Need advise buying a cheap 12ga shotgun

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joplinsks

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Hi all,

I know little about shotguns, but would like to add a cheap 12ga to my small arsenel if anything just to shoot at the range and get more familiar with that type of firearm. The gun shops seem full of used, single shot 12ga guns for well under $100 made by H&R, FIE, NEF, Stevens, etc.

Any advise in buying these types of single shot 12ga guns? Are some brands recommended over others? Appreciate the help.

SP
 
A single-shot 12-gauge is going to kick a lot. The best recipe for recoil-reduction is "heavy gun, light load."

I'm not familiar with FIE, but all those others are respectable brands. Heft the guns and see which one is the sturdiest. Then look around for some nice light 12-gauge target loads to play around with.
 
I suggest one get with a seasoned shooter to access gun fit and to actually shoot a variety of shotguns [ any firearm for that matter] to see what works for them.

Inexpensive is much much different than "cheap".

There are some $500 shotguns "cheaply made" with inferior metallurgy, design and manufacture and there are some great inexpensive shotguns such as Used 870s, 1300s, and the like one can buy for much less than $500.

Single shot shotguns by H&R /NEF are very good guns.
I only recommend 20, 28 and .410 in these.


There is hardly anything some man cannot make cheaper and sell for less.
Those whom buy based on price alone are this man's prey. - John Ruskin
 
Forget single shot. No fun. No fun at all.

Get something with 2 barrels or a pump. A Stoeger Coach gun would be a blast. Or a Mossberg Maverick. Much higher fun factor!
 
I would suggest you look around for a used pump gun - Remington 870 , Mossberg 500 , Older model guns like the Stevens 520 & 620 , the High Standard 200 series . Often times these can be bought for $100 to $150 in very usable condition. (avoid the Springfield 67 , Nobels, and the 916 S&W)

They would be much better than the single shots - I agree very much with sm on recommending only up to 20 ga. in the single shot guns. In the singles the best is NEF/H&R guns.
 
Shopping around for a used 870 is what I'd do. They can be had for a really reasonable price, especially if they have a little corrosion on them. I've seen lightly spot rusted barrel 870's go for under $150.00. A little #0000 steel wool would remedy it PDQ. Hard to find a more dead reliable shotgun for the money.
 
You can find LEO trade-in Rem 870 pump guns, Ithacas, Mossbergs, etc. for under $150 as long as you don't mind hard cosmetic wear or PD markings (IMHO that just makes it cooler).
Otherwise Mossberg Maverick 88 is the budget-priced Mossberg 500; all the strength and reliability, a good bit cheaper, and I like where the safety is better on the Mav88 over the M500 anyway.
Wal*Mart that still carries guns will have the Mav88 for sale at a great price. IIRC the brand new Mav88 with slug barrel was $199 last time I looked. And the 19" Mav88 was around $179 or so.
 
Yep- don't buy cheap, buy inexpensive. A good used Remington 870, or any of the 'big name' pumpguns (Winchester, Ithaca, Mossberg etc) will do fine for what you want, and a repeater is definitely higher on the food chain than a single shot. And a repeater won't beat you up as much either.

With luck and good shopping you'll still see used 870s that are ratty outside but solid mechanically sell for not much over $100, last year I bought a 1976 vintage Wingmaster Magnum receiver 870 for $135 out the door. Looked rough on the outside and was filthy inside but a good cleaning resurrected that buttery pump action Wingmaster fans love so much.

Shop around your local FFL dealers and see what's on the used racks, if you have doubts about something you see just ask them to hold it for you for a day or two and then ask here for info on what you've found. We'll do our best to help you with your purchase, if you ask for advice. AND we work for free, too 8^).

Happy shopping,

lpl/nc
 
My advice

New - Maverick 88, great gun...should run around $150ish new. Heres a pic of mine.

maverick88.jpg

Used - Maverick 88, Remington 870, Mossberg 500, depending on condition you should be able to score a used pump gun for around $100

I paid $75 for this one with a bird and rifled slug barrel

moss500.gif
 
I feel that singles are very under rated. You can do almost as much with a single as you can with a pump or auto..... Just not as fast.

What you want to look for is fit at the point the barrel locks up, you want a tight fit with as little wiggle as possible.

Then look down the barrel from the back, you will see if the barrel has any damage and if its clean. Look the wood over for any nasty cracks or damage.

Now take a close look at the hammer and trigger to see if they are working, most new single shots have a safety that prevents you from firing the shotgun by snagging the hammer spur.

I recommend the H&R or NEF single shots, if you get a sp2 receiver you can also have rifle barrels fit to it but the SP1 receiver is also fine.
 
another vote or a pump gun. I just brought home (and took tothe range and shot trap with) a New Mossberg 500 combo with both long and short barrels for $250 brand new from Big 5 sporting goods. Its a great gun, nice and light, doesn't kick much at all and it performs well from what i have seen thus far
 
Millions of used, American made pumps are out there. Many are for sale at bargain prices.

For a first shotgun, they are very hard to beat.
 
All of my shotguns are Rem 870 pumps. If I were on a very limited budget I would get one of those $137 Mavericks from Academy before I would buy a single shot though.
 
Thanks guys for the great advice. Went ahead and bought a used, unfired Mossberg 500 12 ga field grade with wood stock, ported barrel, and 3 included chokes from my favorite local gun shop. Apparently the previous owner bought it new 4 months ago from the same shop and constantly trades his new guns back to the shop... must be nice :rolleyes: I paid $160... a bit more than a single shot, but I'm much happier.

SP
 
Congratulations! Sounds like a good deal on a good gun. Take a look at http://www.havlinsales.com/ and check their closeouts, they have some good prices on short Mossberg 500 barrels right now, if you want to get a good HD barrel.

Stay safe,

lpl/nc
 
You did good--you have an excellent basic multi-purpose shotgun. Now you can start building your collection...
 
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