HD and skeet gun?

[JAshley73]

I'm with oneounceload on this one.... Skip the pump.

And I say forget about short barrels too. My "HD" shotgun is an older Beretta A303 with a 28" barrel and beautiful wood. It will do just fine propped up against the bed pointed at the door, if, God-forbid the "Zombies" ever come...

You are not a one-man SWAT team, so realistically there is no need to be running from room to room with a shotgun looking for trouble. (Be careful, you might just find it...) If moving about in your home with a gun is part of the plan, I highly suggest you consider a pistol, as it frees up a hand for holding a phone or your kids or a flashlight, or whatever...

But if you're hunkered down in a defensive position, a 28-30" barrel will not be an issue. Also mind you, that an extra barrel for a Beretta A400 will set you back $799. Expect a Benelli barrel to be similar... On a lot of these pricier semi-autos, an extra barrel just doesn't make sense, to the point where it's not really an option.

So I say, get a nice semi-auto, with a full length barrel, and enjoy it. Try to shoot one first if you can, but go with the gun that feels the best. I think you'll find you can't really go wrong with a Beretta, Browning, Benelli, or Remington semi-auto, so long as it fits you.

So I say, get 1 gun with a full length barrel, and enjoy.

 

[Centurian22]

I'll throw my limited experience input here for the fun of it:

First barrel length: as mentioned "clearing" your house is bad, hunkering down is good. That said, in my home, my bedroom is at the opposite end of the house as my children's rooms, and they are my primary concern. So, I have a need to move through doors with my HD weapon(s) of choice to get to them and ensure their safety AFTER calling 911 but before I can hunker down. I have practiced this with my Ithaca 37 deerslayer which has a 19" barrel if my memory serves me. It take practice and focus. It's not easy. I can't imagine doing it with a 28-30" barrel gun (the only thing I have to compare that to would be one of my Mosin Nagants). So moral of the story is YOU are the only one who can determine what is the right barrel length for the defense of YOUR home and family.

Next pump vs semi one platform vs two: Practice Practice Practice is what it all comes down to. I can see the value in one platform and two, same setup or different. Regardless of your choice you will need to become Intimately familiar and proficient with your HD firearm, and with any firearm you plan to compete with (even casually). I don't know anything about semi-auto shotguns so I will leave that to others, aside from saying that in general I would have to think that like other platforms a semi would be somewhat (no matter how slight) more likely to have a hiccup (jam, failure, too dirty etc) than a manually cycled action. I will say that any platform has its pros, cons and balances of effectiveness, reliability, functionality and simplicity that must be assessed for your purposes.

Given a $2,000 budget personally I would buy two separate guns of some sort. As said then you don't have to worry about switching anything back and forth. Murphy's law would LOVE to strike on a day after shooting clays when you got too busy to clean and switch your barrels and ammo back to home defense 'mode'. So in my mind having a dedicated system for HD would be best. That said I like the concept of the same gun with different barrels so that any and all practice helps add to the muscle memory and familiarity. Pump shotguns seem to be one of the pinnacles of reliable repeating arms. Not to mention there is a lot to be said for that universally recognized sound of a racking pump. I know I know, some will scream don't give away your position and tactical advantage, while others will say anything you can do to avoid taking a life is worth it, of for no other reason than to avoid the legal and emotional battle there after. I don't think there are many thing more effective to convince a criminal to escape back out through whatever hole he made to come in as quickly as possible as a racking of a shotgun pump.

Now as to model: again lots of personal preference there. Take a good look at the Ithaca Model 37 (new or used) amazing gun, very simple, feeds and ejects from the bottom (some like me view this as a plus, others a negative). I have heard the 37 has a fairly short throw in comparison to other guns. Mossbergs probably have the most aftermarket / adaptability support followed closely by the Rem 870. For casual clays (which sounds like what you plan to do) there is Definitely Nothing wrong with a pump shotgun. I had one of the best shooting times of my life the other day with a buddy, his gun, my Ithaca 37, 4 boxes of shells and a box of clays. I can count on one hand the number of times I've shot clays in my life and not many of them made it to the dirt intact. From the sounds of your budget it sounds like if you got started on clays with a pump then wanted to go serious it would not be out of the question to save for and or trade up to a more 'professionally' dedicated system. Also again all that time spent on the pump gun would not be wasted as it was all 'training' for your HD system.

So in summary my advice: Two Ithaca 37's, one short for HD (18-20"), one either the same or longer for clays, whatever feels good to you. If the Ithaca doesn't do it for you Mosbergs are my second choice (just personal preference), and there really isn't anything wrong with Remington's as far as I know aside from maybe some finish issues (as reported by a friend). Whatever you choose, practice practice practice and have fun!

 

[oneounceload]

As I mentioned above - for fun games, a Beretta A400 can be found for 1400, that leaves you 600 for a hd gun if you feel that desire. Or go for a Remington 1100 and two barrels - personally as someone else mentioned above - I am NOT clearing my house, so a regular gun pointed at the door while hunkered behind the bed will do the job and a pistol is better for clearing

 

[btg3]

Seems most HD guns are kept in the bedroom and that's where most imagine hunkering down. Then there are those who carry while at home during waking hours. Just wondering... what does the available data say about the likelihood of HD scenarios while the homeowner was in the bedroom (middle of the night) vs other areas of the home?

Looking for data, not anecdotes -- thank you.

 

[PabloJ]

Here is <6lb 20ga half/quarter choked gun designed for small bird hunting. With light 3/4oz load it would be suitable for recreational skeet gun and with BK shot it would pass for HD gun. You would have to live in very good neighborhood though.

https://

 

[mgkdrgn]

To all of you on here that say a "pump gun is not good for skeet"...must either be very young or never went to a skeet and trap championship tournament's back in the '60s. A lot of champions with pump's, I'd like to see you tell some of them a pump has no place in skeet. No, I'm not one of them but my job was keeping the houses loaded so I saw a lot of great shooter's.

And before that they used flintlocks ... don't see any of them out there now either.

CAN you shoot Skeet with a pump shotgun?

Yes ... I did it 30 years ago.

Will you be at a SERIOUS dis-advantage to those using semi-autos?

Yes, oh my yes.

 

[Boomie]

Check out prices for extra barrels for the Versamax, or any other high end autoloader. I think you might be better served getting a nice auto-loader for skeet, and a cheap pump for HD (Mossberg 500 or Remmy 870).

I do get the folks that say that a short barrel is not needed for a HD shotgun as you should be hunkered down (let the cops clear your house). That is true. OTOH, I wouldn't want to put an extended mag or light on a skeet gun. Neither is needed, but they can be nice.