New To Shotguns, Before I Buy My First

[hazmatt]

I will likely be buying my first shotgun in the coming weeks. I will likely buy a 12g pump with a 20" barrel and full length tube magazine. I have not decided on what brand of shotty I will buy yet. But, it would be used for home defense and target plinking fun, if you can consider shooting a 12g plinking

I have done enough research to know that rifled slugs can be shot through a improved cylinder bore. However, here are a few questions...

1. In IC shotguns, that do not use different chokes, does the bore gradually decrease in size, or does it only decrease toward the end of the barrel?

2. Does it make a difference whether the change in bore is gradual or only toward the end of the barrel?

3. If I decide to buy a shotgun that has a full bore, and uses replaceable chokes, can I still shoot slugs through a IC choke?

Maybe I am just over thinking this, but I am a newbie and I would rather be informed than remain in the dark.

[RichardR]

1.) generally they start to taper towards the end of the muzzle.

2.) not really.

3.) yes.

Anyway I own two Mossberg 500's (a 12g & a 20g), a Mossberg 590A1 (12g) & a Remington 870 (12g) all use replaceable chokes except the 590A1 which is a fixed cylinder bore.

For what you are looking for, a 20" for home defense & plinking the 590A1 is hard to beat, but for hunting or shooting clays I usually use a 500 ((or rarely the 870) instead.

[hazmatt]

Thank you Richard, I am thinking about a Mossberg Maverick 88 as my first. However, I may go ahead and get a 500 instead.

[Guest bkelm18]

Thank you Richard, I am thinking about a Mossberg Maverick 88 as my first. However, I may go ahead and get a 500 instead.

Nothing wrong with a Maverick. Great value shotgun.

[hazmatt]

Nothing wrong with a Maverick. Great value shotgun.

from what I have researched, I like what I see. And, there is, or at least was, a used 18.5" available in my area. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of being able to change out the barrel. I have a few friends that like to shoot clays. Being able to put on a longer barrel could come in handy.

[RichardR]

Yea the ability to swap out barrels is handy and only takes a few seconds, I am not sure about how the barrel attaches on the Maverick 88 version as I have never played with one, but on the 500 it is real easy.

[gjohnsoniv]

I would go with either a Remmy 870 or Mossberg 500, can't go wrong with either. Each has plenty of aftermarket parts/barrels.

Edited June 8, 2012 by gjohnsoniv

[Dolomite_supafly]

Mossberg 500/590 can be a pain in the butt to use with a pistol grip stock. The safety is on top of the receiver making it very difficult to manipulate.

I sold my 500 for that reason only. I got tired of leaving it on fire so it was ready.

Dolomite

Edited June 8, 2012 by Dolomite_supafly

[RichardR]

Yea I much prefer a standard stock on my shotguns so the Mossberg's back of the receiver safety works much better for me, however the trigger guard safety on the Maverick 88 or Remington 870 would work much better for pistol grip setups.

[Guest bkelm18]

As far as I know the barrel attaches the same on a Maverick as other Mossbergs (since the Mav is made by Mossberg).

Edited June 8, 2012 by bkelm18

[RichardR]

My buddy has a Serbu Super Shorty based off of the Mossberg Maverick and he seems to really like his, with that sort of heavy level of customization it was difficult for me to tell what was Mossberg & what was Serbu though, I'll have to take a closer look at a Maverick next time I am in the LGS simply because IMHO there is no such thing as owning too many shotguns! LOL.

[hazmatt]

Yea I much prefer a standard stock on my shotguns so the Mossberg's back of the receiver safety works much better for me, however the trigger guard safety on the Maverick 88 or Remington 870 would work much better for pistol grip setups.

I also prefer a standard stock, so the 500's safety location would be fine with me.

My buddy has a Serbu Super Shorty based off of the Mossberg Maverick and he seems to really like his, with that sort of heavy level of customization it was difficult for me to tell what was Mossberg & what was Serbu though, I'll have to take a closer look at a Maverick next time I am in the LGS simply because IMHO there is no such thing as owning too many shotguns! LOL.

Also agreed, I will likely end up with a 20" Maverick, and a second shotty for shooting clays.

