What to get?

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RoscoeP

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OK, I want to buy a tactical shotgun. It will be used for my camp/bear gun and to do a bit of fun run and gun comp with my son. We had a great time doing this in the past. I have a benelli 28" super nova that I really like. I would have just bought a 18.5" barrel but they are expensive and not that available.
My two choices are the Benelli tactical Super nova and the Mosberg 590A1. The Benelli will need to get an extended mag tube, where as the Mosberg is set too go. Are accessories as available for the Benelli as they are for the 590? Any thoughts on this? Cheers Roscoe
 
if you already own a 28" Supernova, try something different for your 'tactical shotgun'. Few accessories are available for a Benelli, even a mag extension can be a PITA to find.

i like the Mossberg 590, but i really feel that the 870 platform is better in terms of versatility. there is a lot more you can do with an 870 and parts/accessories are plentiful and cheap on the EE.
 
Well I ended up ordering the Benelli Super Nova tactical shotgun. I know accessories may be harder to come by but. 1. I really like the quality of the field gun I have. 2. If I don't like the pistol grip I can put the 18.5 " barrel on the field gun, or change the stocks around. 3. If one ever breaks I can swap parts, barrels etc. 4.Don't have to learn another gun. Thanks for the input, I think I will be happy with my choice. Cheers Roscoe
 
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RoscoeP said:
Well I endened up ordering the Benelli Super Nova tactical shotgun. I know accessories may be harder to come by but. 1. I really like the quality of the field gun I have. 2. If I don't like the pistol grip I can put the 18.5 " barrel on the field gun, or change the stocks around. 3. If one ever breaks I can swap parts, barrels etc. 4.Don't have to learn another gun. Thanks for the input, I think I will be happy with my choice. Cheers Roscoe
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Nothing wrong with your thought process or gun.
The fact you have two shotguns instead of one is a good thing.

There is no downside that I can see.

L
 
I would support the idea of a separate shotgun.

However, in the words of BadBoyBeeson (who has forgotten more about shotties than I'll probably learn in 12 lifetimes), you can't buy a tactical/combat shotgun, you have to build it. If you spend the money on shotguns that are marked as "tactical" in a maker's catalogue, you'll spend a whole lot more money for just a word.

Say, the Remington 870 "tactical" lines are mainly 870 Express shotguns with a different finish and a few accessories...

My suggestion to you would be to get your hands on a plain-jane Remington 870 (not an Express: you look at them funny and you'll be able to watch them rust right in front of your eyes) and get components like a side-saddle, a recoil-absorbing stock, a magazine tube extension, light mount, Hogue forestock, etc to turn it into a combat shotgun. In the end, it will be cheaper and you will have a truly custom shotgun.

And if you do use an 870 Express as the base gun, you might want to get the powder-coat finish stripped off and replaced by parkerizing...
 
870 all the way. Get the base tactical variant. Then you can build it to your needs. I probably spent to much and bought a 870 pmax and added some more accessories to it. Its always easy to get 870 parts and there are usually second hand parts for sale on the forum. But to each their own.
Happy Hunting
 
tactical SG

If you're looking for an awesome little tactical shotgun, check out the Valtro. It's a great little gun, loads of fun. Just watch you don't get your fingers too close to the ports on the barrel, but you'll only do that once, anyway.

valtro1.jpg
 
if youre going to be refinishing it anyway then do not start with an 870 Express:
get a 2 3/4" Wingmaster cheap. for $20 in parts from Brownells you can convert it to a 3". the most expensive part of the 3" upgrade is refinishing the shotgun - which you are about to do anyway.
 
RoscoeP said:
Well I ended up ordering the Benelli Super Nova tactical shotgun. I know accessories may be harder to come by but. 1. I really like the quality of the field gun I have. 2. If I don't like the pistol grip I can put the 18.5 " barrel on the field gun, or change the stocks around. 3. If one ever breaks I can swap parts, barrels etc. 4.Don't have to learn another gun. Thanks for the input, I think I will be happy with my choice. Cheers Roscoe
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You made absolutely the right choice and reason #4 is the most important. Commonality between your sporting and tactical shotgun is a very good thing to have. If you have to use the tactical gun in a stress situation you won't have to transition to a different and perhaps less familiar operating system.
 
