Shotgun vs ar

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Mainsail said:
If it helps you decide; my friend bought a Rem 870 and we went out shooting- me with my 590A1 and him with his 870. His 870 kept locking up so bad he had to hold the pump and slam it against the ground to get the shell out.
Click to expand...

If it's an Express, not a Wingmaster, that's par for the course with steel "brass" shells. Polish the chamber and it will go away. The last turkey shoot we did for scouts had a bunch of 870 Express come through, most completely new, and every one of them locked up when firing cheap cases. None of the Wingmasters, Mossbergs, Winchesters, or even Chinese knock-offs had that problem.

Now, for the OP's question... Which will you personally regret more if you don't get it right now? I've bought 3 shotguns in the last year while waiting for AR uppers to become more available and for prices to drop. If you buy the shotgun, you'll be able to recoup your money if you decide to. Right now, the same might not be true of the AR, at least until the next panic.

Matt
 
Tough call. It'd be difficult to put $250 aside while saving for an AR (especially a first AR), but the Remington 870 Police is an excellent shotgun. For HD, that's pretty much the ideal shotgun, comparable with the Mossberg 590A1 (IMO, ofc), unless you prefer an AR for HD.

I'd say, if you prefer a shotgun for HD, you can't do much better than the 870 Police, for $250. If you prefer an AR for HD, or you prefer a shotgun but already have one for that role, save the money and keep working for the AR.

This is all assuming the 870 Police is in great (90% or better) condition, ofc. I wouldn't buy it if it was beat up and obviously neglected, even if I desperately wanted a shotgun and didn't have one yet.
 
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If you like the shotgun and want it then get it. It's there now and a deal like that won't usually come around twice. I jumped all over a 870 Police at 280$ out the door and I'm glad I did. I enjoy shooting it as much as the AR.

Shotgun now
AR later
 
I understand the comments about getting an AR in case another ban comes down the road, but the OP already has a completed lower, and the upper isn't considered the "gun".

From my experiences in CA after the ban came, complete uppers and parts have still always been available without restriction.

Get the shotgun first.
 
I would go with the shotgun if I didn't have any kind of longarm, either rifle or shotgun. If I already did then I would finish the AR.
 
It's not a tough call at all. And it's not a shotgun vs AR decision. It's about sticking to the plan.

Buying the shotgun now means the AR doesn't get done. In a few months something else pops up that's a "bargain," the shotgun goes and something else is the new toy. The AR doesn't get done. Then it's another gun, and then, another. The AR doesn't get done.

Call it willpower, or commitment, or whatever, letting anything get in the way means the AR doesn't get done. How many posts come up about someone building an AR who is attacked in their home and needed it? Substitute any other gun it's the same story.

What we do see posted are stories about "I wish I hadn't traded off that gun." People tend to regret flipping them a lot more - because that is a much higher risk than the actual incidence of self defense. There's over two guns per person in America, and more every year, but there are only four violent incidents per thousand people, and most of them are concentrated in specific geographical areas.

You will likely trade a gun sooner than shoot one in self defense. It's a much larger "risk" pool in that regard. So, it comes down to how important the AR is to you, and what makes the shotgun so appealing? It's up to you, and realistically, none of us even need to know or have any real concern over it.

Happens all the time. There are more people at a gun show than people shot in the town it's scheduled in.
 
A lot of good thoughts in this thread. I'm with those that say if you don't already have a shotgun, get the 870. If you already have a shotgun, keep working on the AR.
 
Flip a coin. Heads 870, tails AR.

Then think about how you respond to the result. That'll show you where your inner winds blow. Like if it lands headsies and you feel disappointment, that says you really don't want the 870.

Bargains on something you weren't gunna buy....not so bargainish.
 
If you don't have a rifle yet, finish the AR. Getting the AR means you can go to the range, practice, have fun and gain some shooting accuracy skills. Going to a stationary target range with a shotgun is boring other than making a loud bang and making a lot of holes. Fun the first couple of times, but it won't leave you wanting to go again.

If you added skeet or trap shooting as something you want to do, that would make me lean more toward shotgun. Skeet does what stationary targets do not with a shotgun - allow you to improve skills. And it is fun.

I don't hunt with AR or shotgun, so I'll leave that one out.
 
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Police 870 for $250 all day long over a .223 poodle-shooter.

On the other hand, if your AR project is chambered for .308, I'd continue on that path.
 
Guess I'd say I'm in the "depends what you have now" camp.

If no long guns --get the shotgun---------if you're already kind of set up--finish the AR
 
Finish the AR, THEN buy the shotgun. Shotguns are under no curernt legislative threat, and pumps are available used for $125-150 in a million pawnshops all around the country.
 
I would always get the shotgun first. It can serve more than one purpose, and doesn't go through ammo as fast as a rifle if bad times are ahead. I have seen uppers on slick guns for under 250.00. Last week even a 300 Blackout was up for around that price.
 
