Best Shotgun to start off with?

[SuperCub]

Remington is not doing well financially these days. People are moving away from their rifles and shotguns, and asides from the 1911's they make, they can't release a pistol that works. Thanks Freedom Group.

I hardly buy new anything anymore. There's enought used 870s out there to get a good deal on a better gun.

The Express model 870 was always prone to rusting but only because of the rough finish that would hold moisture. Same goes for the SPS blued rifles. That's pretty much expected but then a new express is about half the price of a new wingmaster. I've owned both as well as the older Special Purpose. All functioned fine. Still own a 26" SP. It's one of the "never sells".

 

[BigRobb]

Remington is not doing well financially these days. People are moving away from their rifles and shotguns, and asides from the 1911's they make, they can't release a pistol that works. Thanks Freedom Group.

Remington in financial trouble? Is there an article about this somewhere?
I own new and old Remington and marlin shotguns and rifles. Fit, finish and functionality are top notch.
I prefer a steel receiver. Whether it’s better or not to anyone else isn’t my concern. If I was in the market for my first shotgun, I’d buy a used wingmaster and a replacement barrel with rem chokes. Just did this for a friend for $550. That’s with a new barrel. I just missed a used barrel on the ee that would’ve made it less than $500.

 

[3macs1]

Remington is not doing well financially these days. People are moving away from their rifles and shotguns, and asides from the 1911's they make, they can't release a pistol that works. Thanks Freedom Group.

Agree somewhat but they are in a better position than they were a few years ago. At least the owner has real deep pockets and being part of this large group is only going to help them
The school shooting with the remington product and Trump getting in are making the biggest impact but it is hitting other gun manufacturers also
We will more than likely now see more restructuring but potential closure is not even on the table
Cheers

 

[Woody-to]

Remington is not doing well financially these days. People are moving away from their rifles and shotguns, and asides from the 1911's they make, they can't release a pistol that works. Thanks Freedom Group.

So I'm not the only one who doesn't know how to use a gun! Awesome, I feel so much better now.

 

[3macs1]

So I'm not the only one who doesn't know how to use a gun! Awesome, I feel so much better now.

No only a 870 Yep I would feel real good that I could not get a 870 to work regardless if it is an express
Thank god the other 12 million that bought them are not in your group
Cheers

 

[Suther]

I prefer the mossberg slide release over Remington. Seems most Turkish ect pumps also put the release infront of the trigger guard.

Personally, I have a mossberg maverick 88. At under $300 before taxes, they are a very good value. Has all the features one would want in a budget pump gun, including interchangeable chokes, aftermarket barrels and stocks (takes mossy 500 parts other than trigger groups) and its super reliable.

I would recommend one to anyone looking for a first pump shotgun.

 

[Woody-to]

I prefer the mossberg slide release over Remington. Seems most Turkish ect pumps also put the release infront of the trigger guard.

Personally, I have a mossberg maverick 88. At under $300 before taxes, they are a very good value. Has all the features one would want in a budget pump gun, including interchangeable chokes, aftermarket barrels and stocks (takes mossy 500 parts other than trigger groups) and its super reliable.

I would recommend one to anyone looking for a first pump shotgun.

I also have an 88, it's the gun that sits in the bottom of my canoe on trips, or against a tree when backcountry camping. It has been dropped, rained on, used as a paddle, generally anything you wouldn't do with an expensive gun, and it is still going strong.

It doesn't even take special powers or skills to use, unlike the 870, which apparently takes a certain talent a schmuck like me couldn't figure out. I'm 1 in 12,000,000 apparently. I'm buying a lottery ticket, maybe I can take pump lessons if I win. If I do well at the lessons, I'll try my luck with another 870, see how it does on the bottom of my canoe. Shouldn't rust too bad after all the good things I have read here.

 

[Tarrantula]

My buddy had a Mossberg 500 and a Winchester SXP. Both felt cheap and loose and were sold quickly. I believe the Norinco 870 clones are steel receivers. And they accept most or all 870 aftermarket parts.

 

[3macs1]

I also have an 88, it's the gun that sits in the bottom of my canoe on trips, or against a tree when backcountry camping. It has been dropped, rained on, used as a paddle, generally anything you wouldn't do with an expensive gun, and it is still going strong.

