Hi all,

I'm a newbie . Just took my gun safety course and ready to get a shotgun. Decision, decision, decision. Which one should I get?

I was looking at a shotgun at Big 5. Remington 870 Express 12 Gauge and 28 inches barrel. I think it also said on the barrel: Marine Magnum or is it super magnum. I don't know what it means. I know magnum is a strong bullet.

Anyway, I need opinions from all of you who have experience with shotgun. I don't want to get a crappy one and end up buying a different in the future. If I do, I will go with rifle.

Please advice. I'm eager to get one so I can go and practice before stepping my foot onto the field and hunt. Yummy I am imagining a BBQ duck or waterfowl ... hihihi


Thanks.

Welcome WishStar99, both to the board and to the ranks of being an outdoorsman!

You are looking in the right direction. You certainly can't go wrong with an 870 Express for your first shotgun. Very good gun for the money, good reputation, and will do whatever a shotgun needs to do.

I would make sure it will handle 3" shells if you want to hunt waterfowl or turkeys. I don't know if Remington makes a 3 1/2" chamber in their shotguns, but a 3" chamber will do you just fine if they don't.

Since you are a newbie, just because a gun has a 3" chamber and can shoot magnum shells, it does not mean that is all you have to shoot. I would start out shooting light target loads, (1 oz. or 1 1/8 oz. loads), at clay targets, then work up to the loads you will use in the field.

It might do you well to find someone experienced in shotgun shooting to give you some basic instruction and tips. This can prove invaluable for you in the long run.

Good luck, as it does my heart good to see someone excited about being outdoors and experiencing sport hunting!
Tim

Tim,

Thanks for the reply.
I re-checked the Remington 870 that I looked at Big 5, I think it's a Remington 870 Express Magnum, which the Chamber is only 2 3/4.

According to your saying, I think I should get Remington 870 Express Super Magnum, which support Chamber 3 1/2. Here's the site that I'm looking at: www.gunandsport.com/pr...pumps.html

Please advice if this doesn't suit for a newbie.

Thank you again.

WishStar:
Just checked that, and yes, the Super Magnum Express would be the one. I, for one, have never shot a 3 1/2" gun, but if I was in the market for a new shotgun, I would get one with a 3 1/2" chamber just to have that option should I choose to.

Don't want to confuse you, but another good shotgun for the money is Mossberg. They have many good options, camo, etc., and are priced in the range of a Remington Express.

Good luck, and I'm sure you will get other good advice in this thread. There are a bunch of good guys here. Don't be afraid to ask any question you might want to. Everyone here is very friendly and willing to help new guys!
Tim

giggle with joy and excitement ...

Glad to see you here and hope you post often. These are a lot of very knowledgeable folks hanging around this site that will be glad to assist you and respond to your questions.

Getting a new shotgun is an adventure and you have lots of options and choices. I would recommend looking at the used gun racks in a few gun shops. There are some real bargains out there waiting to be found. This year, I managed to get an excellent condition 12 gauge Remington 870 Wingmaster 3'' magnum with a vent rib for $200.00. A month later there was a lovely 12 gauge 870 Wingmaster 2 3/4" with a vent. rib for $159.00. I prefer Wingmasters to the Express models and it is a personal choice. Good luck in your quest. All the best...
Gil

Welcome to the site.

First off, no you dont need 3" mags for ducks or 3.5" for turkeys. My dad shoots his turkey every year with a single shot out of his 28GA. I still hunt ducks with my 2" 3/4 LOL!

People are taught to believe you need a "MAGNUM" for everything these days... we have 300 ULTRA MAGs, 7mm SHORT MAGS... heck even a .17 caliber Hornady MAGNUM Rifle caliber (HMR). Lots of hunters before us killed plenty of all kinds of critters with .30-30's, simple 12 and 16 GA shotguns.

I'd recommend fit and feel of a firearm over caliber as my initial concern. After that my next concern is "can I shoot this caliber accurately"... if not you need to find something else.

The Rem870 is a proven tried and true shotgun with a great heritage. I hate'em in 12GA due to the recoil, I like the semi-auto's as they take alot of the kick out. I've shot a great many boxes of shells in a day where my 870 shooting friends start slowing up as their shoulders get beat up. But it doesnt bother alot of people for sure, its an extremely popular style shotgun.

Again welcome to the site and feel free to ask anything.


-DallanC

hmmmmmmm now the battle has started in my mind. Running around to search for the right gun. yahoooo =)

First of all, =) thanks for the tip of helping me save money; but I am weird (bias). I don't like used stuff. hihihihiihihi



At Big 5, they sell Remington 870 Express Magnum with 2 3/4" Chamber for $269.99 with $30 mail in rebate.

A different store sells around $370 - $400 for Remington 870 Express Super Magnum with up to 3 1/2" Chamber also $30. rebate.

Question is, should I spend another 100 bucks to get the Super Magnum? Or just pick the other one, and might regret later on hihihihihihihi

I think they both feel the same. Same lenght, probably same weight too. I really can't wait. Once I agree to buy it, I have to wait 10 days for them to do the background checking ... Oh mannnnn ...


Talking about Semi-Automatic ... hmmm I want to have autoreloader too, but it's so expensive. don't want to spend that much money YET. May be on a rifle in the future. ... I love rifle ... my nickname is DeathWish <<< one shot one kill hihihihihihi ... in the computer game of course ... anyway ... thanks again for all the help ... ...

