Choices for 3 Gun?

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sailor723

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I'm thinking about buying my first black shotgun. Just for fun right now but I am also thinking I might give 3 gun a try someday. I'm looking for advice on what would be appropriate for a basic gun......say under 1K and preferably closer to the $500-700 range....is that a realistic price point?. Semi or pump? sights? barrel length? mag capacity? I don't know much about the rules for shotguns in 3 gun and wouldn't want to buy something that would put me in a open or some kind of upper level division. I'm not much of a tinkerer so I would want something that would work well out of the box.

I know very little about these guns as the sum of my shotgun experience is duck hunting with an old Browning Auto 5 30+years ago. Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks

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Oh, I should say I shoot lefthanded in case that makes a difference on any recommendations
 
I like pump myself, especially in that price point. I love my 20" Mossberg 590A1 but it required some mods and end price gets high.
I think out of the box best bet is the Benelli Supernova, get one with a 22-24" barrel, velcro side saddle and extended magazine tube and you're set (along with some sort of shotgun caddy set up). I'm sure if you look on the shotgun exchange there will be a good deal on an already set up for 3Gun shotgun.

In a semi I found the Mossberg 930's pretty decent in a lower price range.
Everything depends on budget really.
 
Two things you will want in a pump shotgun;

8+1 minimum capacity, and screw-in chokes.

Everything else comes down to personal preference.

Benelli, Remington, and Mossberg are the most popular brands you'll see.
 
Well if you can squeeze a little more blood from the stone, you could get a Remington Versa Max Tactical for $1250 and with the current Remington rebate till the end of the year of $75, it's $1175.

It's the route I'm going for my first shotty but I am planning on putting another $1000 in work into it.
 
So, in looking at a bunch of forum sponsors everything in inventory seems to be either tactical type with a 18.5' barrel or a hunting type with 28" plus barrels. Too short or too long? Also most of the tactical (if they mention choke at all) seem to be fixed cylinder. Do shotguns like you are describing for 3 gun usually need to be special ordered? :confused:
 
Most people modify their shotguns to work in 3 gun....very few come the exact way you want it.

For example, I use mine with a 28" barrel because 24" barrels are very hard to find and not cheap.

IF you need to have the barrel threaded, you can always have it cut at the same time.
 
Onagoth said:
Most people modify their shotguns to work in 3 gun....very few come the exact way you want it.

For example, I use mine with a 28" barrel because 24" barrels are very hard to find and not cheap.

IF you need to have the barrel threaded, you can always have it cut at the same time.
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That's too bad. I'm a big proponent of keeping it simple and hassle free. If it gets too complicated I may just shelve the idea.
 
sailor723 said:
So, in looking at a bunch of forum sponsors everything in inventory seems to be either tactical type with a 18.5' barrel or a hunting type with 28" plus barrels. Too short or too long? Also most of the tactical (if they mention choke at all) seem to be fixed cylinder. Do shotguns like you are describing for 3 gun usually need to be special ordered? :confused:
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Phrophet River can help you with the special order, mine only took 2 weeks ( Supernova 24" with Comfortech stock.), these models are less common sense its not so popular for hunting and other field use. PR doesnt charge premuim for special order, just your patience for waiting.
For Semi's - most popular right now is the M2 with 21"-24", 1301Comp-21"-24"( World Champ) last World Shoot Sept 2015, and the VM

Sailor, if you hate too much modification, then the SN 24" is what you want, just need mag extension and your good to go.
 
Both Epps and Flahertys should have the 24" Novas in stock. If not, they can have them within two weeks as I was told the importer was sitting on a bunch. Then all that is needed is to add a tube and you should be GTG.
 
rifleman338 said:
Both Epps and Flahertys should have the 24" Novas in stock. If not, they can have them within two weeks as I was told the importer was sitting on a bunch. Then all that is needed is to add a tube and you should be GTG.
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Novas or Super Novas? nothing wrong with plain Nova's if the stock ffit you good since the drop/cast are non adjustable, In my case and my stature, the SN is a better option for the drop/cast reason.
 
I went with a Hatsan MPA semi auto to keep costs down. Added a "Canada Legal" mag tube extension from S&J Hardware, swapped out the stock for one of the ones from Corwin-Arms, and then broke out the BBQ paint to get it to match my AR.

There's a few minor tweaks you'll want to do (loctite the sights, is the big one), but nothing major and there's a few guys running these now at our club (which is one of the reasons I went with it - I'd been able to try one, and there are other people around to share knowledge about them).

Been a great, reliable gun so far. Doesn't change the fact I still kinda suck at 3-gun, but I can't blame the hardware.

hatsan_with_buddy.JPG


I got mine on sale for $350, really lucked out there. Generally they hover around the $400-$450 mark now.

I'll be frank - if I was expecting my life to depend on it, I would go with the extra $$ and the Benelli. But I don't expect my life to depend on it, and the Hatsan is more than reliable enough for a 3-gun match.

Cheers.
 
You don't need chokes for 3 gun. If you had to have chokes improved cylinder would be as far you needed to go. Versamax tactical would be my choice.
 
Horse96 said:
You don't need chokes for 3 gun. If you had to have chokes improved cylinder would be as far you needed to go. Versamax tactical would be my choice.
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"Need", not strictly. You can make up for a cylinder bore gun in many cases by using different shot sizes or high-brass loads.

However, interchangeable chokes can make your life significantly easier, particularly on long shots on steel or with large steel targets like spinners. I've seen guys with short unchoked guns run out of ammo trying to make our spinner go around while guys with mod chokes did it in two or three shots.

I run 7.5" target loads exclusively and don't have any issues with any shotgun targets when using the appropriate choke.

If I didn't have interchangeable chokes, I'd look for a fixed mod choked barrel.
 
sailor723 said:
That's too bad. I'm a big proponent of keeping it simple and hassle free. If it gets too complicated I may just shelve the idea.
Click to expand...

Well... If you use a reputable smith like Casey at tactical ordinance.... It's still pretty easy and straightforward

Very few 3 gunners though use guns straight out of the box. Some do, but not very common
 
Within the budget is the Mossy Jerry Miculek model
Over budget is my fav the Beretta 1301 with 24 inch barrel
 
Most of the people competing in our club level 3 Gun matches use pump shotguns with 18.5 or 20 inch barrels. Most of these do not have screw in chokes. There are one or two shooters that use longer barrelled shotguns with screw in chokes but this is mainly because they are using their hunting guns.

I use a Remington 870 Tactical and normally use Federal 7 1/2 shot and have no problem dealing with most targets in matches. I carry a few 6 or 4 shot in case there is a difficult target. I have had a lot of problems with jams when using Winchseter ammunition with the aluminum base. A lot of guys in the club run Mossberg 500 or 590 and if I could go back in time I would buy a 590.

Some of the models have ported barrels, which depending on divisions used by the club you are going to shoot at could put you in a higher division. Mossberg does make a 9 shot left handed model.
 
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