What I have used:
Remington 870 "Sweet 16" 16" vented barrel, old go to but occasionally I had a jam where it would seize needing a jolt to extract the case. I honed the chamber and smoothed the barrel extension... Ongoing
Benelli Supernova tactical, sweet but it doesn't reliably eject rounds. The ejector skips over the base. Clearly an extractor issue... ongoing
Valtro PM-5, Neat but can be quirky with the rock n' lock magazine. If you get it wrong with an empty mag it's hard to un fnck (they get stuck like they are welded and it takes an awful lot of swearing to clear the problem). File pictures often show these magazines improperly inserted.
Old Winchester model 12, Slick and it works amazingly well. I treat it well, it goes to the range and back in a padded case.
Ithaca 37, same as above.
Mossberg 590A1, I actually broke it! It was an easy fix, the wedge on the action bar didn't line up properly so it wore till it failed prematurely. I've re profiled the wedge/paul mating surfaces and haven't had a problem since.
Over all this became a go to as the round count increased without failure. Positive ejection... This thing eats anything you feed it!
Sulun Tac-12, Needed some work so the magazine cap wouldn't loosen during firing. The feed ramp looked like it was carved out with some extra course aggregate so I smoothed/polished it. It will probably be near the top of the list because it is rare that I have an issue, Always a failure to eject (FTE), probably because I'm using low quality ammo.
And now the G.O.A.T (my current opinion)
Mossberg 590 Shock wave, Dang it! they just had to didn't they. I resisted until I NEEDED a covid 19 project. I bought this and put a factory 590A1 stock on it with a reduced LOP. The chamber was rough so if you go this route you might want to polish or have someone polish the chamber (keeping within the chamber specifications). After the fist 100 rounds it seemed a bit sticky. I could actually see scrape marks on the casings from the rough chamber.
Since I tore it down anyway the bolt carrier got minor re profiling/polishing so it would reduce the cocking effort. I checked the timing and adjacent/mating parts and nothing else was out of place. I happen to have an S&J 1 magazine extension that was supposed to fit the Benelli Tactical but doesn't, It fits the 590 though. I put a beefier magazine spring in and fabricated an HK style sling plate. An S&JHardware velcro saddle and my own fabricated 2 point adjustable sling (Vickers tactical, Viking style) finish it off. I want to put a flashlight on it and I'm currently working on it.
I was going to install an Aluminium, mil spec trigger group but couldn't get the parts. It turns out I really don't think it's needed.
I have given this to my wife to use. To my surprise she did, normally she HATES 12 gauge. She likes the balance and ease of handling. She doesn't quite have the same level of intensity as I do so she can sometimes have issues with short shucking or not fully going fully forward with the fore stock. That being said she had ZERO issues. I have also had ZERO issues. it spits out the empties better than a Redneck with chew and it eats everything I have fed it. This thing carries nicely so you will be more likely to have it if/when you need it.
#4 shot pattern 10-12" @ 10 feet... Sorry, no crono readings. No need for a go go gadget thermo electric red dot microscope that need ZXT3mGamma space modulator batteries. This thing just has a bead and thats exactly what I want for this gun. Best of all $500.00 - $550.00 CAD!
Honourable mention, Norinco 870 clone I got from Canada Ammo... It was actually under 200.00 when I got it (Black Friday a few years back). It went under the knife, I widened/chamfered the ejection port opening, ported, polished and fiddled with it. It has been better hands down than the Remington 870. The problem is that despite the number of rounds without failure of any kind I keep expecting that it will fail.
:
