Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters If you only could buy 1 Shotgun....12 gauge, all around ???

I've had 870s, and shot Brownings and Beretta self-loaders.

From Ducks, to Skeet/Trap, to PD......what would you pick?

Never had a beef with the older 870s, not sure of quality now..........

Is a Basic Beretta a top contender?

Purdey SxS 28 inch Mod/Full

I'm an Ithaca 37 lover, but and 870 with Rem Chokes is a tough one to over look.

Would be easier than the four Ithacas I have for all my bird hunting. Just not as light or fun.

Something with hammers, nice engraving, straight grip and made in England...

Benelli M2.

Only one? For everything? A Remington 870 Special Purpose 21" vent rib, with choke tubes. Done.

Benelli M2

Benelli SBE 2

Benelli M2

Benelli SBE

You sir, have exquisite taste.

Exquisite taste but you'd need a second shotgun to use while the Purdey is back at the factory for its annual service. Better get a Boss & Co. for a backup.

My 870 Wingmaster suits me fine.

Benelli M2...

I don't hunt waterfowl, so a Browning A5 Light Twelve gets it all done for me. My new one needs tubes added, since it's a fixed full choke.

My first A5 was a 26" IC plain barrrel, and I killed a lot of upland game as well as my first two deer with it.

For truly everything, a 12ga O/U with tubes and sights or a red dot clamped to the rib as needed for slugs would really be all I need to hunt anywhere I'm likely to go these days.

Benelli Ultralight 26"

I did that except the gun was a gift. For my 14th Christmas my father got me a Remington 1100, 12 gauge, 28" vent rib, fixed modified choke. I didn't know you needed this barrel length and choke for one kind of game, a totally different setup for another and so on so I shot everything with it - mostly quail, doves, rabbits and ducks - and got pretty deadly. That's been my only hunting shotgun for the last 50 years and it worked out very well.

Two, 870 super mags. 12 ga.

Should do about everything and with 2 you have parts....

Less to go wrong than semis IMHO, although I"m generally a semi or O/U shooter

Beretta auto. I use the A390. If anything happens to that one, I will buy another pronto. The Benelli M2 is also a very good gun (dad bought one).

SBE2

Ironically years ago I had one in this model, or the 23" Turkey Special, my Dad had a fit the first time I took it to a duck blind, he remarked the blast, but I'm sure he worried about safety, and that is always to be #1. I sold it...handled well. Seems it was the 23 as it had a camo stock, and the 21 had a "no pistol grip" English wood stock.

Yes, 870s have a reputation, did not know if the latest ones measured up to the old, like the new vs old 700s, Marlins, etc.

Looks like alot of Benelli fans.

Purdy, is purty....and pricey

Yes, if ONLY hunting and range work, I would enjoy a nice O/U but I want more capacity.........should the need arise to use something other than "bird shot"

Good choices. Folks, what ammo do you prefer for all around personal protection? Is 00 good, or better smaller/more shot? Like the ability to reach further than say #8....

Inside or outside. Makes a difference.

#1 Federal Flite Control, #00 if you cant find #1. Smaller shot simply doesnt perform well in SD situations, regardless of urban legend.

C12, Good question. Out

Thanks L-D....found an article supporting the same data...

Won't get into the smaller vs. larger shot issue, but that Federal Flite-Control wad is the real deal. I've tested it with #4 and 00 buck in chokes from cylinder bore through modified and it really works. They use it in their Federal "Personal Defense" line and I believe Hornady also uses the same wad in their "Critical Defense" line but can't personally verify that.

I've had a 3" 12-gauge 870 since 1979, back before they came with screw-in chokes. I order it new, from J.C. Penney of all places, with two barrels, a 30" full-choke and a 26" IC, both with vent ribs. Eventually replaced both barrels with a 26" with chokes. Have used it in several countries (including a real workout in Argentina) on birds from doves and quail to Canada geese and turkey, and with a rifled slug barrel it's taken deer, black bear and moose. Hard to get more all-around than that.

But the 12-gauge I use most anymore on pretty much the same range of birds is a 75-year-old Sauer Model 60 side-by-side choked full and fuller, weighing 6-1/4 pounds. If I feel like wider patterns might be in order I use spreader loads.

I've got a dozen or more shotguns, most special purpose for trap, skeet, sporting clays, and some just because they are collectable and/or beautiful. But if I had to grab a shotgun running out the door into an unknown future, I would grab the old 870 magnum I bought 45 years ago. It's beat up but it has served me well.

