I am shopping for a solid home defense shotgun and had decided on a mossberg 590.  Now I am  leaning towards a semi auto.  

there is a decent 11-87 at the pawnshop,  18 inche barrel but it's rifled. I would need to replace the rifled barrel.

I could also get a Mossberg 590 like I planned but I am also very interested in an M1 Super 90 (actually want an M4 but they are $$$)

any opinions?  This gun will be primarily home defense but also maybe three gun.  it will be "pimped" out with a surefire at a minimum.

what say you guys?

If you plan to "pimp out", the M1 Super 90 Benelli may not be a good choice.  Too much weight affects the inertia action negatively.  That is the reason that the .Mil went with gas operation on the M-4 so heavy shit like illuminators, night vision, ect... could be attached without affecting reliablity.  The Benelli works will if you just mount a light, but leave off side saddle and other stuff.  

The 590 is a good solid shotgun.  Not as fast to shoot as a Benelli (nothing else really is!) but simple to use as an anvil and tough as one too!

The 590 is much less (you could get two for the price of one Benelli).

Both kick with some authority.  (gas autoloaders shoot softer, but have less reliablity in most circumstances especially with heavy buck and slugs or reduced recoil tactical loads.

Pumps shoot anything

BIGGER_HAMMER

I know these are not in any of your choices but between my mossy 835 and Benelli m3-90 the Benelli is so much sweeter shooting.
But as stated above the mossy pump action will shoot anything where the Benelli "inertia" system is more sensitive to loads. Sometimes mine won't cycle properly with light loads

I guess when I say "pimp out" I just mean the surefire fore end.  That's about all that'll go on it.  Recoil's not too much of an issue as this'll be mine and I'm not too recoil shy.


Twonami,  I will look into the M3 and see what the diff is between the M1 and m3.  


I am a big Mossberg fan cause I'm a lefty and the safety is nicer for lefties on the mossbergs.  I only am looking to the semi's cause they can get rounds off FAST.

I was watching a 3 gun match and I was floored the difference in speed between the semi and the pump. I always thought they'd be similar due to recoil recovery but it was night and day between them.

In my oppinion, a HD shotgun does not need to be ulta high tech and I don't see a need for semiauto myself...

Mine is a pretty much stock Remington 870 Express in 12-gauge.  I removed the divets that prevented adding a tube extender and then increased the capacity to 8-rounds.  I added one of the cheap nylon shell holders (gives me 5-extra rounds) and a light mount under the mag extender so I can mount my Streamlight M3 onto the shotgun if I wanted or needed to.

I figure I have no more then $175 into the setup and with 8-rounds in the gun and another five attached to the stock I have all the firepower I will need.  Plus, because the gun is so cheap and common it is also a gun that I leave out of the safe even when we are not home in case I needed to get to it quickly.  I figure if someone was to steal it I am not out much and it is not as threatening that someone stole my "deer shotgun" then if it were a more tricked out semiauto.

Good luck, but for the HD shotgun I like the KISS approach (Keep It Simple Stupid)

590 and use the spare change to "pimp it out"

If you are a lefty, then I'd venture you would be better with the Mossberg.

The safety location is perfect for ambidexterous use.

The Benelli is a FAST shooter for sure, but in a defense use, a pump is certainly fast enough to close the deal.

BIGGER_HAMMER

take a look at the saiga-12. they really kick ass. reliable AK action (piston operated, rotating bolt), high cap 10 round magazines, and only like 400$ for a stock sporter model. cant beat it with a stick.

has an adjustable gas system to run reliably with anything from light target loads, to 3" slugs. no inertia system to get jammed up with extra weight, and a much more efficient gas system than an 11-87 (dont get me started on that POS, worst gun I have ever owned). plenty of places to get it converted to "evil" assault weapon style for around 300$. or do it yourself pretty easy, for even cheaper.

not only is it the coolest looking gun I have ever owned, its reliable as shit. and only about 100$ more than a 590, and much cheaper than the benelli. check out the saiga-12.com forum for all the info and pics you need to make the right decision.

btw, the 590 has a 20" barrel, you should get an 18" barrel for a HD gun, it will handle better in close quarters. the winchester 1300 pump w/18" bbl (defender model) holds 1 more shell than the mossberg 500 w/18" bbl. my freinds 1300 has run great ever since he bought it. if you want a pump look up the winchester, the ergonomics and price are almost identical to the mossberg.

