Semi-auto vs pump for a do-all shotgun....

I've owned prolly 6 or 7 Remington 870 pumps and have loved them all. Never any problems, easy take down to clean and you can get a combo with 2 barrels for just over 500.00. Don't know about newer Mossbergs but a friend has an older Mossy pump and it is a very sloppy and noisy pump with only a single action bar. If I were only shooting clays I would use an over-under. But when deer season is shotgun only where I hunt my 870 rifled barrel is worth every penny.
 
Looks like I will HAVE to go with a pump. All of the semi's I have seen have a minimum 14" LOP. How stupid is that? So apparently if you need less than a 14" LOP you can't get a proper fitting semi with out buying a youth size with a short barrel.
 
stuckon308 said:
But I still like my pumps. The ease of takedown and cleaning is a huge plus.
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Take apart an inertia gun and get back to me on that one.

I can take apart and clean my Stoeger 2000 a million times easier than my 870.

But then again the 2000 and a Nova are about equally easy to disassemble, and I would guess all the Inertia guns are simple to tear apart.
 
B-N said:
Take apart an inertia gun and get back to me on that one.

I can take apart and clean my Stoeger 2000 a million times easier than my 870.

But then again the 2000 and a Nova are about equally easy to disassemble, and I would guess all the Inertia guns are simple to tear apart.
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My Mossberg 500's and Remington 870 all strip down faster than my Ithaca 900 and two Winchester XTR 1500's. And they are a heck of a lot easier to clean as well.

It might just come down to preference.....
 
CanuckShooter said:
Looks like I will HAVE to go with a pump. All of the semi's I have seen have a minimum 14" LOP. How stupid is that? So apparently if you need less than a 14" LOP you can't get a proper fitting semi with out buying a youth size with a short barrel.
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Having the LOP adjusted by a gunsmith and a good pad installed shouldn't break the bank.
 
Canuck Shooter..... this may seem like a dumb question but, why does it have to be a NEW gun ???
Pick up a Remington 1100 for $350-400 and shoot the s**t out of it. They work fantastic, they're cheap, they live for ever (they're the chevy of the shot gun world) and I've had mine jam (not cycle) only once in the last 2000 rounds. It was dirty and oily and the oil thickened up at -15 deg.

I have/had
1 Browning O/U (1950) Lightning 12 ga.
1 Win. Mod. 12 (1951) Pump
3 rem. 1100's 12ga, 20ga and .410

All of them worked fantastic the only one that DOESN'T get any use is the pump.
O/U is good for anything , semi is great for shooting quick with skeet.

Buy a used one and you can get another sooner.

M>
 
Boomer.... from what I have been reading, most fo the semi stocks can't be shortened due to the recoil assembly or whatever it is that goes almost the full length of the butt stock.

Ice-Pick.... I would consider that for sure, if I could have the LOP adjusted to fit me. Maybe i could get one of these pistol grip stocks from Hogue. It has an LOP of 13". But do you think the pistol grip style would work as well for clays etc?

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No, the LOP can be shortened an inch or so no problem. Or you could look for the Youth buttstock only and add it onto whatever Rem 1100 you find . . .
 
Hmmmm.... then maybe it is just the Mossberg 930 that cannot be shortened. I'll look into the 1100. What the difference between the 100 and 11-87? Are they both decent?
 
I've seen a few shortened quite a bit.
Contact Remington . com and ask them directly. Maybe people have cut down stocks ALOT to suit kids/wives.

M.

And yes a pistol grip is NOT the answer , laff, unless you wanna beat the other shooters by having them laughing so hard they can't see the birds, laff.

M.
 
Canuckshooter, I was in the same situation as you not long ago. I tryed many different types of semi autos, and ended up going with a pump. Bennelli Super Nova in camo, it shoulders great, and is tuff as nails. I hunt more than I skeet shoot, so I figured I will get the pump now, then get the target semi later on. Every shotgunner needs both I say!:p:D
 
I shortened an ithaca 600 20ga for my wife, took off 1 1/4 inches . Also have a win 2200 and a 1300 pump, seen there fair share of abuse and work like clockwork. Could pick one up for 200-300 bucks.
 
I looked at both of the Mossey's in question and ended up with a 500. Nice, inexpensive do all type of gun that can get used and abused within reason and still clean up nice. Lots of aftermarket support for barrels, stocks, chokes ect. Either way you go (or with some of the suggested models here) make sure it 'fits' you shoulders well.
 
Pumps are less maintenance and a little cheaper. Speed of operation is nearly the same between a semi and an experienced pump operator. Don't get bogged down in pursuit of the least expensive choice, sometimes it bites you in the ass.
A buddy of mine claims," In hell there ain't any rum and they make you shoot Mossbergs."
 
Well, I've got both. I've got a fancy Benelli M2 for 3 gun, tactical shotgun and blasting at the range, and I've got a mossberg 590 pump, which is my workhorse/backpacking shotgun. The 590 I'd easily trust with my life. The inertia driven M2 has seen thousands of rounds....everything from low brass 2 3/4" #8 shot to 3" magnum slugs and it has yet to jam. I'd still take the pump for bear defense over the M2 in a second. I like variety and it's good to have both. If I was to suggest something, I'd say inertia driven all the way for auto-loaders, but a pump is truly the most reliable, especially when a bear is threatening your life.
 
Well, I don't know much about the SBE2, however I have heard from owners on here and in person that it is a fine shotgun. After I bought my M2 I learned the SBE2 is nearly identical.
I chose the M2 simply because it was what I knew about. I first learned about it while I was waiting in the Edmonton Airport for a flight to Vegas. To kill time, I bought a copy of Guns & Ammo from the gift shop and it had an article featuring the M2. About 2 weeks later I saw that P & D had them in stock, I researched them and found they were what I have been looking for. I've always wanted an M1 Tactical, but they are prohibited by name. I don't know a whole lot about auto-loading tactical shotguns. I've tried pimping out and "tacticalizing" 11-87s and 1100s but they didn't really work for me like they do for some people, even though I kept them clean and maintained them per manufacturer's recommendations. The Benelli works. I do not regret the purchase. As stated, for me this has been a mighty fine shotgun.
 
Claybuster said:
My experience is the opposite. I've yet to encounter a shotgun handling a broader range then my Beretta 391. It has fired 3" magnums down to the Winchester Low Recoil-Low Noise, a round not recommended for semi-autos and one that is so light I've had it occasionally not reset the inertia trigger in an o/u.


Different guns for different applications. For clay shooting or high volume waterfowling the reduced recoil of a gas gun is a welcome benefit. Although the inertia guns are simpler and easier to clean but have more felt recoil.


Agreed and I've got both. The only consideration with a pump gun is that to be proficient you need to practice. If a pump fails it's generally because the operator has short stroked the gun.
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I agree with Claybuster. I've owned recoil guns and they kick pretty good. It was fine at the pond or in the hills but after shooting a case of target loads I think I'd be happiest with a gas gun. I know two people personally who own Benelli Super Black Eagle's. One of them complains of it not cycling properly, the other doesn't shoot it very often. My Browning weighs as much as their guns and their all pretty light. Mine has a fair amount of recoil but not as much as the recoil guns of the same weight firing my heavy duck loads.
 
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