ive owned 870, Nova, 1300, and 500/510/590 pumps (no Ithacas
). the only pumps i own now are 870s and 870 clones - all the rest have been traded or sold.
the Nova is a decent gun. if you handle a Nova and it fits you, and you only intend to use it for the exact purpose you bought it for, great. otherwise it has some major drawbacks. it has an
extremely small aftermarket, very expensive barrels, rattly forends, and will not fit all shooters. the Nova/Supernova have either zero or very limited stock fit options. if you decide later that you want a different type of stock or different type of barrel you may as well just buy another gun.
with the world's largest shotgun aftermarket of new/used/take-off parts and accessories for every purpose and budget, any 870 receiver can be transformed into a gun for
any purpose or to fit
any shooter. your 18" barreled 'home defense' 870 can be transformed into an effective deer, duck, turkey, upland, youth, etc gun with a few (usually very affordable) parts from the EE. just about any type of barrel can be found in the EE between $100-200, whereas a Benelli barrel will cost you nearly as much as a new gun.
the 'oldskool' steel receivers (as opposed to new-fangled skeletonized polymer-coated ones) can be reblued, parkerized, duracoated, etc at any time to look like new (or better than new). sights and rails can be drilled/tapped or silver soldered securely onto them. a Wingmaster or 870P receiver will always be a highly sought after commodity.
i have a few redundant 870s in my gun cabinet. regardless, i have no intention of ever selling them because i know that if i do need a platform for any type of shotgun build i can grab one, spend a few bucks on the EE, and have a bombproof, familiar gun tailored to that specific purpose and shooter. good luck doing that with a Nova, much less a Nova Tactical.
