Thinking about buying a piece.

[wildman]

ok i'm looking at buying my first shotgun. I'm planning on going pheasant hunting this year with some friends. I have little knowledge of shotguns. So i'm looking for a cheaper one under $400 dollar range. That way I can learn about them with out spending a lot of money. What are some recommendations yall would have?

 

[carlfense]

ok i'm looking at buying my first shotgun. I'm planning on going pheasant hunting this year with some friends. I have little knowledge of shotguns. So i'm looking for a cheaper one under $400 dollar range. That way I can learn about them with out spending a lot of money. What are some recommendations yall would have?

For a starter gun it'd be hard to go wrong with a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500 or 590. (My personal preference would be the 870 out of those options.)

I know a lot of people swear by the Benelli Nova as well but it's hideous.

Honestly, the prices for any of the above used won't be much different than new price. Whatever you do do NOT buy a used gun from a place like Cabelas. Odds are excellent that you could run over to Wal-Mart and buy the same gun new for less money.

Any of the above would be adequate for waterfowl as well as upland.

 

[BigRedBuster]

ok i'm looking at buying my first shotgun. I'm planning on going pheasant hunting this year with some friends. I have little knowledge of shotguns. So i'm looking for a cheaper one under $400 dollar range. That way I can learn about them with out spending a lot of money. What are some recommendations yall would have?

For a starter gun it'd be hard to go wrong with a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500 or 590. (My personal preference would be the 870 out of those options.)

I know a lot of people swear by the Benelli Nova as well but it's hideous.

Honestly, the prices for any of the above used won't be much different than new price. Whatever you do do NOT buy a used gun from a place like Cabelas. Odds are excellent that you could run over to Wal-Mart and buy the same gun new for less money.

Any of the above would be adequate for waterfowl as well as upland.

I have two mossberg shot guns and won a Benelli Nova.

Mossbergs are rally good guns for someone just buying their first gun. They are very functional and very reasonably priced.

The Benelli is OK. I mainly just use it for turnkey hunting though. It just seems like it's built for something like that more than pheasant or duck hunting.

 

[wildman]

ok i'm looking at buying my first shotgun. I'm planning on going pheasant hunting this year with some friends. I have little knowledge of shotguns. So i'm looking for a cheaper one under $400 dollar range. That way I can learn about them with out spending a lot of money. What are some recommendations yall would have?

For a starter gun it'd be hard to go wrong with a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500 or 590. (My personal preference would be the 870 out of those options.)

I know a lot of people swear by the Benelli Nova as well but it's hideous.

Honestly, the prices for any of the above used won't be much different than new price. Whatever you do do NOT buy a used gun from a place like Cabelas. Odds are excellent that you could run over to Wal-Mart and buy the same gun new for less money.

Any of the above would be adequate for waterfowl as well as upland.

I have two mossberg shot guns and won a Benelli Nova.

Mossbergs are rally good guns for someone just buying their first gun. They are very functional and very reasonably priced.

The Benelli is OK. I mainly just use it for turnkey hunting though. It just seems like it's built for something like that more than pheasant or duck hunting.

thanks for the info guys. I thought about checking out what walmart has near me. Cabelas is to far of a drive as I live in Lincoln. I always forget about the one in Omaha. I drive by it all the time to head to Bass Pro instead since they are better lol. I'm thinking of checking out what Scheels has plus couple pawn shops.

 

[HUSKER FREAK]

I bought a Remington 870 about 25 years ago and still take it out every so often. It still works as good as the day I bought it never jams. I have since got a semi auto which is good for my slowing reflexes (can't pump as fast as I used too) plus it kicks about 50% less.

 

[The Dude]

Mossbergs are rally good guns for someone just buying their first gun. They are very functional and very reasonably priced.

Do they still put plastic safety buttons on them?

If so, I'd vote Remington 870 all the way.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Don't get a Mossberg, once they start getting a little dirty they start having malfunctions and the pump action doesn't work as well. I know this first hand as our department has 8 of them and we curse them constantly. We had an "old school action job" done on one of them and it works "a little" better, but not much. I'd go with the 870 or the Benelli Nova, I have the Nova and like it, but you can't go wrong with an 870. Pretty much indestructible.............

