Remington 870 vs. anything else

[savageT]

Sonner Bred,

Check out my article review post down in the "Magazine and Book Review Forum  about the Ithaca Model37....a great pump that has been around for a very long time.  The story is in this month's (December 2002) of American Hunter.  Good Luck!
savageT

[Bullseye]

I have used Winchester 1200, Mossbergs and 870's.  I will take the 870 hands down against any of them.  Smoother action, excellent blueing and resistance to rust, pretty wood.

Now I am not talking about the Express.  Spend the extra and get a Wingmaster.  They might be the same parts, but the smoothness of the action is totally different.  Finish is much better.  The Wingmasters keep going up in price which means their used values do also.  The Express is still selling for $40 more than it was 12 years ago, their used value has not increased much.

I also own a Browning O/U and a Gold.  I like the 870's over either of them more expensive guns.

[tgiles69]

I've hunted for over 20 years, have pretty much shot and killed game with all makes and models, right now I'm hunting with an 870, I have no plans to switch to anything else.

[George Foster]

SoonerBred,

I have two 870 Wingmasters which I do my bird hunting with.  One is a 12ga and the other is a a 20ga.  I have 26" skeet barrels on both and for me they are ideal.  The bottom line is as far as I'm concerned is to handle all the guns that interest you and choose the one that fits you the best and you like the best.  I personally feel a pump with a 26" barrel and choke tubes is the best gun for an all around shotgun.

[duxman]

Take a look at the Browning BPS. Been shooting a 20 and a .410 both are sweet shooting guns. :drink4:

[duxman]

I've never been impressed by the quality of the mossbergs. You get what you pay for. I guess as long as it shoots straight. :coffee:

[jowl]

mossburgs are crap. they have sloppy actions and are dangerous as they are put to getter.

[mjbgalt]

yeah, so crappy they have been making and selling them like crazy for 40 years. so crappy that they beat out every other shotgun for being picked for military service. that last one was a really intelligent comment. 
-Matt

[Phoneman]

Don't forget military goes with the lowest bidder that meets there standards. Doesn't mean the Mossy was better than the 870. Just cheaper to make and sell.

[mjbgalt]

very true. but the point i was making was, military standards are tougher than most of our standards, and Mossberg met them. I am also not saying they're the best thing out there, but they certainly aren't junk to be cast aside. that design came from the Remington model 31, in 1931, used by Remington as their flagship pump shotgun until 1949. Not cheap junk, in my humble opinion.
-Matt

[kevthebassman]

The only Mossberg I ever had wouldn't feed properly.  It didn't stick around for long.  Never had that problem with an 870. 

[thxmrgarand]

Like most people my age, I have owned and shot lots of pump shotguns.  I like the action best on the Nova.  I shoot thousands of rounds a year through Model 12's at clay targets but would like to find nice Model 31.  I just assembled a Mossberg 500 from parts that had come in on trades over the years, and the plastic safety isn't very impressive.  I hunt waterfowl for several months each year, sometimes for fly-in hunts at remote sites, and my old Wingmaster hasn't let me down.  Sometimes to wash out the salt spray from an exciting skiff ride I have to take it apart and wash it in a creek, then spray it with WD40 before cleaning it.  When fishing and picking berries where big brown guys sometimes fight for turf, the 870 with a slug barrel is on my back or in my hands.   At an event where the gov'ment buys the ammo I have shot it so hard that water on the receiver would sizzle just like on a woodstove.  Never once has anything broken on this 870 Wingmaster.  I honestly can say nothing negative about this 45 year-old gun, and the likelihood is that I will break down before it does despite the hard use.

[ihuntbucks]

My "poop" shooter has taken the limit of turks (5) for each of the last 6 years;which is the same amount of time I've owed my 500.NEVER has one got away.Man,just think of how many I would have gotten if I'd been using a "real" shotgun.I bet those turks wouldn't have stopped if they had know I was using a piece of junk on them.You learn something new every day.Thanks for the info on Mossy's.I'm sure I can find a good place to put it.Bend over...........Rick

[Questor]

I have a great deal of respect for the Mossberg 500 and for the Browning BPS. I believe the BPS is the best pump, especially for a left-hander. The 500, with its tang safety,  is also an excellent choice for the left hander. Both guns are good quality for what you pay.

My son's first shotgun was the Mossberg 500 Bantam, and then I gave him my BPS.

[jeffk14]

I'll comment only on what I know from experience. I own and shoot 3 870's (1 30 y/o Wingmaster & 2 relatively new Express), 2 Mossberg 500's and 1 H&R Pardner protector (Chinese 870 copy). Of them all, the old Wingmaster is by FAR the slickest cycling, prettiest and highest quality fit & finish of the bunch. Having said that, both of the "rattly" feeling Mossbergs have been 100% reliable and cycle very smoothly as well. They are lighter in weight mostly due to the cast aluminum receivers versus steel receivers on the other guns. Both of the Express 870's have also been totally reliable, but both were rough out of the box from a cycling standpoint. Cycling the action and shooting them seems to have slicked them up a bit. The same is true for my Pardner pump. The Pardner is by far the heaviest of the bunch & has a metal trigger housing whereas the Expresses and the Mossys all have plastic trigger housings. That has not been a problem though. If you want cheap and durable, the H&R is a great rugged, tough-as-nails tool. It is not pretty. Spend a few dollars more & you can't go wrong with an 870 Express or Mossberg 500. If you want a pretty "gentleman's" gun, get a Wingmaster. I've never owned a Browning BPS. The price doesn't scare me away so much as the fact that they're IMHO too pretty to use. My guns are all tools. If I had a BPS, it would be a forever safe queen because I'd bee scared to touch the thing for fear of scratching it. Kind of like off-roading in a $50K truck. Well, that's my 2 cents.

[dukkillr]

Buy a BPS in mat finish or camo.  Then you can use them all you want.  I've said this in other places, but...

I guided wingshooters from the end of high school through law school.  I still hunt with many, many people each year.  I've seen every gun they make in real life field conditions including ice, freezing mud, and wet dogs.  The BPS is the best gun on the market for real hunters who want to do real killing.  It's not the highbrow gun that the doubles are, and it's more reliable than ANY other gun available.  It doesn't jam like the 870 (and I own and use an 870 during turkey season) and there's no comparison with the cheaper guns.  There's a nice softball bat in my garage that's better than the current winchester options.  The mossberg guns are cheap, and they perform like it.  They usually go bang, but they're behind the BPS, 870, and nova.  They're probably behind most of the good autos too.  If the BPS wasn't available I'd probably use an ithica or an old Model 12.

[jeffk14]

dukkillr wrote: Buy a BPS in mat finish or camo.  Then you can use them all you want.

Wow, I read that and went to Browning's website and looked at their offerings. I must say that I was completely ignorant of the different configurations that they now offer. Thanks for giving me something else to want  .

[dukkillr]

You shoot that BPS and you won't want another shotgun.

[Questor]

My brother in law has a 20 gauge BPS and it is by far the nicest pump gun I've ever handled.