Best Pumpgun?

[atek3]

looks to me like the max capacity on a nova is 6+1, can't an 870 hold several more?

atek3

[SinistralRifleman]

looks to me like the max capacity on a nova is 6+1, can't an 870 hold several more?

atek3

870s use the same magazine extensions as 1100s and 1187s. Flush with a 18.5" barrel is 6+1, 20" 7+1.....Choate makes up to 9+1 extensions not sure which barrel length those work best with though.

[smokshwn]

Having owned most of these guns(870, 1300, nova) except the Mossberg, I want to chime in. I would rank them in this order.

#1) Win 1300---absolutely the fastest action of the bunch. I am not sure if it is based solely on the rotary bolt or not but I have never experienced the action binding after firing a round. Not as many accessories available but plenty to cover your needs for three gunning (sights, sidesaddles, stocks, slings, etc). In the time I have had my 1300 it has shown me no sign that it is not more than robust enough for hard use over a long duration. Not to mention, a great bargain over the same priced 870, no plastic for $200-250.

#2) Rem 870---legendary gun, you won't be giving up much to the 1300 in terms of action, and in the right hands very competitive. Ton's of accessories, however many of them not needed for three gun. You need to do a little more research and spend a little more money to insure you are not getting an express model with the plastic action parts, however you can also find police tradeins at absolutely smoking prices.

#3) Nova--- so far it seems to be a well built gun (2 years of brutal waterfowl and upland hunting no problems), but definitely not as proven entity as the 1300 and 870. It seems for me that I have to be a little more deliberate when cycling the action or I get a little bit of bolt binding in trying to unlock the action. This could probably be easily fixed with a little time and a dremel I just haven't had the need to investigate it further. The polymer receiver IMHO needs a few more years to show there won't be problems. There is no option for stock replacement as it is part and parcel of the receiver. There is a shortage of accessories, probably enough to get you by, but when you find them they usually cost a premium. Due to the length of the forearm there is only room for 4 shells in a sidesaddle. All in all a good gun but not the one I would pick for trooper/ironman class.

Good luck, I hope this helped, Craig

[ErikW]

One thing about the Nova: it's not for small people. Hard to mount and a long reach to the forearm.

[AH6IP]

I love the Browning's, but when it comes to pumps, (my He-man blaster)-my vote goes to the Rem 870, lot's of accs., simple action, easy to really smooth out, and foremost-Remington supports our sport!

[texasag93]

The Remington 870 has got to be the greatest pump shotgun ever made. It has changed little in the umpteen years that it has been around. I own 2, one wingmaster and one super mag for waterfowl and turkey. I love both of them. I own other shotguns but those are still my favorite two. Cant go wrong with an 870. TXAG

[froglegs]

Mossberg 590 USMC 88-92

[chp5]

Having owned most of these guns(870, 1300, nova) except the Mossberg, I want to chime in.    I would rank them in this order. 

#1)    Win 1300---absolutely the fastest action of the bunch.  I am not sure if it is based solely on the rotary bolt or not but I have never experienced the action binding after firing a round.  Not as many accessories available but plenty to cover your needs for three gunning (sights, sidesaddles, stocks, slings, etc).  In the time I have had my 1300 it has shown me no sign that it is not more than robust enough for hard use over a long duration.  Not to mention, a great bargain over the same priced 870, no plastic for $200-250.

#2)    Rem 870---legendary gun,  you won't be giving up much to the 1300 in terms of action, and in the right hands very competitive.  Ton's of accessories, however many of them not needed for three gun.  You need to do a little more research and spend a little more money to insure you are not getting an express  model with the plastic action parts, however you can also find police tradeins at absolutely smoking prices. 

#3)  Nova--- so far it seems to be a well built gun (2 years of brutal waterfowl and upland hunting no problems), but definitely not as proven entity as the 1300 and 870.  It seems for me that I have to be a little more deliberate when cycling the action or I get a little bit of bolt binding in trying to unlock the action.  This could probably be easily fixed with a little time and a dremel I just haven't had the need to investigate it further.  The polymer receiver IMHO needs a few more years to show there won't be problems.  There is no option for stock replacement as it is part and parcel of the receiver.  There is a shortage of accessories, probably enough to get you by, but when you find them they usually cost a premium.  Due to the length of the forearm there is only room for 4 shells in a sidesaddle.  All in all a good gun but not the one I would pick for trooper/ironman class. 