Edited June 9, 2012 by hazmatt

[dats82]

Make sure you go play with them all before you buy one. I have had a 500 and did not care for it. I did not have any problems out of it, but it just felt cheaply made. I know shotguns are not really precision weapons, but the action just felt sloppy. I did not have it very long, and I bought it new. Before I go rid of it, there was already marks on the side of the receiver where the fore grip was rubbing.

All that said, I know have 3 870's that I like much better. For the price of an 870 vs a 500, I feel that an 870 is made much better. They feel tighter and more secure. I don't know that they shoot any better, but they just feel better in my hand. It sounds a bit trivial, and I guess it kind of is. However, if you are annoyed by little picky crap like I am, make sure you feel out all your options and go some where that will let you operate the action and mount the gun to you shoulder just to see how they all feel.

The 500 I had was a combo model with about a 26-28" ribbed barrel and about a 22-24" slug barrel. I am not sure on those lengths, but it was a 12 ga. The 870s I have are a 12ga super mag turkey model that really serves as my bed side gun. It has a short double bead barrel, I guess about 20". Then I have a 20ga youth model with about a 20" barrel. I don't even have it at my house. My dad has kind of adopted it as his hd gun. The third is a 28ga with about a 26-28" barrel that I just use for doves or shooting clays.

Either way, there are plenty of options in either the 870s or 500s, and I am sure you would be well served with either. My final advise would be that regardless of what you get, if you plan for it to kind of be an all around gun, get one with screw in chokes. It give you more options, and options are always good.

[RichardR]

Yup the slides on the Remington's defintely have less slop in them and the action on the Remington's do feel smoother, however the reason for that is the Mossberg's loading gate design, the slide/action on Mossberg's retracts the loading gate out of the way for easier/faster reloading & doesn't have the "pinch the thumb potential" of the Remington design.

Mossbergs also have dual extractors, so it takes a bit more force when working the action to kick out the spent shell verses Remington's single extractor, making the action on the Mossbergs feel a bit more clunky.

However occasionally while shooting trap/skeet with my Remington 870 I will experience an empty shell getting "stuck" in a very hot chamber, when that happens I have to shove a cleaning rod down the barrel and poke/prod the darn thing out however I haven't ever had that happen with any of my Mossbergs, I might have to rack the slide on my Mossbergs a little harder when the chamber(s) get really hot, but the spent hulls have always come right out.

[dats82]

That is interesting about the extractors. I guess I never paid that close of attention when I had my mossy. Good to know. I've had to slam the butt of my 870 on the ground to extract a shell, but I've never had one stuck to the point you describe.

[Guest motonut]

Timely topic, been considering a SG for awhile myself. If I may I would like to piggyback on Hazmatt's thread and ask a few questions too.

I want a SG mainly for home security but would also like to do some clay pigeons at the range and maybe turkey hunting with a neighbor. I have no desire to go duck hunting or anything like that.

With this in mind I would think the 18 - 18.5" bbl would be the ideal for HS and think 24" (or maybe 26" if only option) for CP/Turkey but that a 28" is totally unnecessary. Sound reasonable?

Secondly, what is a Slug barrel? Would you only be able to shoot slugs from a slug barrel? Would you be able to shoot CP's w/ a slug barrel? I do see there are both "fully rifled" and "cylinder" bore slug barrels, am I correct to assume a fully rifled slug would shoot only slugs but a cylinder bore could also shoot shot rounds?

The reason I ask is there are a couple of Mossberg 500 combos and it seems they center around either the 18" HS barrel or the 28" waterfowl barrel and I don't need the 28". It also looks like (if buying a 2nd barrel) the 18" HS barrel is deffinately the cheaper option so if I can't get the combo I want I should get a 24" SG and add a 18" HS barrel. Does that make sense?

Edited June 10, 2012 by motonut

[nightrunner]

All slug rounds are not the same. Some are made with rifling made into slug and therefore dont need a rifled barrel. Others are made like an extremely large bore rifle, normal round lead projectile without rifleing and that type NEEDS a rifled barrel for any amount of accuracy.

[dats82]

Secondly, what is a Slug barrel? Would you only be able to shoot slugs from a slug barrel? Would you be able to shoot CP's w/ a slug barrel? I do see there are both "fully rifled" and "cylinder" bore slug barrels, am I correct to assume a fully rifled slug would shoot only slugs but a cylinder bore could also shoot shot rounds?