WishStar99,

Its a personal choise on the size buy what you feel is right, I know when I went turkey hunting I stuck with a 2 3/4 no4 load myself (gun was a 3") and didnt go the 3" route alot of people I talked to did and tried getting me to do as well (didnt see a tom though so didnt get one but thats ok it was my first turkey season! ).

"Magium", "Super Magium" and the like are misnamers on shotguns I think. I'm willing to bet they can all handle the same pressure out of the shells just the bigger the chamber the more of a "magium" companies call it. Marketing at its "best".

As for used guns in my opinion are better for the most part, rifles and shotguns are not that easily "hurt" so if you can buy a rifle that has 5-10 years on it other then a possible barrel change if the past owner was a heavy shooter you just bought a gun that will last a good 100 years more, so really its not that bad of a thing

Dimitri

in my younger years. my family nor I could afford to buy new guns. or actualy just did not want to spend any money on a new gun.
we settled with hand me downs, or very cheap used guns.

out of all the guns I got that was used, all of them shot good, no problems, and was already sighted in, and broke in.

when I got married, I sold my guns when times was hard and needed money for food and transpetation.
I started buying guns again to make up my collection again.
all the guns I have bought now are new. getting them broke in and sighted in was alot of fun, but it took time.
I like to shoot, I dont do much hunting anymore, but I still like to shoot.
I did buy a cheap winchester ranger shotgun. it has a shorter barrel on it than most hunting shot guns.
a shorter shot gun barrel will require you to be more precise and a better shot to hit birts or clay pigions.
I never ralized it till I picked up my friends winchester shot gun that was the same model but had a normal long barrle on it. I was amazed at how much easier it was to point , aim , shoot and hit targets. and his gun held a tighter pattern.
my shot gun is not a auto shooter, its a the old pump style. but I can work it about as fast as a auto shooter.
other guys have a prolem shooting my shot gun. but the main thing is, what ever you get , shoot it, practice alot, and you will get use to it.

last two times I went out, I shot around 300 to 400 rounds of 12 gauge.
my shoulder was good and soar. the next time I went, two weeks later, we shot about 200 to 300 rounds. my shoulder did not bother me.
so, what I am trying to say, is, the more you shoot it, the better it gets.

if you are going to buy a shot gun. I would at least go with a 2 3\4 - 3" .
and, I have shot alot of 410's and 20 gauge. the 12 gauge is the one I stayed with. it has the power to a job. and if you ever start reloading, you can make the loads light or heavy. lighter loads do not have as much recoil, and use less poweder. and I have shot plenty of birds with light loads that served me good.

for rifles. the 30-30 I found to be my favorite for hunting. it dont have the range like a 270, or 30-06. but it does have the knock down power, and is very deadly from 100 to 150 yards, and farther if you sight it in and know what it can do. most of all the dear I have shot has been with in 150 yard shot.

have fun,

Wow, so many feedbacks. Thank you thank you

ripper007 or anybody:
what does: "getting them broke in and sighted in was alot of fun" mean?

And what does? 30-30 and 30-06 mean? And how long is 100 yard? I came from Europe where they use Meter and Kilometer I know how long a feet is, but YARD? hmmm

hihihi

WishStar99,

Breaking a gun in invovles shooting it enough till it starts to get consistant alot of guns need this break in time others dont. Someone else will explain it better as I've not done it myself

They didnt explain calibers to you in your safety course ??

And the metric system in my honest opinion sucks. 3 feet to a yard unlike the 3.3 feet to a meter. Simple no ??

Dimitri

Wishstar99,
Buy the shotgun that best fits you, ie feels the most comfortable to you when bring it up to you shoulder. Buy the shotgun that gives you the most hunting options. Dallan is correct when he states that a lot of species do not need to be taken with 3" or 3 1/2" magnum loads. All of your smaller water fowl, upland game, and small game can be taken with 2 3/4" shells of the correct shot size. But the larger water fowl- Greater Canada Goose, Swan, etc. I would not recommend shooting with anything under 3 inch, and on late season weary birds, I would like the ability to shoot 3 1/2 inch shells.

I personally have owned and shot a Remington 870 special field for over 23 years, and 10's of thousands of rounds with not having any repairs needed. In a pump, you can not go wrong buying the 870 if it fits you and is comfortable.

Other things to look at are:

Make sure the gun you purchase has removable chokes
I would recommend a vented ribbed barrel, helps with sight picture alignment.
popular brand = available parts when and if needed.


Hope this helps
BWS

My advice to you would be to seek out a person who has been hunting and shooting for many years. They can help you select a proper gun that fits you and that you will be able to enjoy for many years to come. Go to your local gun shop, or look to see if there are any shooting ranges with instructors nearby. I can assure you that there is someone near you that has a wealth of knowledge that they would love to share with you. It will be time well spent on your part, and you just might find a new friend that will take you under their wing and get you involved in the shooting sports in a safe and fun manner.
Seek the advice of others, then listen and learn from their years of experience. You won't regret it.
Be Safe and have fun!
Yotebuster

110 yards = 100 meters
3 feet = 1 yard = 39.375" = 3 feet 3 3/8 inches
1 inch = 2.5 mm(plus or minus a little)