Good luck, I hope this helped,  Craig

+1

I don't have a Nova, but I've owned 870s and 1300s. YMMV, but I like the 1300 the best. The safety position in not ideal however.

[Patrick Sweeney]

I've shot every pump gun ever made except the new Nova. I've even shot some esoterica that you might have only seen in books.

If you want the best gun for the money, that can work as a proven winner, buy an 870. Get an older one if possible, and a police tradein that you can rebuild and slick up would be best.

If you are planning a career as a pump shooter, able to handle anything that comes along, take a different tack: buy an Ithaca 8-shot, an old one. Learn to shoot a pump fast that lacks a disconnector, and you can handle anything.

I learned on a Mossberg 500, and never got the knack of the "no disconnector" guns. When I found how slick an Ithaca pumps (scary fast and smooth) I tried it: no joy. I couldn't get my finger in sync with the trigger, and I'd close the action between targets, with my finger still on the trigger, and blast the dirt instad of steel or bowling pin.

[Bear1142]

When you take everything into consideration ( Cost, parts availability, durability, reliability, aftermarket accessories, etc..), I don't think you can beat an 870.

Erik

[SinistralRifleman]

Is it just me or do several posts (including my own) seem to be missing from this thread today?

[EricW]

I shot a Nova...............once.

[ErikW]

Me too. I swear it was the cause of my arm injury that plagued me for weeks.

[EricW]

There is nobody on this earth that can convince me that Tom Knapp doesn't get "special" Novas when he does his demos. Out of the box my....

(For those of you not in on the joke, the Nova has such a "fine" reputation that Tom Knapp started doing Nova, chuck-NN-clays-in-the-air-and-bust-them demos with guns that are allegedly randomly obtained.)

[smokshwn]

Eric,

I'm with you, although the NOVA's action isn't what I would call horrible there is definitely no way that it works out of the box smooth/fast enough for the shooting he pulls off. I have seen and done quite a bit of shotgun worth in my former gun game life and don't see the nova working like that.

The other part of it is Tom Knapp is quite possibly the 2nd biggest arrogant a$& in shooting sports (i'm keeping my #1 slot open in case I ever meet someone worse). A very good waterfowl guide friend of mine (definitely world class in all respects) was offered a business deal in which one scenario would have Tom endorse his line of duck and goose calls. This would have given my buddy an ungodly increase in exposure at a time he dearly needed it. After one day in the blind with Tom and his ego he let the it be known that he would not do the deal and he was gladly pay off any expense that had taken place to make the hunt happen. He has since built his business on a reputation of working his but off and maintaining a great reputation the old fashioned way.

[Flexmoney]

If somebody will list all the top choices (up to 10) that have been mentioned...I'll add a poll to this thread.

[scottmilk9]

I love the nova for hunting, but seems to be a little bulky for speed pumps, my choice would be the 870 wingmaster.

[Sestock]

If you go with the 870 make sure to get a SPS, Police or Magaum Action. They are much more reliable to extended use.

[TRUBL]

Ok....i'll chime in here.

I was looking for a pump shotgun last year for a match that required a pump shotgun for the HE-Man division. So that being said....I am going to tell you my choice for the 'BEST' shotgun for HE-Man Division.....if you were to go to a match that will require that.

