, though each has their own role in my day to day life) have all worked extremely well, all of them now have at least 500 through each with my clay gun getting close to 1500 rounds. Their fit and finish and finish is fine, but a little rough around the edges, not as smooth as their Mossberg counterparts.
The pardner pumps I used to own (3 total, 1 of which had to be warranty replaced). The major issue I've had was quality issues with the shell stop and interrupter falling out(they are supposed to be soldered in) and I've also had barrel fit issues causing POI to shoot quite a bit right(This was the gun I had replaced). The finish was... well really easy to scratch up, and liked to rust a bit. the gun itself was built like a tank though quite rough internally( I would cut myself occasionally, trying to clean inside the receiver).
As for the stevens 320, I have not personally owned one yet( I will get around to purchasing one for review I hope)but the big issue they've had(and since fixed) were welds that attached the forearm to the action bars. the older models used to break after awhile.
Third has to do with country of origin, if that means anything to you.
Maverick 88: assembled in Eagle Pass, TX with some parts made in mexico
Pardner Pump: Assembled in China by Hawk Industries
Stevens 320: assembled in China not sure of MFG
Also prices in my area are as follows:
Maverick 88: 188 .00
Pardner Pump: 179.00
Stevens 320(standard stock/field barrel):172.00
First is the parts interchangeability. you can change almost everything on the Maverick out for Mossberg parts, except the trigger housing, and the forend (you can in fact change the forend, but you have to purchase a sllde tube assembly first). The pardner pump is limited by the barrel attachment point. It's in a different position as the Remington 870's so barrels don't interchange. Parts for the savage 320 are pretty much Nil, not a whole lot of aftermarket support there.
Second is quality: The Maverick 88's I own (Six in fact, though each has their own role in my day to day life) have all worked extremely well, all of them now have at least 500 through each with my clay gun getting close to 1500 rounds. Their fit and finish and finish is fine, but a little rough around the edges, not as smooth as their Mossberg counterparts.
The pardner pumps I used to own (3 total, 1 of which had to be warranty replaced). The major issue I've had was quality issues with the shell stop and interrupter falling out(they are supposed to be soldered in) and I've also had barrel fit issues causing POI to shoot quite a bit right(This was the gun I had replaced). The finish was... well really easy to scratch up, and liked to rust a bit. the gun itself was built like a tank though quite rough internally( I would cut myself occasionally, trying to clean inside the receiver).
As for the stevens 320, I have not personally owned one yet( I will get around to purchasing one for review I hope)but the big issue they've had(and since fixed) were welds that attached the forearm to the action bars. the older models used to break after awhile.
Third has to do with country of origin, if that means anything to you.
Maverick 88: assembled in Eagle Pass, TX with some parts made in mexico
Pardner Pump: Assembled in China by Hawk Industries
Stevens 320: assembled in China not sure of MFG
Also prices in my area are as follows:
Maverick 88: 188 .00
Pardner Pump: 179.00
Stevens 320(standard stock/field barrel):172.00
Last edited:
Now between Between Mossberg and Remington's mid level guns, I have no issues with either( but Remington's older guns are indeed nicer than their current production stuff). It then becomes just a question of how it fits and what controls you like better. If I'm running a traditional style stock I love Mossberg because the controls are in a great position for me. If I'm running a stock with a pistol grip ( like the collapsible 6 position stocks, or the full size A2 style stocks) I've drifted more the the 870 controls because they are still easy to manipulate
To be honest, I would recommend just using a normal fixed stock if I were you. The gun is far easier to control and aim with one, where as a PGO shotgun is not.
To be honest, I would recommend just using a normal fixed stock if I were you. The gun is far easier to control and aim with one, where as a PGO shotgun is not.
Sheepdog1968
Member
My general thoughts as these two are well made tanks that should last your lifetime. As for me, I own nothing but Mossberg 500 and 590s. I use my Mossberg every week. I can afford to get something that costs substantially more but have seen no reason to do so.
gulogulo1970
Member
You can't lose with a Mossberg 500 or a older 870 Wingmaster. Avoid the 870 Express, I've owned one and it jammed and rusted like no other shotgun I've ever had before or since.
Barry the Bear
Member
Look for a used mossy 500 or a rem 870 either one will outlive you and leave your grandkids`s grandkids a cherished memento .
Blkhrt13
Member
Maverick 88 seconded
Armored farmer
Member
Keep an eye on gunbroker, and the gun shops.
Shotguns have fallen from grace lately. There are some real classics to be had. You gotta keep an open mind. You may be thinking pump gun, and blunder into a nice auto 5.
LC Smith.
Browning
Fox
Stevens
Winchester
They are out there.
Shotguns have fallen from grace lately. There are some real classics to be had. You gotta keep an open mind. You may be thinking pump gun, and blunder into a nice auto 5.
LC Smith.
Browning
Fox
Stevens
Winchester
They are out there.
- Status
