Well, some people just aren’t that picky. Don’t be a racist.03Lightningrocks wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:47 pmNot sure why you would hunt for rabies.TexanVeteran wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 5:46 am As I have recently gotten into guns, I have also recently become interested in hunting. I have never been hunting before, and I don't have a truck. So, I will be starting with small game (squirrels, rabies, etc).
What kind of shotgun(s) do you recommend for a novice hunter?
My pistol is a Ruger and I love it. My brother had a Remington shotgun and he likes it, but I would like to hear y'all's thoughts as well. Thanks.
My advice (worth no more than anyone else’s).... start with a pump action, and go from there. Now, having said that, MY first shotgun was an over/under... but I don’t always do things in a logical manner. I wanted a gun for bird and clays, and I’m left handed, and I just happened to run into this used Stoeger Condor Competition 12 gauge over/under at my local gun store. It was selling for a little over $400 and it fit me perfectly, so I bought it.
I now own a Mossberg 590A1 pump action for home defense, but I got one with a 20” barrel and an 8 round mag tube. (NOTE: gun writers are lying when they say it takes 9 rounds in the tube. Mossberg says the gun has a 9 round capacity - meaning 8 in the tube and 1 in the chamber. You can’t fit a 9th 2-3/4” shell into the mag tube.) The gun is a little more front-heavy than I’d like due to the extra length and heavy duty barrel walls, but it is dead nuts reliable, and it will also shoot slugs fairly accurately out to surprising distances for a shotgun. But, the magazine tube probably makes it illegal for hunting in many states.
Benelli Super Black Eagle II semiauto.... Have one. Not my favorite shotgun because it’s inertial operating system is not reliable with 2-3/4” birdshot. I am thinking about acquiring a Mossberg 930, and selling the Benelli. But, I am also considering the possibility that maybe a semiauto shotgun is just more trouble than it’s worth. The jury is still out on that for me.
I owned a number of handguns and rifles for a while before coming to shotguns later on. But If I were starting over, and a shotgun were going to be my first long gun purchase, I’d go for a pump action combo that comes with a 18” home defense, and a 26” or so hunting barrel, from either Remington or Mossberg - with a heavy bias toward Mossberg. My bias toward Mossberg is due to a loss of more recent general loss of confidence in the Remington brand. The Mossberg 500 and 590 are almost the same gun...the 590 being basically a 500 that has been upgraded, and the 590A1 a 590 that has been upgraded to military specs, like the thicker barrel walls, etc. As a left handed shooter, I prefer the ambidexterity of the Mossberg 590/590A1’s safety location on the tang. I believe that the 930 semiauto also places the safety in the same position.
Another brand well worth considering is Stoeger. Stoeger is part of the same parent company as Benelli, and their shotguns have a lot of similarly to Benellis, but at a budget price. For instance, they make a semiauto model that is very similar to a Benelli Super Black Eagle II, that is half or less of the price. They make an inertia-driven tactical shotgun very much like the Benelli M4, but again, at about half of the price or less. My Stoeger over/under is a very nice shotgun, with good wood and extra features like ported barrels and adjustable buttstock, that sells brand new for half of what similar models from other manufacturers would sell for. Their pump actions are just as nice and well priced.
But something like this would be a great place to start: https://www.mossberg.com/product/500-co ... ity-54169/.