870 Wingmaster is how I went and no regrets.

I traded for a used Browning Pump 12 ga in the early 1980's. I've had and have some shotguns that are nicer and a lot easier to look at, but if I could only buy one, a Browning Pump is what it would be.

870 - with a couple VR barrels ( 21" / 26" / 30" ) and some Remchokes, maybe a rifled slug barrel

Fun, Fun, Fun

My old 870 express would do fine. I ve had it since the 80s never skipped a beat from doves geese and turkeys as well as small game.

^^^^^ This ^^^^^

I've owned a bunch of shotguns, but always seem to pick an 870 or 1100 when I'm going afield. While the 870 might not be cutting edge, it is rugged and reliable, as foolproof as they get.

I hate duck hunting, but got hooked into going on a hunt in Arkansas awhile back. The shotgun that my host gave me to use was about as disreputable an example of a rusted/pitted/worn 870 as you're likely to find anywhere, but it worked.

Heaven forbid such a sad state of affairs, but if it happened I'd be content w/ the Mossberg 500 I bought w/ paper route money in 8th grade. Love it still to this day!


Shot literally tens of thousands of rounds in the field and in trap and just can't abide the safety on the 870 having gotten so used to the Mossy's tang switch.

Make mine an 870 with tubes.

Already got it, 11 shot 870 with screw in choke tubes, home protection at 10 yards, garden pests at 30 yards, turkey to 50 yards or deer out to 100, it's all in the choke tubes and shot/slugs.

It's black, synthetic stocked, and damn ugly, but it has has done it all with fail safe confidence so far.

UH, 'cept for the home protection bit, hadn't had to shoot a crackhead with it yet.

There is something about the distinctive sound of the slide racking on a pump ;-)

I'd just keep my Mossy 500 with the 28" vr screw choke barrel and 18.5" slug barrel. It's been running without a hitch for 20 years and 10,000 rds at least. Killed more shyt than you could stuff in a boxcar with it. Ducks, geese, pheasants, grouse, turks, squirrels, rabbits, coyotes and 21 bucks with the slug barrel. I've got a Browning BPS and an Ithaca 37 in the safe too and it would be hard to give them up but when it comes right down to it, I simply shoot better with the Mossberg.

Federal LE132-1B

Flite Control wad
More pellets than 00
Big enough pellets to go deep enough to do what it needs to do
Less penetration through drywall

Google it.

Yes, cause that'd mean they were already shot once and wondering if they were gonna get another one.

I've shot 870's a lot -like them. I've shot 1100's a lot - like them. I've had a Model 12 28" solid rib 2 3/4" full choke since I was a teenager. That shotgun is worn out. I bought one identical to it a couple of years ago in near mint condition. I bought it at a rediculous low price when others in worse shape were in the gun library at four times the price. I asked why the low price the salesman said it wasn't standard. It had been modified. I guess they never saw a pre-war Model 12.

For $400 I bought a treasure for me.

I'm too old to buy any more shotguns, but if I did it would be a Beneli.

If I could afford it, it would be a British sxs. I like a straight grip or nearly straight. Balance critical. Quick to point. Drop on stock would have to be right. Full and modified...

Buddy gave me several boxes of old Winchester entry loads, 12 ga 2-3/4" #1 buckshot, it carries 20 copper plated #1 buckshot, if you do the math, that's a helluva payload in 2-3/4".

20 X's 30 caliber per pellet.

Rem 870 , none better

First priority for a shotgun to used on winged game is that it fits. And fits to the point of being an extension of ones arms. If you like a gun and break 14 targets out of 100 it is useless. I have a BPS pump and an old Citori that fit well enough to keep around.
I wish I knew where my brother sold my dad's 20 ga. Kassnar-Fias o/u as I could hit anything with that.

Point being , shot as many as you can on a clay bird range if upland game is to be important. Do not worry about Name recognition. I don't think grouse can read.....

Model 12, the perfect repeater...

I have a 28" over/under 12 ga. that has changeable chokes. It's a Franchi field gun but I had the trap sights put on it and I have been having some real fun shooting trap with it. I would not be afraid to use it for pretty much anything hunting and home defense.

The 870 Wingmaster 3" Magnum. Nothing it won't handle and almost indestructible. Had mine since 1978 and still going strong.

My choice would be my Winchester 21. It has double triggers, splinter forearm, old style pistol grip, 26 inch barrels and is choked modified and cylinder. Plain walnut and no engraving are the order of the day. It is great on dove and ducks on the creek.

