Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Beater Shotgun

If you shop around online, you can usually find one of those Turkish or Chinese 870 Knockoffs for around a $100 bucks or so.
Or wait till Wallmart or Academy puts their Remington 870 express models on sale for $199.

My beater truck gun is a clean old model Ithaca 37 made in the 50's that I picked up cheap at a Gunshow for $175 bucks because it had a 30" barrel with a full choke. I think my local gunsmith charged me $30 bucks to chop it down to a 20" barrel with a new bead.

Go to digging around, you might find an extra shotgun or two in your wife’s folds...

I see SKB's on the used rack at many stores for cheap.

Maverick 88, usually on sale for $180 or so. That or a used Mossberg 500, 870, etc.

If you think the 835 is heavy, what do you consider a light shotgun?

Steel shot or not? fixed choke? Mossberg for a newer one, the 870 Express...... If no need for steel and removable chokes then market is wide open for a bunch of good ones. Ithaca 37, Winchester Model 12, ETC.

Benelli M2, Remington 31L, Ithaca 37 Ultrafeatherweight for some. But really, I find that 7 pounds is the cutoff between a light 12 for all-around use and one that is not as fun to carry all day for pheasants. An 835 is great for field geese though.

A couple of years back, I picked up a Winchester Model 12 12 ga that had been a US Govt issue ( marked US and the flaming bomb on the receiver) that had likely been a Bureau of Prisons riot gun. Someone had installed a Cutts w/an IC tube. The gun shows some external wear, no rust, and the action shows little use. I picked it up at a pawn shop for something under $180 including taxes. How can you go wrong here? I have an old Lyman adjustable choke assembly on a spare A-5 barrel. IIRC, the adjustable dingus screws right into the Cutts, if I want to, making the old M12 good to go for everything from dove to deer and duck. If it is not in the safe, it rides my ATV.

Jack

I bought my Mossberg 500 used for under $200. Light cosmetic imperfections, after 4 years I’ve abused that gun so badly I don’t know how it still holds together. But it’s never once failed to go “boom” for me and it brought down plenty of birds for me this year.

Used 870 express. Serviceable rendition of a fine design.

Most of the other pumps mentioned are too nice to neglect, and the mossberg 500 is too much a heap of chite to fathom (having owned the pos as a youth, and won’t forgive).

Agreed. I've only ever sold one gun in my life and it was a NWTF 835. That thing was a piece of garbage.

Rem 870. An IC choke for shooting your basic schit.

Guess you guys wouldn't want to spend much time in Dakota goose blinds then. Everyone has a beater 835 for backup and loaner, and I've not met anyone with any problems except the plastic safety buttons can break.

What problems did you actually have?

Love 870's...














DMc

Remember.........if you take your ATV in to a mechanic, that it's proly the 500 rattling like a sumbitch.

I've had 870 Wingmasters from the 70's/80's.
Special Purpose and Special Fields too.
Am content with my Express Supermag.
I treat it like crap and it still looks new.........worry free cheap arsed used gun (paid $215 for it).
Also salvaged a couple of beater 1100's.........an SP and reg.
Into them cheap as well.