cheapest home defense shotgun?

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Jackal1

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I have a regular lower-end Mossberg 500 field and slugster interchangeable barrel shotgun for clays and deer.

I am looking for a separate shotgun for HD. I do not just want to put a spare barrel on my current shotgun. Any suggestions for what the cheapest model would be that fulfills my criteria below would be very appreciated!

I want a U.S.A. made, pump action, extended magazine tube (~8 rds), 18.5 to 22" barrel, rifle sights with picatinny rail (or at least need the receiver pre-drilled and tapped so I could install a picatinny rail with a red dot scope in the future). Cylinder bore or exchangeable chokes are ok.

Thanks for any suggestions!
 
I have a couple of short barreled 12 ga. SG I keep loaded for home defense. One is an 18 1/2" Charles Daly, an 870 clone. It's as strong and reliable as the 870 is, and also comes with sling swivels installed. My other short barreled is a Mossberg 500 with interchangable choke tubes and the sling swivels also. Both of those have 3" chambers too.

I think I spent $250-ish for the NIB Charles Daly. It is parkerized black with black synthetic stock. I don't remember what I spent for the Mossberg NIB.

Of the two, I much prefer the Charles Daly simply because it is an 870 design and functions exactly the same.
 
You can spend less money, but I wouldn't sugggest anything less than a Mossberg 500. I know you said USA made, but a Benelli Nova isn't much more expensive and is a much, much better gun for the money, with a Remington 870 in the mix as well.

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good HD shotgun, but you do want one that has proven to be reliable.
 
Cheapest USA shotgun ?

I would go to several gun shops or pawn shops and look for a good solid Remington 870, Winchester 1300, Mossberg, or the wonderful Ithaca 37. I have several and they are not pretty but are old solid performers with Walnut stocks, and blued steel. These guns have a good track record for reliability. Snoop
 
I agree with Snoop and add the Winchester Model 12 to the list of guns to look for. You can get out the door for $250 or so and have a great gun that will outlast you. Scratches and dings don't affect function and the older guns are very well built & cycle super-smooth after you clean some of the 50-yr old gunk out of 'em. If you're lucky you'll find a nice example that already has a short barrel on it.
 
Those Benellis are beautiful, however the price does not hit me as being what the OP asked for and that was "CHEAPEST Home Defense Shotgun?":)
 
Maverick shotguns are made im Mexico and marketed...

by Mossberg in the U.S. You can do better for the money by buying an American made gun.
 
Jackal1 said:
I have a regular lower-end Mossberg 500 field and slugster interchangeable barrel shotgun for clays and deer.
------------------------------
I want a U.S.A. made, pump action, extended magazine tube (~8 rds), 18.5 to 22" barrel....!
Click to expand...

The obvious answer here, (if you MUST have another gun) is...

........<drum roll>.............

...another mossberg 500. Please understand that your field gun, even with it's longer barrel can fight off the Baddies - IF you do your part. I think in any self defense scenario, whichever gun chosen is going to perform far better than the individual's nerves and adrenaline will.

That being said, if you must have another gun, get another 500. In a high stress situation you are going to want a weapon in which you, and your muscle's memory, already know the controlls. In this case, it's already the 500. Plus, it meets all of your criteria as well.

My advice to you is... Read the stickied "101" threads, get some training, then burn through some ammo... :)
 
Those Benellis are beautiful, however the price does not hit me as being what the OP asked for and that was "CHEAPEST Home Defense Shotgun?"
Click to expand...

IMO, $400 for a shotgun is cheap.
 
IMO, $400 for a shotgun is way too much.

My clean Mossberg 500 was $130 OTD. My High Standard Pointer (Gibson-brand Flite King) was pristine for $120. My JC Higgens Model 20 was $90 OTD.
 
Re: Maverick shotguns made in Mexico

snooperman said:
by Mossberg in the U.S. You can do better for the money by buying an American made gun.
Click to expand...
Untrue. The Mav 88 is made in the USA, in Texas. Some of the parts are made in Mexico of raw materials that originate in the US.

it is, imho, the best US made budget pump gun you can buy.
 
Since you are already familiar with the Mossy platform, get either a 500 of 590. You can pick up basic 20" 9 shot 500 for about $400. For only a little more, you can get the 590, with better corrosion resistant coating, heavier grade moving parts, heavy walled barrel and standard 20" barrel and 9 shot capacity. I would go with the latter, and they can be found for $450 or less, at least in my part of the "woods". I wouldn't go too cheap if you are going to have to to protect home and hearth.
 
The 590 is damn sweet, I held one in Dicks Sporting Goods less than a week ago, but you can get 2 Mavericks for the price of one 590.
 
Let's see - HD shotgun, primary use is to save you and yours lives. And you want the cheapest....

Would you buy tires for your family car based on what you could get cheapest?

Buy a quality used gun, and know you made the better choice.
 
U.S.A. made
Click to expand...
That's going to nearly be tough if you want to keep the price down below your Mossberg. Just get a Maverick or a second 500 with an 18-in barrel.
 
Teachu2 said:
Let's see - HD shotgun, primary use is to save you and yours lives. And you want the cheapest....

Would you buy tires for your family car based on what you could get cheapest?

Buy a quality used gun, and know you made the better choice.
Click to expand...

Maybe the motivating factor is not wanting to have $400+ tied up in a gun that will hopefully never get fired after familiarization. Or if the unfortunate day comes when it must be fired, having it gather dust in an evidence locker.

While cheap pump guns like the Mav88 may not be a top choice for wingshooting or clay sports, I'm sure that they can meet the reliability standard that most people would need for Home Defense. The tire analogy falls short.
 
Thanks for the input, everyone!

It seems that the cheapest of the cheap that meets my critieria would be a Maverick 88. What I've dug up is that some Maverick models are made in U.S. and others are made in Mexico, but I haven't found a rhyme or reason. Is there a particular model that is made in the U.S. or does production location change randomly for the various Maverick models? I haven't found any Maverick's in my area, so I likely wouldn't be able to look at the gun to see the manufacturing location prior to purchase since I would have to order it.

A step up from the Maverick would be to get a Mossberg 590 which would definitely meet my critieria.

One other question, though... I've noticed that you can not easily add a magazine extension to the standard Mossberg 500 field gun, so even if I put an 18.5" barrel on my 500, I would be limited to the low capacity field magazine. I heard through the grapevine that the new Remington 870's no longer have the magazine 'dimples' and now aftermarket extended magazine tubes can readily be installed. So, with the new 870's you can swap field, slug, and home defense barrels as well as field or home defense magazine tubes. Is that true? If so, when did the 870 magazine design change? I might find myself selling the Mossberg and getting an 870 so that I just have one gun in the safe instead of 2 different guns where 1 just sits all the time.

BTW - the reason I'm looking for a 'cheap' home defense gun is because I have other primary home defense firearms. I just want a home defense shotgun to round out the collection. That being said, if the Mav88 is a junker I'd rather have a Moss590...

Thanks!
 
There are 20" barreled models of the 500 for home defense that come with a longer tube holding 8 rounds. You could get one of them or you can order a factory tube from any number of sources, I suggest midway, or any other sponsor of this site. The wonderfull thing about the Mossberg 500 series of guns is that whether it is a trap gun, a turkey gun, deer gun off home defense gun, anything "500" is generally interchangable. It's like legos for big kids!
 
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