Which Shotgun to buy?

[Duck Tales]

All the above are all great "marsh guns" I own a Browning bps and a Mossberg 500. The bps is one of the smoother operating pumps and has a shorter length of pull I find (great for follow up shoots). The Mossberg 500 is a great value gun its tuff, reliable and easy to break down and re-assemby.Alltough the Mossberg barrels tend to ware out over time shootin steel shot, but you should get 10-15 years from a barrel.Infact the Mossberg 500 was the only pump action to not only meet but exceed the rigorus U.S. military testing. Mossbergs 500, 535 and 835 are all geat bang for the buck shotguns.(No I do not work for Mossberg) Then comes the Remington 887. What a p.o.s. first off it felt blocky and plasticy, the the cratfmanship of all the internal moving parts were crap and it was not smooth gun to re-assemble.The gun performed ok at the start witch prevoked my buddy to buy one. Then it started to misfire about 8 of 30 rounds, I took it back Reliable Gun (no pun intended) where I had bought it. They reluctantly told me that the had been seeing the same problems with a few of thease guns. While it was in the shop waiting for parts from Remington I decided to do some research on this problem and this perticular model.(after the fact of coarse) Numorus blogs and forums all stated that misfiring was quite common among thease models and even some were complaining about bent barrels. The gun was chamberd for 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 but the 3 1/2s did not like to cycle very well. When I got the gun back it was still doing the same thing. I couldn't get rid of this thing fast enough. Thank god I was able to sell this thing in less than a week after posting and only lost $20 on the sale. Oh yeah big surprise my buddies gun ended up going to s%!t aswell. I think the 870 models are great solid guns but Remingtons name has really been dragged through the mud latley, posibly for good reason,witch is unfortunate because its a name alot of us including myself have grown up with. Sorry to ramble on but I really hated that POS 887, oh well i guess we all make mistakes. But to cap it up with my personal opinions and expeiriances the Brownings are a sweet, smooth performer and the Mossbergs my usual partner in crime 'cause I can be hard on her and not feel bad about it cause I know she'll keep on goin'. Morale of all this rambling is do your research and not just from the manufactures web page. DON'T BUY THE REMINGTON 887 NITRO MAG !! no mater how badass "THEY" make it sound.

[bearhunter338-06]

I myself wouldn't worry about 3 0r 3 1/2 inch shell's, I have used 2 3/4" steel and lead shell for 25 years until I quit hunting ducks and geese when I lived on the coast. I would look for a good used Remington Wingmaster in 2 3/4" or 3". If it has a fixed full choke you can have the choke opened up by a gunsmith to shoot steal shot, cost around $50.

If your looking for a new shotgun my recommendations would go like this:
1) Remington Wingmaster
2) Browning BPS
3) Remington Express

The Browning BPS is of better quality then the Express but I would not (and have owned a couple) hesitate in buying one.

Don't buy a Mossberg as stated above they are easy to break down.

[springpin]

I recently bought a mossberg 535 ats with 28" barrel, so shoots flawlessly. From 2.75 to 3.5" rounds, never had an ejection problem, miss fire, or a jam. And accurate with slugs. I figured the price is good, and from firing a friends many times (and never had issues)I'd buy one. Glad I did.

Springpin

[Angus]

I went through the same thing about a year and half ago when looking for a shotgun for waterfowling. Ended up with the Wingmaster, and am now a big fan of it.

Bearhunter 338-06 knows what he's is talking about.

[Duck Tales]

When I use the term break down I mean that it can be taken apart easy.

[Kyle84]

I agree with ducktales, they are freaking rock solid. They will easily deal with anything you throw their way.

Don't buy a Mossberg as stated above they are easy to break down.

????? wouldn't you want a gun thats easy to take apart?? especially a shotgun thats been duck hunting in the snow/rain all day for cleaning?
Browning BPS is super nice, but i'd never be wading threw 3ft water with that gun. Or sitting in the mud with it.

[keoke]

I have a mossberg 500 after 6 years of abuse it is finally giving me ejection problems. Not sure what the issue is but when I chamber the second shell it falls out of the receiver if it is not tipped to the left and the fired round doesn't fling out like it use to. My next shotgun will be a 870 wingmaster.

[Duck Tales]

Ya th 870 wingmasters are great too my buddies brother has one and he loves it. His only regret is getting the walnut stock it dont look as sweet as she did coming out of the box 5 years ago(salt,snow,mud the usual biz). Like I said the 870 models are also a very solid gun, but the 887 is a newer model that seems like it was built by people who dont hunt. I'm not a Remington hater by any means I own 700 XCR Long Range Tactical in 300 WIN MAG and a 597 22 lr.

[Kyle84]

I started duck hunting with a maverick 88 field, cost me 190$ new. Got lots of ducks with it, great starter gun.

[wos]

27 years of duck and goose hunting with my wingmaster that my dad gave me for Christmas when I was a kid. Ive only missed 2 seasons and it has never let me down. And it was an old used gun when I got it. I cant say enough for these guns.