Hey guys,
  I currently own one shotgun. A browning gold hunter auto. What do you guys have for shotguns? What are the rules regarding them as far as Pistol Grips, Mag extenders, etc. I am interested in the Mossberg 590 Mariner, and probably the 870, Do they make a 870 stainless? What are the advantages of "ghost" ring sights? Can you shoot trap effectivly with these sights? Basically will be using it for home defense, trap shooting and maybe some hunting. Thanks!

-Jared

P.S. I want pics!

I've got a LAW 12, and I love it, I use it for everything, Works great for opening watermelons

I don't mix and match sport and combat so I will tell you what I think is a good combat shotgun.

Get a tricked out Vang system 870.

Hans is a hell of a guy and if he likes you he will sort through 25-30 barrels to make sure you get the tightest shooting one he has at the time.

His system works with anything as far as making an improvement but the plain fact of the matter is some barrels start out better then others.


Hunter out...

The bast bang for your buck as far as shotguns go would be a Winchester 1300 Defender w/ full stock. You do not need to trick this out, it holds 8 rounds, hi-visibility sight, 18" barrel, synthetic stock, and a rotating bolt system that unlocks about 1/8" after you fire- making it much easier to pump quickly and put a lot of lead in the air. I haven't had a single failure in mine yet, and I've used everything from AA skeet loads to S&B buckshot. Don't mess around w/ pistol grips, a folding stock is fine if you are going to be transporting it a lot and don't want it taking up space. For a home defense shotgun, go w/ a full straight stock.

I shoot skeet all the time w/ my Winchester, it works great.

Note to 870 fanatics: I have one too, it is nice, just not nearly as nice as my 1300.

radioman

I just have a pair of plain Mossberg 500's in 12ga.  One has a 20" barrel, the other has a 28" barrel.  Both are vent rib and have accu-chokes.  The short barrel one is good for slugs and the longer barreled one is my bird hunting gun.

OSA

Mossberg 500 w/28' vent rib barrel, and 18 1/2" slug barrel that works fine for combat use.  Have shot several tatical matches with it and zero failure.  Th mil spec version - model 590 - does have an 8 round magazine, but considering the stopping power, lesser mag capacity is no handicap.

I bought a Remington 870 Express with 28'' barrel.
Found a 20'' with rifle sights, added a side saddle, and choate mag extension.
I works great for Deer Hunting, Clay birds, and home defence.
[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1550766&a=11762141&p=41987329&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]


I used to have a Mossberg 590 but it seemed cheap and rattled.
It was reliable though.
[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1550766&a=11762141&p=41987333&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]

Santa brought me a Scattergun Tech 870 for Xmas. I love this gun, and I'm sending the barrel to Hans for his treatment.

40MIKE

OK Joker, what do you want to spend on this shotgun ?? It's kind of like asking someone which vehicle to buy, various models have different purposes. Personally, I currently own two "combat" shotguns, a Mossberg M-590 ( 20" cyl., Parkerized, w/ Speed-Feed stock ) & an older production Ithaca M-37 with an 18" cyl. bbl. ( I have both the full wooden stock & pistol-grip for my Ithaca ) The M-590 is for basic "all around" use, and the M-37 is used for close up & fast work. ( Primarily in-vehicle use & home defence scenarios ) Both are ultra reliable and basically trouble free. As I type this, I can almost hear the Rem. 870 fans screaming at me, but I stand by my 590 for a few select reasons. First, my Dept. issues / uses both the 870 & 590, so I've had the opportunity to use them side by side many times. Yes, the 870 may be a little slicker in it's pump action, but short stroke one and see what happens. You can short stroke the 590 just as well, but it's MUCH easier to clear it if that occurs. I also LOVE a top tang safety, it's much more user friendly than the cross bolt set up on the 870. With that said, I wouldn't really feel poorly armed if I had to use an 870, I just prefer the 590. We could go on for days about all the various shotguns available, but it all boils down to what you can afford. There are many quality combat shotguns available, way too many to mention here. I mentioned the pump variety because they are among the most affordable and readily obtainable. What will be your shotguns primary purpose & how much can you afford should determine which weapon you end up with. Regards,  Dom Pastore Jr.

