Fist shotgun; general purpose

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mistahmojoryan

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A guy at work suggested a pump action, 12 guage, 3" or 3.5" chamber and he seems to do a lot of shooting/hunting...though he doesn't know brands/models AT ALL.

Anyway, I like wood/blued so I'm looking at a Remington 870 Wingmaster w/ a 26" barrel, 3" chamber. $670 from WSS. Looks great for what I want.

Yay or nay? Can I get a much better deal used? Should I look for something w/ a 3.5" chamber? Any little tips like that are appreciated; I don't want to make a stupid mistake right off the bat. Thanks! :cool:
 
Bashaw Sports has one intheir used rack for under $300 anmd Pud will ship it to you.
You may want to check the exchange here also.
An express is a lot cheaper than a Wingmaster and for most people it's a greta gun.
3.5" is HIGHLY over rated IMO.
Cat
 
x2 re avoiding the 3.5, unless you think you'll become a dedicated goose hunter, in which case you should seriously consider a goose gun to be a separate 3.5 incher and probably a semi. The supemag 870 is heavier too, and for how rarely you'd likely use the 3.5 inch shells, the extra weight wouldn't seem worthwhile to me.

RG

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With the bproper shot charge ( bismuth , etc) 3.5" is not needed anyway!
Don't know what we did without the 3.5" before it was brought out - oh, ya, we used 23/" or 3" !:D
Cat
 
Good, I'll forget about the 3.5" shells then. I'm sure the Express is a good shotgun but I don't think I'd be happy w/ it in the long run.

Any idea what the specs are on the $300 one, Cat?
 
mistahmojoryan said:
Good, I'll forget about the 3.5" shells then. I'm sure the Express is a good shotgun but I don't think I'd be happy w/ it in the long run.

Any idea what the specs are on the $300 one, Cat?
Click to expand...
30" barrel, vent rib, 2 3/4" chamber - $269.00
FWIW, you can get 2/3/4" shells to work as well as 3", it's all in the wad colum and powder used...
Cat
 
For a general purpose shotgun, I'd look for a pump action with 26-30" barrels, vent-ribbed with a screw in chokes that are rated as good for both lead and steel shot. While you can sometimes get some nice older shotguns at decent prices with fixed full chokes, they do not always handle steel shot very well and are too tightly choked for most upland hunting. You'd want to have at least 3" chambers to handle steel waterfowl loads. I have a Mossberg 835 which has 3.5" chambers, and while I'm happy with it, many of the other 3.5" chambered guns (including the 870 Express Magnum) do seem a little to weighty for any hunting that requires walking far with the gun, such as chasing after grouse and other upland game. On the other hand, the 3.5" chambers are handy for me, since geese regularly show up in the places where I hunt waterfowl, and I might find it handy for when I take up turkey hunting. If I were on the market for an all round shotgun though, I would certainly want to handle anything chambered for 3.5" before purchasing one, and would quite likely opt for a 3" gun instead.

The 870 Wingmaster is a nice shotgun that should serve you well for the rest of your hunting career. It has many milled parts, unlike the Express model which uses more cast and machined parts instead. The latter shotgun weighs considerably more and might be a bit heavy to carry in the bush all day, whereas the Wingmaster seems better suited to such a role. And of course, the nicer wood and finish on the Wingmaster gives a nice touch, even if the matte finish on the Express is better suited to waterfowling.

The Mossberg 500, 835 and 535 shotguns sell for about the same or slightly less than the Remington Express and have all the features of many more expensive shotguns. If I were looking for an all round utility shotgun, I'd consider these first. That said, paying a bit more for a Wingmaster would hardly be a bad investment, and I would certainly feel confident with one, having handled and hunted with a few of them myself.

Good luck with whatever you get!

Frank
 
Thanks for the feedback! Frank, that was a great read; very encouraging and lets me know I'm on the right track. I like "all-purpose" guns....my only two big game rifles are Sako 75's in 300WM and 300WSM; a couple fine rifles that do everything I need and I think an 870 will be a great addition to them for a first shotgun. :cool:
 
all for the wingmaster with the top end wood and metal work. bought one earlier this year from wss myself, even though i have the express model, and a winchester 1300. i had tries to find a good used wingmaster in mint shape but with no luck, as they are usually hunted, and a bit marred.

when i picked mine up, the wood was just beautiful, and i joked "gee, too good for ducks"

the high end rem 870 is a keeper for life, and a wonderful piece to pass on to your children if you have any. i think these are hard to find used because they generally do go from father to son (or daughter). regards.
 
I don't know why you would want to avoid a 3.5" chamber unless for some reason there was a mechanical or performance issue using less than 3.5" in the gun.

I just bought my first gun. I decided to go with a 12g pump. After extensive research I decided the Mossberg 535 Turkey/Waterfowl was the shotgun for me. It cost just over $400, leaving me with enough extra coin to buy accessores and toys. The gun cycles all loads from 2 3/4-to-3.5" with ease and it is a joy to shoot. I can also shoot slugs at a range that is more than enough for my part of the woods.

Maybe someone can explain to me why it makes sence NOT to buy a 3.5" cabable shotgun, but I haven't heard a good reason yet. To me it's like not buying an affordable economy car because it's top speed is way faster than I'll ever need.

BTW, here is my gun. It came with a 20" and 28" barrels as well as 4 chokes (IMP, MOD, FULL, XXFULL Turkey). The weaver rail, Red Dot, and ATI stock combined cost me under $200. The total cost to me was on par with an 870 express. This is my ONLY firearm, and I can hunt anything in my area including geese/waterfowl, turkey, coyote, deer, small game, and if necessary zombies. : )
DSC03246.jpg
 
hunters sporting goods has a 1100 remmy with vari chokes used in minty condition. like new,and like the man said dont rule out mossberg! ive used both and there on par in quality. mossberg vs remmington is like dodge vs ford. mossberg is cheaper but remmy is more common.

I will soon have one of both, a hunting 870 and a tactical 500 .

do not let the multitude of remmy lovers drown out those mossy guys.
go to a gunshop handle both in as many styles as possible and pick the one that you feel fits!

:shotgun:have fun with your first shotgun!
 
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As long as it has screw-in chokes, your choice being a 12 ga. 3" pump is very, very hard to beat. Make, model much less important. You can basically do anything with it.
 
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