"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much" Teddy Roosevelt
Not sure about "cheap". Different for different people. For me, a BPS is about the upper end of cheap, but if he does not want an 870 (which would be my first choice), I would say BPS. Nice gun.
I'd go 870 as well, especially if he already has a 20ga. Of those listed I would prefer the SXP, but I still say 870. The Novas forend rattle bugs me to no end.
If you really want to go cheap, get a NEF Pardner pump. They are a direct copy of the 870 and I read somewhere where someone had butchered an 870 and NEF to do tests on the metal and the NEF had better steel in it.
If not opposed to an auto, a used Beretta 390 would be a good choice with a few dollars in Krylon paint.
The 870 is the most reliable, inexpensive pump shotgun that has ever been made (well, okay, the Winnie 12 was right up there with it for reliability and was built with better components, but they can't be used with steel shot). I've had my 870 for many years and have used it in some pretty horrible conditions, and it just keeps on shucking shells with boring regularity. I've never had any kind of hiccup. I can't say that for the Mossbergs that my sons have. If he doesn't want another 870, though, no use forcing it on him. I haven't shot a Nova but hear good things. If I couldn't go 870 I'd opt for the Nova, I guess. None of the Winchesters since the Model 12 have impressed me at all.
I killed a [bleep] of ducks when I hunted all 60 days of season with a Maverick whatever it is, made by Mossberg. I kept it in the boat at all times and it got beat to crap on days when I didn't want to take my Beretta O/U.
Just looked it up, Maverick 88 and they sell for $186 at Academy. I liked mine so much and it took a beating in the boat, dunked, and several times as a paddle that I eventually had it camo dipped lol. Cheapest shotgun I ever had. My other duck guns are a Benelli Super 90 and my Beretta 686 so I'm not really a cheap gun kind of guy.
How many times you gotta use a shotgun for a paddle before you figure out that, just maybe, there's something wrong with the way you're doing things?
When the Benelli Nova first came out, it seemed to me to be a gun that was marketed to guys who were unwilling to pay over a thousand bucks for a SBE but could still say "I shoot a Benelli." I never warmed up to em'. I love the SBE; and for a pump gun to hunt waterfowl with...I think an 870 in 12 gauge is hard to beat.
When the Benelli Nova first came out, it seemed to me to be a gun that was marketed to guys who were unwilling to pay over a thousand bucks for a SBE but could still say "I shoot a Benelli." I never warmed up to em'. I love the SBE; and for a pump gun to hunt waterfowl with...I think an 870 in 12 gauge is hard to beat.
My first thoughts as well, and I have a freshly cerrakoted original SBE with the H&K markings as my one and only shotgun. But, after a couple of my waterfowling freinds grabbed up a couple of the Nova's and continued thier notorious way of gun abuse with NO cleaning or maintenence I changed my tune. Nova or Mossy 835 for me if I had to give up my SBE.
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About 2016 team "R" candidates "We definitely need a crew with a sack of balls the size of hot water bottles, bloviated estrogen leaking feel-gooders need not apply." Gunner 500
The three you're looking at are all quality; for me the key to a good hunting shotgun is familiarity of the configuration.
I bought a Mossberg 500 12 ga w/ paper route money in 8th grade. Got a reloader not long after that, shot trap on a league and pretty much everything I could until I went off to college.
I bought my daughter a lovely little 870 in 20 ga and tried to hunt it but couldn't because of the safety location. A bird would get up and I'd go for a tang safety, then fumble for that trigger guard one after the shot op was long gone.
Configuration would be my #1 concern when buying a new shotgun.
Any one of those three would work just fine. But you've got to take HIM shopping with you to buy it. HE has to hold it, mount it, see how it feels to HIM. Something very simple and basic could be the deal maker/breaker for him on any gun - position of safety, drop at comb, length of pull, style of rib, etc. We can't decide for him.
28" barrel, multi-chokes, 3" chamber are the basic requirements.
I killed a [bleep] of ducks when I hunted all 60 days of season with a Maverick whatever it is, made by Mossberg. I kept it in the boat at all times and it got beat to crap on days when I didn't want to take my Beretta O/U.
Just looked it up, Maverick 88 and they sell for $186 at Academy. I liked mine so much and it took a beating in the boat, dunked, and several times as a paddle that I eventually had it camo dipped lol. Cheapest shotgun I ever had. My other duck guns are a Benelli Super 90 and my Beretta 686 so I'm not really a cheap gun kind of guy.
How many times you gotta use a shotgun for a paddle before you figure out that, just maybe, there's something wrong with the way you're doing things?
Find me a duck hunter in south Louisiana where there are lots of duck hunters that hasn't done it and I'll show you someone that doesn't duck hunt.