It doesn't even take special powers or skills to use, unlike the 870, which apparently takes a certain talent a schmuck like me couldn't figure out. I'm 1 in 12,000,000 apparently. I'm buying a lottery ticket, maybe I can take pump lessons if I win. If I do well at the lessons, I'll try my luck with another 870, see how it does on the bottom of my canoe. Shouldn't rust too bad after all the good things I have read here.

I'm sorry I did not mean to make you a little butt sore on my 1 in a million comment

Seriously you are going to have a hard time getting lessons today on how to use a pump. In the 60's there were guys that were a pleasure to watch on the skeet and trap fields and could actually out perform the semi's of those days.

Been a long time since I seen anyone use a pump like then. In fairness we are comparing guys who put anywhere between 5000 and 25000 rounds through their pump guns a year vs a few boxes guys shoot today through them

I am also not surprised the 870 express didnot work for you they don't make good canoe paddles like a 88 does if need be

I guess what I cannot understand is you stated how expensive a wingmaster is at $1000 but you will spend more on three cheap guns where the ONE wingmaster would take you to your grave
take care

 

[Woody-to]

I'm sorry I did not mean to make you a little butt sore on my 1 in a million comment

Seriously you are going to have a hard time getting lessons today on how to use a pump. In the 60's there were guys that were a pleasure to watch on the skeet and trap fields and could actually out perform the semi's of those days.

Been a long time since I seen anyone use a pump like then. In fairness we are comparing guys who put anywhere between 5000 and 25000 rounds through their pump guns a year vs a few boxes guys shoot today through them

I am also not surprised the 870 express didnot work for you they don't make good canoe paddles like a 88 does if need be

I guess what I cannot understand is you stated how expensive a wingmaster is at $1000 but you will spend more on three cheap guns where the ONE wingmaster would take you to your grave
take care

No worries, I feel special, not sore.
I'm actually pretty good with a pump, it's just those 870s apparently.
If you don't get why I don't have $1000 shogun, I guess you missed the part on how my guns are used. If I was sitting in a nice dry blind, or at a range all the time, I may get a nicer gun. For the bottom of a canoe, on portages where I should have made one more trip, duck hunting in a swamp, strapped to the front of my ATV, hiking on the Canadian Shield, the budget guns are just fine for me. If I wanted an expensive gun, I would have one.
You own 6 870 Express, why not 3 more Wingmasters?

Another reason I have a few different models is I see most people come here and say "X is the best, that's all I have ever owned". I have owned every gun I comment on, I feel my opinion is fair and honest. I know some get butt hurt by honest reviews if i isn't in line with their beliefs. It is like a certain political party, if I don't agree with you I am wrong, I guess I'm alt-honest. Sorry about my honest reviews, I will try and align myself with others. I will buy things because 12,000,000 others have, even if there are better options out there for ME.

What if those that don't like anything but an 870 just don't know how to use the other guns? Just a thought. Or is that a dumb argument?

 

[Rynnik]

What if those that don't like anything but an 870 just don't know how to use the other guns? Just a thought. Or is that a dumb argument?

It is a dumb argument only in the context of this specific thread and the originally posed question. It is a great discussion elsewhere, but when examining what makes a good 'starter' shotgun you don't seem to be thinking about the general range of factors a new owner may have. You seem to be posting from your perspective as a particular shotgun specialist, with advice that would probably be perfect in a thread where someone asked what would make a good, rugged, cheap beater gun to use for paddling, throwing around in canoes and ATVs, and maybe even firing once in a while.

The point is that if a new owner can't describe exactly what they may want or predict how they may choose to grow with shotgunning once they start the sport then the best response for THEM is to tell them what 12,000,000 others have done and about the resale, aftermarket, and the factors that push an 870 slightly ahead of the pack as an option.

No one is trying to tell YOU the best option for your specific and particular needs. You've already figured that out perfectly. In situations where someone describes specifically and exclusively wanting to do what you do then trying out the options you are a fan of makes perfect sense as a starting point.

 

[Woody-to]

If the original poster wants the answer to this question, and doesn't like the answers here, there are a few hundred other similar posts. Enough in fact that I predicted the outcome of this one in my first post on the topic.

