The HD Shotgun question, With a Twist.

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Aka Zero

Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2008
Messages
551
Location
Missouri
Looking into the realm of Home Defense (HD) shotguns. Most people have a pump, sometimes with a flashlight, laser, bayonet, and anything else that fits on a rail.

I am a little different. While I do like the Remington Tacticool. < link
This with pretty wood stocks, would be pretty Ideal for me. A little bit country, a little bit rock and mall ninja.

But I generally prefer simple, 18" barrel gun. 20" barrel pumps feel a mile long to me. 18" O/U would be awesome. But a cheap O/U isn't cheap. Usually more than the most ninja'd up pump. Stoeger makes a 20" O/U that looks promising, but a lot of the better O/U features are lost. Ejectors (not extractors) make shooting fast very easy with an O/U. I would just use my 26" barrel Browning for HD, but it has sentimental value.

So the choices are. Staying roughly $400 or less
Buy a cheaper 870, with wood stock, and buy a 18.5" barrel for it.
Buy already tacticool 870
Buy Cheap O/U
Buy something else, maverick, norinco, etc. But want to be able to ejection port load if it is pump, have not seen if this can be done on mossbergs.

Or The out there Idea. Buy a CZ 712, wood stocked long barrel auto. Because it's pretty. And They make the 20" utility, so I figure I could at least get a barrel that short.

Or I could just Finish my AR, had the receiver since the beginning of the obama scare...

On another note I Do have a saiga 12, Pistol grip, couple 10 rounders. Lots 00 and 4 buck. But even with a 19" barrel the 10" receiver makes is super long. I just want something a lot lighter, and thinner, and quicker.
 
Last edited:
Best advice I can give is the same I usually offer- talk to family and friends, find out who has what, and see if you can bum some trigger time on other peoples' shotguns. You buy the ammo of course. Better to do your experimenting on someone else's dollar, and the best way to know what works for you is shooting a variety of guns.

Happy shopping,

lpl
 
Consider a Mossberg 590a1. They're on sale at Cabelas right now for 399.99. This is a vastly superior pumpgun to most guns 1-200 dollars more. You can get an aftermarket wood stock set from Havlin, and you'd have a BAD ol gun. You can sell the synthetic that comes with it to cover some of the cost.
 
I was in the same boat as you. I didn't know if I wanted an 18" pump or a 20" O/U. I ended up with both in a year's time:p

For me, the 18.5" remington 870 just makes too much dang since to pass up for HD. It was inexpensive (Express Synthetic model), tough as nails like pretty much all pumps, and easy for my wife to operate is she ever should have to. I'm going to mount it up high in the corner of the bedroom closet on some kind of friction lock mount (we're expecting a little one). 6 in the magazine, pump it and go. I probably would opt to change out the polymer for wood if I had a choice, but the thing is a purpose driven HD firearm. Who cares:)

As for my truck gun, I went with the Stoeger Outback in nickle finish. It's a budget O/U with a 20" barrel. It's a nice snap it open and go gun. It shoulders quickly, shoots reliably, and didn't cost a fortune.

My main concern is that my wife may get the wild hair that she would tolerate a loaded and ever SLIGHTLY accessible shotgun in the house. That would mean that the Stoeger and 870 would switch places. I can snap open and thumb in rounds PDQ into the O/U.
 
How about a s/s coach gun for cheap HD. I use a short barrel pump. An o/u is slower to reload than a s/s becuase it has to open farther. but a pump can hold plenty .
 
Why I prefer the O/U is selective ejectors. Ejects fired shells only.

Because I got pretty good shooting back up clays. Couple people on a line clay goes in front, if they miss next person backs them up, saves clays, wastes shells when you have a few bad shooters.

When someone else called pull. Could go from empty, eject shells, stick in one, shut and shoulder, flash sight, wait for boom from first shooter, if orange flyer still there, nail it.

I put far more rounds down range than any auto or pump. Had a massive bruise on my shoulder. And a great time that day. Or days, it's a pretty annual event my church does. $25 pays for all the clays, ammo, and food you can destroy...

Just need to find a browning with a massive ding past the 18" barrel mark.....
 
Many higher grade doubles & O/U's have inertia triggers.

