Shotgun for duck?

[khmer6]

Not quite to sure where to post this. But I've been looking for a duck gun lately. A pump 12ga with 3.5" chamber is about my budget. I've been looking into the 870 super mag, the 887 by remington. But also the mossberg 835. Anyone have opinions on these?

[John Boy]

A pump 12ga with 3.5" chamber
:holysheep ... For ducks? Hope you are not flighting them at 60 + yards. Your going to need a 2nd job just to feed that gun :wink:
Save your money and buy a used Ithaca M37

[JSH]

I have a 2nd year production 835. It is what it is. Don't short stroke it and you shouldn't have a y issues. I bought this brand new btw. If I had a dollar for every duck and goose that has fell to this thing I could take a pretty good vacation. It is bare bones nothing pretty. I have hunted along side gents with about every 3 1/2 12 gauge you can think of. About the time I think I want some kind of auto I watch them become a single shot.
I did plumb wear out an extractor the second or third year I had it. They sent me a new one and no issues since. I think the metal was a bit soft on the original.
Do as you please though.
Jeff
About forgot. No prejudice against any you mentioned. Only options out there at the time were the Benelli and the 835.

[khmer6]

Wow that was quite some time ago. I haven't found the 835 in the proper length yet. There is one at the shop, with mossy oak breakup camo but it's only 24" for only 360

[koehlerrk]

Steoger 3500. Uses the Benelli inertia locking system. Nice guns, and they eat anything.

[725]

I use a 2 3/4" 870 and it works just fine. A 3" 870 is about as "MAGNUM" as I care to shoot. If you don't mind the jolt from something bigger, then go for it. Whatever it is, you can't beat an 870.

[RPRNY]

I cant imagine needing 3.5" 2 oz+ load for ducks! Even eider go down nicely with 3" steel. Seriously, the 3.5" shell is a fossil from the early days of steel. With today's shells you neither need nor, from a recoil perspective, want a 3.5" gun. Velocities are now getting ridiculously fast. 2.25 oz of steel at 1500 fps will make it hard to eat whatever you shoot. If you eere pass shooting geese on a regular basis, maybe, but not for ducks. I would focus on a decent pump with really effective corrosion resistant finish.

[Andrew Mason]

I don't think you can go wrong with a 870

I was at the gun store, the guy there said, stay away from 887,
And I have heard that in several places.


I recently got a 870 super mag from a buddy of mine. I don't shoot 3.5" out Of it, but it is nice to have that option when needed.

[Hogtamer]

It's the man behind the gun, son. I took my old sweet sixteen to Arkansas last year. My boys were gonna give old dad the first shot every time but that didn't last long! Low man had to dress ducks and I didn't clean a duck for 4 days. A 12 ga.
2 3/4 in. W/28 " mod. Barrel will kill 'em all. That 3 1/2 in. is a money pit.

[dkf]

For shotguns I am a Remington and Browning guy. Never had any issues with either my 870 or BPS pumps. The Brownings are not the cheapest so if you have a lower budget the 870 express super mag would fit the bill. For waterfowl it is not a bad idea to get the 3 1/2" right away, you can still shoot 2 3/4" or 3".

[Copper75]

870 super mag or Benelli super nova are both great guns.

3" will probably do what u need but it's nice to have the ability to reach out with the 3 1/2 if you go goose hunting or somewhere you have long passing shots.

[300winmag]

It's the man behind the gun, son. I took my old sweet sixteen to Arkansas last year. My boys were gonna give old dad the first shot every time but that didn't last long! Low man had to dress ducks and I didn't clean a duck for 4 days. A 12 ga.
2 3/4 in. W/28 " mod. Barrel will kill 'em all. That 3 1/2 in. is a money pit.
Amen, If you need that much of a shell the aim is not very good and don't shoot so for away, patience is a virtue. Duck and turkey guns and shells is nothing but a market strategy to make money.

[RoyEllis]

Amen, If you need that much of a shell the aim is not very good and don't shoot so for away, patience is a virtue. Duck and turkey guns and shells is nothing but a market strategy to make money.

I feel the same way, killed more limits of ducks & geese with 2 3/4" 12ga loads than believable. JMHO, but 3.5" shells for anything that flies is like hunting rabbits with a howitzer.