You don't run across actual Police Magnum 870s every day, is it a walnut stock or poly stock? I ran across one for $150 with a really nice walnut stock about five years ago and grabbed it, I'm happy I did. I couldn't replace it for anywhere close to that now.

AR stuff will be there in 3 months or 6 months, and the price won't increase much if at all unless something happens to create another panic.
 
If this is your only firearm I would buy the Remington. Keep your AR lower and put money aside and buy the upper as soon as possible.

As mentioned in a post above the lower is the rifle. The upper's price may go up a little, but not near the price of a lower. Primary Arms is always having sales on the uppers.

Let us know and post pictures of what you decide.
 
If it's an Express, not a Wingmaster, that's par for the course with steel "brass" shells.
Click to expand...

That's not true. There was an issue with certain ammo jamming in some Express shotguns. It was a 30 second fix to end that problem forever. All it takes is polishing the inside of the chamber very slightly. I put a cleaning brush on a drill and fixed my Express in less than 10 seconds. It has never jammed one time since then.

As for the Police being so much more robust than the Express again not true. There are about 3 parts on the Police model that are better than the Express versions. The Express can be upgraded for about $30 to be exactly the same as the Police model. I have the parts list if you're interested and I have the source of this info which was a police armorer who is a nationally recognized expert on the 870.

Now Wingmasters are a step above both the Police and the Express. But they cost a lot more too. The stocks and the finish on the metal is the main difference on the Wingmaster. But even the finish on the Express can last decades if proper care is taken to make it right. I soaked mine with gun oil about 50 times because the finish is designed to fight rust by keeping an oil film on the metal. I kept soaking mine and letting it dry a few days until it wouldn't absorb any more oil at all. I haven't had one speck of rust on it either.

I don't agree that shotguns are no fun to plink with either. I used an old boot to play "shotgun golf" which was my own game where I kept score on how many shots it took me to blast that boot into a hole at the bottom of my hill.

There are lots of things you can do with a shotgun that you can never do with a rifle too. I used to trim limbs on my tree to keep it from blocking my satellite dish from getting reception. You can't do that with a rifle unless you live a long way away from anyone. I've shot bats with a rifle but it's very hard. I don't shoot bats unless they are a nuisance and before someone tells me they are never a nuisance I can direct you to news reports of bats harassing people who get near their nests. If they nest in your house you either block access to their nest or you kill them. And that takes a shotgun.

Anything you can hunt with a rifle you can hunt with a shotgun with a very few exceptions (doll sheep, mountain goats, etc.). Everyone should have at least one shotgun IMO. And an 870 is a perfect choice for that one shotgun. Simple, reasonable price, effective, reliable, parts available worldwide. What else is there?
 
A bird in the hand...

870 for sure.
The lower is not going to spoil while you restart your savings to finish it and you can always sell the Remington if you change your mind.

One quality riot grade 12 should be on everyone's must have list.

AR uppers have not yet bottomed in price. They're gonna plummet. At least here in AZ they are thicker on the ground with no buyers than any other single gunshow item.
 
$250 sounds to me like a great deal. I'd go with the shotgun if money is a factor. One single investment and you're ready to run it (plus ammo).

A decent drop-in or build-your-own upper will cost more than $250, so take your time to build that afterwards.
Click to expand...

+1000

A complete gun is better to obtain now, esp a good pump shotgun.

If prices of AR15 parts keep going down, it will be cheapest around Thanksgiving. So you have plenty of time to finish your AR build.
 
I have to wait for the deputy to get his new one. I think I'll take the 870 when it's offered. Thanks for all the replies!
 
I'm not much of a shotgun guy, but if you don't have one, I'd defer the AR and get it, as it seems like a great price if its in good condition. The AR price trend is currently down, and since you have the lower the entire universe of Internet upper sales is open to you. $250 is only about half way to a complete upper so it shouldn't be all them much of a delay.

Of course there is the chance of another "panic" but with mid-terms coming up, few if any of the RINOs or red State Dems will want anything to do with gun control.
 
Depends on your desired application. They are different platforms for different purposes.

Generally speaking, if I had to make a one-or-the-other choice between a shotgun and an AR and live with that decision for a long time, I'd opt for the shotgun. But I'd want a shotgun in sporting rather than combat configuration. Said another way, if I could have only one long gun, it would be a 12-gauge pump ... but I'd have it set up primarily for hunting and sport shooting rather than combat/defense. So an 870 Police would not be my first choice. And an AR would be way down my list of guns to add to a new collection.

You set out to build an AR, so I assume you had some purpose in mind. If that purpose is fixed, don't be deterred from your objective by a "good deal." A good deal that delays your real goal isn't a deal. But if you were building an AR for the heck of it and it won't bug you to have a half-finished project lying around, go for the 870.
 
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