Straight up utilitarian with no style? Benelli M2, otherwise pass me a Beretta Silver Pigeon.

A-5 it has never failed to bang in 25 years

Limited to only one shotgun in 12 gauge it would have to be a side by side, either high end American or English double. I'm pretty fond of both my Lefever and Thomas Bland doubles but might look for a Super Fox 3" and by adjusting the loads, use it for everything if truly limited to one 12 gauge shotgun.

If I wasn't limited by gauge but limited to one shotgun, I'd go with an English 10 bore, 2 7/8", choked around light IC and tight modified and load it as needed for whatever game I was after. ITX and bismuth for water fowl and 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 ounce lead for upland.

I've shot almost all the mentioned shotguns, except the Purdey....... I can't believe there are no Winchester SX2-3 people here.

I have 2 of these: http://www.winchesterguns.com/produ...current-production/sx3-black-shadow.html

One in 20 ga with 26" barrel, one in 12 ga with 26" barrel. One for doves/upland birds, one for ducks/geese/turkey. They really are a nice gun.

As an aside, I tested the 12 ga with a variety of loads. I loaded it with one each of: 2.75" dove load, 2.75" 'duck load', 3" turkey load, and 3.5" turkey load. Shot all with nary a bobble, even though the light dove load is supposedly too light for the gun. It shucks them just fine, as fast as you can pull the trigger.

I'd roll with an SX3 all day, every day.

Only comment I have about Benelli, and I'll likely buy one, sooner or later, though the new A5s look good and I have 3 old ones already... benelli a lot of the guys I duck hunt with have them. I generally hunt an 11-87 "junk" gun... I've never had an issue with mine, I"ve repaired 3 of the benellis so far... and a couple just had a bad jam issue in the field, due to not cleaning I'm sure, but I give em the 11-87 and take the benelli apart real quick and wipe down and hit with CLP and they shoot ducks with mine while I'm working on the benelli.. seems strange when they are supposed to be top of the line, and mine supposed to be junk...

11-87's are pretty hard to beat

Semi = Benelli SBE2 24" (better balance than the M2 in same)

Pump = Remington 870 26" (3", I don't like the extra shucking on the SuperMag)


But as for me and my house, we'll stick with Ithaca 37 late models out of King Ferry with choke tubes.

Well I like the Benelli Vinci that I been shooting the last three years or so! I never shoot 3" shells in it, and its light enough for me to carry all day, I shoot it just about as well as I shot an 870 in 28 ga some 45 years ago! Plenty of ammo around at reasonable prices too! It works for me, pheasants, ducks and geese! But i am not really a shotgun guy!

Another vote for the Browning A5 Light Twelve. Mine fits and handles for me like it was a custom job and it does just fine on the trap range.

I wouldn't call that a "repair." I agree, that does seem strange and goes counter to my 20 years of shooting the hell out of a pair of M1S90's in all sorts of weather conditions and hunting situations. Those guns M2 or SBE? Nearly all the bad Benelli stories feature the SBE as the bad actor. M2's are bullet proof. With properly set up friction rings an old school Browning Auto Five is a damned reliable semi-auto shotgun too. If considering a pump gun my silver worn Wingmaster 870 is dead nuts reliable. I've had several Express models and had trouble with all three Express guns.

Early 1950's 870 in 16 gauge with either a modified or improved cylinder 26" barrel....

Silver Hawk, pistol grip, with double triggers , 28 in barrel. Hasbeen

Browning BPS

The only shotguns I have right now are two Maverick 88 12 gauges. One with an 18" and one with a 28".

I've had more expensive shotguns, but I've always included them in trades to get other stuff.

I can't choose between my Model 12s, Model 31s or my Model 37. I like them all.

We're talking "all around, any place, any time," not "my most versatile pretty gun," right?

Easy. Especially if can have an extra barrel (length). Beretta 390 or 400. Nostalgic runner up: Rem 870.

If talking "most versatile pretty gun," just pick your poison. But odds are it doesn't handle with comparable aplomb steel, slugs, optics, rain/river, etc.

Any Beretta semi-auto from the introduction of the 302 up through current production 400. I can skip 3.5" capabiliity, make mine 26" bbl please.

Benelli SBE:
> Available Left Hand.
> Already have one.
> Already dialed in:
.. - Federal Blue Box 3 inch #3 steel for ducks
.. - Federal Blue box 7-1/2's for everything else

I have that very gun in 12 gauge though with IC.

