First Shotgun

[porkpie]

Might be putting my 870 rem mag up for sale in a month. It,s the older one. Bought new in 87. It,s a sweet shot gun.

That's the one to buy. When the 870 express was still made well! I'm generally a wood all the way guy but for my deer/duck/goose/turkey beater pump I use a synthetic win 1300. I only take my old browning A5 out when the weather is decent.

Edited July 29, 2015 by porkpie

[Beavertail]

Yeah, keep in mind that most of the pump guns produced today (eg Rem Express, Mossberg) will have cheap, low grade wood stocks with no grain and pressed checkering that aren't very strong at all, and IMO look even cheaper than synthetic. If you want nice walnut, go with a Wingmaster or Browning BPS.

[dave524]

Get a real 870 Wingmaster not even an early Express. Even in the 80's Expresses had a finish that was a cheap imitation of Suncorite that was used on Lee Enfields, almost a painted on finish that easily scratched and chipped, like they used stove black on the metal. When looking for an older 870, try to get one that takes the RemChoke tubes, having a set of tubes will add to the versatility of the barrel over a fixed choke, especially in the field.

 

I consider my personal 12 gauge , the best they made, a late 80's Special Purpose 3" 870 Magnum, it has a real walnut stock with cut checkering, came with sling swivels installed and a camo sling, 26 inch vent rib barrel with a full set of chokes and best is all the metal has a dark gray true phosphate Parkerized Finish. Yes, you will have to pry my cold dead fingers off it.

Edited July 29, 2015 by dave524

[kickingfrog]

And that's when the fight started. lol

 

My head understands the pros of synthetic but my heart doesn't care. It's a personal choice that has more to do with heart then head.

[BassMan11]

And that's when the fight started. lol

 

My head understands the pros of synthetic but my heart doesn't care. It's a personal choice that has more to do with heart then head.

Fair enough,

 

Personally I like the look of a wood stock myself. Just asking if there were really any significant pro's or con's.

 

This is all great information. I always like to be as educated as possible before i go into a store to make a purchase. Most of the time I end up knowing more about an item / items than the person working there.

[misfish]

My pop refinished mine. I didn't like the original finish. It is now a nice satin finish and the wood shows well.

[Rustic-Fisher]

Wingmaster, SuperNova,BPS, would be my choices in order .

 

Wingmaster is a do all very reliable pump gun with a million after market accessories . Nicely blued and polished from the factory . With the express 870 you may find yourself having to polish the chamber as as many feature a rough chamber that causes grief ejecting shells. Express models seem more prone to rust also.

 

SuperNova is a basically industructable pump that handles 3.5 inch shells if you choose, strips down for cleaning in the field with zero tools, comfortec stock is cool and deffinetly reduces felt recoil , shims to adjust the stock to your liking are all so a bonus . It is a heavy gun though, pump stroke is long for some peoples liking, also asseccaries are scarce and costly .

 

BPS (Browning pump shotgun ) is a great bottom eject shotgun perfect for a leftie. Accessories are fairly common, love the tang Thumb Safety, one big negative for me was complete tear down and cleaning as it can get trickey.

 

A newer Ithaca M37 is a cool option if you can find one threaded for chokes for more versatility , bottom eject and they have a slam fire option ( hold the trigger and pump away) you'd likley never use it but kinda cool. Newer M37s also seem to have some of the nicest wood on a pump you'll find .

 

Wood vs Synthectic ......

In my opinion Wood stocks are deffinitly nicer to look at but having owned guns with AAA grade walnut stocks I hated smashing through the underbrush of a grouse cover trying not to mark up the fancy stock. Even though scratches build character on a stock, it still hurt.

I've since learned to love just plain black synthetic for the pounding and crappy weather conditions it can take .

The most important thing as others have stated is make sure which ever gun you choose shoulders nicely and feels right.

Just my 2 cents , good luck

Ry

[ratherboutdoors]

Have to agree with Ryan on this one. Grew up with a wingmaster never, ever an issue. Only downside was that it wasn't threaded for chokes and couldn't 'officially' shoot steel. Yes for under $300 I could have replaced the barrel but being that I like new things, I just picked up a Super Nova from Cabela's when they had them on clearance a few weeks ago. Shoots 3.5 (wow, do they have punch) and fits me very well. I also looked at the Winchester SXP as it is getting great reviews however for the price difference I went with the Benelli (on sale) might not have if it wasn't.