Another "All Around" shotgun question

[Ed Ames]

Hello all... first post here... kinda a dumb subjective question but I'm a shotgun newb and couldn't find the right search terms.

Like many before me I'm interested in buying my first shotgun. At this point I don't know if it will be first and last or first of many or somewhere between. My background is mostly handguns at this point. I'm mostly accuracy-oriented...my favorite so far is an accurized (new trigger, etc) ruger govt. target mkII ... 22lr... very accurate, not especially macho except maybe for the weight when you mount a scope. I also shoot a bunch of 45ACP and 44mag/special so I'm not afraid of a little recoil... I just like hitting what I aim at.

Anyway, I want something that is skill-building, yet practical. All the advice seems to be 870 in 12ga or 20ga... and that fits my budget... but I'm wondering if there is a better "introduction", be it a single-shot break-action or, well, I don't know what.

I also want it to be all-around usable. Home defense is probably the lowest priority (I put my security efforts into prevention... low crime area, a secured perimeter well clear of the house, no enemies or jealous ex "domestic partners" out to get me.. but beyond that until I have practice/training w/ a shotgun I'd probably be better with the handguns I know) but it should be able to serve. Hunting is next lowest... I'd love to go hunting but I don't have a "mentor" to guide me into it and getting started on your own is daunting... thrown targets (I don't know all the different games... trap, skeet, sporting clays, and so on... it's all golf to me and I don't golf) come next and look like a lot of fun, but I really don't know of any clubs around me so it would probably be a family or friends thing...nothing formal. The main goal is practical experience. I know next to nothing real about shotguns... I've read about them, but if I know for a fact that if you handed me an unloaded 870 today it would take me a while to figure out how to get it to go "bang" without the manual... it wouldn't be something I could just do.... and I doubt I'd hit a moving target with it when I did. Moving? Heh... probably couldn't hit a stationary target over 25' away. I'm not really used to this "point it and it will hit" idea. Point of fact, a guy at a gunstore handed me an 870 the other day and I couldn't figure out how to close the action after he opened it.

Cost is definitely an issue... the less it costs the more I'll be able to practice, at least in the short term... but on the other hand I rarely sell guns (I just applied for a C&R FFL if that says anything) so I want it to last a while and be a good choice.

I've looked at (all 12ga):
* Mossberg Silver Reserve Field o/u
* Benelli Nova
* Stoeger 2000 semi
* Remington 870 express
* Mossberg 500 combo 18" + 28" barrels (Big 5 special)

My favorites are the 870 (just 'cause it is common) and the o/u mossberg. So far I've only found new, but I'm hoping to find a good used... also leary 'cause I'm such a newb on the subject and don't really know anyone who knows shotguns.

So... any advice on what to look for, what to avoid, other options to consider, better choices or anything else? The only thing I've come up with is that Big 5's 870 express seems inferior to the normal gunstore 870 express....

Thanks in advance for all advice!

 

[TrapperReady]

The most usable all-around shotgun I can think of is an 870 with two barrels. My preference is for a 28" barrel for bird hunting and clay games and a smoothbore rifle-sighted Express barrel for slugs (and it can even be pretty useful for grouse in very tight quarters... as long as you ignore the sights).

In fact, I've got a bunch of other shotguns to fill a bunch of other niches, and I ended up getting the above combo last year and hunted everything from geese to ducks to pheasants to grouse to deer with it. I also shot a bunch of sporting clays and 5-stand as well. The rifle-sighted barrel is also nearly ideal for HD.

Now, outside of the hunting season, I spend most of my free time shooting sporting clays with an O/U. However, if I was forced to use one gun for as much as possible, the setup I described above would let me do it better than anything else I can think of.

 

[Ed/Pa]

Read your post and trying to come up with some good answers I'll suggest this: For your first shotgun I'd suggest a break open action (easiest to operate). I'd also suggest staying away from buying from big 5 stores and buying a shotgun from a local gunshop whether your buying new or used.
The advantage with this is that if you buy from a good shop,there are usually people there that can help if you have questions or run into any problems.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Don't buy a shotgun quite yet. Go to your local range and watch things. Ask questions and maybe some nice shotgunner will let you handle and shoot his/hers.

After a it of this you'll have a better idea of what will work for you.

Then go buy one. It may be an 870, but if not we'll forgive you.....

 

[Ed Ames]

Trapper... why rifle sighted and slug-firing? For the 870 I half-considered one of the 18-20" cylinder bore barrels for home defense, but decided it could wait until I could actually hit something with the poor thing.