 

[Muck]

I mostly just lurk here these days but I'm compelled to say something about this:

If you were to choose a AR I would tell you to look at some specialty rounds for it from Hornady. The big complaint with AR rifle rounds is that, "They'll go on forever and wah wah wah..........." No they won't and there are speciality rounds out there now that expend all their energy into the target they hit. They won't go through the target and keep going. I have some sweet material on the ballistics of some of these new rounds. One example was a SWAT team making entry into a house, dude has a gun, SWAT guy puts one well placed round into the head of bad guy. The round never left the guys head, it stayed in there and expended all of its energy once it made contact. From a ballistic standpoint that's awesome..................

The FBI recommends a minimum of 12" of penetration in ballistic gelatin for a reason. According to Hornady's own data the 40 gr Urban TAP rounds barely penetrates 6". That is a recipe for disaster for anyone going up against a determined assailent. Hell even Hornady points out that they are designed for a very limited application. Not only are you recommending it as a home defense round but you also want to issue it in patrol rifles? God forbid they ever encounter someone using cover.

FWIW the 40 gr Urban TAP is the 40 gr V-MAX with a different marketing pitch. I don't think Hornady even offers it any longer.

Also the x-rays on page 51 of the Hornady brochure actually show trauma caused by the 75 gr BTHP (Ballistic Tip Hollow Point) TAP, which is a generally well regarded round.

Old myths aside, .223/5.56 is no more of a threat to penetrate of common building materials than handgun calibers commonly used for self defense. A couple of layers of drywall is not going to stop any round that is capable of reliably stopping a human being so (as always) you need to be aware of what is beyond your target ("Threat, Backstop and Beyond") but to reiterate, 5.56 is no more of a threat in that regard than any other effective defensive caliber (including buckshot).

 

[walksalone]

I mostly just lurk here these days but I'm compelled to say something about this:

If you were to choose a AR I would tell you to look at some specialty rounds for it from Hornady. The big complaint with AR rifle rounds is that, "They'll go on forever and wah wah wah..........." No they won't and there are speciality rounds out there now that expend all their energy into the target they hit. They won't go through the target and keep going. I have some sweet material on the ballistics of some of these new rounds. One example was a SWAT team making entry into a house, dude has a gun, SWAT guy puts one well placed round into the head of bad guy. The round never left the guys head, it stayed in there and expended all of its energy once it made contact. From a ballistic standpoint that's awesome..................

The FBI recommends a minimum of 12" of penetration in ballistic gelatin for a reason. According to Hornady's own data the 40 gr Urban TAP rounds barely penetrates 6". That is a recipe for disaster for anyone going up against a determined assailent. Hell even Hornady points out that they are designed for a very limited application. Not only are you recommending it as a home defense round but you also want to issue it in patrol rifles? God forbid they ever encounter someone using cover.

FWIW the 40 gr Urban TAP is the 40 gr V-MAX with a different marketing pitch. I don't think Hornady even offers it any longer.

Also the x-rays on page 51 of the Hornady brochure actually show trauma caused by the 75 gr BTHP (Ballistic Tip Hollow Point) TAP, which is a generally well regarded round.

Old myths aside, .223/5.56 is no more of a threat to penetrate of common building materials than handgun calibers commonly used for self defense. A couple of layers of drywall is not going to stop any round that is capable of reliably stopping a human being so (as always) you need to be aware of what is beyond your target (ie on the other side of those walls) but to reiterate, 5.56 is no more of a threat in that regard than any other effective defensive caliber (including buckshot).

Outfreakin standing, thanks for the info...

I'm looking at purchasing the S&W M&P 15, and modding it on my own.

 

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

I used to work for Hornady, that's quite the facility to see if you ever get the chance.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

I mostly just lurk here these days but I'm compelled to say something about this:

If you were to choose a AR I would tell you to look at some specialty rounds for it from Hornady. The big complaint with AR rifle rounds is that, "They'll go on forever and wah wah wah..........." No they won't and there are speciality rounds out there now that expend all their energy into the target they hit. They won't go through the target and keep going. I have some sweet material on the ballistics of some of these new rounds. One example was a SWAT team making entry into a house, dude has a gun, SWAT guy puts one well placed round into the head of bad guy. The round never left the guys head, it stayed in there and expended all of its energy once it made contact. From a ballistic standpoint that's awesome..................