At this point I am just having fun with the bickering about this topic. Apparently me having only 2 870 as my test samples wasn't enough, I need at least 7. The two I had, I simply didn't know how to use them. Funny my various vintage Winchesters, Mossbergs, Cooey, Ithaca shotguns did not provide with the skills to operate an 870 Express. I should now trade in all my guns to get a Wingmaster.

I have different guns for different uses. I have a beater gun, I have a few duck guns, a goose gun, a turkey gun, a skeet gun, a fun gun, project guns. We all enjoy the hobby for different reasons. I like trying new guns, taking them apart, seeing how they work, getting old guns and fixing them. I sometimes shoot them too.

As other have said, me included, to look at fit. I originally mentioned the layout of the guns, most would agree the action release and safety of the Mossberg are well placed. But that can't be said or agreed due to a loyalty to the 870. So we blindly recommend guns simply on what is in our safe, no room to discuss things like layout and ease of use. I find it funny, and sad. I am poking the bear to see what other jabs are taken at me for not liking the 870. I just did a fast Google, did you know that as of 2013 that over 10,000,000 Mossberg 500 had been sold, likely close the holy grail 12,000,000 by now. But we are not supposed to discuss that. I have a few guns that I like, I will likely try a few more and keep and sell a few. I am not stuck to one brand, but apparently that is what I am supposed to do.

Until the next "what should I buy" thread I am out on this one.

 

[Rynnik]

At this point I am just having fun with the bickering about this topic.

Fair enough, cheers.

 

[3macs1]

No worries, I feel special, not sore.
I'm actually pretty good with a pump, it's just those 870s apparently.
If you don't get why I don't have $1000 shogun, I guess you missed the part on how my guns are used. If I was sitting in a nice dry blind, or at a range all the time, I may get a nicer gun. For the bottom of a canoe, on portages where I should have made one more trip, duck hunting in a swamp, strapped to the front of my ATV, hiking on the Canadian Shield, the budget guns are just fine for me. If I wanted an expensive gun, I would have one.
You own 6 870 Express, why not 3 more Wingmasters?

Another reason I have a few different models is I see most people come here and say "X is the best, that's all I have ever owned". I have owned every gun I comment on, I feel my opinion is fair and honest. I know some get butt hurt by honest reviews if i isn't in line with their beliefs. It is like a certain political party, if I don't agree with you I am wrong, I guess I'm alt-honest. Sorry about my honest reviews, I will try and align myself with others. I will buy things because 12,000,000 others have, even if there are better options out there for ME.

What if those that don't like anything but an 870 just don't know how to use the other guns? Just a thought. Or is that a dumb argument?

Yep it is a dumb argument to me

Why not more wingmasters because I have enough of them. More than a dozen less than 1 1/2 dozen in every gauge but remember I have been buying them since the mid 60's and they were not $1000 new then but still not cheap based on my salary then.
When new 870's come out I don't have I buy them like the 12ga 3 1/2 wingmaster they did around 2002 and the return of the 16ga wingmaster with factory choke tubes I bought one of each. Both are still NIB

In fact I collect pumps so also own ithaca 37, bps, model 31, model 12, some akkar,some high flight kings & jc higgins, one mossy 500 as I said before . Some of the models you mention I also bought at one time and didnot like so I sold them off like mossy 500,535,835 , rem 887, charles daily, the sxp winchester, to name a few

So I think I have a bit of experience around some different types I would say none however we left in the bottom of a canoe I do admit. If I did need a canoe gun it would be a 870 marine nickel model
In the end to each their own which is why some guys were happy driving their chevettes and others their corvettes
Same applies with pump shotguns
Cheers

 

[Grouse Man]

To the OP, this is like asking 'what kind of car should I get, never having driven one'?

Just go get something. Anything. Shoot a few hundred rounds, then we'll talk.

 

[3macs1]

To the OP, this is like asking 'what kind of car should I get, never having driven one'?

Just go get something. Anything. Shoot a few hundred rounds, then we'll talk.

Best post yet. I would add just make sure it has choke tubes or be prepared to have them installed
Cheers