Benelli Nova vs. Remington 870 (12 ga)

For waterfowl I'd go with the Benelli mainly because the finish on the Express rusts easily. But the Express is NOT crap by anymeans. The guns fit differently as well. The 870 has come out with that special finish that is resistant to the elements I dont remember what its called, "Trinite" or something I think. But that might be more than your willing to spend.

The Benellis swallow 3.5" steel shot loads for waterfowl. They seem pretty rust resistant.

Yeah sbarkowski your talking about the 887 and it's finish is called Armorlokt. Here is the link to Remington. They have a waterfoul camo edition too. Never handled one but I would probably like it better that the express.
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_887/model_887.asp

I think Mossberg Shotguns are always a good buy for the money too.
They also have a waterfoul line up with the 935, 835, and the 500.
http://www.mossberg.com/products/default.asp?id=17&section=products

Never handled one but I would probably like it better that the express.

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I have, and I don't. It balances and handles terribly, and generally doesn't seem to be put together very well. If I wanted a gun like that, I'd spring for the Nova, which handles well and is put together well.

I have an Express, and it functions and handles well after thousands of rounds, though it can be rust-prone. The surface holds whatever you get on it. The upside is that it holds thin oil like Rem-Oil well, and doesn't rust easily when oiled. The downside is that it holds sweat and salt spray just as well as oil.

Personally, I'd get a Mossberg in camo (as much for the coating as anything) and go hunting. I wouldn't dink around with coating it myself; that's not free, either. Mossbergs are cheap and proven, they handle well, and they work. 535 3.5" waterfowl model in camo has a $350 street price. Why paint it yourself?

I would go with the Stoeger before the Benelli; they're the same gun, except that the Stoeger is a lot cheaper. Also I would look at the Mossberg; excellent gun for the money plus they're made right here in the United States. I don't know if all of the Remington stuff is made here anymore???? Stoeger and Benelli are foreign made to the best of my knowledge. I own two mossbergs, three remingtons, and one winchester. They all work great, but I love the mossbergs, because they are extremely functional and very affordable -- to me that's a great combination!

"Stoeger before the Benelli; they're the same gun, except that the Stoeger is a lot cheaper. "

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Beretta owns Benelli and Stoeger, and the designs of the guns are quite similar. Ditto for the Franchi I-12. Beretta owns Franchi, too.

But... Benellis have the Comfortech stock, better barrels and chokes, and superior fit and finish. Franchis are similar, with a different pad design.

People report good results with Stoegers, but they're not the same as a Benelli, all things considered. (Whether Benellis really are worth what certain models cost is a separate question.)

NOVA NOVA NOVA!!! New Remingtons have ISSUES!!!

I keep hearing that the new 870 expresses are crap and I just want to know if that is true.

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I have several relatively late-model 870 Express shotguns (including one bought a month ago) and I don't find them to be crap at all. They do have a two known flaws; they do not always like to cycle the cheap bulk pack Winchester (and sometimes Federal) ammo, and some folk report rusting of the finish.

The solution to the first problem is to either use Remington bulk pack ammo (or premium ammo from any manufacturer) or polish the chamber. It's a bit of an annoyance to have to polish the chamber on a new shotgun, but in return you will have a solid shotgun capable of shooting hundreds of thousands of rounds. The key to dealing with the second issue seems to be to oil the metal finish when new, and reapply oil to the metal surfaces periodically. I do that, and so far I've not rusted any even when carried about and profusely sweat upon in the Texas heat.

I seem to recall that the Nova is relatively susceptible to breaking the stock at the wrist, and given the integrated nature of the stock this can be a disastrous failure. Were I interested in the Benelli, I'd pass on the Nova in favor of the Super Nova.

The Nova rattles terribly and I would have concerns about its use in the field as a result. Frankly, I've handled both shotguns side-by-side and I vastly prefer the 870 Express.

NOVA NOVA NOVA!!! New Remingtons have ISSUES!

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Did I miss anything in my synopsis?

The Nova's handguard does rattle... which sucks!!! (this it the only flaw but a bad one)

The 870 is fine, if you get a good one. I work at a gun store that shipps them out to the manufacturer for warranty work and I know of about 10-12 of them that weve had to ship out this year (cycling, finish related, structural malfunctions). Mossberg Maverick 88 has had 0 ship outs. The nova has had 0 since ive been working there. I bought a Nova this year and it worked out for me. I would take the 88 over the Remington, and a Nova over an 88.

I still recommend the 870 youth model though, its a pretty sweet little gun.

The Nova's handguard does rattle... which sucks!!! (this it the only flaw but a bad one)

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The stock issue would seem to be a big one. As I heard it, my FLG had a standing six-month wait from Benelli for warranty repair for broken stocks...

I would take the 88 over the Remington

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I've seen several broken forearms that lead me to favor the 500 over the Maverick 88.

I had a 500 for many years and it worked. It was not as solid nor as 'of a piece' as my 870s and I no longer have it as a result, but it was an adequate shotgun at a lower price point than the 870.

The Nova rattles terribly and I would have concerns about its use in the field as a result. Frankly, I've handled both shotguns side-by-side and I vastly prefer the 870 Express.

