I have an idea to have a shotgun (Mossburg 500 series) with a few different barrels for different tasks but I wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper and easier to have a different shotgun for different purposes?
Has anyone been down this road lately.
PS I barely know anything about shoguns, just say'n.
Thanks

Do you want a wooden buttstock or synthetic?  That and the forend are tough enough to swap that it's not something you'd want to do on every range trip.

Synthetic furniture will make sport shooting hard on your shoulder, as the wooden furniture's heavy and thus helps limit recoil.  Synthetic is easier to carry and maneuver, though, and more resistant to the elements.

Barrels and chokes can be swapped easily enough that they aren't a significant factor either way.  In some pump models, anyway.

Semiauto's are a completely different story.

I would say its personal preference on your choice of multiple barrels or multiple shotguns. I would tend to combine the two.
As has already been pointed out if your setups included furniture or accessory changes multiple weapons looks easier.

My home defense, deer, and duck gun are all one in the same.
My other home defense gun is a backup deer and duck gun.
My (inherited) upland bird gun shoots slugs and buck just fine.

Draw your own conclusions from that.

I think two is a good number.

One gun for trap and hunting that only needs a barrel change to switch functions.

The other is an HD gun and taking off the accessories would be a pain in the butt just to shoot trap.

depends on there purposes.

i have a Wincherster SX3 i use for: goose, duck, coyote, and turkey

SKB 20g side by side: for pheasant

Wincherster 9410 for: squirrel and small game

sure one shotgun with swapable barrels could fill all the gaps. however why use a zaw zaw to rip a board to lenght when a table saw will do it better.

I have nearly as many shotguns as handguns, one may ask why, but IMO you really need 1-5 different gauges depending on what you do. I have a 410 for small game and 20ga for grouse, and dove, although many use a 28ga for dove, and then a 12ga for waterfowl, and upland hunting. I would also probably add a 10ga if I hunted Canadian Geese frequently. You can do it with one shotgun but to be honest you should really have a 20ga and probably a 12ga. 20ga for smaller animals and 12ga for larger game. Also here we deer hunt with shotguns so I have another shotgun only use for deer hunting currently I use a 12ga for deer, but I may be going back to 20ga just because the technology in 20ga has gotten very good in the last few years, and the recoil is far less in 20ga, and basically there is really no advantage to the 12ga for deer.

So to some this up
1-12ga pump for self defense
1-12ga semi-auto for waterfowl, also with different barrel used for 3gun although at some point I will be going away from a gas system, to an inertia system for 3 gun so that will be another shotgun, I also use this shotgun for skeet
1-20ga pump for grouse and dove, but many use a 28ga so that would be another if you so chose, I don't dove hunt a lot so no need IMO
1-12ga O/U for upland, and trap
1-12ga semi auto for deer
1-410 for break action single shot for small game

So for me I need a minium of six shotguns, and I own many more than six. If one were to have a inertia gun I could probably limit it down the number of shotguns, using 1-12ga for waterfowl, home defense, 3gun, deer, and skeet, but the expense for barrels would be prohibitive. This is all only my opinion

One gun is never enough! I won't even say how many I own.

I have a Benelli M4 for tactical/ home defense
I have Benelli SBE2 for ducks, geese, and turkeys
I have a Browning Citory 525 for pheasants and grouse as well as sporting clays/ trap
Then as back up for all of them I have a 870 Wingmaster

One is never enough.

I have been using the same 870 for everything since 1985. I have 2 barrels. 28" for wing shooting. 21" rifle sighted for everything else. Total investment is about $350. I replaced the wood stocks with synthetic back in 2000 after the forearm split. Gun is a true beater and has been Kryloned many many times. She aint pretty but she gets the job done.

see there ya go if I hunted turkeys that would be another shotgun I would need to buy. Having one shotgun is like having one rifle for prairie dogs to elephants, its just not the best solution.

Why? Will none of those guns you have kill a turkey?

The Shotgun is, and always has been a very versatile weapon!


PITA45

A 21" cylinder bore weapon with rifle-sights, the front being a "Big dot" type will arguably do anything a shotgun ever could.

Buckshot up close works.
Flite-control buckshot out to 40-60 yards works (My friend's 590a1 will hold a sub 12" pattern past 40 yards with it. Cylinder bore. Insane! Personally witnessed/did that or I would not believe it)
Slugs are lethal and effective out to 100-125 yards, 150-200 with practice and experience in a SHTF situation.
Birdshot is self explanatory, and again Flite Control wads exist within that ammunition line as well.


An intelligently and skillfully run shotgun will dominate a 0-150m area. It won't be the best tool for everything, but it will be functional.

Ok I forgot to mention that I'll need a side by side in addition at least for Cowboy Action. I'd like to try my hand at that, so that shotgun could serve some additional purposes.

A 21" Mossburg 590 would seem to fit the bill it sounds.

Its not that they won't but turkeys are hard to kill and I know the hunters here prefer full camo, not to mention I would like the use the 3 1/2" 12ga shell and non of my shotguns can do that