Benelli M4 or Mossberg/Remington pump?

[stratja]

I'm looking at buying a Benelli M4 for home defense. The only catch is that here in Canada, on a semi-auto firearm you are limited to 5 rounds including one in the chamber. All M4 shotguns sold in Canada come with reduced-capacity mag tubes. You may have as many rounds in a pump gun as it will hold.
What do you think is a better defence gun given the above info? Five shots from a Benelli or nine from a pump gun?

 

[Specialized]

Just my opinion, but by all means -- 9 rounds from a pump. You can shoot a pump accurately just as fast as an auto. Try it sometime -- you might be able to get five rounds off quicker with the auto if you don't care what you hit, but if you're aiming/controlling your fire, you'll be just as quick with the pump. And have almost twice as many tries.

Hope this helps -- good luck!

Specialized

 

[Hungry Seagull]

My wife practices dumping 5 in a row on her Moss 500 at the range.

Even if one or two hits the bad guy... he's going down.

The Moss is a "Agile gun" fast to work, the Rem 870 is a brute but can be worked almost as fast.

Enough application of force will end the situation one way or another.

Now if the BG gets back up, shakes off the birdies and advances on you while yer reloading.... it aint gonna be pretty.

 

[Geneseo1911]

+1 specialized. A pump gun also has the advantage of being dead-nuts reliable. Semi's jam, get carbon in the gas system, and have springs to wear out. As long as you don't short-stroke it, a pump will never fail to cycle. For purely home-defense, I'd take a pump over a semi even if capacity wasn't an issue.

 

[dasanii19]

manual vs. Machine for HD... I choose manual

 

[Coronach]

You CAN tie up a pump by not cycling it with authority, but that is a software problem, and software you can address yourself via training. I prefer the 870.


Mike

 

[Rshooter]

Remington or Mossberg pump! Excuse the pun but they are dead reliable and you do not want to trust your family to nothing else. Even if you only have four or five in a pump and cannot take care of the HD situation with that you are being overrun or have not practiced enough. Please do practice and practice again.

 

[BP44]

Always remember that no matter how much we dont want to admit it, pumps have springs and such that can break as well. I feel that the benelli is the be all end all of the shotgun world, But i will also never get rid of my
A5's,wingmaster,BPS's, or my doubles

 

[30mag]

+1 for pump.

 

[waterhouse]

Just out of curiosity, what does each model sell for in Canada?

 

[ds92]

+1 pump, but i'm a little biased cause i missed the oppurtunity to buy a good pump but i bought an auto instead. I now would rather have the pump

 

[SWDoc]

The Benelli is very reliable, and recoil is more manageable. Bottom line, you can see people who have practiced long and hard enough to put quick shots on target w/ the pumps, but it is easier to do, and the training hurts less, with the M-4.

And it's all about the hits.

My opinion.

Steve

 

[stratja]

To answer your question, waterhouse, the Benelli M4 was recently listed by one gun store at $2150. Sadly, since the days of US/Canadian Dollar parity have ended, the distributor for Benelli in Canada has upped the price. It is now selling (when in stock...) for $2400-2500. on average.
The Remington 870 Tactical goes for about $750., and the Mossberg 500 Mariner for $550. I'm having a really hard time justifying the jump to the M4. If it were in the $1500. range, I could swallow that, but at more than three times the price of the Remington, I'm starting to think that the difference might be better spent on a 2nd or 3rd gun and/or ammo. The Benelli Supernova Tactical, at about $800-900, is starting to look very appealing.

 

[stratja]

Thank you for your responses! You have all made very valid and informative points.

 

[waterhouse]

I'm having a really hard time justifying the jump to the M4.

As would I. I've shot the M4, but my experience with it is certainly limited. I own an M1 and have a lot more practice with that one. I also have a couple 870s. I've got enough rounds through the M1 and my main 870 that I'm equally confident in their reliability. I'd be happy with either for home defense. Although mine hold more, I'd also be confident with 5 shells as well, so to me that wouldn't be part of the deciding factor.

That being said, if I could only own one, I'd take the 870 and a boatload of ammo over the Benelli.

