Good shotgun for beginner...?

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SkodaCanada

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I've never owned a shotgun, and am pretty nooby with guns in general.

Saying this, I was looking at buying a shotgun for myself and was looking at several options. The purpose would be: possible home defence, informal target practice, possibly take camping if in bear country, but really just something to gain a bit of experience and comfort with.

I was eyeballing:

1. Maverick 88 Security

2. Stoeger Coach gun
- I really like the shorter side by side. Real simple, safe and smart looking. Price is significant for me right now.

3. Dominion Arms outlaw
- price is good, but Maverick cheaper still, and I've read that the quality is iffy compared to the two above, and that it's not a best first shotgun.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
C
 
Your going to get 2 groups of people. One will say rem 870 and the other mossberg 500...that being said, I own both and prefer the 500 with the tang safety, it's lighter,, fits me better, and came with 3 choke tube good for steel shot (which the 870 did not)But it's all up to user choice what you prefer. Go to a gun store and handle a bunch in your price range.
 
I say, go out to your local club and ask if you could try out a few different shotguns in different gauges. You might prefer a 16 or 20 gauge over a 12!?! Try out the different actions. On farms, the law states that we are allowed to keep our shotguns or rifles in the open. I alternate between a break action and a pump behind the door. I personally prefer the older shotguns such as a Model 12 but my favourite 1960s Belgium made A5. They are inexpensive and you really can't go wrong with a classic. If you want tactacool, my Ithica cost $100 and I had a machinist chop the barrel to 18.25" and the stock to 12.5 LOP.
 
SkodaCanada said:
I've never owned a shotgun, and am pretty nooby with guns in general.

Saying this, I was looking at buying a shotgun for myself and was looking at several options. The purpose would be: possible home defence, informal target practice, possibly take camping if in bear country, but really just something to gain a bit of experience and comfort with.

I was eyeballing:

1. Maverick 88 Security

2. Stoeger Coach gun
- I really like the shorter side by side. Real simple, safe and smart looking. Price is significant for me right now.

3. Dominion Arms outlaw
- price is good, but Maverick cheaper still, and I've read that the quality is iffy compared to the two above, and that it's not a best first shotgun.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
C
Click to expand...

My thoughts are:

Maverick 88, they're light, so good for hiking, the 18.5" barrel model won't be too long, and can have more in the tube in bear country than just the 2 in the coach guns. It will also give you the option to have a few rounds in the mag tube without it being loaded, where the coach gun will be ready to go with only the safety to stop it accidently going off. You also have options to change the stock as any Mossberg 500 buttstock will fit it, and they're not too expensive to buy, and you can always sell it later if you decide to upgrade.

I do have a soft spot for coach guns, but in this case in bear country they will hold less ammo, are probably going to be a bit heavier with two barrels, and the outlaws can be hit or miss in the quality department. Plus the stoeger coach will be the more expensive of the 3.

If it were my second or third or +++ shotgun, I would go with the coach guns, but for my first and only shotgun I would probably go with the pump.

And there will be lots of 870 fans, and Mossberg 500 fans, etc. The 870's are great, but for backpacking they are heavier than the maverick, so that should be taken into account as well, and for the price the mav is hard to beat.
 
I'd look at one of the remaining 14.5" Sinsinati 12 gauges Martin has at Corwin Arms. High quality, low price.
 
the coach gun cool novelty piece but that is where it ends
dominion model i have no experience with but again not very flexible
maverick can be accessorized dependable flexible proven platform and what a price
would only mention get a good recoil pad to have a comfortable slugs option as
original affords no assistance and as previously said if you wish to get fancy later
will sell in a heart beat
Safe shooting
 
Thanks very much for all the info and advice. Really good point on keeping 4-5 rounds in the tube whilst the gun isn't loaded. I'll take the advice here and pass on the coach guns for now. I am eyeballing that Turkish gun however. Any thoughts in it VS. a Maverick 88? It's smaller, but nothing silly, price is about the same, I suppose recoil would be a bit worse given it's about 1lb less?

Anyway, thanks again.
 
Thanks very much. I was looking for something a bit shorter and a bit cheaper.

What is the general consensus on Hatsan pumps? Both the airmguard 14" and 20" w/folding stock look interesting, as does the telescopic MP TS model.
 
Hatsan is good stuff. I have an MPA-TS and it shoots pretty nice. Out of curiosity, what's your experience with shotguns in general? Some types hit harder than others. A light break action will hit pretty hard if you aren't holding it just right where a semi will typically be a lot softer.
 
Love Hatsans. I own a 14.5", 18.5" and 20"
pumps. Consistent quality, nice fit and finish and very comfortable to shoot.
 
Thanks for the responses.

Pretty much nil experience to be honest.

The plan is to pick up something for general purpose casual target practice/potential defence, and then start off with cheap target shells and work up from there and try more potent rounds as I feel comfortable.

I was thinking a Dom.Arms coach gun originally (on sale right now) but now I'm pretty focused on a pump. I've read that the semi-autos have less kick, but I'd like to keep it simple as possible at this point (hence the initial interest in a break action double barrel), so I don't think I can really go wrong with a decent pump as a starter.

As for the Hatsan's, any thoughts between the:

14" aimguard
20" aimguard with folding stock
18" MP TS (pump with telescoping stock)
 
copeland said:
Buy once, cry once. Buy a mossy 590a1 20".

It's a quality shotgun you will grow into.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Alternatively I would recommend a Remington 870 Wingmaster/Police Magnum.
14" barrels coming to the market soon for them too.

These options cost more than what you initially may have wanted to spend but are money well spent IMO.
 
Another option is buy a used gun. Most of us treat our guns with respect. I'd personally prefer a 60. Year old wingmaster over a newer police model. That said buy a Mossberg 500 or 590.
 
Maverick 88... cheap & reliable, I bought a mav 88 for my first shotgun with the 2 barrel combo overpriced from a local shop but I bought it on a whim and wanted it now so whatever... I got a 20" cylinder bore slug barrel and a 28 with a interchangeable choke... haven't hunted with it since I prefer my 22 for birds but I've put probably close to 1000 rounds through it and it functions fine... only problem I've had is the pump has got stuck once or twice on the last round after its fired... just have to give it a lol extra umpff to get it to release and extract the last she'll. .. other than that I'm happy with the buy other than the fact I could have paid 100 less elsewhere for the package
 
Forget the home defense in Canada, it's not allowed; well, if you go that way there are some 12ga ammo plastic pellets available, however, it is for bear defense only...

Weatherby PA459 : ported barrell, ghost ring with adjustable rear sight, light, very smooth action (better than the 870), confortable/natural angle forend, pistol grip.

I forgot to mentioned that it has intercheable chokes

For $459 it's a great choice.
 
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I recently just bought a winchester sxp and I love it . Probably fired about 400 times now and not a single issue . I was in the same boat at you were and it came down to the winchester sxp , remington 870 and the mossberg 500 . Dont get me wrong there all great guns . I will say that remingtons quality has gone downhill in the past few years I was told if you found an 870 in good condition about 10 years old to jump on it . My buddy owns a mossberg 500 and he loves it . Also go into your local gun shop and see what feels good in your hands and take it from there .
 
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