[khmer6]

Sounds like all great replies. 3.5" was a safety net cushion for the just in case. But sounds like far few and rare I will need it. Funny how you mention the stoeger 3500. I just handled the p350, 3000, and 3500. For 500$ the stoeger offered camo, multiple chokes, 3" chamber and semi auto :cool: this will most likely be my dove gun as well.
Originally I wasn't leaning towards and auto, but for 500 seems like a decent deal. I might get rid of my FNH FiveSeveN to extend my budget

[JSH]

Interesting thread. Though I do think a lot of the thoughts on case length may be something to do with location and how much pressure the birds have seen. I am no sky buster. I will be right up front about that now. I used to come home with less than a full limit and thought I failed. At this point in my life I will let them land. That is when you really won IMHO.
Granted when the country went all steel the industry was a mess trying to figure the steel out. The 3 1/2 was where it was at. Now 25+ years later they guns chokes and ammo have come a long long way. I still have about 2-3 cases of 31/2 bb. Yes that is what I shoot on everything. I have shot to many greenheads and seen shot fall off of them. I am now mostly a goose hunter with a sprinkle of ducks. Yeah i suppose I could change up but why proof is in the pudding. I tried some of the black cloud out of a borrowed 870 3". What a mess. Blows holes in geese you could throw a cat through.
Just remember you can always go down but you can't go up in length.
Jeff

[Duckiller]

Geese may need a 3 1/2" gun but not ducks.1700fps Rem steel does a number on ducks. I would recommend a gas auto to tame recoil. I used to shoot 7/8 or1 oz. loads for trap. If recoil doesn't bouther you the owner of our duck club always shot an 870 Express. Blueing and finish was getting a little thin but it sure killed ducks. I used either a Browning B80 or a Remington 1100, both were 3" guns. Ducks fell. We rarely had geese at the club and I could not bring them down.

[khmer6]

I'm leaning towards the stoeger 3000 now. 3 chokes, camo, in a 3 package for under 500 sounds pretty nice. I shouldered it, felt amazing. I tried the 3500 first, boy that felt heavy. The p-350 pump had an awkward long pull. 870,887,835 still feel nice as well. But auto might be the way to go. Getting rid of an extra pistol I don't need to have around will definitely give me the wiggle room.

[runfiverun]

i'd go mossburg before I broke another Remington shotgun.
the benelli nova would work well too if you can fit a gun to yourself.
the 3-1/2 guns are great with the shorter shells.
the browning pumps are stupid heavy in the 3-1/2 size.

[Johnch]

Not a pump gun
But a great 3.5" auto loader

The EAA MODEL MP153 SEMI-AUTO SHOTGUN
I have 2
One early one before Remington imported them and one current one

I use the 3.5" shells for geese and Yotes
With 2 3/4" and 3" shells for ducks
Both cycles trap loads

Only thing
The factory chokes are not the best for Steel
So I went to aftermarket choke tubes

John

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Looking back on my life I have harvested more ducks and geese with a Iver Johnson 32 inch rib barrelled 2 3/4 inch chamber than with all the other shotguns I have owned combined.
I grew up along the Paw Paw River (Riverside ,Mich.) and used that fine old single for everything from "wabbits" to fox to Canadian Geese. Grated that was when lead was still used but I seldom felt neglected that I did not have a second shot.
Mike in Peru

[429421Cowboy]

Not to add anything that hasn't been said before, but there is no real advantage to having a more expensive round that does not kill birds any deader any further than 2 3/4 or 3" shells. We shoot a pile of geese here, mostly pass shooting which generally is at the end of lethal range, and my 870 with 3" Hevi-metal shells will kill them just fine. The Hevi-metal shells are the only "trick" load I use, being half steel half Hevi-shot so they are around $20/25 which is still in budget. For decoyed geese or ducks I shoot 2 3/4" or sometimes 3" no 2 or BB Estate shells which run $9.99 a box here and will kill things dead as dead gets inside of 35 yards.
There is nothing wrong with any of the shotguns you mention, I prefer 870 pumps because of the conditions we hunt in which can turn an autoloader into a single shot, but if it was also going to be your dove gun, I could see an auto being more ideal.