590-A1



Especially if you're a lefty...

I picked this one up used, for $225 back in November, had a speed-feed stock, and a little road-rash. Functions 100%, after playing with many different shotguns, I grew to appreciate the safety on the top of the receiver, MUCH easier for me to use.

I have a 590 and it has been a fantastic firearm. As a matter of fact it is handy at night and is the first long gun in my safe I will reach for.

if you like hanging stuff off of a gun buy a mossberg or a rem

if you need a simple, reliable, high quality home defense firearm with no frills, get a benelli

+1 on the Mossberg:

Ya holding that gun like a sissy!

Quoted: Ya holding that gun like a sissy!

It takes one to know one.

I have a 590 with the ghost rings and heat shield, and it's been very dependable

benelli hands down

590SP.

I love mine.

It is great and it has never failed. I have been to Iraq twice and our Mossbergs served well.  It did not choke on the dust and always fired.

Max

Not being savy to the operation of an inertial shotgun, would something like a Knox Compstock keep it from working cause it absorbs some of the recoil?


A guy at work who I converted to being a gun guy bought an 870 and put a knox compstock on it and he's raving on and on about how much recoil that thing soaks up. He's claiming 90% range.

This makes me think this might be the ticket for my very small wife.  She will shoot a 12 G and not complain but you can tell it's hurting her so I don't let her shoot it much.  I have a 20g for her but w/ a compstock she could shoot the 12 more easily.


what do you think?

Quoted: Not being savy to the operation of an inertial shotgun, would something like a Knox Compstock keep it from working cause it absorbs some of the recoil? A guy at work who I converted to being a gun guy bought an 870 and put a knox compstock on it and he's raving on and on about how much recoil that thing soaks up. He's claiming 90% range. This makes me think this might be the ticket for my very small wife.  She will shoot a 12 G and not complain but you can tell it's hurting her so I don't let her shoot it much.  I have a 20g for her but w/ a compstock she could shoot the 12 more easily. what do you think?

 My wife is tough as nails but a woman just the same...  When we take the shotgun out to shoot I have her shoot light #8 game loads.  She can understand how the gun works and the recoil is not bad at all.

At home, the gun sits with #4 Buck.  If an emergency happens and she needs to use that gun I have confidence the adrenain will take over and she will handle the stiffer recoil just fine.

I have seen these stocks and if you will be shooting them alot they may be worth the money but I don't personally feal the need to buy one for a HD shotgun.  Like I said earlier, in a HD shotgun I like to KEEP IT SIMPLE!

590

I have seen lots of guys tie up their pump guns short-stroking, especially when pushing for ultra-speed.  I may have seen a semi-auto fail to function, but I can't recall it.  Wait a minute -- that's not true.  I have a 14" Benelli that is not reliable with light loads -- needs full power loads to run, so that's what I feed it.

Sounds funny, but for reliability, I prefer a semi.

If you are a lefty, be a man and buy the M1 Super 90, then reverse the safety.  It takes about ten minutes to do and makes the gun lefty friendly.  Thats what I did with mine.  

Best of all, you will own what I feel is the greatest defensive and hunting semi-auto ever made,  Mine has never jammed with factory ammunition EVER.  

Or you can buy a 300 dollar shotgun, add 300 dollars worth of crap and have a nice 200 dollar shotgun with more crap than a mexican taxi hanging from it.  My old girlfriend used to call it "polishing a turd".  

I own both a Rem 870 pump and a Benelli M1.  I greatly prefer the M1 as a shotgun.  However, the 870 is my home defender.  

Why?  Because if I actually have to shoot some dumb bastard with it, whatever gun I use is going to get confiscated for awhile.  Maybe in a year or so after its determined that no charges will be filed against me I'll be able to get it out of the evidence locker by filing a bunch of paperwork and jumping through whatever hoops the state wants to put in front of me.  Maybe I'll never get it back.  Maybe it will quietly find its way into the local SWAT team's gun locker, like a certain confiscated SPAS-12 I saw awhile back.  But even if I do get it back, it will have spent about a year shoved in a plastic barrel with 30 other tagged evidence guns, and not oiled or cleaned and probably with some rusty-ass HighPoint carbine leaning against it.  

I'm not shooting anybody with a no-longer-made, $900 piece of beautiful craftsmanship like the Benelli is.  They can confiscate my $400 870 instead and I'll buy another one just like it two weeks later.