I am not going to go into the Remington vs Mossberg debate because they are both awesome and frustrating at the same time :)

A shotgun needs very few things to make it a great fighting shotgun: Sling mounts/swivels, Sling, sidesaddle. If your budget allows: dot sight and of course, the all important bayonet mount!.

I chose to go the route of Mossberg 590A1, as such, most of my experience lies there so my advice will have a slight Mossberg bias :).

While they have smoothed out the action, it still isn't quite as slick as the Remington but definitely leagues better than what they were.

The 590 also has a top mounted thumb safety (which was another deciding factor for me) it positively locks the action rather than the "Cross bolt" style of the Remington that blocks the trigger from moving.

Two extractors vs one for the Remington.

Built in Bayonet mount vs. none for the Remington.

The Remington does seem to have tighter tolerances and a super super slick action, I really don't know how they do it, but the Mossy feels abit gritty when compared side to side.

The Mossy 500 series comes with a safety made of "plastic"

Remington has steel receivers vs Aluminum for Mossberg.

Some fact may or may not have changed, feel free to correct as needed :)

But the Benelli, nice choice!.
 
Deuce044 said:
Say, the Remington 870 "tacticaMy suggestion to you would be to get your hands on a plain-jane Remington 870 (not an Express: you look at them funny and you'll be able to watch them rust right in front of your eyes) and get components like a side-saddle, a recoil-absorbing stock, a magazine tube extension, light mount, Hogue forestock, etc to turn it into a combat shotgun. In the end, it will be cheaper and you will have a truly custom shotgun.
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I agree 100 percent. I never thought of making anything "tactical" out of my 100$ Ted Williams, just comfortable field gun. Short barreled it, drilled and tapped receiver and raled it and installed red dot. Then modified some polymer folding stock with pistol grip, can't even remember what shotgung was it designed for. The whole project turned exactly what I wanted and accidentally very tactical shotgun. I think I spent some 200$ including shotgun itself.
 
Just arrived yesterday, it is sweet! Can't wait to get out and shoot it. Cut out a bunch of IPSC style targets out of some cardboard today and have a load of slugs, buckshot and birdshot to try out.
 
The Valtro is neat for the fact that it takes detachable mags, but good luck finding spares for it. Even if you come across one they are usually $100+, and parts availability is basically nil. The Grizzly MAG series on the other hand accomplishes the same thing with the immense benefit of Remington 870 parts commonality, mags are plentiful and reasonably priced, and there is dealer support through CanAm (who are stand-up folks BTW).
 
Deuce044 said:
My suggestion to you would be to get your hands on a plain-jane Remington 870 (not an Express: you look at them funny and you'll be able to watch them rust right in front of your eyes)


And if you do use an 870 Express as the base gun, you might want to get the powder-coat finish stripped off and replaced by parkerizing...
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Are the Expresses that bad? I own an Express and have handled a Wingmaster and obviously there are definite differences in fit and finish and smoothness (you get what you pay for!)... but I have had no problems with my Express regarding finish or rust or anything in the year I've owned it.

Maybe the issues everyone talks about are to be expected a few years down the road...

Or maybe it's the elitist attitude of the.. elite. Like how an Acura driver will talk about how useless Hondas are when bazillions of Hondas are still on the road doing just fine. This is probably the case. If you can afford an Acura, good for you but there is really nothing wrong with a Honda if that's all you can afford... for now ;)
 
i own both and it is not 'elitism'.
the Express finish rusts much easier than a simple blued finish. the barrels/bores also rust easier. the machining is also crap - the recent ones look like someone in the third world machined them with an angle grinder.

im not going to throw away my Express, but i am going to go out of my way to make sure than any future build is not based on one. currently i have 3 Wingmasters, a Police, an Express and a Grizzly and the Express is by far the worst of the lot.

and like i said earlier - if you are refinishing them anyway, then you can get a 2 3/4" Wingmaster receiver and 3" ejector upgrade parts for the same price as a 3" Express receiver: so you may as well be refinishing something a lot higher quality.
 
I am saddened to hear this information on the remington express! I have owned quite a few remington expresses (5 now I believe) and I have never had an issue with rust, only time I have seen it on a remington was when my friend left his out in the rain for a couple hours, after that we just cleaned it off and oiled it and never happened again.

I personally find the mossys to feel cheap and flimsy whenever I have fired them or handled them. I believe its just like ford and chevy owners. They both tell you one an others products are better than each others. When in fact its just personal preference.
 
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