Advice for a newbie's first shotgun: short or long barrel

well folks, here's an update:

i finally ended up buying a brand new MP-153 with the 28"BBL & synthetic stock... my friends convinced me that the semi-auto & the fact that it shoots 2-3/4,3,3-1/2 was well worth the additional money, so it was either the MP-153 with its great reviews or the more expensive 10-87 with good-but-not-as-good reviews, so the MP-153 won it out. i've already shot a couple of rounds of sporting clays, went hunting birds & geese, and i'm very happy with it!!! it had a bit of difficulty cycling the smaller loads at first, but it's been performing flawlessly after its initial break-in period...

i'm still shopping around for an inexpensive rifle, but money is tight & i wasn't really impressed with the finishing on the 700SPS after checking it out at my local gun store, so i'm still searching... the new 770 also looks interesting, and i'll definitely check it out when it comes in...
 
Well I've been reading around about the 770, and "now i understand"... staying away form it :evil:...

Also I've been very interested lately in the Savages, especially due to the accutriggers... So it's a close call between a Remington 700 SPS ($650) & a Savage 11FCNS ($590), both in .308 of course. Only difference is the detachable mag vs. the hinged floorplate, and the price of course. So Savage seams to be the choice by a hair (or 2)... Will think about it some more...:eek:

Another one of my friends proposed I get a $350 Stevens 200 in .308 just for the action and stock, and simply swap in an SSS trigger ($100) and a LW bbl (~$100), and possibly a raised cheekplate, so for less than $575 I'd be getting an even better rifle than the Rem700 or Sav10FCNS... They all supposedly shoot great out of the box, but they need trigger work (except the Savage) for decent BR & prone shooting. Since I'm really curious lately about long range precision shooting and would eventually like to get initiated to the sport and participate in some competitions, this options seams the more logical way to "invest" in a versatile target/hunting rifle...

Dante has the Stevens 200 .308 on special at $347... But only one left in stock :confused:

Whadaya think... Option C???
 
Buy the Stevens if you don't plan on taking it to the range for target shooting. Otherwise get yourself the accutrigger and fix that up. You can buy the savage for about $60 more than the Stevens. Still it's what ever you like. I wouldn't arse around with the package deals. Your next best bet would be to take a look at the Weatherby Vangaurd in a blued sporter. You might find the stock fits nicely and the price is usually closer to $500 than $600 depending on where you shop.
 
If we are worrying about budget, this is what i would do. Rem 870 combo setup, with the 26" and 18" barrels, one vented rib, and one rifled. That can be your bird/slug gun. Then for a big game tool, i would grab myself a Savage in 30-06. This gives you all the power you need, and if you feel like dinking around with it later, you have a long action to build off, leaving you with more options in terms of cartridges. The stevens idea you mentioned is also good, but you will not be able to replace that barrel for 100 bucks, nor should you need to, the stevens barrels are plenty good for hunting. The stock does leave something to be desired, and the trigger is slightly adjustabel to bring it to a more tolerable pull weight.
 
dad has the express super mag it's a good gun and can shoot any standard shell not sure about the 1.5 ones some one was talkingabout
 
prosper said:
I'm decidedly un-traditional when it comes to shotguns. The only real benefit of long barrels is a longer sight-plane. But, to me, that's not an advantage, as I prefer a red dot or holo-sight on a lighter, faster and less-clumsy short barrel gun. Some say that long barrels 'swing better' but, unless you're into competition shooting, it makes little difference - you can learn to use either.
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I beg to differ on that. To me a short barrel gun is more "clumsy" than a longer barrel shotgun (26-28") The longer barrels swing much nicer and follow through is better Especially in an Upland gun or Skeet gun.
 
Watch the EE for a while................

You will notice a fair amount of "tactical" type shotguns with very short bbls for sale. Most of these have had little or no use before going on the block. Maybe there's a reason for that.

IMHO ... I think the fondle factor wears off and the owners find that a modern SG with 26"bbl, 3" chambers and screw tubes was a better idea afterall.


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Well I took the plunge and just purchased a Stevens 200 in .308 from Dante Sports (September 4). If was on sale at $347.77, $30 cheaper than at Le Baron or Baron Sport, and Dante threw in a free Dosko-sport hard-case as well (didn't need it, but why not). With the two taxes (GST 6% + PST 7.5%) the gun came to $396.28. Weeeelll below budget... Can't wait to see how it shoots...

:evil:
 
SuperCub said:
Watch the EE for a while................

You will notice a fair amount of "tactical" type shotguns with very short bbls for sale. Most of these have had little or no use before going on the block. Maybe there's a reason for that.

IMHO ... I think the fondle factor wears off and the owners find that a modern SG with 26"bbl, 3" chambers and screw tubes was a better idea afterall.


.
Click to expand...

Well, mine is for a real purpose, it's a camp/hiking/bear gun. 14" bbl, Specops stock, single point sling, etc. Yes, I will probably only carry it in the field two or three times a year or so. But, for it's purpose it's excellent. A 28" bbl shotgun is not practical to carry slung under my armpit for rapid use as I'm not 7'4".

But, if you're looking for a pure sporting shotgun, I don't see why you wouldn't go with a longer barrel, swapable chokes, etc.
 
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