One shotgun to rule them all

Mossberg 500 combo or a Remington 870 combo. Short 18"-20" security bbl and a 28"-30" bbl threaded for chokes would certainly rule them all. If you inclined to participate in clay shooting and bird hunting I'd opt for the Remington. Better balance and swing. But I like 870' and 500's equally. They are both excellent and well under a grand and will last for generations and maintainemce and parts replacements are cheap and easy.
 
I have a new version A5 that is a great gun. Beretta owns Browning and it much the same as a Benelli. Any of those B brands is a very good gun. I have had an 1100 and it was a great gun, one I regret selling. I also have an 11-87. Great all-around gun but a little heavy. I have both field and slug barrels for it. I have no complaints about a Mossberg 930 I had as well. I have a Franchi 612 that is very light, but I just can't hit well with it. Fit is very important. My best is a fitted Beretta 686 O/U but It's a little heavier than I like for hunting at my age. I'd consider a Benelli SBE a top pick as well.
 
Howland937 said:
Around here, you can't touch an 1100 of any kind for less than $700 unless it's an absolute dog. 1100 LT20? A grand or more with one barrel- $1500-ish for a pristine one with vent rib. Extra barrels are about 3 bills.

Are you wanting a nice shotgun, a good shotgun, or a good shotgun that's nice?
Click to expand...
One of my great regrets is selling a 20G LT1100.
 
When I am looking at a shotgun I pick a distant object and mount the gun while looking at the object. Then I check to see if the gun is aimed at where I am looking. Not a replacement for proper fitting but it helps.
 
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eastbank said:
i know a shooter who uses a 1100 trap 12ga and he shoots 2-3 hundred rounds on most weekends thru the trap-sporting clays season here with no problems, he takes the forend off along with the barrel and the rings-o ring. speys the mag tube with cleaner, wipes it off with a rough cloth ,assembles it . the times i have shot with him i have not seen a malfunction with that 1100. i know thats not a lot of shells to some here , but it proves to me that its quite reliable and the time to do that cleaning didn,t take 15 minutes.
Click to expand...
This ^^^
Also a smallish drill bit or Allen wrench in your cleaning kit to clear the gunk and residue from the gas ports once in a while...)500rds)
 
Remington standard stuff fits me great.
If I HAD to pick one gun to do it all, it'd be an 870.

But itd be two versions, a 20 ga Special Field and a 12 ga Supermagnum.

After decades of using Big Green stuff, took a new Browning Citori Hunter 20 ga bunny hunting yesterday and thumb slid over top of safety, letting
Mr. Cottontail live for another day.

A 20 ga 870 and I'd be having rabbit for lunch today.
 
Ran 1100 Trap and Magnums for ages.
Only a problem once..............when taken from storage and mag tube over oiled (not wiped off).
Quick wipe to dry w T shirt (in middle of dove field) and it ran fine again LOL

Promo loads IMHO run dirtier.

Switched to the old GOOD WW Expert back in the late 80s and doves dropped dead, guns ran cleaner (cleaned after every clay or bird shoot).

My issue with the 1100 is this..............weight. Helps w recoil but run n gun for turkeys over the hills n hollers, yeah, next day its the 870.
LOL

My last 1100 magnum wears a steel shot choke tube bbl and synthetic stock.
The stock being lighter makes the gun feel different in swing, and recoil.
The prev one, w wood stock and 30" full bbl, felt the best.

Anymore I rather like my 870 Supermag w 26" VR bbl.

In fact texted my bud last night to see if he wanted to borrow my 1100 magnum for coyotes.
 
So for me..............it'll end up being 4 shotguns.
870 Special Field 20, 870 Supermagnum 12.
AND
Browning Citori hunters in 20 and 12.
 
Howland937 said:
Had that happen more than a few times on Mossberg and similarly located safeties. Give me the one I can pop with my trigger finger on its way to the trigger.
Click to expand...
I hunt with a Ruger #1 often so tang safeties are fine w me.
This new Browning is a little stiff, and lower profile.
Eh, laugh it off and go after em again.

It might just be relegated to doves n clays.

For serious reflexive hunting, my cheap used 870 express has been a champ.
I just don't want to run a 12 on rabbits.
 
A used Citori is about the best double you can buy for under a grand.... if it fits you.
 
I'm a Remington fan... vintage Model 10 and a late 1980s 870, both 12 GA. I love the the 870 for the easy switch barrel design. You make it into anything you want. Use a long barrel for waterfowl and phesant, a 20" barrel for dear or self defense, or an 18" cylinder bore for home defense, which is how mine is setup now.
 
blue32 said:
A used Citori is about the best double you can buy for under a grand.... if it fits you.
Click to expand...
IIRC there were model upgrades with the Citori.
Later versions around here, fixed choke, are over a K.
Maybe pricing reflective of region.
 
You want something nicer than what you have...good start! If I were in your situation and wanted one fairly nice "do it all" shotgun I would get a Benelli or Beretta autoloader. If I were going to do a lot of clay target shooting I'd lean toward the Beretta. Someone above mentioned fit. There is no way to consistently shoot a shotgun well if it doesn't fit you in terms of drop, cast and pitch. These can be adjusted with Beretta and Benelli SA's with shim sets that come with the guns. (They are also included with the Benelli 828 O/U's which are a very interesting shotgun.) Good luck.
 
I bought my 12 gauge 1100 in 1980 and it’s never given me any trouble. I clean it every time I use it and it still looks close to new.
I bought an LT20 a couple of years ago but haven’t gotten around to shooting it.
I bought a Browning A5 in the mid 80s after shooting my uncle’s. Great gun. Never had a problem with it.
So, I can unequivocally recommend either one of those.
 
I have several shotguns the ones that I use are a H&R/ N.E.F full camo full choke 24 inch barrel and an that I had built a while back 18.5 modified choke barrel right handed gun with a full Left handed trigger group.
It doesn't cost that much to have choke tubes put in cylinder bore gun. I had a left hand 870 barrel cut and rethreaded and bead reinstalled for not much
 
There is no such gun and never will be. Shotguns are used for many different applications and setup for such..........................WOULD a golfer go out to play a whole course with ONE club?...........................NOPE
 
For an all-around do everything shoot anything shotgun I think it might be the Mossberg 835 pump.
It's not perfect for everything but it'll shoot any 12 gauge ammo you can put in it from
1-3/4" clear up to 3-1/2" and you can customize it to whatever you want including a rifled slug barrel.
 
Quick update to the thread. I found a long (28”?) ribbed hunting barrel for my Maverick 88 (which I didn’t even know could switch barrels before I started this thread! Thanks THR!) Now I just have to track down a set of chokes for it. I will use it for some shooting and figure out a little better what I actually like in a shotgun. Been watching some YouTube videos and I’m thinking a semi auto of some kind (probably a Benelli or Beretta) is the theoretical answer to my question, but right now I don’t have the budget or the self-knowledge to go down that route yet frankly.
 
Entropy is a an excellent source of shotgun knowledge and gave me helpful info on general shotgun knowledge and trap shooting.

One thing you definitely want to do is pattern your shotgun with different loads at different distances with whatever barrels/chokes you will use for a given task. I started out just winging and for years I shot a cyl bore 12ga without ever patterning it at all. I did the same with a trap gun I bought, 30" full choke 870.

I busted alot of clays that first year without patterning it, but I will say after I patterned it and knew my guns POA/POI I could basically call my shots before the pellets even reached the clay. I know that sounds impossible but it's true. Patterning definitely helped me figure out where to point, lots of other factors come into play too but yeah, patterning.
 
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