Pump-action, 12 Gauge Shotgun less than $500

Jimbob2.0 · Aug 16, 2017

$500 is a generous amount for a shotgun. You stand a very good chance of getting a decent used Mossberg for $300 to $350 and probably an A1 for a little less (A1 doesn't buy you that much) or a 870 plain jane new. Police beat-up for less but usually very functional. If you want a truck gun Id go with whatever runs good and use the rest of the money for ammo.

I wouldn't go Norinco, I have a IAC/Norinco Trench Gun clone its ok but not fantastic. I got it because Ill never get a chance at anything else like a trench gun.

If you want a real nice trunk/camp gun look at the Armscor M5. Sweet gun for around $200 in hard chrome, less in park. Slick gun, super slick action and you can gravity rack it. Our friends in the Philippines make really decent functional guns for cheap. Sure a blem or rough milling here or there but 100% function.

http://armscor.com/firearms/shotgun-series/m30-m5-matte-nickel/

Now if you want to go lever action my Shanghai special JW-87 is still available.

fidelity · Aug 16, 2017

Minuteman said:
If you are just picking from that list 'as is', I'm sticking with my #4 recommendation. You can't do much better than this without spending a ton more money, and you won't get that much more bang for your buck:

If you are entertaining mods to the others, the sky is the limit and I'm sure you could trick one of the others out, but it would put you price wise at or above what the Mossy costs.

It's the initial price that's holding me back given the role that I'm envisioning for it. Otherwise agree with your reasoning, and wouldn't have included the shotgun if it didn't appeal to me.

tallen702 said:
I'll second the Maverick. I have one and it's a great gun for the price. I've never had an issue with the trigger group (the only non-interchangeable part with a 500 IIRC) and it'll accept any 500 barrel or furniture set with ease.

Given that you're looking for a "trunk gun" that can double as HD, it's the most reliable cheap route there is. I've hunted deer, turkey, pheasant, chuckar, and dove with my Maverick 88 and it always did just fine. Have a cantilevered barrel for my scope for deer season and Turkey season. 28" vent-rib for birds, 20" for HD. Hell. You can even get a .50cal front-stuffer barrel for them to cover muzzle-loader season, and at sub $200 more often than not for the gun, you don't care if it gets banged up.

Great arguments. Very persuasive case you've made (with Pale Ryder). Mossberg barrels seem less expensive than Remington ones too.

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fidelity · Aug 16, 2017

Hey Jimbob2.0, just saw your post. Thanks for your perspective and will check out the link.

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fidelity · Aug 16, 2017

Derwood said:
Mossberg 500 - great choice. lots of options for customization. No loading gate.

Remington 870 - great choice. lots of options for customization. Loading gate.

...

I also really like the Ithaca Model 37. ....

rob b said:
Pawn shops always have them and some are reasonable

Biggfoot44 said:
...
Moss is lighter in weight, and has tang safety. Weight can go either way with personal preference . I like tang safety generally, and will point it is more adaptable to firing from either shoulder. A big thing if you or family member is an actual southpaw. Also handy when you are being an Operator operating Operationally, shooting around corners.

And for the wild card, I really like the underrated Winchester M1200/1300 .

snakep said:
Can't go wrong with a Winchester 1300 either or a Mossberg 500/590/590A1 family member. 870P's are nice too...get one of each!

mopar92 said:
New production? M-O-S-S-B-E-R-G. New Remington is cheap shit that if you buy the upgraded parts for reliabilty and pay a smith to install them will roughly equal cost of new gun.

Old school? Flip a coin.

Wild card contenders include High Standard Flite King (I like Steve McQueen sue me) Winchester 12/1300 and S&W 3000.
...

boss281 said:
I have an 870 12 gauge that I'm going to put up for sale soon, with optic and a lot of ammo (this model https://www.remington.com/shotguns/.../model-870-express-synthetic-tactical-7-round). Think I picked it up in 2011, ran 10 shells through it, and then parked it for home defense. Not needed anymore and taking up space...

TargetGrade said:
Old PRE PLASTIC 870 would get my vote. I have that and a Mossberg 835 that I bought for a song just for turkey shoots. I like them both BUT the 870 is just slicker and the better looking. I wish I had a mint Win 97, they just look cool!

