Hello folks
I work a farm and have need/want of a shotgun. I would like to find a good gun that is capable of covering a couple of different functions.
Dove, quail, turkey, light duck, deer, wild hog.
Not looking for the biggest thing out there but a good versatile gun. Prefer stainless and composite or fiber stock, (low maintenance).
Thanks
Can’t go wrong with a Mossberg combo
You’re really going to limit your options by looking for a “stainless” shotgun. Besides, they’re no more “low maintenance” than a blued model. Don’t take care of a “stainless” one properly and it will rust and corrode just as bad as a blued model.
Do you want a pump, semi-auto? If you go semi-auto, do you want gas or inertia? 3"? 3 1/2"? Some 3 1/2" guns don’t shoot 2 3/4" shells very well (especially your entry level quality shotguns).
I prefer inertia guns and I don’t shoot 3 1/2" shells for anything so my shotgun of choice is the Benelli M2. I don’t use a shotgun to hunt deer or hogs (rifle and/or bow) but I’ve hunted everything else you mentioned with my M2.
No matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how far you fall…you are never out of the fight.
Semi, 3" is plenty, 2 3/4 will be used most.
Please tell me why you like t inertia over the gas? I grew up on Win Model 12 pump, browning belguim made A5’s.
The stainless part is more about having a gun that is good to ride in the truck. I am not taking my Browning A5’s that are 40+ years old riding everyday.
I grew up in MO and anyone that hunted with a gas gun brought a pump with them to us when their gas gun froze up. Plus, with the modern recoil reduction systems on the market today, the difference in perceived recoil is negligible at best. Granted everyone has s different recoil sensitivity. Plus, gas guns are heavier and inertia guns are lower maintenance.
As far as a truck gun, the stainless isn’t going to be any more benificial than blued. Like I sad, not taken care of properly, a stainless gun will “ugly up” just as bad as a blued model. Plus, apples to apples, blued is less expensive than stainless.
No matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how far you fall…you are never out of the fight.
A Remington 870 pump gun is my first choice, if I could only have one shotgun. I’ve got 3 870s 
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
X2. Rem 870. Not expensive but very reliable, amd you can do all the things you are asking about with it.
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker LarryA Remington 870 pump gun is my first choice, if I could only have one shotgun. I’ve got 3 870s
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
2012 Skeeter ZX22 Bay
Yamaha 250 hp SHO
Minnkota Riptide 101
You’ll get every answer under the sun with the parameters you set. What do you want to spend? If you want 3.5" capacity, Beretta A400 Extrema is first followed by the Benelli SBE II. If 3" will do the Beretta A300 Outlander or Benelli M2 are good guns. Browning and Remington quit making decent Autoloaders years ago, now it’s mass produced crap. Franchi makes a couple of good automatic guns as well but not at a significantly cheaper price that would make me choose one over the Beretta/Benelli route.
Beretta is the first choice though. You get a lot of gun that’ll last forever with them.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
Yes I am throwing a quite wide net here. M2 seems to be favored by a good many people. Starting from scratch I wanted to hear a lot of different opinions from as many people as I could. Hope to hear more.
I have a couple of gas guns that I love. My favorite ones are the Winchester SX2 and a Browning Gold. Both in 3" and fun to shoot and I have killed everything that you have listed but a hog. Not a huge fan of hog hunting. But if you are looking for an inexpensive gun that will always go bang I would go with a Remington 870 Super Mag Express. It was my very first gun and I have used it for everything from a gun to a paddle and it take a lick and keeps on ticking.
20’ Bulls Bay w/ 115 Yamaha
“A gun is like a woman son its all in how you hold her” Aaron Lewis
I’d wait until December and then find you one on Armslist.com for cheap. People sell guns in December to help pay for Christmas and its a good time to pick up firearms.
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
You need to set a budget first, then ask this question.
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1999 16’ Bentz-Craft flats
1994 16’ Bentz-Craft flats
15’ Alumacraft, 1979 35 Johnson
ISLAND ARMORY, LLC - CONTACT ME FOR ALL OF YOUR FFL NEEDS!
quote:
Originally posted by 23SailfishI’d wait until December and then find you one on Armslist.com for cheap. People sell guns in December to help pay for Christmas and its a good time to pick up firearms.
Redfish Baron Extraordinaire
I don’t know about that, prices I see on AL for used guns are often what you can buy new for. You can often find a new gun through Buds for cheaper than prices on there.
OP, the M2 is a great gun but at $1,300.00 its not $650.00 better than the A300. Dollar for Dollar, the A300 is about as good a deal as you will get on a 3" autoloader. It’ll still be shooting when the Remington and Browning guns are worn out.
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
quote:
the A300 is about as good a deal as you will get on a 3" autoloader. It'll still be shooting when the Remington and Browning guns are worn out.