The FBI recommends a minimum of 12" of penetration in ballistic gelatin for a reason. According to Hornady's own data the 40 gr Urban TAP rounds barely penetrates 6". That is a recipe for disaster for anyone going up against a determined assailent. Hell even Hornady points out that they are designed for a very limited application. Not only are you recommending it as a home defense round but you also want to issue it in patrol rifles? God forbid they ever encounter someone using cover.

FWIW the 40 gr Urban TAP is the 40 gr V-MAX with a different marketing pitch. I don't think Hornady even offers it any longer.

Also the x-rays on page 51 of the Hornady brochure actually show trauma caused by the 75 gr BTHP (Ballistic Tip Hollow Point) TAP, which is a generally well regarded round.

Old myths aside, .223/5.56 is no more of a threat to penetrate of common building materials than handgun calibers commonly used for self defense. A couple of layers of drywall is not going to stop any round that is capable of reliably stopping a human being so (as always) you need to be aware of what is beyond your target ("Threat, Backstop and Beyond") but to reiterate, 5.56 is no more of a threat in that regard than any other effective defensive caliber (including buckshot).

Our application for it would be in specialty situations in the field, which is why I said "some" of our patrol officers. They most likely would have a modified .223 or .308 rifle. One of the things we've talked about is having a designated marksman, don't know if you know what that is, but it's a patrol officer with the skills and training to take a longer shot if needed and Hornady makes different rounds for different applications. Not saying that their particular speciality rifle round met the FBI protocol, but their TAP line as far as "normal" .223 rounds and handgun rounds did very well in the testing. That's what I was getting at, also if what you say is true of the 6" penetration I don't know about you, but 6" of penetration into the soft palate area of someone's head WILL kill them. Think about the wound cavity and expansion that is created just by looking at the ballistic gelatin test. Hornady also says under the info for this .40 grain urban TAP round that "this bullet is not an ideal choice when barrier performance is required." So this bullet would fail the windshield test miserably. Also the round in bare gelatin penetrates 7", through wall board into gelatin 7", through plywood 6.25", it doesn't fair well against steel and auto glass, but the round isn't made to perform well against those items.

Also I never recommended it as a home defense round like you're implying. I simply was telling people of the benefits of said round as it was explained to me by Hornady. So if there were concerns there as far as people being concerned about "over pentration" there are options there to make them feel more comfortable. The x-rays are something the Hornady people said was caused from one of their rifle rounds. I simply posted their material for others to review, they may have either slanted it to lean towards their speciality rounds or I misheard them and they were talking about their other rifle rounds.

Also, it doesn't matter what round you fire if you are going up against a determined assailant unless you have a successful head shot. You can shoot someone in the aorta and they can still fight and kill you for 30 seconds to a minute. This isn't the movies, people don't fly backwards and instantly explode in blood and stop fighting and die. If people want to know what I have in my home defense carry weapons.

Glock 22 .40 caliber with Gold Dot 185 grain hollow point rounds.

LMT AR-15 .223 with Federal .55 grain FMJ. (I'm surgical with my rifle and this is a GREAT round, but expensive)

Benelli Nova Pump with Federal 00 Buck.

 

[BigRedBuster]

Mossbergs are rally good guns for someone just buying their first gun. They are very functional and very reasonably priced.

Do they still put plastic safety buttons on them?

If so, I'd vote Remington 870 all the way.

I don't believe so. I have never noticed them being plastic.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Mossbergs are rally good guns for someone just buying their first gun. They are very functional and very reasonably priced.

Do they still put plastic safety buttons on them?

If so, I'd vote Remington 870 all the way.

I don't believe so. I have never noticed them being plastic.

I think they are a metal composite if I remember correctly? We've had a few snap in half unfortunately and had to replace them. We have the Mossberg 590's.........

 

[The Dude]

Mossbergs are rally good guns for someone just buying their first gun. They are very functional and very reasonably priced.

Do they still put plastic safety buttons on them?

If so, I'd vote Remington 870 all the way.

I don't believe so. I have never noticed them being plastic.

I think they are a metal composite if I remember correctly? We've had a few snap in half unfortunately and had to replace them. We have the Mossberg 590's.........

Yep, they tend to do that.