I am taking the hunting course this weekend and would like to get into the sport, along with trap and skeet shooting.
But, I really do not know too much about shot guns.
this is what I know that I do want:
1) it is for trap and skeet
2) for hunting mostly small little animals that I can blow to pieces with my bad-ass shotty (seriously though, for whatever hunting can be done with a shot gun - and not a rifle)
3) had to be a pump - mainly just because they sound some much cooler when you rack them!
4)want to keep it around / under $500 - will buy used.
hopefully then good memebers here can point me in the right direction
1) As others have suggested, removable choke tubes are the way to go to cover the range of activities that you will be doing with your gun.
2)You can pretty much hunt anything in NA with a shotgun, not always the best choice, but it is possible. If you buy a gun with a smoothbore barrel with choketubes and a rifled barrel (you don't actually need the rifled barrel, but it nearly doubles the effective range of slugs).
Assuming your from Ontario you might need to hunt deer with a shotgun, you may want to consider getting a rifled barrel for your gun, the 870 and the Mossbergs have the most economical rifled barrels, some with cantilevered scope mounts.
3) Remington 870, Mossberg 500, 535, 590, Browning BPS, Benelli Nova, Winchester 1300 (and a few others that I have missed) are some good choices. I personally lean towards the 870 just because it is the gun that I have the most experience with and haven't had a single problem with them (I currently own 3 of them).
great info guys, thank you.
one other question, what about length of barrel? do the above firearms mentioned all come with multiple barrels? how exactly does that work. different length barrel depending on what you hunt?
so what im getting is any shot gun will do - want to have multiple chokes
also, can you dress up most shot guns. not sure what I am thinking of at this time..
can you change the stocks, do people put scopes on shot guns?
Keep in mind when you look at barrel lengths to also look at overall length. For example, a Benelli Nova with a 26" barrel is the same length as an 870 with a 28" barrel.
I personally prefer a 26" barrel on the 870, but see what feels right for you.
If you can afford to buy the multi-barrel sets it will save you money in the long run, if you decide that you will need more than one barrel.
The barrels are changed by unscrewing the end of the magazine tube, sliding off the barrel and replacing it with the other barrel.
3 options for mounting scopes, cantilever barrel (scope mounts to a bracket that is attached to the barrel), drill and tap receiver (drill holes in the receiver, thread them and put a scope rail on it) and a saddle mount (a bracket that bolts on to the receiver that you then mount your scope to). Scopes on shotguns are typically used for deer hunting and turkey hunting.
If you want to you can change the stock on most pump shotguns, with the Benelli Nova being the exception, it is one piece (not sure about the super nova). Some companies make stock that reduce the amount of recoil that you feel, other make folding stock, if your barrel is long enough you can add a pistol grip to replace your stock, lots of options (mostly for the 870 and the mossbergs).
If you want to customize your shotgun you can add lots to them, the 870 in particular has a host of aftermarket accessories, ESPECIALLY if you want to follow the recent trends and make it
tactigay.
General guidelines for barrel length selection.
ducks/geese: 26-30” barrel.
Grouse, pheasant: 22-26” barrel.
Deer/Big game: rifled barrel, any commercially available length will do the trick, seriously consider a cantilevered barrel
Turkey: 20-24” with a tight choke threaded in
This isn't to say that a Turkey can't be shot with a 30” barrel, a goose can't be shot with a 20” barrel or that you have to have a rifled barrel to shoot a deer (LOTS of deer have been shot with smoothbores). There isn't much that couldn't be done with a 26” Rem-choke barrelled Remington 870, a saddle mount and a quality low magnification scope (or a red dot).