Can you wear out an 870 Remington? I don’t know if they build them like they used to, I haven’t bought one in 25 years. Haven’t needed to. My first one I got in 1971, blue steel and wood stock. It’s been to a dozen countries and went through hell, crossed thousands of ocean miles, collected a few hundred deer, a few dozen hogs, a few dozen turkeys, some dove and quail (I ain’t real good on doves), some squirrels and rabbits, many a marsh hen, a few ducks, some sharks, couple 3 gators, a many thousand clay pigeons, dozens of armadillos, couple of coyotes…
It’s been put through everything imaginable, submerged many times, stuffed in the mud, run over with the truck, used as a paddle, a push pole and a crutch. And other things I can’t even remember. Wash it out in the creek, pull the trigger, it goes bang. She ain’t real pretty, I’ve got some real pretty shotguns that cost more, but this one stays at the bedside or back door, because I know it will go bang every time I pull the trigger and shoot exactly where I am thinking. It’s like my dog, reliable, I don’t have to tell it what to do, it just knows.
I recently won a neighborhood skeet shoot with it against 30 young country boys with fancy auto shotguns. We make plywood disks for each shooter and write their name on the back. Then print out a bunch of bullseye targets and cut them to fit. Attach with spray adhesive. We throw them up by hand or with a skeet thrower. Usually some of both. It’s cost $5 a round for 3 shots. Most pellets in the center win the pot. I won 10 straight rounds. Taught those younguns to beware an old man with an old pump gun. He probably knows how to use it They asked me to please quit and
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker Larryquote:
the A300 is about as good a deal as you will get on a 3" autoloader. It'll still be shooting when the Remington and Browning guns are worn out.
Can you wear out an 870 Remington? I don’t know if they build them like they used to, I haven’t bought one in 25 years. Haven’t needed to. My first one I got in 1971, blue steel and wood stock. It’s been to a dozen countries and went through hell, crossed thousands of ocean miles, collected a few hundred deer, a few dozen hogs, a lesser amount of dove and quail (I ain’t real good on doves), some squirrels and rabbits, many a marsh hen, a few ducks, some sharks, couple 3 gators, a many thousand clay pigeons, dozens of armadillos, couple of coyotes…
It’s been put through everything imaginable, submerged many times, stuffed in the mud, run over with the truck, used as a paddle, a push pole and a crutch. And other things I can’t even remember. Wash it out in the creek, pull the trigger, it goes bang. She ain’t real pretty, I’ve got some real pretty shotguns that cost more, but this one stays at the bedside or back door, because I know it will go bang every time I pull the trigger and shoot exactly where I am thinking. It’s like my dog, reliable, I don’t have to tell it what to do, it just knows.
I recently won a neighborhood skeet shoot with it against 30 young country boys with fancy auto shotguns. We make plywood disks for each shooter and write their name on the back. Then print out a bunch of bullseye targets and cut them to fit. Attach with spray adhesive. It’s cost $5 a round for 3 shots. Most pellets in the center win. I won 10 straight rounds. Taught those younguns to beware an old man with an
Pack an auto loader full of mud and see how long it functions. Can you wash it in the river and get it to function again in a hurry when it’s jammed? Would you even want to wash that Benelli or Beretta in a saltwater river? Doesn’t hurt my 870 even a little bit. Been there many times. Like I said, if I can only pick 1, it would be a pump gun. Not an auto loader.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker LarryPack an auto loader full of mud and see how long it functions. Can you wash it in the river and get it to function again in a hurry when it’s jammed? Would you even want to wash that Benelli or Beretta in a saltwater river? Doesn’t hurt my 870 even a little bit. Been there many times. Like I said, if I can only pick 1, it would be a pump gun. Not an auto loader.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
The A400 Extrema is made for saltwater environments. It was designed for waterfowlers to use in the worst possible conditions.
If you like a pump, that’s your choice. I’ve never cared for them, own quite a few through inheritance and never shoot them. I’d rather shoot one of my doubles than anything but I have autoloaders as well.
I recently sold my A400, not because I didn’t like it, I just didn’t shoot it enough to keep it, its a wonderful gun. I always pick up an OU for birds, don’t waterfowl hunt any longer and have a Benelli SBE left by my FIL to me so I can’t sell it. I do crawl through the muck and mud with it, it’s always gone bang when I slapped the trigger.
I had another SBE I shot for 14 years, dropped it in the swamp in Arkansas, found it, drained it and killed ducks with no issues. The only thing it didn’t like were some Fiocchi sporting clay loads I had one time. I traded that gun for items that cost a lot more than I originally paid for it and had the other one.
I’ve shot the new A5 a few times, it leaves a lot to be desired. Heck I’d rather shoot one of my old humpbacks over it. I had a B-80 that was a nightmare, beautiful gun but terribly unreliable. Same thing with an A500 I still have. Then there is a B-2000 that was my Dad’s, when it shot, it felt great but it was bad about stovepiping shells.
Never cared for Remington
Just ordered a Beretta A400 Xplor 20 Gauge/28" with the “Kick Off”…Hope I’m not disappointed. The Louisiana crowd where I hunt swears by Benelli, and the upstate SC boys swear by Beretta. We shall see. This will mainly be a dove gun.
John
Pathfinder 23 HPS
Got my dads side by that got a long history, dad got it as payment
for two hogs before ww2 , wasn’t a new gun even then, he passed it along to me on my 16th b-day, been with me ever since, it’s my go to
gun for all small stuff. I doubt many folks even remember the
Iver-johnson 20ga !!
giving it to my daughter as family keepsake.
since I’ve about quit hunting and have others to use if I do go.
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When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
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Hey cracker, you need to write a book of all your adventures. I’d be the first buyer.
Scout 185