[hiwall]

For what you want you could get by with most any shotgun. Sounds like you would be shooting less than 100 or 200 rounds a year. If so any shotgun should last you for many years. The Remington 870's are great guns but you can get by with less.

[bigdaddy573]

Originally Posted by zstei001

Hello All!

I have been shooting for a while with my father and various friends, and I have finally decided to purchase my first shotgun. It's primarily for home defense, and I will use it occasionally for skeet and target shooting. I'm planning to get an 18-18.5" barrel, 12 gauge.

My question is: Is it okay to buy an inexpensive shotgun (~$200-250), or should I go for a more expensive shotgun (~$500-600)? I don't have too much money to spend on it, but at the same time I don't want to throw away $250 on a shotgun that will be junk and not reliable. After all, if someone breaks into my house, I need to feel 100% confident that when I pull the trigger, the gun will fire.

I'd really appreciate anyone's thoughts or guidance on the subject.

Thanks in advance,

zstei001

Get your self a used or new mossberg 500 with a 28" barrel then get a 18.5" barrel to go with it and you should be in the 350-400 range by the way I used my 500 turkey gun with a extra full choke and still busted clays with no problem

[bobski]

well, most skeet ranges shy away from 18" bbls for safety.
if you want to shoot skeet , get a 26 or 28" bbl.
and if youre not rolling in doe, run now...dont get involved in skeet! itll suck you dry and spit you out.
strongly suggest a used semi auto for an alternative. youll get twice as much gun, for the price of either one of those shoulder bruisers.

honestly, if all you want is hd, get a single shot 75.00 steven crackshot and load it with buck. face it. youll never use it. and one shot is usually all it takes in hd.
and put the extra bucks in a nice skeet gun to shoot a lot with.

[zstei001]

Originally Posted by bobski

honestly, if all you want is hd, get a single shot 75.00 steven crackshot and load it with buck. face it. youll never use it.

That's a great idea. I didn't realize I could get a shotgun that cheap. I agree, hopefully I'll never have to use it.

Originally Posted by FrontierTCB

Whatever you choose get a second barrel.

Originally Posted by orangello

My Mossberg 500 came with a bird barrel (28" modified choke) that was easily replaced with a 18.5" home security barrel.

Originally Posted by bigdaddy573

Get your self a used or new mossberg 500 with a 28" barrel then get a 18.5" barrel to go with it and you should be in the 350-400 range.

I get the sense from you guys that all barrels on shotguns screw off and are interchangable with other barrels. If this is the case, I was not aware.

Mossberg seems to be a popular choice. I'm really liking the $75 option though right now.

Originally Posted by hiwall

For what you want you could get by with most any shotgun. Sounds like you would be shooting less than 100 or 200 rounds a year. If so any shotgun should last you for many years. The Remington 870's are great guns but you can get by with less.

That's good to know. If I had to estimate, I'd say I'll be shooting around 200-300 rounds per year, so about what you were estimating.

Originally Posted by FrontierTCB

And as far as $$$ get what you can afford from a reputable brand. Guns are a great investment. If you take care of them they will normally be worth more than you paid in a few years. That's what I tell my fiancé anyway.

Haha, nice. Yeah, I have always heard that the guns hold their value very well if taken care of, but never heard of them going up in value, other than with some famous or limited edition type of gun.

What do you think about the $75 Steven Crackshot?

[chloeshooter]

Originally Posted by zstei001

Do you know what they retailed for? Have they been pretty reliable for you?

New Wingmasters go for $600-700 new Express is $350? I bought great condition slightly older models as I am not a fan of plastic trigger guards and the like on a shotgun

[ScottA]

I just picked up a semi-auto Mossberg 930 for the exact same reasons. It has a 28" barrel on it, and I'll be getting the 18.5" barrel soon. Cost was $550.

[John_Deer]

I shoot a lot of clays with a Mossberg 500. I have had my 500C for at least 15 years. I had to put a shell stop in it. Oh tear me out of the frame. I had to put a $10 part in it. Does that mean I should rush out and buy a $2,500 gun? I will probably shoot small game and clays until I die with the 500C.

Back in the day I used to shoot at least 800 rounds a month. When I first started shooting skeet I had a 500A. I broke a couple $10 parts. I did end up getting a Citori. Not because the 500A wasn't getting the job done, I wanted a 28 ga. I have converted the 500A I started shooting skeet with 35 years ago into a dedicated slug gun. It still shoots great.

I have spent a lot of time around skeet ranges. I have seen a lot more expensive guns break that cost hundreds of dollars to repair. I think I will stick with my Mossbergs.

Unless the OP is one of the people that just can't shoot a pump he can get a casual skeet shooting and home defense gun for around $350. Just buy a security combo. He will have a 18.5" barrel for home defense and a 28" barrel for skeet.

[lfcshooter]

Bought a berretta 302 semi a while back and it's still going great

[locutus]

Look for a good used Remington 1100 and get an extra 18 inch barrel for it.

[zstei001]

Well after a good bit of consideration, I think I'm going to go with a Mossberg 500. Everywhere online is sold out of basically every gun I've looked at and the local Walmart has the Mossberg 500 for cheaper than I've seen it anywhere else on the internet. Seems like a good buy at $249.

Thanks again for everyone's help!