INMY01TA said:
I like the 18.5" Mossberg 590. Add a 4.25" tube extension and you have 7+1 capacity Mossberg with an 18.5" barrel (I hate the 20")

3paul10 said:
For 500.00, you could buy an 870 AND a Mossberg 500...

Thanks for the feedback, gentlemen. Sorry if I missed someone. Am reading all the responses here.

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fidelity · Aug 17, 2017

Little more than I was thinking to spend, but good price on the Mossberg 590A1 ... $388 shipped ...

https://www.kygunco.com/Product/View?ItemNo=66804

Price comparison ...

https://gun.deals/product/mossberg-590a1-12-gauge-9-rds-20-parkerized-6-rd-xs-ghost-ring-sight-38787

jimbobborg · Aug 17, 2017

No easy way to increase capacity on a Mossberg 500. The Remington is a spring and tube extender. With that said, I'd prefer a pre-Express Police Magnum if I were in the market for an 870. Or get the Mossberg 590.

dontpanic · Aug 17, 2017

United Gun Shop just posted a nice looking used Wingmaster today.

joppaj · Aug 17, 2017

fidelity said:
Little more than I was thinking to spend, but good price on the Mossberg 590A1 ... $388 shipped ...

https://www.kygunco.com/Product/View?ItemNo=66804

Price comparison ...

https://gun.deals/product/mossberg-590a1-12-gauge-9-rds-20-parkerized-6-rd-xs-ghost-ring-sight-38787

That's a good price on a nice shotgun.

fidelity · Aug 17, 2017

jimbobborg said:
No easy way to increase capacity on a Mossberg 500. The Remington is a spring and tube extender. With that said, I'd prefer a pre-Express Police Magnum if I were in the market for an 870. Or get the Mossberg 590.

Yeah, $300 out the door (after transfer fees) is what I would pay on the older style 870 Police Magnum that I have a line on.

dontpanic said:
United Gun Shop just posted a nice looking used Wingmaster today.

I've seen that one in person. There was speckling and small rust marks on the receiver, otherwise might have picked it up. Was also a little confused as it had a parkerized finish (maybe this is common on newer Wingmasters?) and furniture that didn't match what I've seen before for this model. (I'm not referring to the second, $600 Wingmaster they posted)

joppaj said:
That's a good price on a nice shotgun.

Yeah, tempting. I prefer the grip vs an AR-style pistol grip (my #4 in the OP) too.

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Magnumite · Aug 19, 2017

Try out and shoot, if possible, the model you want. I picked up a new Mossy 500 Cruiser, 8 shot with the railed fore end several years ago. I had some issues shooting it as well as I did my 500 wood stocked combo. I even got a new Mossy made rifle sight barrel (I prefer rifke sights on this type of shotgun). Finally figured out the synthetic stock was longer than my wood stock 500 combo. A tape measure, miter box, 20 minutes and still needing to blend the shoulder pad later it made all the difference in the world.

fidelity · Aug 19, 2017

Inch, partially scratched. I think I put off a lot of revolver and shotgun shopping desires in the run up to SB-281 and then the 2016 Presidential election, so had an imbalanced collection that I've started to rebalance in 2017. Anyway, got a Mossberg 500 from Dick's Sporting Goods (thanks for those that alerted me to the current sale there).

Didn't come with a manual or warranty card in the box (or locking device of any sort), which was odd, but I've never bought a Mossberg before.

Think that I'll still get another 12-Gauge in the future, perhaps with wood furniture as I like the look, but this is a start. Looking forward to some range time.

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wilcam47 · Aug 19, 2017

hard to beat a Walmart Remington 870 still around $300

Doobie · Aug 19, 2017

Minuteman said:
If you are just picking from that list 'as is', I'm sticking with my #4 recommendation. You can't do much better than this without spending a ton more money, and you won't get that much more bang for your buck:

If you are entertaining mods to the others, the sky is the limit and I'm sure you could trick one of the others out, but it would put you price wise at or above what the Mossy costs.

