Best Shotgun for Under $600?

[Wildcat1]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I've always liked Remington, I've had a 700 CDL chambered in 7mm Rem Mag for a few years now, and their customer support is top notch.

I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of/used this shotgun, the Remington 887?
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-887/model-887-nitro-mag-tactical.aspx

It seems to be based off of the 870, and it's almost $50 less expensive than an 870 of similar specifications.

[saggs]

This....

http://www.mossberg.com/product/shotguns-pump-action-500-turkey/55116

Not ideal for home defense, but a good turkey gun. If you want both, you'll have to live with compromise....

No compromise needed.

Both the Remington 870 series and the Mossberg 500 series are very easy to swap barrels, magazine tubes and even grips on.  

My advice for a shotgun, pick up an 870 express for around $300.  Then get a short barrel and magazine extension for another $150-$200.  Still well under your $600 budget and you essentially have 2 shotguns.  Use the short barrel and mag extension for home defense, when you want to go hunting put on the long barrel and standard magazine/w plug (if it's required in your area) and you're good to go.  Honestly it takes less than 2 minutes to change the barrel.

FYI:  Everything I said also applies to a Mossberg 500.  I just own and prefer 870s so I used it as an example, both are great shotguns.

Why do you need a gun for home defense? If you feel threaten where you are, move out to a safer location. You have a higher chance of shooting yourself then using it to stop a bad guy.

Oh boy..  the Arthur Kellerman report BS again, that study was thoroughly and immediately shown to be utter bunk when it was released in 1986, it is totally false.  If you wanna know just how bogus it is PM me, I don't wanna get this thread rule #14ed    

[saggs]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I've always liked Remington, I've had a 700 CDL chambered in 7mm Rem Mag for a few years now, and their customer support is top notch.

I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of/used this shotgun, the Remington 887?
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-887/model-887-nitro-mag-tactical.aspx

It seems to be based off of the 870, and it's almost $50 less expensive than an 870 of similar specifications.

I wouldn't bother with any of the factory tactical shotguns.  Like I just pointed out, you can buy a hunting/sport shotgun for much, much less $$$ (I saw brand new 870 Expresses for $299 at a major retailer last month) then also buy whatever tactical (or tacticool) accessories you want (short barrel, mag extension, compensator, picatinny rail, pistol grip, speedloader, sights, etc...) and save a lot of money.  Plus then you still have the option of swapping back to the long barrel and other stock parts if you ever want to go hunting or bust some clays.

As for the 887, it's a relatively new model and I have no firsthand experience with it.  I'll just say this, the 870 has been around for decades and has a proven track record in sporting/hunting, law enforcement, home defense and military applications.  With an 870 you KNOW you're getting a super reliable proven design, the 887 is still a question mark and it has been getting "mixed" reviews so far.

[Rich46yo]

Why do you need a gun for home defense? If you feel threaten where you are, move out to a safer location. You have a higher chance of shooting yourself then using it to stop a bad guy.

Lol, really? I'd go with either a Mossie or an 870.

[Rich46yo]

Why do you need a gun for home defense? If you feel threaten where you are, move out to a safer location. You have a higher chance of shooting yourself then using it to stop a bad guy.

Boy I hope your kidding. I'd go with either a Mossie or a 870. You can buy an extra barrel and defensive stock for $600 and when spring comes you can go to your standard for turkey hunting. I missed my bird this year. GD rained on me for 3 days and when this Jake finally came to the edge of my dekes he hung up. I thought he was 40 yrds out, it turned out to be 47, and dang if I didnt miss him with my Browning Gold 3&1/2". First time I ever missed a turkey.

[Rich46yo]

Why do you need a gun for home defense? If you feel threaten where you are, move out to a safer location. You have a higher chance of shooting yourself then using it to stop a bad guy.

Boy I hope your kidding. I'd go with either a Mossie or a 870. You can buy an extra barrel and defensive stock for $600 and when spring comes you can go to your standard for turkey hunting. I missed my bird this year. GD rained on me for 3 days and when this Jake finally came to the edge of my dekes he hung up. I thought he was 40 yrds out, it turned out to be 47, and dang if I didnt miss him with my Browning Gold 3&1/2". First time I ever missed a turkey.

[RngFndr]

Any of the big 3 will work.. Rem/Moss/Win, They are all pretty much the same..
Any of the Deerslayers or Turkeyguns are good, often come with rifle sights installed..
Pretty much the same as a defense Shotgun aside from mag capacity, and maybe a rifled barrel..

Remington and Mossberg have the widest variety of accessories and doodads available..
Have fun..

(edit) saggs had a good suggestion about being able to convert..
I think Mossberg actually sells one that way, with both long and short barrels included.. 

