Re: Which Shotgun to buy?
I have used four different shotguns for ducks/geese, grouse, and skeet. The first was a Mossberg 835 that was fun to shoot unless you were standing next to the guy shooting it in the blind... that barrel porting is bad for buddies. There are a lot of parts to lose if you field strip it. The second one was a borrowed 870 Wingmaster. Smooth, never jammed, and dead reliable. the only thing was it didn't really fit me. The third was a Benelli Nova (pre Super Nova days). That gun fit well, and my shooting showed it. That gun had to be the easiest thing to field strip, even for a rookie. Three parts, no slide bars to drop, and simple to reassemble. It has a bit of a longer length of pull, but it fit me. The last was a Browning BPS. I really liked that one two; it fit well, and it also had the bottom ejection that I liked. Makes for easy clean-up on the empties.
Quality wise, the Wingmaster (even at 20+ years old) showed the craftsmanship. This was followed by the BPS and the Nova. The Mossberg was a distant fourth.
Simplicity of design was easily the Nova. Next time you are in a store, get them to show you how it breaks down. It is pretty slick. THe Remington and Browning are tied in my opinion. The Mossberg was a nightmare. Don't ever field strip that thing.
So which one would I purchase again? Without a doubt the Benelli. It fit really well and matched the quality too. If I wanted I could find an old wingmaster and put some time into that to make it fit, but for my money, it would be a SuperNova. (Those 3 1/2" shells really punish you when pass shooting big Canadas)
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause."
-Theodore Roosevelt France, 1910