 

[Texpatriate]

How about another option: the Mossberg 930 SPX. Semi auto, "tacticool", reduced recoil, and reliable like the M4 (though not yet as "proven" as the M4), and at about the same price point as the higher end pumps such as the 870 Police or the 590A1. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have an 870 Police too, but I'm quite comfortable with and confident in my 930 SPX. It has proven itself well enough for me. I think I gave $525+tax US for mine back in October.

 

[Smith]

Yet another vote here for the pump. I'd list my reasons, but they've all been thoroughly covered by everyone else. Mossberg vs Remington comes down almost entirely to personal preference. I'm biased towards the Remington, but you really can't go wrong with either one.

 

[inSight-NEO]

As sweet as the M4 is, for that kind of money, you might be better off buying both a Mossberg AND a Remington, not to mention having plenty of $$$ left over for any accessories you might be inclined to add. Heck, you could probably buy 3 or 4 quality pump shottys for the price of an M4, assuming we are talking "new" price.

Plus, frankly, Im of the opinion that a semi-auto shotgun is somewhat overkill when it comes to HD; not to mention, possibly more prone to Mr. Murphy and his wicked ways.

Now, if you really prefer to have a semi-auto shotty, have you considered the Mossberg 930 SPX (Im assuming these are available in Canada)? Granted, from what I hear, these are no M4's, but for roughly 1/3 the cost it just might do nicely.

To sum up, if I were in your shoes and had enough cash around for an M4 and nothing else, I would buy a Remington 870P or Mossberg 590A1 pump for HD purposes and snag a Mossberg 930 SPX while I was at it, just so I could have a semi-auto shotty around.

 

[30mag]

And it's all about the hits.

Can't hit anything if the gun doesn't go bang.
IMHO pump isn't as likely to jam. period.

 

[30mag]

FURTHERMORE, you can have more rounds in a pump.

 

[Leaky Waders]

Before getting an 870, I'd have some kind of written agreement with the clerk about return policy.

My friend bought a new one and had some problems that were eventually fixed by the dealer sending the gun back to Remington. It's in a recent thread posted "An unreliable 870".

Also, many people seem to be posting about how great their new 870's are...except with 'cheap ____ ammo'.

I don't buy it...Remington is having QC control issues now and people are blaming the ammo. It's ridiculous.

I have a wingmanster, as well as a selection fo all the B guns. So, I'm not bashing Remington...just stating facts as presented recently on the boards.

YMMV,

L.W.

 

[Geneseo1911]

I have to admit, I did see a brand new 870 express jam up multiple times at the range Wednesday. I think some of the expresses are so rough that they have problems until they get broken in. A used Wingmaster would likely be the best bet. As an added bonus, they're beautiful.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Rough? Why? Is these guns shipped in something that needs clearing out?

I dont mind doing the hemilich (Spelling?) on my 870 mag from time to time to choke out bad quality shell casings but repeated jams? **scary.

 

[Adam2340]

My M4 cycles reliably with everything I've fed it. I got rid of a 590 when I got the M4. The Mossy was clunky and heavy and I didn't need two tactical guns. My friend's brand new 870 won't work with Winchester Whitebox (won't extract, keeps tearing the rims off of cases). Maybe he just got a lemon but it makes me VERY wary of anything from Remington.

I realize clays and tactical are different, but it's my understanding that the reason pumps don't do well in that arena is because you can't get a second aimed shot off as fast as with a semiauto or an o/u.

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Adam2340, you can go ahead and ride the recoil back and allow the slide to eject the shell and push the next in keeping everything on the shoulder. I first fought to keep the pump shut on each shot and it was only making my shoot harder... :banghead: (Insert Blazing Saddles Soundtrack...)

I shot a variety of ammuniton on both guns and found certain ammuntions within 1400 feet per second or slower in ballistics with not too bad of a recoil.

I eliminated other nice or not so nice ammuntion based on recoil and range from my house to the ones at the neighbors.

I also discarded some types of laser targeting for "My" gun in favor of a reflex on the reciever's rail so that no matter what the situation is, day or night I can engage said target at any range.

My one fear is that the reflex glass is not uber and can shatter or break if I fire too hot rounds or knock the gun against something during a problem or drill.

I had problems with a few wins because the rims grab or somehow get eaten by the gun.

Dont mis understand me, Im not knocking winchester at all. I love thier mags. But... versus Brenneke and Remington they just have a number of little hitchy hangups here and there.