If the first barrel fails to fire for any reason, the second barrel won't fire either because there was no recoil to re-set the trigger mechanism.

I admit that a misfire in a high-grade double is a rare thing indeed.
But it will stop you cold in your tracks if it does happen.

To find out, snap the trigger on empty chambers.
If the second barrel won't snap, you will have to bump the butt on the ground to re-set the inertia trigger.

rc
 
The Tactikool 870 synthetic you linked to is a good buy at less than $500. I bought one and put in a comped Mod choke and use it for deer with slugs and for rabbits with #2 (I keep a couple shot shells always on the saddle when deer hunting) and then reload it with 00 buck when I stash it at home for HD duty. It's reliable, points easily, and the ghost ring is fast and accurate on target.
 
I am not sure that I would really take a double gun/OU over a pump for defensive use. I love doubles for sporting use, but a pump can be reloaded while the gun is hot and ready to fire, it can hold about 3x as many rounds, and it can be had for a fraction of the price of a decent OU. I think I payed about $275 + tax for my 870 Express. It works great, and I still had money to spend on practice ammo.
 
I use a PGO Mossberg 500 8-shot w/ 20" barrel; can't imagine a better HD weapon.

Good form on the #4 loads!
 
Coach gun would be ok, but I prefer o/u layout. Plus if I ever made a "smooth bore pistol" no one ever uses o/u. MY browning does have selective triggers. But has had more ammo through it than anything I own besides my Mark III. Never had a problem.

Might go for a cheap 870, they seem to fit the best for me. Or tacticool to get ghost rings. But I want lightness really. Why I don't stick with my Saiga.

I might also not like a lot of things because, for speed, I prefer a shorter LOP. 3rd position of a 6 position stock on the saiga.

Saiga is pretty hard to reload, much more so with the bolt closed. And very front heavy. The adjustable stock on it makes it much shorter, so I can bring the weight in close. But it's still not the quickest of guns.

#4 buck is pretty fun stuff, isn't it.

IMO there is the trained quick, and the untrained not so happy.
 
This with pretty wood stocks, would be pretty Ideal for me. A little bit country, a little bit rock and mall ninja.
Click to expand...

I kinda like that in a HD shotgun too. Still simple and pretty with just enough bad attitude. I think you should look for one of these.

Remington 870 police, this one is kinda high but there are a lot of used ones out there for the right price. You get the idea.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=148767045

With a little TLC and some elbow grease these could come out really nice.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=149154547

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=149023479

or just go with a regular wingmaster that looks nice and buy/ trade for a short barrel or cut the one on it. This one looks pretty nice.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=147635191
 
Last edited:
You've got quite a few options there.

For home defense, I would NOT go with an over under or side by side shotgun. If you already own it for other sporting purposes and that's all you got - that's one thing. But to go buy it with purpose of it being home defense isn't wise. It has only two shots before you need to reload. Not a good situation IMO.

I'd either go with the Rem you mentioned or a Mossberg 500 or the Mossberg 590. Pros and cons to each aruged ad nasaum. Either the Rem or Moss are fine. The key thing is to add a light and a sling onto it. Ideally, also add some sort of ammo carrier onto it - side saddle or butt cuff. If you want an 18.5" barrel rather than a 20" that's fine as well.

The next most important thing is to spend the money (probably more than you pay for the gun) and got take a professional class or two on how to use it. You will learn amazing things. Training is some of the best money you can spend. I was amazed at how much I learned.
 
Looking into the realm of Home Defense (HD) shotguns

I generally prefer simple, 18" barrel gun

I want lightness really

I prefer a shorter LOP. 3rd position of a 6 position stock
Click to expand...

Remington 870 with synthetic 6 position stock and 18" barrel. Could not be simpler. The great thing is that just about any old 870 receiver with a good chamber will do. Go to the pawn shop and buy the cheapest most beat up one they have with a good action. Talk them down on the price due to cosmetics. Get a new barrel, stock, bluing (or simply paint) and rock and roll. Could not be easier.
 
I like my Mossy 500 with youth stock and plain bead sight. Only thing I want to change is to add a tritium bead. I think everything else is just fluff...a good light wouldn't be bad, though.