Doesn't a pistol grip interfere with the normally easy to operate tang safety?

joppaj · Aug 19, 2017

fidelity said:
Inch, partially scratched. I think I put off a lot of revolver and shotgun shopping desires in the run up to SB-281 and then the 2016 Presidential election, so had an imbalanced collection that I've started to rebalance in 2017. Anyway, got a Mossberg 500 from Dick's Sporting Goods (thanks for those that alerted me to the current sale there).

Didn't come with a manual or warranty card in the box (or locking device of any sort), which was odd, but I've never bought a Mossberg before.

Think that I'll still get another 12-Gauge in the future, perhaps with wood furniture as I like the look, but this is a start. Looking forward to some range time.

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I like the sites on that shotgun. What's the tube capacity and barrel length?

Doobie said:
Doesn't a pistol grip interfere with the normally easy to operate tang safety?

It does. That said, I personally never use the safety on a pump action shotgun but that's just me.

Biggfoot44 · Aug 19, 2017

I DON'T like shotgun stocks with AR style pistol grips, which dovetails nicely with my (rebutable) preference for tang safeties. If you mistakenly wish a black rifle style buttstock, it would gp better with a crossbolt safety .

dreadpirate · Aug 19, 2017

dontpanic said:
United Gun Shop just posted a nice looking used Wingmaster today.

I was going to say the same thing. I saw it in person and its gorgeous.

AlBeight · Aug 19, 2017

Minuteman said:
If you are just picking from that list 'as is', I'm sticking with my #4 recommendation. You can't do much better than this without spending a ton more money, and you won't get that much more bang for your buck:

If you are entertaining mods to the others, the sky is the limit and I'm sure you could trick one of the others out, but it would put you price wise at or above what the Mossy costs.

Bought this ATI Scorpion myself, good shooter and love pretty much everything about it except three minor things:
1) Other posts are correct, at about $650 it was probably too much (@ Dicks).
2) That pistol grip completely prevents you from accessing the slide release on left-side rear of trigger guard. Need to break grip to work it. There is an after market extension that will solve that, haven't gotten it yet.
3) HEAVY AS HECK.

fidelity · Aug 19, 2017

joppaj said:
I like the sites on that shotgun. What's the tube capacity and barrel length?

...

20-inch barrel. I think it's advertised as 7 (3-inch) shells or 1 less than the 590A1.

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Art3 · Aug 19, 2017

fidelity said:
Inch, partially scratched. I think I put off a lot of revolver and shotgun shopping desires in the run up to SB-281 and then the 2016 Presidential election, so had an imbalanced collection that I've started to rebalance in 2017. Anyway, got a Mossberg 500 from Dick's Sporting Goods (thanks for those that alerted me to the current sale there).

Didn't come with a manual or warranty card in the box (or locking device of any sort), which was odd, but I've never bought a Mossberg before.

Think that I'll still get another 12-Gauge in the future, perhaps with wood furniture as I like the look, but this is a start. Looking forward to some range time.

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Very nice. :thumbsup:

I think 870's used to be a little nicer, but I've always believed that Mossberg was the best value if you just wanted a shotgun that worked. Friends and family have had Winchesters and Rem's that had issues. In my inner sanctum of relationships there are probably 20+ Mossbergs, and I can't recall any of them ever having any problems.

Next, you should get one with an 18inch barrel...just cuz :shrug:

If you like wood, you can get a basic big box store 500 and add the short barrel.

(I just can't believe you didn't have a 12ga pump already! :shocked3:

)

fidelity · Aug 20, 2017

Art3 said:
Very nice. ..

(I just can't believe you didn't have a 12ga pump already!)

Thanks.

I bought my first handgun in August 2012. Prior to that, I only had a Crosman pellet gun (I think in the shape of a Python) in my youth. My folks weren't gun people, but we lived around plenty. Anyway, the Sandy Hook shootings occurred later in 2012, SB-281 took shape, and even though my second firearm purchase was a revolver, I got more focused on what might be banned in the future. This continued up to the 2016 election, but when Trump won, with the sigh of relief, I started reconsidering many things that I put on hold, especially revolvers and shotguns. I suspect other people's buying in Maryland during this time period might have been similarly skewed.

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Pump-action, 12 Gauge Shotgun less than $500

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