I've shot several 12s over the years, but never owned one. Now I have a BPS in 20 and a 16 with extra chokes. I could do everything I wanted to do with the 16.

SBE

"Top of the line" has nothing to do with neglect.
You can blow up a Ferrari if you don't check the oil, but that says nothing about the quality of the product

Great info, appreciate all the replies.

Sounds like 870 owners have not been let down. I read awhile back the later runs were not as good as the older, but maybe it was the el cheapo promo model, which granted lacks in the finish dept.

JB- I also have a '79 - but it's a Lightweight 3" 20, won in Stuttgart at the World Champion Duck Call contest, Jr. division.......great gun, light, but the 12 calls for all around duty, abundant ammo of all types, with a good payload. Like others, I have no use for anything larger than a 3" 12, if that won't get the job done, well it might be time for a rifle. Lol. JB, I had a TB - trap model long ago, the comb never suited me, would over shoot game, so it went down the road, and the 30" was a pain, 28 is much better and shot many over the years, but went to a 23 on a whim and loved the handling, blast...not so much, but the 26 sounds like a real fast handler with moderate blast vs say a 21 or 23.

Last question folks. Can the 870 magazine tube be swapped out for one that is extended? I take it the standard models hold 5 w/o a plug? Yes/no?

Thanks all, great info.

Last question folks. Can the 870 magazine tube be swapped out for one that is extended? I take it the standard models hold 5 w/o a plug? Yes/no?


No need, you can buy a magazine extension that just screws on, in place of the magazine cap, IF there's no crimp on the magazine tube. The newer 870s are crimped. Brownells and Midway sell tools to remove the crimps.
I have several magazine extensions, for various things, a seven-shot, an eight-shot, a ten-shot, and a 12 shot extension. They come with the needed springs, and aren't costly or hard to change over.
I've been using them for 3-gun matches for a LONG time. Lots of fun, those extensions fit on 870s, 1100s, and 11-87s.

That's good info/news to me.

One of the slickest 870s I know was one used by a duck hunter who put that gun thru years of abuse/use that only made it all the smoother. Read an article years ago by another guy, shot competitive trap as I recall, he had shot his untold tens of thousands of rounds. Seems you cannot wear one out....

A semi does have a slight speed advantage in the field, but it's only an advantage if you do not waste subsequent shots.

Many years back, my Dad used Model 12s extensively over the years, and later went to Browning and Beretta about the time steel shot was mandated and for recoil reduction. His M12s had nice Bishop/Fajen wood he checkered himself and finished by hand rubbed oil - and nice blue. They served him well for trap when not using a his base model Krieghoff.

For my use, a shotgun is a great tool, so I can take an ugly stock wood or synthetic, just sans the high gloss wood to not spook game. The satin wood stocks today are fine and matte blue has it's purpose.

Thanks for the info on the tubes, great to know.

It's not a 12 but until last year it was a Sweet 16. Now it is a FABARM L4s.

In all practicality a 3" chambered 870 with 26" VR Remchoke barrel is a true workhorse. I can't think of anything more dependable and widely used; parts and repairs are simple.


A sturdy German double with a little extra underneath is my idea of the all-around shotgun...a Merkel/Simson/Fortuna, they're all the same gun and are tough as nails.

Browning A5 Light 12 W/O a doubt!

Had my 870 12ga for 30+ years without any problems.

Good posts; also on that Merkel, what is the lower?

I bought a used 870 33 years ago and it still serves well. I’ve never thought it lacked what I need a shotgun for.

Three numbers..........870

870 Wingmaster mentioned so much here is hard to beat. I have a couple. The SBE has become the successor to the 870 in the duck hunting world. I don't know much about upland hunting but the SBE shows up a bunch of dove hunts in my neck of the woods. I own a Merkel and Fox 20 ga. They are cool but I shoot the big, plastic automatic better. Wish I could say otherwise. Prior to the SBE, I used a Benelli Nova for ducks. It was also a big clunky piece of plastic. This said, it would still work with sticks, mud, and rocks inside the action. Not sure an 870 would take such abuse.

Beretta 390 for the easy win.

Mossberg 500 over the 870 due to the 500's tang safety. I wish Beretta would put their safety on the tang.

Simson, actually, but same difference and same factory.

It's 9,3X74R.

Wingmaster supermag

That sounds good to me. I'm not as enamored of hammers from a functional point of view, though they sure are pretty...

My Citori FW Upland, but then I'm not a waterfowl hunter so.....

Beretta 390, close runner up a benelli M2.

I've been using a Benelli M2 the past several years for quail, dove, and turkey. I swap between a 26" barrel for dove/quail and a 21" barrel for turkey. I'd go the same route again.

I don't know how you can possibly go wrong with a 870 that fits you correctly. There are plenty of other makes and models out there, though, and the 870 ain't the only one.

Have owned two 870s and still have my first. But I have fallen for the 1100, old and new. Really like the auto loader in the Rem platform. I just don't need a 3 inch 12 for what I want to do with a shotgun.
Goose Hunting requires a good hide set up and wait till they are feet down.
Add a rifled barrel to a 26 inch rem choke barrel and away you go.
If you really feel in the need the extended mag option is fun on the range with plates and would make any HD situation less uneven with a full tube.
Have to admit I would really like to keep the long overbore barrel from my competition 1100 with the Ken Rucker bump buster, but its a bit tall for the upland......
BUT that thing is deadly at the Trap field at the back fence.

Shame to let all the OU's and SxSs go but if push came to shove.......
thats how it would go.

fwiw & imho,
28 gauge O/U by David McKay Brown or a Custom S/S AH Fox by CSMC depending upon whether I could switch to a s/s or not. I'm not at all a great fan of heavy engraving, however, something personal with Bobwhite featured and a favorite dog would be nice. Nothing shorter than a 28" Barrel with 29-30" preferred. Right now I shoot an SKB 785 28" 28 gauge, built on a 20 gauge frame, and it has been magic for 20 years. The SKB company, now defunct, came from a Samurai family named Sakaba. It was shortened to SKB. They made solid guns for what they are...

I could very easily live the rest of my life with one shotgun and without question it would be a well made 28... I could also make shotshell choice simple and shoot Winchester High Brass 1 ounce 7.5s(though I would leave shot choice open) just about exclusively short of set birds where you need less lead or either let them get to 30-35 yards. Close up is ugly.. B&P makes some grand 28 shot shells, however, they fool with my lead that I have worked out with Winchester 1 ounce loads over the years so I try to stick with what I know...

Best Regards, Matt.

Did just that 25 years ago - A Ruger Red label 12ga. Really had no desire for anything else.

This right here ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

fwiw,
I truly wish I had simple taste when it comes to shotguns. I've never cared for the Red Label due to construction. The ones I've shot seemed to get awfully loose quick. Granted this is shooting skeet and clays and not birds. They'd likely do fine as hunting shotgun.

I asked for Browning Sweet 16 for my first Shotgun, however, my uncle(the all knowing) had an issue with a 14 year old getting semi-auto as his first shotgun. That is something I do not follow to this day. Nothing would do but to buy an 870 from a friend of his. Received the gun and I was happy despite it NOT being what I wanted in the least. Where I started to HATE that shotgun was shooting incoming dove and I found the gun was a wee bit short. My right trigger hand would bump me in the nose on recoil. The shotgun was actually beautiful. Prettiest wood on an 870 I've ever seen short of the Custom Shop. However, I knew shooting it would lead to a hell of a flinch so I put it down and didn't shoot anything until my brother noticed and loaned me his old Model 11(Remington Auto 5). Then I started to connect... I may just buy a Sweet 16 as that is an itch I never got to scratch and I found an old, but perfect and full box of Western No. 2 16 gauge Shot Shells Marked "New Plastic Shells". THAT has got to be a sign... I love guns.

Out to right an old wrong and believing in it all at the same time...(grin)

Regards, Matt.

Well, dang! Don't we have champagne tastes!

When you reside in "The Palace Of The Poobah," anything less will NOT be a consideration.

The same mag extension that fits on a 870 fits a 1100. I have it rigged up like that for crow hunting. I love calling crows in and shooting the crap out of them.

Crap can get in between the bolt and the extractor causing failure to extract. You see it more on the express models than Wingmasters, but it can happen to any of them. Some sort of small pick has you back in business and like most other shotguns, this is easily avoided via a good cleaning once and a while.

This would work...Ithaca 37 Supreme, 30" full from 45 years ago, with an extra 26" Imp Cyl barrel.
Bob

I bought a new Browning A-5 12 magnum in 1984. I have used it for everything all these years. It is a little heavy but helps me swing through birds. If I buy another it will be a Light 12. My Mag cycles dove loads fine. I have tried some O/Us a Beretta and a Rem 3200, and an 870 and 1100.
I just like the browning better.