Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Pick a 12 gauge pump

That may be true, I don't know... I switched to double guns when I was in my early 20's so I honestly can't remember whether my 16-ga Model 12 was heavy or not, and I never carried any other pump shotgun for any length of time. I will say that my Remington 11-87 M&P tac shotgun is a heavy beast, and I've carried it on enough SWAT ops to know I wouldn't care to lug into a swamp on a hunting morning...

My top 3. Upland = 20ga BPS. Waterfowl = 10ga BPS. all around hunting = 12ga 870 Wingmaster with 28" rem choke barrel.

Good old reliable Rem 870 Express.

I think I bought it in 1984 for $185.00 at K-Mart.

I picked up a 1940 Model 12 16 ga. with a modified choke, what a sweet handling shotgun! Only shot it once but killed two blues with it.

Remington 870 - Probably the most popular pump gun ever sold

The 20s are sweeter. Almost bought one yesterday , but the price was higher than I wanted and the price was firm for a shotgun I reeeeeally didn't need.


The Wingmasters with 26" bbl handle very well. I prefer them to the 28s.

Best 2 are the M12 Winchester and the Ithaca 37.

Best for the money is the Mossberg 500

I have a 870 Wingmaster Magnum and a 1928 Winchester M12. I've shot the Mossberg 500 and Ithaca 37. I've handled the BPS but never shot one. My preference is the M12. It's smooth as silk and solid as a rock, also, I shot my first bird on the wing with it at 14.

Win Model 12 is my favorite. I like an Ithaca 37 as well. Can’t stand a Mossturd. I could live with an older 870 if I had to, the newer ones arent even close to the older ones.

As a teen, I picked up pecans, saved up for my first shotgun, a M-12, 12 ga. 28" Mod. Those were top of the line to me at that time and are great guns.

I later picked up a first year production, pre-war 37R in 20 ga. I restored the wood, recut the checkering and it's a keeper.

The 870 seems to be the overall winner and for good reason. Agree with the Wingmaster, not the Express. The 870 is probably the most gun for the money, simple design, bank vault tough.

DF

870 wingmaster---Win model 12

26” 870 wingmaster 20 ga, Mossberg 500 Super Bantam youth 22” 20 ga with modified stock.

I want one of those Mossberg 500 Classic 12's.


It looks purty in the pictures.

870...I have 6.

My most used is a 26" waterfowl super mag that I've had for a long time. Feeds and ejects everything, patterns well and is indestructible.

Old 1930’s or 1940’s Model 12 with solid rib.

Ithaca model 37 is the only real pump gun!!!! What are these other things of which you speak????







Take care, Willie

I prefer a Over/Under, but about 20 years ago I bought a black/plastic stocked Rem 870 12 gauge with a couple of extra choke tubes. I mainly bought it for hunting in foul weather, and the third shot is nice. On a whim a few years ago I bought a scoped cantilever rifled barrel by Mossberg for it, but I've never hunted with it because we only have a limited number of "restricted weapons areas" here in Montana where I would "have to" use it.

My 870 shoots great, I just have to remember to pump it for quick successive shots.

Pumps? Do I have to choose just one? I like almost all I've tried. My 12 ga. Stevens 620A has to be about the heaviest pump 12 I've handled. A 30 inch barrel and loaded with three one-ounce shells, it weighs just short of eight pounds.

For most shooting sports I like my Browning O/U's, but when I head for the duck blind I am always carrying my Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag pump. I don't shoot the 3 1/2" shells very often, but can for turkeys and geese if I want to. Nothing fancy about these pumps, but they work just fine in what are sometimes less than ideal conditions in the blind. My son noticed one in the used rack last time when we walked into a gun store last month and thought it would be neat to have one like mine, so he's now shooting one, too.