Hands down.....Mossberg 590 A1

1. Ghost ring sight or bead.....depending on the model (I chose the bead.....but will be putting on rifle sights soon)

2. Aluminun trigger group vs plastic on the A500....this would be a good thing!!!

3. Metal Safety vs plastic on the A500 (again....a good thing)....I personally like the placement of the safety over the 870

4. comes stock with 8 + 1

5. NO feed gate!!! (like on an 870) I showed a few people here how I could grab 6 shells out of a choate shell caddy and just drop, push, drop, push.......much faster than I ever could with my 1100 or 870. Also....and this may not seem like much but it is.....the mag spring is much lighter than others.....and it works!!! (lighter pressure = faster too ya know)

6. slide release is much easier to get at than the 870

7. I re-worked the slide and it is VERY smooth....much smoother than I can get an 870.

8. They work!!! and keep working!!!!

9. vent barrel shroud......a very nice thing to have!!!! on any shotgun!!!!

10. very inexpensive......so much so.....I did my own version of a desert camo paint job on it. And....you can buy it, right out out of the box ready for 3 gun competition if you like!!!

[cking]

The 870 is probably the most common, with most accessories. But for pure speed I put my 2 cents in on the old 8 shot Ithaca. I picked up a used LS Prision one. Lots of handling, no shooting wear. Put on a Choate pistol grip, especially handy for leftys. It is so much lighter and faster handling than an 870. With reduce recoil slugs its great. It will pound you with full power slugs.

[AH6IP]

I have decided to experiment and build a Browning BPS for He-Man, well just because I really like Browning's. I will probably turn my own Mag tube, or possibly make a true one piece for it. I was thinking because the shells eject straight down, I could put a side saddle on both sides! And, you can buy a new 22" barrel for it and not have to worry about cutting and choking. I tried a new one and it was very, very smoove! I will keep ya'll posted on the results.

[AH6IP]

An update on the BPS project. After figuring the thread pitch(s) for the mag tube and receiver, I decided to build a 1 piece mag tube ala SX2 practical. A few observations/tips-On a BPS 3" gun-

1. The BPS uses a proprietary follower, hence the mag tube is turned internally with a shoulder to stop the follower before entering the receiver. No big deal, just different. So I used 2 factory mag tubes to make one long one. It threads directly into the receiver, the barrel slides over it, then you put on a "forearm brace" (similar to a SX2 Practical) only made of carbon fiber tubing, then the mag tube cap.

2. The thought of cutting a loading port on the right side of the receiver intrigued me, but then I discovered you CAN load directly into the chamber from the bottom by just moving the slide about 1/4 of an inch forward, which raises the lifting carrier fork out of the way. With a little practice, reloading is a piece of cake.

3. Added a Williams rear ghost ring sight (WGRS37), and a Williams 1/4" fiber optic front that I dovetailed into the vent rib. Works great.

4. Opened up the receiver loading port and beveled 45 degrees each side. Very smmooove.

5. With a little polishing, the bolt/carrier/ and trigger group smooth out real nice for a real nice slick feel when operating. DO NOT go cutting hammer springs or any other springs -their tension is needed to operate the carrier stop/release, etc.

6. And of course, slightly shortened the synthetic butt stock, and added a SVL recoil pad. Makes a world of difference.

7. Used a factory 22" barrel, just throated and polished the chamber/rim. Being a back bored barrel, normally I would send it to Briley after cutting it to length for choking-the factory offers a 22" barrel with Invector Plus chokes, I decided to go this route, and save the longer barrel for, well whatever.

Pics to follow shortly.

[rhino]

I was looking at one of the newer Benelli pump guns last week, and I noticed that the length the slide has to move to cycle the action is pretty darn short. I would expect it would make it pretty fast to shuck the shells through it, although I know nothing about how it handles or shoots.

[AH6IP]

Is not the receiver pemanently attached to the buttstock on those new models? That would make it a pain to do mods to.

[Airedale]

The Nova, 870, and the Mossbergs are all good choices but I'm a model 12 Winchester fan. There are really no available after market 3 gun parts for it-which makes it a better project.

I have a 1924 manufacture model 12 that is my project gun. I cleaned ~80 years of gunk out of the action and now have a super slick gun ready to start. (Note: this 12 has no collector value and isn't a refinish candidate).

I intend to fabicate a mag extension out of two, shorten the barrel and add thin wall choke tubes, add new wood, satin finish the wood and black the gun. I think a barrel shroud might look good too.

Dave