Newbie shotgun opinion

blasted_saber said:
887 is garbage. Get an 870 if you want a Remington. Any modern shotgun will have screw chokes and a new one will likely come with several. Modified or Improved is good for geese, you'll want a full or extra full for turkey
Click to expand...

concur. I handled an 887 last year and I also think its garbage. I have a Benelli for Turkey, and geese, and I have a Remington 870 with a rifled barrel. I love the Benelli - which was pricy - but the 870 is a solid, reliable shotgun. It cost me 400.00 at a gun show and was practically brand new. I also just used it to shoot two Russian Hogs in Sask a few days ago.

Advice ? Dont buy a new gun. There are hundreds on this site and more at gun-shows that are affordable, and reliable. Oh, and you dont need camo for turkey. Just make sure its not "glossy"
 
If you're after waterfowl, might I suggest the Baikal MP153... It's a 3.5 inch chambered semi. Mine has synthetic furniture & a 24 inch barrel.

Cheers
Jay
 
Starting at about the $650 mark, I think the BPS is expensive for a pump gun. If I am not mistaken, it has a tang safety which I would like if I were hunting and there are no questions about quality. The BPS has a 3+1 capacity, which is less than my PA08s 4+1. That might be moot for hunting though if you have to have it plugged to 2+1 or something stupid like that.

The Weatherby SA08 semi-autos are $600.

Regarding the 870 with rifled barrel: you paid full retail price for a used gun. You saved the tax, but do you still have a warranty? I don't mean that to sound snarky. Its an honest question. If you're happy with your deal then great, but I am just wondering...

P
Harbourone said:
Bingo. BPS all the way.
Click to expand...
 
Mossberg 930 with two barrels. I picked up one with three chokes and a rifled barrel and bird barrel for $540 plus tax and shipping. That gun will serve all your needs and has a tang safety. Great gun for the money.
 
pubb said:
Starting at about the $650 mark, I think the BPS is expensive for a pump gun. If I am not mistaken, it has a tang safety which I would like if I were hunting and there are no questions about quality. The BPS has a 3+1 capacity, which is less than my PA08s 4+1. That might be moot for hunting though if you have to have it plugged to 2+1 or something stupid like that.

The Weatherby SA08 semi-autos are $600.

Regarding the 870 with rifled barrel: you paid full retail price for a used gun. You saved the tax, but do you still have a warranty? I don't mean that to sound snarky. Its an honest question. If you're happy with your deal then great, but I am just wondering...

P
Click to expand...

Tang safety, correct. For waterfowl it needs to be plugged down to 2+1 so capacity isnt a big deal.

The biggest benefit for th BPS is the bottom load, bottom eject. I little tougher to field strip, but it guarentees you the left spot in a blind cause you arent throwing brass, and that way you don't catch any either.

Really high quality gun. Tough as nails too. Love mine, but I may backbench it and try an auto loader...
 
Bottom eject is a nice feature.

I was going to see how long it took for someone to mention an Ithaca, but at $800+ it would have to fetch, feather, cook a bird and do the dishes for me to think it as a "good deal".

P
 
Thanks to everyone who commented. I appreciate it.

With your input and reading I have done (quite a bit) I have narrowed it to :

Remington 870
Browning BPS
Winchester SXP (had not been mentioned here)

With this list, ill head to the store and check them all out and see which one I like the best for fit & feel.
 
GlouGlou said:
Thanks to everyone who commented. I appreciate it.

With your input and reading I have done (quite a bit) I have narrowed it to :

Remington 870
Browning BPS
Winchester SXP (had not been mentioned here)

With this list, ill head to the store and check them all out and see which one I like the best for fit & feel.
Click to expand...

I just picked up the winchester sxp last weekend. It's a sweet gun, and fits me nicely. I like the fact that it is super simple to disassemble, and the gas assisted pump mechanism seems pretty cool! Haven't shot it yet!? I'm guessing with the slightly shorter length of pull, I may end up with my thumb hitting my nose a few times. Looking forward to shooting it soon!
 
me too

pubb said:
I'm gonna put in a good word for my Weatherby PA-08. Beautiful wood, beautiful finish. Ridiculously easy to clean and maintain. It functions flawlessly with everything I've fed it from very light target loads to magnum slugs. It was a whopping $20 more than the Rem 870 Express which has very plain wood, and some kind of matte finish which is neither blued nor parkerized.

If you're looking to tacticool it up or get lots of aftermarket accessories, look elsewhere.

P
Click to expand...

i have two of them, a 12 and a 20, very nice guns indeed
 
All,

There are lots of newbie threads so I though I would provide my final decision. I hope this will help some people.

I got a Winchester SXP. Its the camo waterfowl 3 1/2 version. I got it at Sail for 449$ which was competitively priced compared to the other models I was looking at. It also came with 3 chokes which sealed the deal for me. The reviews I found online were also mostly positive.

Took it to the range and the recoil is very reasonable. No jams or issues at all.

Thanks to everyone that provided input. So far I am very happy with my decision.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom