Mr. Zesterhouse

well, looks like your new to guns and all, so i'm not going to recomend a SEMI-auto because they are harder to maintain. i like the remmy 870's

djgj200

870's are a breeze to maintain. I can break that right down, although it's not really necessary. It built so simpleit is almost unbelievable. They will keep on working for you regardless of condition. The true workhorse of the gun industry.

I got an 870 12ga. Upland Special (discontinued) and that is a great bird gun, probably the best. One of the most comfortable guns I have ever shot. Once in a while when I get bored of shooting birds with a pump i will shoot my 1100 20ga. skeet gun or my dads 12 ga. Browning B2000. Regardless, they kill and thats what matters. Although shooting a pump is slightly slower than a semi-auto (if your good at pumping quickly) it makes you have more time to compose yourself for a follow up shot. Semi-autos tend to make people a little trigger happy and you start shooting Hail-Mary's.

My slug gun is the 870 Express w/ 23" cantilever barrel and synthetic stock and forearm. Haven't shot it much but I have a lot of confidance in it. My dad has the 1187 SPS slug gun and took deer out as far as 150 yds.

I have a Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag for my turkey gun with a Kick's choke and shoot 3.5" Federal 6's out of it. That gunsends 3'x3' boxes flying into the air at 40 yds.

They say that you get less energy out of a semi-auto because some of the gases are used to operate the bolt.I have taken birds out to 50 yds. with my 870 improved cylinder that I would have have been able to do with a semi-auto improved cylinder gun. I've tried it with my dads 1187 and it doesn't work.

If you are new to guns, get a pump. A lot easier to maintain and shoots more consistently, probably because the gases used to operate the bolt on a semi-autois put into the shot on a pump utilizing the most energy possible from the shot. Semi-autos are a pain if you don't take good care of it. If you let it get dirty inside, it is a pain to get it all cleaned out to get it working properly.

If you get a pump and get the rhythm of shooting one, nothing can beat it. If you get bored and switch to a semi-auto for a long period of time, you will lose your rhythm for the pump and it takesa lot of shooting to get it back, at least it did for me. When I went to the 20ga. 1100 skeet gun because I hunt over an English Setter I lost the rhythm and when I went back to the 12 ga. pump because one day I hunted over some springer, I started trying to pump it to early or I wasn't bringing it back all the way that I wasnt able to make second shots. When I went to the semi-auto, after every shot I was trying to pump the forearm then I broke that habit and thats when I lost the rhythm. Just another thing to keep in mind.

TomFromTheShade

With all of the high quality semi-autos on the market now there is no reason not to take advantage of them.

They allow faster follow up shots and they are less punishing in the recoil department.

I like the synthetic Remington semis myself.

djgj200

Very true. That is because the more energy put into the shot, the more you get at the receiving end. Gas-operated semi's use gases, of course, to operate the bolt. That takes away from the energy going into the shot, therefore explaining the less recoil.

That brings up another thing I would like to point out. If you shoot a semi auto for a while, then switch to a pump, the first shot with the pump you will notice the huge recoil difference.

Once I've gotten used to the pump's recoil, I don't notice it until I fire the third consecutive shot.

chandlerwilliams

semi-auto because it's faster than a pump.

acrisp1982

When it comes to shooting multiple targets i would recommend a semi auto. From a physical standpoint when you "pump" the gun your moving your directional arm and target aquisition time is longer because your doing more work and when you pump it it throws off your smooth motion if your swinging the gun. So if your in a tight situation it takes longer to pump the gun rather than letting the semi do its thing, you may lose your next bird, clay, or what ever your shooting. So when hunting multiple game, go auto. when shooting a single animal or what ever either will do.

dawei

Thevirtues of pump vs semi-auto equates to the Ford vs Chevy debate; different strokes for differnet folks.[&:] It has been my experience in over 40 years of hunting that the pump gun ismore reliable than the semi-auto. I'm certainly not critisizing those choosing semis; heck I own several myelf.Most clay shooters reload to save costs. Most using semi-autoshave experienced failures to eject or chamber a new roundwith reloads(Doesn'toccur anywhere near as often with factory ammo). Where I've seen semi-autos jam the most is when hunting ducks & geese; conditions are usually harsh, wet, & miserable.[:@] This is particularly so when hunting in the salt water marshes. I can't begin to count how many jams, FTF's, FTE's, & FTR I've seen in semi-autos waterfowl hunting.[>:] I've only seen a pump jam twice & it wasn't due to defects in the gun or ammo; rather opeator error (short-schucking).[&o] I'VE NEVER SEEN A JAM, FTE, OR FTR IN A REMINGTON® 870 OF ANY GAUGE OR CONFIGURATION! There's a reason we who go in harm's way carry pump shotguns; particularly Remington® 870's - RELIABILITY.

Another thing; (not knowing your financial situation), for what you spend on a good quality semi-auto you can buy 2 pumps & have money left over for ammo & anything else you want. If you want even more advice, opinion, thought you can also go here; over 20,000 dedicated shotgunners: http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/ You have received a lot of good advice here; from both pump gun & semi-auto afficiandos. In the final analysis the only opinion that counts is your own.

DOPVFT

I use an 870. I have not had many problems with multi targets. I have used this to shoot Skeet in the past, a disadvatage I guess, but I was still able to shoot 22 and 23. I got the comment from mopre than a few guys The 870 was my first shotgun and I love it, still have it.
I would think for the money this is one great gun