[Shifty]

Do you have any friends with shotguns? If so, why not go out and shoot theirs to get an idea of what you're in for. I have a 12ga Mossie I use for home defense. Nothing fancy easy to use easy to hit with and not terribly expensive. Plus if worse comes to worse and I actually did have an intruder in the house I would feel safer engaging him with a shotgun than I would  one of my rifles or high powered pistol. I would be way too worried about rounds from a rifle or pistol penetrating through my walls and into my neighbor's homes.

No, they are not at different ends of the spectrum.  The difference between the two is the choke tubes.  Nothing more.  Yeah, a person can get all tacti-coolio with all the BS gadgets, or he could buy himself a decent Remington, Browning, Mossberg, or other such legit non fad gun (a.k.a. Benelli), and have plenty of cash left over for a camo wrap, extra choke tubes, and some different kinds of ammo.  A home defense shotgun does not have to have an extended mag tube, an 18in barrel, a pistol grip, or other such stuff.

I have a close friend who uses a Browning A500 for pheasant, duck, goose, turkey and deer hunting.  The only thing he changes is the choke tubes, installs sights on his 24in barrel for slug use, and he adds the camo wrap for turkey.  He stores it in his bedroom and is probably about #2 on his list of "go to" guns when things go bump in the night (#1 being a pistol).

I vote for a Remington 870.  A very tried and true design with loads of experience and company support behind it.  Also, there are MANY accessories out there available to fine tune it to anything you want or need and then some. 

+1

[RngFndr]

Another thing to consider..

Many of the Brand new shotguns, are being made with lower quality components..
Cost cutting ya know??? MANY people have noticed this..

For this reason I would get an 870 over an 887.. And a M500A over an M500C..
You might consider a slightly used Shotgun, about 10yrs old..

Better than new!

[Spikes]

Thanks for the tips, guys. I've always liked Remington, I've had a 700 CDL chambered in 7mm Rem Mag for a few years now, and their customer support is top notch.

I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of/used this shotgun, the Remington 887?
http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model-887/model-887-nitro-mag-tactical.aspx

It seems to be based off of the 870, and it's almost $50 less expensive than an 870 of similar specifications.

I own one, it is at my grandparents house currently. It is a great gun and fun to shoot, but the foregrip feels very cheap. As said above, I would buy a barebones shotgun...most likely just a synthetic one with an 18.5" barrel and go from there. That 887 is nice for the price, though. I think we sell our tacticals at my workplace for $499.

[mbailey]

I have a 25+yr old Mossberg 500 with interchangable barrels. My 28" is for turkey and choked (Full) It also has a 20" smoothbore slug barrel. I store it with the slub BBL on it.....Its nice and short, patterns buckshot well and is small enough to allow me to swing around in my hallways without having to worry about the long BBL hitting the walls.  The 870s are nice as well...both you can purchase in a Combo model (2 bbls) and will get you well below your budget.

One factor i saw mentioned is the size and construction of your home.....you dont want anything overpenetrating into places you dont want it to go.....this is really an important factor to take into account

[bmwgs]

Winchester Defender would be a good choice.

Like someone said earlier, any of the big three would work for home defense.

Fred

[Widewing]

whatever you decide to get just I hope you will never had the need to use it.


semp

Can somebody say Amen?!

I have a 12 gauge tactical shotgun for home security. I pray that I never shoot a round through it except and the range. The absolute last thing I want to do is shoot a bad guy. Doesn't mean I won't, it means I prefer not to have to make that decision. Ever.

[smoe]

Can somebody say Amen?!

I pray that I never shoot a round through it except and the range. The absolute last thing I want to do is shoot a bad guy. Doesn't mean I won't, it means I prefer not to have to make that decision. Ever.

Same here, way too much to lose. I also want to buy something for self-defense, but I want it to be useful for other purposes like hunting, fun at the range, cheap, etc.

[guncrasher]

what fish is saying is the other side of the coin.  if you must get a gun to defend your home then perhaps the wise choice would be to move.  I live in a middle class neighborhood, but the crime rate in my city is low.  but I do own two handguns that I keep next to me just in case.  but I am not "hardcore" like my friend who has a zillion guns with enough ammo to supply the contras.  he looks at it as money well spent, I look at it as I could have bought a Harley with 1/3 of that and have enough money left to get me some plastic surgery and a tummy tuck to get some chicks to driver around.

not sure where most of you guys live but to some of us when you say things like "get a couple of friends and go turkey shooting" or something like that, well the only turkeys around here would be the neighbors around the corner.  we are city folks so if we say things "why would you need a gun" dont bring up the gun politics.  we sometimes just mean to say "do you live in a safe neighborhood and if you dont then please  move".  you on the other hand think, "no way I am moving".  just different ways of thinking.  you make your choice according to your own ideas.

like i say we just gotta try to understand each other a bit.


semp