I suppose I should add that I have a rifle or two... actually, I have an old 6.5x55 from when I thought I was going to be able to try long-range target practice -- then the only range near me w/ 200+ yard lanes closed about a week after I bought the rifle Never even got a chance to shoot it there. I've fired about 5 rounds through it, all at less than 50 yards. That should change soon though...In the last few weeks I've discovered BLM shooting areas near me. Half the distance to the nearest range, plenty of space to shoot at 200, 300, even 500 yards if that tickles you... as long as you can secure the path between you and your backstop you are fine...and free. I haven't taken the 6.5 back out because I've been on a cap & ball kick recently. I've been taking out my 50cal Thompson Omega and getting it dialed in. A lot fun when loaded up with 150gr of 777.

Ed... decided against Big5 when I saw how the guns looked... the gun store 870 was actually nice looking... not art by any stretch but nice... the Big5 870 looked far worse. Maybe it was just how the gun store cares for the demo stock. *shrug* Seriously considering a single-shot break-action... but it seems like you pay a large fraction of the 870 price to get one.

Dave... I'm trying to find such a range, at least to visit a few times. There's a shotgun/pistol club/range about 70 miles from me that has hunter safety courses on some weekends... was thinking of signing up for the course and seeing who I could talk to at the same time.

As for forgiving me...

 

[Dave McCracken]

Ed, that was said with tongue firmly inserted in cheek. I'm known as an 870 fan for some reason....

Take the hunter safety course. It's great info and you may get lucky and meet some kindred soul with a range close by.

 

[TrapperReady]

Ed - Sorry for the initial response... as it was premature. I replied in haste without taking the time to fully read your entire post.

After reading it again, I concur with Dave. A Hunter's Safety course (at least as they are run around here) would give you some exposure to the different types of shotguns and their operation. In addition to all the safety issues they address, you would also meet people who may be able to mentor you.

For newbies, some sporting clays courses will offer either free or reduced-fee instruction and often have loaner or rental guns. This has the added benefit of not only getting you some experience, but the instruction will (typically) be way better than you'd get from "some guy at the range".

I still stand by what I said earlier about an 870 with the two barrels I described. A more versatile setup cannot be found. However, "which gun should you get" is a couple steps down the road from where you are right now.

BTW, if you check the "sticky" post at the top of this forum, both Dave McCracken and I have loaner copies of Bob Brister's "Shotgunning: The Art and the Science" available for use. Just make a post there and someone can send you one. That one book has more useful information about shotgunning than anything else I've ever read.

BTW, don't be surprised if Steve (sm) shows up and starts going on about BB-guns and ping-pong balls.

Oh yeah... one last thing... "Welcome to THR!".

 

[Ed Ames]

Thanks for the welcome.

I did a search on "ping-pong ball" and found a bunch of cool stuff. Only problem is, I don't actually have a BB gun to maul. My family was very anti-BB-gun actually. I mentioned wanting one when I was about eight and my father got a disgusted look on his face and said something like "You don't want anything to do with BB guns"... he then went into another room and brought back a CO2 powered crossman .177 pellet revolver (the .357 python look-alike) and taught me to shoot it... probably not what you were expecting, eh? His explanation at the time was, "most BB guns are so inaccurate you'll never think you can hit anything so you won't try... pellets shoot straighter... if you miss it is because YOU missed, not the gun." Within a month or so I had graduated from soda cans at 25 feet to the tabs on soda cans at 25'... I got better for a while... then I didn't have any time to practice and I got sloppy... which is where I am now.

So, long story a little longer, no BB guns in the house.

I grew up in a fairly urban environment where long guns, even pellet guns, were socially awkward (understatement) what with untrustworthy neighbors and suchlike. Carying a pellet rifle, even in a case, out to the car was viewed as an invitation to have the neighbors think there were real guns to steal, so it wasn't allowed. A pellet pistol, or later going down to the indoor shooting range, is a lot more "urban friendly"...just put it into a cardboard box and nobody knows what it is. Now I live out in the sticks and am slowly learning how to think "rural" and accept unconcealable guns into my life. (BTW: This site is great, but it really needs a :laughing: smilie....)

My father was an ex marine and ex avid deer hunter... ex hunter because he moved from a rural setting where he had lots of hunting buddies and knew the ins and outs of the local hunting culture into a more urban setting where nobody talked hunting... and he never learned the hunting scene for his new state. So I got the stories but never the experiences. Trying to remedy that now.

I just did some research... there's a hunter safety course on Aug 27th... I think I'm going to enroll... even with the 6:30AM start time 1.5 hours from my house. :banghead:

Apreciate the offer on the book... going to start with the HSC and do some thinking before I tap that resource, but it sounds like you guys are doing a good thing.

Dave: I saw where that tongue was pointed.

Everyone: Thanks for the advice so far... even without the HSC it sounds like the 870 would be the best bang for buck... just as everyone says.