[fish0123]

I have used 12 ga 3.5" a lot and have recently switched to the 10 ga. People think the 10 ga is overkill, but when using steel shot, the 10 ga is really nice. I get much more shot on target and better kills using 3.5" #2 or BB. I found a used Itaca Mag 10 for $350. This gun is so heavy that the recoil is way less than my 870! Plus its a semi auto so the spring absorbs some of the recoil.

Its much cheaper to buy federal 10 ga steel shot in bulk than it is to buy Hevi-shot and in my experience the 10 ga has plenty of knock down on those big geese and mallards.

P.S. i wouldn't listen to the people telling you that 12 ga 3.5" is overkill, its not. Steel shot sucks, and the more power and shot you can get the better. The downside of the guns you mentioned is that they kick like a mule when used with 3.5" shells. This is where and auto loader or big heavy 10 ga is nice, because they absorb the recoil.

[khmer6]

Out of all the shotguns I shouldered the stoeger 3000 auto felt the best. It sucks gun shopping these days, the gun counter is so busy, I don't want to take much of everyone's time shouldering guns one at a time. Maybe I'll find a day it's really slow.

[somdgunner]

it is not the gun you gotta concern yourself with. its being fast enough to keep the bead on them and get the lead there before they are gone. i cant duck hunt. im too slow. i like birds that float in the air almost motion less. a 410 will kill a duck. you just gotta be able to shoot.

[sargenv]

What I like about the 10 is the lack of recoil in the larger framed semi-auto gun as opposed to the 3" or 3.5" 12 and the ammo associated with the lighter gun like the Super Black Eagle II.. I Can't shoot that thing to save my life.. I've been a Browning semi auto proponent since the Gold came out and like the 12 ga Maxus as well. For general duck hunting I swap around between my 20 ga 870 Wingmaster, Browning Gold or Maxus for the 12, and Browning Gold Hunter in 10. Kind of depends on what I'm going after.. the 10 is mainly for geese and depending on weather, the 12 or 20 for ducks. Generally use 2's or 3's at 1400-1550 fps for ducks from 7/8- 1 1/8 oz in the 12, or 3/4 oz in the 20.. or 1 1/4-1 3/8 of BB or BBB @ 1525 fps for geese, generally snows or specks.

I too like them floating in front of me, but reality is that ducks will present themselves at sometimes strange angles, and sometimes that's all you are going to get even if calling and decoys are being used. Anyone can shoot a duck out of the air 20 yards from you floating with feet down and wings locked.. and I like fooling them to commit like that, but a teal dive bombing the blind sometimes only gives you a 1/2 second to react and you might get them on a snap shot.. which the 12 and 20 I use allow me to do on occasion..

[MT Chambers]

You need, by law, to use non-toxic, and steel needs bigger(longer)shell to be effective, and I find that recoil spoils the fun with a pumpgun, I'd save my cash and buy a semi.

[alrighty]

My advice is to shoot as many as you can and at least pick up or handle any you are thinking about.I have water fowled with many guns , my personal choice is the same I would use for any wing shooting.A Winchester model 12 , in this case my heavy duck with a solid rib.
When steel shot became mandatory I had to give up my model 12. I turkey hunt as well so I thought that I needed a 3 1/2".I have owned 3 Mossberg 835's , and they worked but each time I sold one I swore never again.I then tried the Browning BPS 10 , I liked the way it shouldered but never cared for the weight.Then I thought that I needed an auto , so I bought the Browning Gold 10.I used it for one season in a goose pit and it shot well but it wasn't for me.I sold it and bought a Benelli Super Black Eagle in 1997 and have never looked back.It is not the only shotgun I hunt with but if I could only have one , this would be it.
Good luck on your decision and I hope you find your shotgun.

[khmer6]

I picked up a Remington 870 supermag in camo for 350. I figured I try it this season and see how it goes. Do some dove and duck. Eventually I think an auto might be in my future. I can work the action prrtty quick and manuever. This 870 shoulders nice has camo already and handles 3.5 if needed. I don't see myself using 3.5 too often. But hey in a couple weeks I might find myself with a stoeger as well. Time will tell

[buckwheatpaul]

I had a Browning BPS in 3-1/2" ... was used and very reasonable.....ejects through the bottom as well as loads....great gun.....