You are right, some are rifled and some are smooth. Most have a set of iron sights on them. I think you could shoot whatever you want one of either of them, but if you shoot shot out of a rifled barrel, your pattern will be huge in a very short distance. It would not be practical at all.

As for home defense, I have heard several times that the magical length is 20". I can offer no reason, but people who devote more time to the subject than I say that 20" barrels just perform better for that setting. Idk, I imagine some buckshot out of any length barrel over about 16" would serve its intended purpose within your house. As for not wanting the long shot barrels, I tend to agree with you. My understanding is that you get more range out of a longer barrel, but for most clays, that will not be needed.

[Guest motonut]

You are right, some are rifled and some are smooth. Most have a set of iron sights on them. I think you could shoot whatever you want one of either of them, but if you shoot shot out of a rifled barrel, your pattern will be huge in a very short distance. It would not be practical at all.

As for home defense, I have heard several times that the magical length is 20". I can offer no reason, but people who devote more time to the subject than I say that 20" barrels just perform better for that setting. Idk, I imagine some buckshot out of any length barrel over about 16" would serve its intended purpose within your house. As for not wanting the long shot barrels, I tend to agree with you. My understanding is that you get more range out of a longer barrel, but for most clays, that will not be needed.

No experience but I don't think shooting shot out of a rifled barrel would be a good idea. However my guess is a cylinder barrel would be fine for shot but would like to get confirmation on that. From the looks of things a 20" HS bbl is the same price as the 24" (non rifled bbl) so I may start w/ a 20" HS gun and add the 24-26" bbl if needed later. Will see, still researching. Thanks.

Edit: Looking at the Mossberg 500 Persuader #50577 in 20" (non pistol grip) 8 rnd (don't need that but don't see a 6 rnd.)

Edited June 10, 2012 by motonut

[Guest bkelm18]

You are right, some are rifled and some are smooth. Most have a set of iron sights on them. I think you could shoot whatever you want one of either of them, but if you shoot shot out of a rifled barrel, your pattern will be huge in a very short distance. It would not be practical at all.

As for home defense, I have heard several times that the magical length is 20". I can offer no reason, but people who devote more time to the subject than I say that 20" barrels just perform better for that setting. Idk, I imagine some buckshot out of any length barrel over about 16" would serve its intended purpose within your house. As for not wanting the long shot barrels, I tend to agree with you. My understanding is that you get more range out of a longer barrel, but for most clays, that will not be needed.

At household distances, the difference between a 18" and a 20" is pretty much zilch.

[dats82]

Shooting shot out of a rifled barrel is exactly what anyone with a Taurus Judge is doing. It is not going to hurt it, but like I said, the pattern will be large. Shooting shot out of a smooth slug barrel is essentially no different than shooting shot out of any other conventional barrel, you just would have a set of rifle sights on it verses a bead.

Like I said above and as was echoed by bkelm, I would not worry too much about the barrel length for HD. They are all going to have the same effects for all intents and purposes. I would be more worried about having a shorter weapon to be able to maneuver the weapon in tight spaces as in your home. 20" sounds good, but four inches in either dirrection is probably not going to matter in regards to its ballistic performance in your house.

[Guest motonut]

The main reason for focusing on a 20" is so I can (hopefully) stay with 1 bbl. I just have the impression clay w/ an 18" might be a little iffy. I have the impression the 20" would be more flexable from that standpoint (from reading others that have shot clay w/ 20").

[RichardR]

18 or 20 w/regards to barrel length isnt going to matter all that much, it is the extra magazine capacity that makes the 20 a bit better for HD/SD.

Granted the vast majority of emergency type situations that would require the use of deadly force, would probably be resolved by the use of a double barrel side-by-side, and probably without needing to reload it.

But,if you have the choice between having 6 extra shells in your magazine or having 8 extra shells in your magazine, it might be a good idea to go with 8 instead of 6 just in case you find yourself in a situation that requires the neighborhood kids to "get off the lawn!"

[Guest motonut]

But,if you have the choice between having 6 extra shells in your magazine or having 8 extra shells in your magazine, it might be a good idea to go with 8 instead of 6 just in case you find yourself in a situation that requires the neighborhood kids to "get off the lawn!"

Actually I'm thinking the 7+1 will give me 2 extra chances at the golf carts they're driving around the neighborhood over the 5+1.....

J/K folks

[BigK]

I've been wanting a 20" with 7+1 too. I can't find one I like in my price range.