Home Defense Shotgun

WHICH HOME DEFENSE SHOTGUN?

  • Total voters
    177
  • Poll closed .
I, too, like the Mossberg 500 for the “tang” safety (there really is no tang) but with one caveat.

The safety button is plastic and often breaks. Metal replacements are inexpensive and easy to install, and I strongly recommend doing so before putting the gun into service.
 
I've had a few 870's over the years and they're great shotguns, nowadays I'm pretty partial the 590A1 Mossberg.

I also have one of the KSG shotguns and have put quite a few rounds through it, maybe 250 or so, never an issue with the function of it. I like the way it handles, and the capacity is hard to beat. :)
 
The question was 870 or 500/590. No further input was requested. So why input it when not asked for? The man carried an Winchester M12 in Viet Nam for a couple of tours and used them there. He has trigger time for real. He likes a simple pump action shotgun. Thank you to all who answered the question asked.
 
Currently propped in the bedroom is a 1940's Stevens 520-30.. sold by Montgomery Wards... it is a tribute gun to my "Uncle Vern"...
 

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AJ said:
The question was 870 or 500/590. No further input was requested. So why input it when not asked for? The man carried an Winchester M12 in Viet Nam for a couple of tours and used them there. He has trigger time for real. He likes a simple pump action shotgun. Thank you to all who answered the question asked.
Click to expand...

I DID answer your question and validated the 500.

If your ultimate choice is for the 870, I would suggest you go with an oldie. Current Rems, IMHO, are ****.

Mossbergs have retained their reputation, but Remingtons have not.
 
AJ said:
The question was 870 or 500/590. No further input was requested. So why input it when not asked for? The man carried an Winchester M12 in Viet Nam for a couple of tours and used them there. He has trigger time for real. He likes a simple pump action shotgun. Thank you to all who answered the question asked.
Click to expand...
AJ,
You included "Other" in your poll question, that is why you are getting input on "Other" shotguns

If our only choices are the 870 or the 500/590 shotguns I would go with the Mossberg
 
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My previous comments were based on my experience with 5 870s produced between 1987 and 2005. I have both Wingmaster and Express models, and have never seen any difference in their reliability, durability or function.

I previously had several 60s & 70s era 870s, but let them go. Nothing was wrong with them, but when 3" chambers and screw in choke tubes became the new standard...

I have no personal experience with more recent production 870s.
 
GypsmJim said:
I DID answer your question and validated the 500.

If your ultimate choice is for the 870, I would suggest you go with an oldie. Current Rems, IMHO, are ****.

Mossbergs have retained their reputation, but Remingtons have not.
Click to expand...

This was the type of info I was asking for. I too, would prefer the older Remingtons (better built years ago). I have no problem with the Mossberg 500 or 590 (basically the same gun, just appointed differently).

I have a Remington that has been rebuilt to be a faux USMC Remington M870 Mk 1. Picked up the barrel, mag extension and front sight/bayonet lug at a gun show in Calif about 40 years ago. Built it up and used it when teaching Combat Shotgun Courses to the Navy at NS Long Beach. Not many can say they have a gun they used on active duty. Granted it is not the real thing, but I can't afford the real thing........Vietnam Issue U.S.M.C. Remington 870 Mark 1 Wingmaster Shotgun | Rock Island Auction.
 
Birdhunter6 said:
My previous comments were based on my experience with 5 870s produced between 1987 and 2005. I have both Wingmaster and Express models, and have never seen any difference in their reliability, durability or function.

I previously had several 60s & 70s era 870s, but let them go. Nothing was wrong with them, but when 3" chambers and screw in choke tubes became the new standard...

I have no personal experience with more recent production 870s.
Click to expand...


Looked at the Remington web sight and no shotguns were listed........Wrong website? Remington
 
Borderboss said:
Why does he think he shouldn't have bought the KSG? I bought mine specifically as a house gun because of its short length. It's definitely heavy if you load it up with stuff like I did with mine (below), and if you load it with all 14 rounds. But that can be mitigated. Mine works fine however.

Click to expand...

He has the Kel-Tec and has hated it since his first time on the range. It is a personal thing I guess. Salesman sold him a bill of goods, without him talking to someone else. He will either sell the Kel-Tec at a loss or trade it for what he wants (again at a loss).
 
colt_saa said:
AJ,
You included "Other" in your poll question, that is why you are getting input on "Other" shotguns

If our only choices are the 870 or the 500/590 shotguns I would go with the Mossberg
Click to expand...

My mistake in including the "Other" category. Not use to doing polls. Should not have done so in this thread.
 
My one and only home defense shotgun is a 12 ga Stevens 77E I got cheap. If it was good enough for use in the Vietnamese jungles, it's good enough for home defense. You could buy virtually any used and beat-up 12 or 20 gauge pump gun in good functioning condition, cut the barrel to 18.5", re-install the front sight bead, and you will have all the shotgun you will likely ever need for home defense deployment. I sure wouldn't buy anything over several hundred dollars, it would be a waste of money. You don't need anything rare, pretty, or expensive if its whole function will be defensive. For a new gun the Mossberg Maverick would be an excellent and very serviceable choice. BTW, mine is kept loaded with #4 Buck.

So far, its sole defensive use was when my wife used it in our back yard to dispatch a rattler. She used all five shells, wanted to make sure it wouldn't return. It left a big hole in the lawn.
 
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