Intro and gun advice

[PaulS]

Hi everyone.
Been searching the forum for great info, but not much posting.

I'm coming from primarily upland hunting and need a waterfowl gun since I can't use my Ithaca 37 with steel shot. Looking cost-wise the mossberg 535/835 series seems to offer a lot.
Hunting area will be lower mainland, although still unfamiliar with exactly where to go.

Can anyone share advice on These guns or if there is a better choice in the sub$400 range?
Im partial to pump action guns, maybe one day a semi auto will makes its way to my collection.

Thanks for any info and I hope you have had a great season thus far.

[ElliotMoose]

I have a couple mossberg maverick model 88's for playing around. They run about 250 a pop and are a decent bang for your buck. Keep em clean and basic is all you need

[22ruger]

Check into the guns for sale there is a wingmaster 12 ga there best gun around

[r106]

I have a 870 express. Great gun but I'm not a fan of the finish on them. If you can afford it a 870 wingmaster would be great. I have heard great things about mossberg shotguns. Look at the used market as well. Even if you find a used wingmaster for the same price as the new mossberg I would get the wingmaster

[PaulS]

Great info guys!

thanks and I will look into the used forum.
From past experience I prefer a new gun as some people have different definitions of "I always maintained my gun". Learned the hard way.

[The Dawg]

I have an 870 for sale. Check the for sale forum

[goatdancer]

I had my Ithaca 37 modified to use steel shot. Check with a gunsmith.

[longshot]

^^ as goatdancer said, look into modifying your barrel. Cheaper option and the M37 seems to be a pretty good gun. Then save your pennies and then buy a future gun that suits you well

[Singleshotneeded]

Yeah, you can modify your barrel and I've got an Ithaca 37 and it's a sweet shotgun.
Then again, I also have an 870 and it's never ever done anything but go bang every time.

[Tanya]

Big fan of my 870. Taken everything from quail to bear with Precious.

[mklaver]

hard to go wrong with an 870 - millions of happy customers.....

[Foxton Gundogs]

I'm a big fan of the Stoger P350 for an inexpensive waterfowl gun Benelli parts 3.5" appart from "opperator abbuse" getting used to the 3.5" action only 1 failure and it was delt with quickly and efficently.

[dutchie]

I'm a big fan of the Stoger P350 for an inexpensive waterfowl gun Benelli parts 3.5" appart from "opperator abbuse" getting used to the 3.5" action only 1 failure and it was delt with quickly and efficently.

Stoegers are a good design but they are far from Benelli parts... if they were Benelli parts they would be a Benelli...

They are a Benelli design but that is it... same with Franchi.

I am a big fan of 870 wingmasters, browning BPS and Benelli Nova/Supernova. The Wingmasters are far better then the 870 express and I have never had a failure with mine and I have shot thousands of rounds through it and the person before me had it for 10 years and shot a ton with it too.

Best thing to do is find a few people to go to the range and shoot with them, or if you are at the range talk to people and ask them if you can try shooting thier gun.

I have a SX2 semi auto that i bought on the info that someone else gave me and they said it was thier favorite gun, but it is far from mine because it does not shoulder the way I like it too. I am selling it because I never use it and it doesnt work for me... but it definetly works for other people!!!

Go to the gun shop and start shouldering guns... you will soon findout what works for YOU!!

Dutchie

[Foxton Gundogs]

You are correct I should have said Benelli manufactured parts. The parts are not interchangeable with Benelli.

[wingmaster]

Get an 870, wing master if u can and you'll be "happy happy happy"

[jrebelo]

Great info guys!

thanks and I will look into the used forum.
From past experience I prefer a new gun as some people have different definitions of "I always maintained my gun". Learned the hard way.

For the same reason as yourself, I have traditionally had the same kind of belief, but something I'm learning as my gun collection continues to grow is that (as with all things) they just don't make them like they used to. In many cases, the materials and quality of older guns exceeds the standards of todays guns from the same manufacturer. This is why you often see used guns listed as being "Pre-64" and "Pre-remington (Marlin)", etc. There are many cases where production changes made older models of a gun more desirable.

I have a 1970s 12ga Wingmaster and while it shows some dings from being used over the years, the action is smooth as butter. I also have a 1970s Marlin lever action that operates and shoots just as well as any of my new guns.

New stuff is definitely awesome, but there's some really great old stuff.

[Foxton Gundogs]

True for sure My main scatter gun is now an Beretta X2 and it is an excellent piece BUT I love to shoou my 1952 Mod. 12 Trap it has spit 10s of 1000s of rounds for 3 different family members and still functions smooth as silk and is more fun to shoot than any of my other shotguns.