Choosing a shotgun for HD and 3-gun competition, with a twist

Which shotgun do I buy?

  • $200: slightly chewed-up Mossberg 500

    Votes: 7 31.8%
  • $385: Browning BPS 20" 7+1

    Votes: 5 22.7%
  • $430: Benelli Super Nova Tactical Pistol Grip, etc.

    Votes: 10 45.5%

  • Total voters
    22
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takhtakaal

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CHOSE a shotgun for HD and 3-gun competition: Browning BPS HD (see end of thread)

Okay, here's the deal.

My Ithaca 37 (18.5" barrel King Ferry M&P model) just croaked on me. I think it has a broken firing pin, first off, and then a "helpful" (arrogant and abusive, too) range employee managed to burr up the threads in the receiver by not knowing how to disassemble (nor did he ask me if I knew how to remove the barrel) it after it jammed up on the FTF.

Anyway, it's going back to its ancestral home in Ithaca, NY, where Diamond Gunsmithing does better work than just about anyone on these things, so that I might get to keep it, if at least as a backup. I need a backup, and I've located three shotguns that might do the trick. I need your help in deciding what to do.

First off, I have no clue what the repair bill is going to be, but Ithacas don't resell well, so it's out of the question to dump it on the market. So, I'm keeping it in any case, if even only for sentimental value.

The three that I have located are:

1. A $200 Mossberg 500 police trade-in, somewhere around 20" or so, with a full undertube, but a bitched-up receiver. The plus is that the butt and the fore-end are WOOD, which is get-out all sexy on a defensive shotgun. The receiver I can paint with aluminum black. It does, however, have wide swivels on it, so I'd need to invest in some web for it.

2. A Browning BPS High Capacity for $384.99, with a bead front sight and a plain jane synthetic stock and fore-end. It's a lot like an Ithaca, except for a tang safety, and the action feels slicker than snot. For pimp appeal, it has a gold-colored trigger. Currently, Browning is running a $75 rebate on these suckers.

3. A Benelli Super Nova Tactical with a pistol grip and either rifle or ghost ring sights for $429.99. I was surprised by the feel of the grip, not unlike on a SAW, and the ease of shouldering.

At any rate, tell me what you would do -- make the Ithaca number one and use the slider, or get something newer and perhaps more capable and make the Ithaca the backup. I'm trying to be somewhat reasonable here.
 
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One more option that just occurred to me:

A Mossberg 50663 (590 Special Purpose) with a Vang safety and a metal trigger group. Write in if that one appeals to you, although I figure it would be about $520 or so after shipping for the bits and pieces.
 
Not a 590A1, but a 590, plus the additions. I would have to order it for around $390 or so shipped. Let me know where you found a 590A1 for that price -- don't know that I would want the extra weight of the heavy barrel though.
 
The only one currently available on GB starts at around $800: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=110638537

It's heavy enough as is, without the heavy barrel on the A1, especially when you trick it a bit with anything additional, and I lost most of my interest in bragging rights a while ago. Having to carry it around all day long at a shoot is enough, thank you. Also, the heat shield doesn't fit right on the thicker barrel if you go to. I use Nomex gloves anyway, so it's a doodad I might not need.

And yes, you did get a bargain.
 
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Update: I decided to get BOTH the chewed-up Mossberg 500 and the Browning BPS HD, as well. I passed on the Benelli because of rifle sights that I didn't care much for and the fact that the pistol grip made it feel like swinging through to hit a moving target would have been too much of a chore. Also, it would have required a magazine extension to be strictly competitive.

The 500 is just too good a bargain to pass up, with that nice wood, and I'm going to renovate it and restore it to its former state, perhaps with some additions. The Browning felt so much better than the 590 Special Purpose, which I had a chance to see with bead front and a heat shield. I wasn't impressed with the feel of the 590 at all -- it felt cheap in the hands, almost shoddy, for the same price as the Browning, and I can live without the bayonet lug, really. Plus, the Browning has that rebate going, and a steel receiver to boot, and a bead sight that just can't beat for size or contrast with the barrel.

Thanks for your opinions and help!
 
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