I also wouldn't mind a shorty coach gun. It's too bad we can't have SBS's in Michigan, else I'd probably rock a 10" or so coach gun. SUPER short gun real easy to move around indoors.
 
I traded some .223 for this 1966 Wingmaster last year. It just took me awhile to get around to working on it. Obviously, my money is on the older, quality built 870s.

nighthawk.jpg

nighthawk2.jpg
 
400 dollar Remington 870 with Plastic trigger guard, standard barrel, plastic safety button - 400 dollars


Mossberg 590a1 with aluminum trigger guard, aluminum safety button and the most brutal barrel you'll see - 400 dollars

I like 870's. I really do. I've owned them and would own them again if the opportunity presented itself. But in that price range, the 870 Express/Tactical is inferior and not by just a little. It's only until you get to a 500-550 dollar Police Magnum that you're squaring up with the 590a1. It's just a fact. And a 590a1 with a wood stock is about the most menacing looking shotgun you'll see, especially with a front blade like on the 3-dot or ghost ring sight models. Not that looks matter a whole heckuva lot, just saying. They're beastly guns. In the end, my gun of choice for self defense.


The dark horse here is, like the above poster mentioned, a Wingmaster. You can get one used for 200 bucks all day long in a Pawn Shop and build from there. They stomp a mudhole in any Express ever made. I've owned Expresses, but probably will not again. they were a good enough gun, any Remington is. But for the price the value just isn't there. It just isn't.I believe you are paying for the reputation Remington has built in a tacticool form. You're also not mentioning a Winchester 1300, in some ways my single favorite pump shotgun. In my opinion, they FEEL the shortest out of the standard configured pumps and can be had with nice looking wood. VERY fast pump action. You said you want "lightness". Mossberg and Winchester 1300 own the 870 in that category because they are aluminum.



And of course you can port load on a Mossberg. You can port load on any side-ejecting pump.
 
Last edited:
I may get run out of the forum, but I use a Mossy 500 20-guage for HD (S&W 40-cal on the nightstand, shotty in the closet).

If price is a concern, many times you can find 20-guages a little less pricey than 12. I would suggest a Mossberg Bantam 20-guage.
trout
 
Why not just use the saiga 12?
Click to expand...

+1

I wouldn't get too wrapped up in overall length, IMO a shotgun with a stock doesn't truely indoors handy until you get down to a 14" or shorter barrel length anyway so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
Hello friends and neighbors // I was faced with the same decision.:D

I chose the Taticool in your link because the price was right(under $400) and I've have been shooting an 870 for over 30 years.
tacticool.jpg
I cannot brag about the factory forearm (pictured). When shooting 3" 00buck the forearm is a little slick and hard to grip. So your wood idea might be better.
Good luck finding what suits you.
 
I own all the usual suspects, 870, 1300, 590 and 500s of various vintages, Stoeger Coachgun, even a 70s era API Police Cruiser-issue pump, all but the 590 are old enough to be wood-stocked, and that is my preference too, but... I say this is the best value HD shotgun going right now:

http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_Guns/930/NEW/50577.jpg

Mossberg #50577, 8-shot, 20" bbl.

I own one, so does my almost 80 year-old dad, and also one of my brothers. Good shotgun. You could put wood on it, if it's important to you.

Les
 
My fav

Mossberg 500, J.I.C. Persuader/8 Shot/Pistol Grip/Heatshield/Fiber optic front sight.
$270.00
Including the PVC case.
I like it. :D
Added the option of an extendable stock with shell holder attached. $69.

The Remington 870 is also an outstanding HD shotgun in any configuration.

Got a Coachman side by side 12 ga. but the kick is killer. Bruised me up after about 20 rounds.
Wifey knows to prop it against a wall and just aim at the door. Anything but me or a LE comes through, let loose will both barrels. :eek:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
Considering an O/U but have ???
Replies
15
Views
714
billp
B
O
  • Locked
870 Pump Question.
Replies
6
Views
502
ugaarguy
ugaarguy
K
  • Locked
O/U Shotgun for HD
Replies
8
Views
578
rcmodel
R
D
  • Locked
Pump or O/U?
Replies
14
Views
657
Zedo
Z
H
  • Locked
Marocchi o/u value
Replies
2
Views
3K
Hastings
H
Back
Top