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The Nova's handguard does rattle... which sucks!!! (this it the only flaw but a bad one)

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THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM!! All you need is a 3mm (or similar) allen wrench; there is a screw on each side of the handguard, just tighten them up until is doesn't rattle. Just don't over-tighten because then it gets stiff when you pump it.

Oh, and the Nova is the gun to get for your uses. Like others have said, 3.5" chamber, corrosion resistant.

Between a Nova, a Mossberg, and a Remington 870 I'd get the one that felt best to me. They all work fine from what I have seen. We're talking pump guns here, not Purdeys. If I was worried about rust I'd hit any of them with a can of flat black Rustoleum. If you were all that worried about looks you wouldn't be looking at cheap pump guns.

+1 for the bloke from Oxford



(In Virginia that is, not Oxfordshire )

Find a nice used Remington Wingmaster for around $300 and be happy. That's what I did. It came with a 28" full choke barrel. I have since added a 20" rifle sight barrel with Remchokes and an 18" Vang Comp rifle sight barrel (8" 00 buck patterns at 25yds). It's my "everything" gun.

I also have an early Benelli Nova Special Purpose 18" gun. To me the Nova is the Glock of shotguns. As an all around truck and woods gun it is hard to beat. If you want best quality in a new gun on a budget I think it is a good choice.

Even if price is a concern if you want to buy new I would buy a Browning BPS ($500-$600). Its a lot of gun for the money and IMO much better than anything Remington or Mossberg builds today. I bought two of them with the proceeds from selling my Benelli Super Black Eagle. You should consider a good shotgun a lifetime purchase.

Armedbear
I have, and I don't. It balances and handles terribly, and generally doesn't seem to be put together very well.

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Really I thought it was basically an 870 magnum but with the armorkote, and a new forearm that covers the action bars. What did they change that makes it different from the 870 and what makes it feel not put together well? Does the armorkote on the barrel make it feel too front heavy?

Sorry for all the questions and getting off track I just thought the 887 looked like a good buy considering the coating, super cell recoil pad, hi viz front site, 3 1/2 chamber, and the ability to use Rem chokes. It's MSRP price is less than $20 more than a plain jane express.

I haven't shot one, but just from looking, it doesn't appear to me that the Remington 887 and the 870 have much in common at all. I think Remington is trying to appeal to those folks who do not like the traditional looks and feel of the 870. If so, they succeeded. I like Wingmasters; I didn't find much to like with the 887.

Really I thought it was basically an 870 magnum but with the armorkote, and a new forearm that covers the action bars. What did they change that makes it different from the 870 and what makes it feel not put together well? Does the armorkote on the barrel make it feel too front heavy?

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It's a completely different action design, with a different bolt lockup and all unique bits. It feels big and bulky and clunky and (as AB would say) handles like a soggy fencepost.

Yuck.

I'd buy an 870 Express and Duracoat it long before I'd consider owning an 887.

Does anyone have some links to all of these broken Nova stocks? I would like to see some of the photos.

Seems that every time one of these threads comes up, the stock is mentioned.....but I've not read one yet where the person making the post actually had their stock break.....and in most (all?) cases, never even owned a Nova. Not saying it has never happened. Things can break. Seems that maybe this is one of those often parroted statements. I see a lot of the same things parroted on the Jeep forums too....and when actually investigated....it happened to one Jeep 9 years ago. LOL!

I've seen two guns that had broken stocks, earlier this year. Both broke at the wrist.

These were Beretta semiautos used for chukar hunting in and about the Owyhee Mountains, with walnut stocks.

IF you break your shotgun stock, it will be at the wrist, IMO. That's an argument for having a replaceable buttstock, like the SuperNova.

OTOH I wouldn't ever want to lug a Nova around where we go chukar hunting here. So it's likely a non-issue.

WRT the 887, it's a completely different gun from the 870, in every way. I have an 870 and I think that, while it may not be a perfect shotgun in every possible way, it handles extremely well. That's probably why the 870 has been so successful over the years. Remington SHOULD have built a 3.5" evolution of the 870, with coating and some other tweaks. Sadly, they did not, and the results are not good.

If you look at Berettas, you see evolutionary change. The newest 391 is quite different from, but retains the best aspects of, their autoloaders from decades ago.

If you look at Remingtons, you see them build the same guns for 40 or 50 years, without making even obvious possible improvements, and then they come out with completely new designs that seem to leave the good aspects of past guns in the dirt somewhere. Note that Remington hasn't had a successful new receiver gun in decades, but the 870 and 1100 still sell. Sadly, they seem to have lost the ability to either evolve their existing designs well, or to design new guns that live up to their past successes.

There is a serious management problem at Big Green, and I don't see Cerberus making it any better.

Remington SHOULD have built a 3.5" evolution of the 870, with coating and some other tweaks. Sadly, they did not, and the results are not good.

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Wow, that's exactly what I thought it was with out giving the pictures too close of a look. That's too bad too even if it was ugly I think a coated 870 would be a good beat around foul weather shotgun that I would probably would have bought. I guess I still don't understand why they would try to change the design so much.

I can't speak for the other two, but I have an older Express that I like a lot, and find very durable.

Mine shoots everything fine, and I take it down and oil it up if I'm out in bad weather with it. No issues.