List of reliable pump shotguns

Fabarms have been great. Winchester Model 12s and 1300s have likewise worked flawlessly for me, though, so given your stated experiences with the 1200s you should probably take my opinion with a grain of salt....
 
Mossberg 500 I use a 20 gauge for skeet (won't cycle callanger ammo but cycles Remington,Winchester, Kent just fine).

Mossberg 500 older Lakefield in 12 gauge with boyds stock no problems.

Mossberg 500 in 410 for skeet not issues. (Just the cost of ammo šŸ˜)

Mossberg 835 ultimag had one issue but It was a reload and it flipped in the receiver and then got caught on the loading feed and was a real pain to get that fixed in the field. But I'm guessing that was an ammo issue. Never a problem with factory ammo for 2 3/4 up to 3 1/2"

Mossberg/maverick 88 can't beat it for the price, great second gun for lending out.

Winchester 2200 cycles well no issues.
Wish i could find a barrel with vent rib.

Browning BPS 16 gauge for skeet , sometimes a hang up with high brass ammo but rare.

Ithaca 37 build like a tank just doesn't fit me well.

Model 12 in 12, 16 once again built like tanks but most have no bluing left but no but issue reblue or just paint.

Turkish:

Weatherby PA-08 in 20 gauge no issues (not a ton of rounds) except will not cycle challenger 20 gauge ammo.

Akkar pump in 28 gauge no issues so far but only about 100 rounds down the pipe.
 
500/590
Ithaca
I've seen plenty of 870's #### the bed. Especially the cheaper ones. Never had a Mossberg or my Ithaca's fail.
Older Winchester 1300's have also treated me well... though for some reason the ergonomics beat me up more than the others.
 
Had an 870 i got in late 60's, never an issue with it, one I bought about 2010, had issues with cheap Cdn tire ammo, had to pound it on the ground to eject that stuff, and pound it hard, no issues with it other than that ammo,. Had a Mossberg 500 do the same with Federal blue box steel stuff, that was why I bought the 870. Early 1980's BPS was always good to me, never had an issue with it, used a pile of handloads in it. Found the Mossberg to feel cheap and flimsy on the slide mech, it and the new 870 were like night and day in comparison.
 
I am absolutely convinced that people who say they have problems with 1200/1300/SXP Winchesters are fighting the inertia speed pump system and short stroking or jamming their actions because of it. All my Winchester shotguns have been wonderful to me. Once you get used to them they're incredibly fast and I've never had a stoppage that wasn't 100% my fault when I was new to them. I know the SXP is Turkish made now but Winchester oversees their production and they're still very well built. I have an SXP Trench and have no complaints.

Nicest handling pump shotgun I've ever used was a Model 12 though, no comparison. Beautiful actions.
 
My experience so far has been with a pre-90s Remington Wingmaster 870 that I used for 20+ years. Hundreds of slugs and game loads through it and very dependable firearm. I have a Weatherby PA-08 that Iā€™ve put a lot of hunting load through and no issues to date. It is a Turkish gun and as someone else said it is a bit clunky. I have owned a Benelli Super Nova for the past three goose/duck hunting seasons. Less recoil with heavy loads than the Weatherby. Swings well and I like the shell stop feature that allows you to empty the chamber without a shell coming out of the magazine. Easiest shotgun Iā€™ve had to strip down and clean Iā€™ve owned. Iā€™ve shot a fair bit of Trap with it too.
 
You just never know with Remington and what they're going to cheap out on next, but their 870 Marine Magnum at least used to be built to Police model specifications and is my personal choice amongst pump guns. It's true it is silvery and somewhat shiny in appearance but that can easily be covered up with camo tape of your choice and one of the first things I did was to cut a length out of a thick plastic coat hanger for use as a magazine plug, to make it legal for hunting. Only possible problem is that they have a fixed cylinder choke (last I knew) but up with that I am willing to put, and of course it's an asset for the intended purpose (defending a small boat).

marine magnum.jpg
 
For me the only shotgun for reliability and the ability to modify and make it what you want, its the 870 Police Magnum. Ive had this one a long time and would never part with it, I take it with me to my wilderness cabin every trip, and when im home, its never too far away from me

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I own fourteen 12-gauge shotguns all all types (pump, semi-auto, tube mag, and detachable mag). If you can find one, the Weatherby (licensed by Turkish manufacturer), "PA-459-TR" 12-gauge is an excellent tactical 18.5", pistol grip. They've been discontinued for about 10 years. (Used cond. $300 - $650 USD) Excellent workmanship, fit, and finish. This is no cheap-a** shotgun! Weatherby wouldn't have licensed it if it didn't meet their expectations. I bought my first one for about $400 USD from Bass Sporting in 2016. It has been so accurate with slugs (any), that I found and bought 3 more of these shotguns! (just in case I wear out the first - lol). Since I shoot mostly slugs, I can say that this gun will eat any food (slugs, bird or buck), cycle, feed & eject flawlessly (including "mini-shells"), and consistently get 3" or less groupings (any slug, rifled or not) at 25-50 yds. I've put over 1000 rds through my first one, of which 50% were hand-loaded, ugly, varying sized, non-rifled slugs (at about 35 cents USD per rd), all of which shot as just accurately as RIO, Federal, and many other brands. Only Rem. "Sluggers" and Win. "Super X" compare or exceed in accuracy, but are much more expensive per round. This gun doesn't care whether the slugs are rifled or not, in terms of accuracy.

You do need to clean the bore between trips to the range, and keep the (dual) action bars and bolt-group lubed. If you take care of it, it will serve you well. I have 3 in digital camo, and one in all-black. They all shoot straight as an arrow, and I rotate them at the range. The full break-in for a new one is about 250 rds. I've never had to adjust the rear ghost-ring sights even once! Outdoors, a wee bit of "Kentucky windage" eliminates the need to adjust the rear sight. The front fiber-optic is perfectly aligned, and it appears that the sights were zeroed-in before leaving the factory. in Turkey. When lubed, the forend racks like butter, and can be cycled as fast as you can rack it, with no jams (short-cycling is a user error). I would trust my life with my Weatherby(s), any day, any time, any situation, with any type of shot shell. You can find them, but they're kinda rare now. BTW, Wetherby customer service is awesome...
 
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