My dad, my grandpa, my uncle, my oldest boy and me all shot 870 and they have never let us down

I have 12 and 20 Winchester Model 12. Like them both but my first year Ruger Red Label is my go to shotgun.

IDK which one is best. I think it very much depends on what you are hunting and your style of hunting. I own a few pumps, most of them older. I greatly prefer older guns (pre-1970). They were built to a higher standard than currently produced models.

I have a Win. M12, a Rem M870 and an Ithaca M37. the M12 and the M37 were built in the 50's, the 870 in the 80's. of those three I prefer the Ithaca. I did quite a bit of upland and rabbit hunting with it.

Several decades ago I switched to O/U's for upland work and I think they are superior for that type of hunting. I think the lack of a long receiver like pumps and semi-autos have makes them handle quicker in the field.

I have a Browning Lightning, a Rem 32 built long before Remington went to crap and a couple of low-end Stoeger Condor Supremes. Of those the Browning has the best quality with the M32 a close second. The Stoegers are 20 gauge and I used to use them for grouse and woodcock while carrying the M32 for pheasants. Then I discovered I could kill pheasants every bit as good, maybe even better with them than the 12 gauge M32. They are my preferred upland game gun now.

So for me, the 20 gauge Stoeger is the best shotgun for upland game. Would a high end O/U be better? IDK, I don't shoot one.

For waterfowl I prefer my 870, that's what works best for me.

I don't think their can be a "best" shotgun for everybody. What works best for an individual and the way that person hunts would make a lot of best shotguns.

A friend dropped of an old side x side for me to check out and clean up., It's a black powder percussion shotgun built by Carl Anton Stiegele in Ingolstadt Germany in the late 1800's. The stock profile, the hand-cut checkering and the ornate engraving are fantastic. It may be the highest quality shotgun I've ever handled.

I told him if it checks out and is safe and if I clean it up, he has to use it in the pheasant fields. He's a semi-auto guy (he's young and dumb and doesn't know any better) so, even though it is a very high-end shotgun, it definitely wont be best for him (or me).

Best bang for your buck and the smoothest Action out there..

Hi Standard Flite King 1966 12 guage pump 175.00

With a vented rib.

And doubles as a canoe paddle

I bought a Remington 870 12 gauge in 1990 and have loved it! Have never had one issue with it and have put a lot of shells through it. 2 3/4” and 3” shells it takes and that is plenty for duck and geese. Definitely has a used look to it now.

100%

I won't claim a best to many great ones and many I have never shot. And what's best criteria? functional in bad conditions, lighter thin and good handling, low recoil ect.. Then there is purpose. The best clay busting, gun won't be the best quail gun and neither will be a great deer gun.

But nice ones there are many nice shotguns.

Some of my favorites I don't have are Auto 5 or rem mod 11. Not the new ones.
Model 12 Winchester
Beretta 686.

Functional I have several 870s a 590 a 1 they work were affordable. Don't fit the best but work.
I have a few old doubles savage, ranger ect. They work one fits me very well.

Ithaca 37 is a great shotgun if you want a pump gun.

The favorite I currently own is a CZ Bobwhite in .28ga SxS.

I actually kill the most stuff with my Mossberg o/u in .410.

870 is my choice for many reasons. Model 12's Winchester in any gauge is a favorite also.

I love my A5’s and M12’s, but for versatility the 870 with rem-chokes is king in my opinion. I used a rem M31 this year dove hunting and was very impressed.

My dad left me his when he passed, mag gun, 30 inch full vent rib

My 870 pump does just fine.

I am partial to the older winchesters myself.

They are. The weak link is they only have one slide bar. Over time, that's a lot of work for just one bar, and I've seen them fail. But that was after thousands of shells.

All that said, the Rem 870 gets my vote for a pump gun

Winchester model 21. Classic, timeless, beautiful

The test included repeatedly firing proof loads—known as “blue pills”—loaded to one-and-a-half times the pressure (19,800 psi) of the hottest load on the market. The best competing gun lasted 305 shots. The 21 fired a total of 2,000 blue pills with no measurable damage.

That means they just stopped the test. It never failed.

Of those I have shot I'd say Pop's old AH FOX, and my Dad's friends Browning A5 - sweet sweet guns. I have a Mossberg 835 that has been through the wringer, and is very dependable, (its my calling shotgun) but it don't swing well.For light wing-shooting and small game honestly my Ithaca 37 12 gauge it just floats in my hands and mounts just right. Mt Dad got me Ficoochi Semi I really like for waterfowl.

The sporting clay type stock fit me the best more stock drop is a plus for me. The Ithaca 37/87 and Benelli M 2 are a good fit also for moving targets love the Ithaca guns but being light they have a kick. If you shoot a couple hundred trap rounds you will feel it if they are not reduced recoil loads so that’s to be considered.

I can give you my argument for the Mossberg 500 so you can not talk to me any more either if you would like.

yes the M12 Winchester is amazing , and rather heavy , but I take it out of the running because it is no longer made and hasn't been for a long time.

The Ithaca M37 is also very nice but not really a player in the work horse pump gun any more either.


so 870 and 500

the down fall to the all steel receiver on the 870 is the ejector , it is rivetted in before the receiver is finished and it is the most major wear item on the gun and also holds the barrel index so the barrel wobbles and isn't safe to shoot with a broken ejector.

so this was a sort of problem but one that could be repaired with time and parts but it got very close to the value of the gun so then it made it for many a throw away gun and I hate throw away guns that when a part that should be able to be easily fixed causes the end of service for something that could keep going for a much longer time with how everything else is made

then , Remington went bankrupt and the part wasn't available

some years go by and there is apparently a aftermarket part that you drill out the rivets and the new ejector has threads and little screws so you don't have to scrap your gun for the wear part but it is more expensive than it should be and it is more work than it should be

the aftermarket part is 89 dollars and shipping
https://www.weaponsarmorer.com/product-p/sully870ejectorsystem.htm

the ejector on a 500 takes one screw , 5 minutes at home and you are back in business for 8.54 and shipping of a small padded envelope.


also a standard 500 holds 5 in the tube one in the chamber
the standard 870 was 4 and 1

I own both , I shoot both , I like both
but when functionality of working well for a right or left handed shooter (I have a couple in 20ga I used for teaching kids)
parts compatibility and availability.
a larger trigger guard for cold weather gloves
and a lighter gun to carry in the field
a Larger safety to get off easily (I use an oversized aftermarket safety) , the 500 is what I am carrying.

I shoot the same score with the 500 or the 870 in a round of trap. so these are the reasons I carry the 500 in the field.