Best Economical 12 Gauge Shotgun For Goose & Deer

Chokes.

For hunting purposes, I almost always use either Modified or Improved Cylinder. For Waterfowl, I start the season with an IC (stupid birds). I end the season with a modified, which is as tight a choke I use for steel.

I have "cylinder" remchoke, it doesn't really get used except for fun blasting buckshot out of a 12.5" 870. Even then, it groups better with IC!

Another good choice, of you can find one, is a modern Ithaca model 37 with chokes. Great guns, but hard to find.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
I agree with Superbrad 3" is all you need. 3.5" is over compensating!
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Honestly, I DO kill more birds (Canadas) using regular cheap Winchester 3.5" steel shells than if I use 3". If I'm using better ammo, like Hevi-Metal, Tungsten, bismuth, etc. then 3" is ample.

All the 3.5" shells do is put more shot on the bird. With plain still, sometimes that helps to hit something vital more so than when using denser shot.

When I hunt snow geese, I use tungsten almost exclusively and generally have to take longer shots. I run 3" for those because I can;t afford 3.5" tungsten - lol!!
 
3" is all that is necessary for everything up to and including turkeys... I shot 3.5" shells with heavy buffered loads for many years... but in patterning, determined that I really did not pick up any yardage with a slightly denser pattern... and as far as shot string goes, there have been very spotty results in the reports I have read.

OP, an older Wingmaster like the one below would be a really good purchase, and will cover all of your shotgunning needs;

IMG_5698_zpslz76kcvz.jpg
 
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You can get a new Mossberg Maverick 88 for like $320ish if you dont wan't to go used (I didn't when I got my shotgun, didn't know enough to feel comfortable buying a used one only a few months after I got my PAL)

For the same sort of price (or sometimes less), there is used Mossy 500s and Rem 870s. If you'd rather spend closer to your $500 budget, your options open up quite a bit. Lots of Turkish shotguns, as well as the DA Grizzly from CanAm are in that sorta range (even if most of these are more tactical than sporting shotguns)

I got a Maverick 88, and love it. Always works. No complaints at all. That said, if I was to do it again, I would be tempted to get an 870 because barrels for them seem to be a lot more common, and the Mossbergs cannot run a magazine extension due to how they are designed. You can get different barrels for the Mossberg easy enough if you want to order one, but the Rem barrels seem to be sitting on the shelfs in many shops whereas Mossberg barrels seem to be much less common.
 
cdn1canhunt said:
I disagree older guns are usually good quality but lack versatility. Older guns typically don't do well with steel shot and are typically single barrel fixed choke. Newer guns are designed to handle steel shot and screw in chokes and multiple barrel options make them more versatile for a guy the wants to hunt various game. jMO
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I bought a 1996 mossberg 500 with three chokes for 275 and a slug barrel for 125 on this site. Older guns with chokes can be better quality. You do not know what you are talking about.
 
dutchhunter said:
Yes but for how long ...
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Forever and a day.... Take my 18.5 pistol grip everywhere and have even shot clay with it lol. I shoot a lot and just because it's cheap that doesn't mean it has a reduced life span as opposed to an expensive big name pump... I take mine when I work in the Arctic and it's cycled and sent lead flying perfectly at -50c.... that's why I own two.. the first one was so good it was cheaper to buy another than buy a second barrel.
 
gmctech said:
Forever and a day.... Take my 18.5 pistol grip everywhere and have even shot clay with it lol. I shoot a lot and just because it's cheap that doesn't mean it has a reduced life span as opposed to an expensive big name pump... I take mine when I work in the Arctic and it's cycled and sent lead flying perfectly at -50c.... that's why I own two.. the first one was so good it was cheaper to buy another than buy a second barrel.
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Sadly this is pretty damn close to true. Before the dollar dropped, the guns were $250, and a barrel would cost $200+. My buddy has the security model and he wants a longer barrel with chokes now. He found a barrel on Cabelas' website, $250. (exactly what we both paid for ours in the last 1.5 years)
 
chadeech said:
who makes a reasonable side saddle for this model
cheers
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They're a bit overpriced in Canuckistan...... I picked one up in Vegas last year at Walmart for i think $20 USD. But up here they're about a "c" note for an aluminum one. A similar one to mine north of the border is about $50 cad but with the dollar now I guess its not too bad. Mines just a cheap plastic one but it works.
 
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cdn1canhunt said:
I agree with Superbrad 3" is all you need. 3.5" is over compensating!
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Another +1....I killed a mountain of geese this year with my 870 express (and a 21 inch turkey barrel to boot!). Also used the same gun to kill mule deer and white tail does in our December shotgun season.
 
I used a 870 the last two years as well. Killed sll kinds of geese ducks deer and turkeys. 3 inch is more then enough and when it comes to slugs 2.75 is lots .clean pass threw off ever deer we shot ..Dutch
 
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