Mossberg 590-a1.....[heavy]

Benelli M1S90 with a scattergun tech tac sling. not only is it a great house gun, Its lethal on deer!

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1511659&a=11419276&p=42520805&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]

Just bought an 870 Express and I really like it. Also own a Benelli M1S90 and a Rossi double barrel "coach gun". Previously have owned Mossberg pump and older Ithaca model 37. I consider all of the pumps to be relatively equal in quality....no flames please!

I bought an 870 express youth and yeh its a 20ga but it is small and light weight and now I carry it deer hunting with its rifled sights its perfect for home defense. Also it will serve my son well someday.
[sniper]

[img]http://home.earthlink.net/~thegardenweasel/_uimages/cantagreen.jpg[/img]

AR sniper...i pop deer every year with 1100-20...rifled..sabots....very lethal and accurate! you`d be surprised (at least some are) at how many people are going the 20 guage route, after they see how efficient thier buddy`s is, i guess for the primary reason that you can carry them all day with ease. personally, i`ve liked 20`s a long time. years ago i had a long barrel bolt, and my pals couldn`t get over how it used to pop "little brown bottles" at 80-100 yrds....[heavy]

Garden Weasel

You arent the only one who gots a real Russian!

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1511659&a=11419276&p=44587468&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1511659&a=11419276&p=40450449&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]

Private Joker:  opinions WILL vary.  
My personal choices are the Beretta 1201FPG3 & Remington 870 SuperMag with a LOT of options.
Closest 3-in-1 gun on this page goes to Derek45 in that the change in bbls. lets him go for birds and sport shooting.
My thought for you is your Browning has the safety button where the Beretta & Remington place theirs.  Familiarity counts.  Especially if you are going to use it as a "Tactical" firearm.
The straight buttstock is great, but, the pistolgrip fullstock IS cool looking and very "Tactical".  Nothing wrong with that as you can always switch buttstocks when you get the notion.
The Remington 870 Marine is Electroless Nickel plated inside and out.  It looks bitchin'.  A Choate PG buttstock and forend with a full 6-rd. SideSaddle and some MMC Ghost Ring sights attached to this would be an excellent shotgun. An extra 26-30" vent-rib bbl. and maybe a 20" rifled bbl. with rifle sights could be purchased later to extend your flexibilty in parts swapping.  This one has a 3" chamber vs. the SuperMagExpress, which has the 3 1/2".
I'd save money by getting the SuperMag and adding the same parts I listed above.  With the long 26" bbl. mine came with, I've got REAL MAGNUM power (sounds good, heh-heh...), and I can still turn it into any # of configurations.  It's got to be the most versatile gun in the safe.
I stress the point again about the safety location.
Winchester 1300/Mini-14/10-22/M-1 & M-14=front
Mossberg 500-590/Savage/Browning/others=tang
Browning/Beretta/Remington autoloaders/pumps=back of trigger

Of course, there are exceptions and this is not a consideration for everyone (Derek45 for example).  Just a thought and my preference.

I hope you get whatever you like the best and enjoy it.

Do yourself a favor, go with the Mossberg 590....they're great guns.

This is what mine looks like.....
[img]albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1242673&a=9213640&p=32474503[/img]

Alrighty then!

Jared - I have a Mossberg 590 Mariner with a side-folding Butler Creek steel stock.  Its a good solid gun - dpast32 is right on the money about them.

[img]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=97198&a=8244551&p=26892433&Sequence=0&res=high[/img]

Hey guys!
   Thanks for all the replies! I think that the Mossberg is a sweet looking piece. Can anyone tell me what are the laws regarding shotguns in reference to the AW ban? Thanks.

-Jared