Advice on getting a shotgun?
Hey guys, over thanksgiving I was visiting some family in Kentucky and we went to some property to shoot some easy skeet. This really interested me in the sport and now I want to get a shotgun.
I’d be willing to get either 12 or 20 gauge. I’m not going to be doing much hunting, just skeet shooting at a local range. I’ve been looking at the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500, but I don’t know which one has more pros than cons. Is have a choke really important? The mossberg doesn’t have one from what I’ve read.
Any advice?
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Use buck shot in your home. Ensure a good back stop for the shot though.
I can hear it now…uhh sir, I mean you muthafuker, I’m fixin to blast you ass back to back to 1929 but first ..while your charging at me..would you mind stepping over a few feet to the left..my daughter is sleeping in the room right behind you and i cant kill yo ass till you move over..
Or your tombstone reads..
Loaded house gun with buckshot,
never could get a clear shot with out fear of killing my mother who we moved in last year after she fell and broke her hip..
the bad guy took my gun and plastered my brains out with it..
take my advise, load it with birdshot..if you dont think it will do the trick shoot a watermelon at 20′ and see what happens..
Gents; The man said he was looking for a skeet gun. As a skeet shooter you’ll need a shotgun designed to shoot skeet with chokes to match to have fun with the gun. Either 12 or 20 will make you happy.
I use over unders by Weatherby (longer stocks) for this sport. The fellas that beat me use Perazzis. Then again, my shotguns don’t cost 15 grand a pop. They can have their win for that price.
For home defense a skeet gun will do just fine. Just don’t use bird shot. If you kill the perp the mess will be incredible. If you don’t, you’ve just pissed off one hell of a big fella. Use buck shot in your home. Ensure a good back stop for the shot though. After all, you’d be shooting a crap load of .30 cal rounds at a good pace and even after blowing away the perp the round balls my penetrate a couple of walls.
You might consider an 18.5 inch barrel on a rack gun (slide action shotgun). Even the sound of a rack gun being loaded will freeze the most hopped up asshole in their paces. It may be the most frightening sound in the world…when you’re breaking the law. The slide of lubed metal on metal, the slamming of the action forward, the knowing of what could happen next. Priceless!
The sound of this action has never been accurately captured in the written word to my satisfaction but the unmistakable sound commands one’s immedate attention….and fear.
So my reccomendation is to buy a skeet gun for skeet and a slide action shotgun for home defense. Each tool for it’s use I say. AKULA
You should look into a Combo package. They come with an 18-20″ barrell and a 28″ field barrell with screw in chokes. Both Remington and Mossberg offer these. The 870 is popular and works well. The Mossberg 500 series have two extractors that helps to garantee that even if one breaks, the other will extract the empty. They are both good shotguns.
the magazine extension…it looks cool but if you cant hit him in your house with 5..you probably cant hit him with 8..
Does getting a model with a magazine extension make sense? A gun normally holds 5 (1 in chamer, 4 in magazine) right?
IMO it doesnt make a lick of difference..your furthest shot at a bad guy will probably not be over 15’…at that distance a 20 will blow a hole right through him..even a sawed off shotgun at 15′ will still have a very tight pattern.I would load it with 8’s or 9’s..some fools use buckshot to protect their family ..all that will do is if you happen to miss or have a stray pellet it can go right through the wall into your kids bedroom.. birdshot will be stopped by the sheetrock..
I will also be keeping this at home, so it will be doubling as a protection weapon. Would the 20 gauge be much less effective at killing invaders than the 12?
Does getting a model with a magazine extension make sense? A gun normally holds 5 (1 in chamer, 4 in magazine) right?
Shells are usually the same price, I actually shoot a bunch of 28 gauge shells and reload all of them, the 28 AA’s are $10 a box, after 100 shots at targets your cheek and shoulder will like you better if you have the 20..other than that its just preferance..I would get at least a 28″ barrel.. it will help greatly with the follow through and you will break more birds. For several years in a row the top skeet shooter in the world shot with a 32 or 34 inch barrel..If you get a new gun it will probably have screw in chokes.
20 or 12? I like the 12 gauge myself. An ounce of shot is an ounce of shot whether its in a 12 or 20 gauge gun. That said, you can fire a heavier load out of the 12 gauge IF YOU CHOOSE TOO. I think you’ll be happy with either gauge as both offer a wide variety of ammo options. If you happen to choose the 870 in 12 gauge, see if it will chamber 3.5″ magnum shells so you have every possible option in 12 gauge available to you.
John
Any reason to choose 20 over the 12 other than kick? I don’t care about weight, kick, etc.. I can handle it. Is shooting 20 cheaper than 12? Is there any reason that breaking clay pigeons would be more difficult with a 20 rather than a 12 gauge (shot pattern and density)?
Good luck,
John
Thanks for the responses guys. I looked at the Franchi’s and they’re too expensive. 😳
Looks like I’ll go with the model 870. Could anybody point me towards a right model? I’ll definitely be doing some trap shooting too.
Edit- One thing I forgot to mention is I would like to stick with a pump action as my first shotgun.
We shoot a open choke, most guys use a o/u, or semi auto, real handy for the second shot on the doubles..for the money you cant beat a rem, 1100..I’d get a 20, I have 6 of them..great velocity, and not much kick..
You can’t go wrong with the 870. The only drawback (maybe) is it’s weight if you plan on walking all day bird hunting. The 500 is alloy framed and much lighter. The chokes are important if you’re going to use the gun for several uses with different loads. If you plan on duck hunting with it (for example) you’ll need a choke for steel shot. If you’re just clay shooting then you can buy a gun with a fixed choked. Check out the Franchi 612 or 620 if you think you may like a lightweight, reasonably priced auto loader. They are imported by Benelli. Mossberg also makes a magnum pump, the 835, which is also nice.
Good luck,
John
Patrick,
Will this shotgun double as a home defense gun? If yes, 12 gauge is preferred. If no, find one that “looks” right and seems to fit you. Look at what the other shooters at the skeet range are using, ask if you can try theirs. Some clubs have club shot guns that they will let you use to help you decide what to get.
Skeet is a relatively close range game with fast moving “birds” at up to almost right angles (crossing shots). This means that a shorter barrel, within reason, may work better for you than a longer “trap” barrel.
Most skeet barrels ore choked improved cylinder at the most. Some are actually spreader choked. That is, rather than a constriction in the barrel, they flare out instead causing the shot column to spread. When you say that the Mossberg has no choke, do you mean no replaceable choke tubes? At a guess, I would say that there are individual barrels with a set choke in each. If that is the case and you want an adjustable choke, a gunsmith can install an after market adjustable choke on a cylinder choke barrel.
I used to do well shooting skeet with a 16 gauge Remington auto with a poly choke. Fun and cameradary no end. Oh, yes. If you are going to shoot a lot, get into reloading your own shells. It will save you a lot of $$$ in the long run. Presses and components are inexpensive and can be ordered on line if you don’t have a near by source.
This is more than long enough. Have fun and , as always, shoot safe.
Abe
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I’ve got reason to believe, that even at 20 feet, bird shot from a standard load will have the density to penetrate sheetrock walls. Now, if you using a saw’d-off or a spreader choke … probably not more than 1 wall (two layers of rock).