What kind of shotgun to get...

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    Feb 1, 2009
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    Please post your opinions of pros/cons for the basic shotgun models below if you have experience with them. I am hoping to get my wife and I out shooting clay in the near future.

    I am thinking 20ga would be best for a first shotgun and for my wife.

    Remington 870 (express)
    Mossberg Maverick
    Mossberg 500
    Benelli Nova
    Stoeger P-350

    Thanks!
    Guns International
     

    DCortez

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    Jan 28, 2009
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    I'm not very knowledgeable but will give you my 2 cents.

    I don't know anyone that has said they used a 20 for skeet.

    We have a Winchester 1300 and Mossberg 500, both in 12. My wife has fired them, and thought they were okay. Then she fired a Benelli and said, if you want me to shoot skeet with you, get me a Benelli.

    So, one of two things. You can't really go wrong with an entry level shotgun and/or don't let your wife fire a Benelli.
     

    dbgun

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    I own and love 2 Remington shotguns, but if I had the money to buy a Benelli Nova, for my wife to get into clay shooting, I'd get that. A buddy of mine let me shoot his Black Eagle during a dove hunt last year. It was really light and smooth compared to my Remington. I don't know about the Stoeger, but the Benelli is a higher quality shotgun, compared to the Mossberg & Remington. Of course, my Remington 870 has never given me any problems, since i bought it (NIB) in 1992.
     

    DCortez

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    I should have mentioned I was not talking about the Benelli Nova. That's also entry level (less than $400 or so). She fired an M2 and we bought her a SBE II.
     

    DCortez

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    Wow. I didn't realize you could get a Benelli for $400 bucks. Good to know.

    So far as I know, that's the cheapest Benelli. I've heard two stories on Stoeger. One says made in Turkey with Benelli innards and the other says made in Turkey.

    I'm not sure what the exact truth is.
     

    navyguy

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    I'm not very knowledgeable but will give you my 2 cents.

    I don't know anyone that has said they used a 20 for skeet.

    We have a Winchester 1300 and Mossberg 500, both in 12. My wife has fired them, and thought they were okay. Then she fired a Benelli and said, if you want me to shoot skeet with you, get me a Benelli.

    So, one of two things. You can't really go wrong with an entry level shotgun and/or don't let your wife fire a Benelli.

    There are plenty of people who use a 20 for skeet. Many of the formal events involve a 4 gun shoot. 12, 20, 28 and .410.

    For informal skeet shooting a 20 ga is a good compromise. Lighter weight, usually less recoil (say usually, because very light ... sub 5 lb 20 ga hits pretty hard)

    Of course a 12 ga is the most versatile. By far, over under guns are the most popular with skeet shooters, but the decent ones are costly. The 870 you mentioned is a good pump gun, and would work well for informal skeet. You can also get different barrels for different purposes, like maybe a short barrel for home defense.
     

    Big country

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    I have an 870 express and i love it. I have no idea how old it is but it shoots good. the mossberg 500 and the 870 are the same level gun the 500 is just as versatile and is generally considered to make a better HD shotgun than the 870. I know nothing about benelli, shot good when I shot it with the 3 1/2" steel shot in it one time but that is my only real experience with the later 2.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    Nice thing about the Remington 870, Mossberg 500/590 is there is a ton of aftermarket accessories for them and barrels, so you can get a barrel to fit pretty much any needs. One of the better deals I've seen in awhile is the Mossberg 500 "home defense/field combo" I think it's called. We have them at Cabela's in Buda, and they are like ~$349 I think, and it comes with both the 18.5" and 26" barrels so you are all set for defense and sporting purposes pretty much.

    The Benelli Nova's are pretty decent quality for the price. One cool thing is they have a 3.5" chamber, so you can use any 12 gauge load out there.
     

    dee

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    I'm not very knowledgeable but will give you my 2 cents.

    I don't know anyone that has said they used a 20 for skeet.

    We have a Winchester 1300 and Mossberg 500, both in 12. My wife has fired them, and thought they were okay. Then she fired a Benelli and said, if you want me to shoot skeet with you, get me a Benelli.

    So, one of two things. You can't really go wrong with an entry level shotgun and/or don't let your wife fire a Benelli.

    Iuse a Remington 1100 in 20 gauge to shoot skeet, had to buy it the first time I shot it got a perfect 25 the best $400 I ever spent.
     

    navyguy

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    Everyone I've spoken to about skeet or trap said they used 12 ga., 28" barrel for skeet and 30" for trap.

    Just reporting, not preaching.

    For the the most part you are correct. Go look at any skeet field and you'll see 10 to 1, 12ga vs 20ga. The 12ga gives you more pellets which means a thicker wider pattern and a higher likelihood of breaking the target. As the gauge get smaller, it is more difficult to make hits. Anyone that can consistently break 23 or more with a .410, is one hell of a shot. Back when I shot informal skeet (belonged to a club, and went twice a month for 4 rounds) I shot with a 20ga field gun, with 26" barrels, I/C over Modified. That is a huge handicap over the guy with a skeet chocked 12 ga. But I didn't do competitions, just shot with friends for fun, and to keep in practice for upland bird hunting. I scored in the 20's, with a few 25's now and again.

    Trap is a different animal. There you definitely need a 12 ga, 30" or more barrels with full choke. There even from the closest positions, you are shooting at clays 35+ yards away and they all rise, so you will see special raised ribs on dedicated trap guns to aid in tracking rising targets.
     

    dee

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    Trap is a different animal. There you definitely need a 12 ga, 30" or more barrels with full choke. There even from the closest positions, you are shooting at clays 35+ yards away and they all rise, so you will see special raised ribs on dedicated trap guns to aid in tracking rising targets.

    I shot my first 25 ,and several after that, in trap with a standard Brownig sporting clays o/u with improved modified choke. I now use a full becouse the 101 is full only but not for long about to send it off for a screw in choke job.
     

    kfog

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    there is alway pietta, they've got a great gas operated autoloader.

    can go wrong with anything that says remington on it.

    to add on to sig_fiend's comment on the 2 barrel mossbergs, we (cabela's in buda) started carrying a remington 870 "home/field" and a stoeger m2000 "home/field" both come with an 18.5" barrel and 26" or 28" barrel.
     

    MuddyWaterMan

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    Bought a Remington over/under last dove season for around 600 brand new, LOVE IT. But of the listed I would have to go with the 870 for sport. I still wont trade in my 1300 though.
     

    dee

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    If you can find one I would buy the 870 Wingmaster over the Express models I always like them alot more. They would be worth a look in my opinion.
     

    NewTxn

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    Well, this isn't the traditional american pump shottie but it sure can sling a lot of lead. You might want to consider it. Centerfire has them for $500.

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