Sned's correct. Ifa Browning was in my budget, it would certainly be on that list. Thanks for all thereplies

its a personal question...whatever YOU like and feels good and fits YOU.

the mossberg is a good reliable gun as well as the 870. i dont have expirience with the other 2. the 500 and 870 are probably THE most popular shotguns out there...

id pick the one that felt best to me and that i liked. that being said i own a variety of shotguns. and 2 happen to be a 500 and 870. never had a problem with either.

870 easy.

From those choices, I pick the 870....

I really like my Winchester 1300. Not sure what a 1200 is, but I vote for it in case you meant 1300 and had a typo.

I really liked the Remington 870 I had before my Winchester too, but overall I like the Winchester better.

I voted for the 500, I have had one for many years, probably 10, and I never did anything more than clean the barrel to it in those years, used it for pheasant, and had a rifled barrel for deer hunting, I got a Benneli Super Nova, so I cleaned the 500 and retired it. I have no idea how it worked, it was so dirty and full of crud, but I never had a single problem with it, it never jammed, never got hard to pump, never misfired, worked just as good as the day I got it. I have a Winchester model 12, in *perfect* condition, I used it for a year, and decided to keep it in the gun cabinet (to nice of a gun to ruin) anyway, I loved it, worked great, nice light gun, if the 1200 is anything like it, it would be a great gun also. The 870 is a very popular gun, but don't let it suck you in to thinking you need to get that gun just because everyone says they like it, the 870/500 battle is just as bad as the Ford/Chevy/Dodge battle, no real winner when you ask people which THEY like the best. You just have to check them out and see which one fits you best. If you know someone with these guns, and can shoot them, that would be the best. Not sure if I made sense or just rambled, but that is my 2 cents.

I purchased the 12 ga. 870 Express Magnum combo package in synthetic last fall. It came with a 23" rifled barrel with cantilever scope mount, other barrel is a 28" smooth bore. I mounted a Nikon Pro-Staff 2-7x32mm shotgun scope on the slug barrel. Price was $428.00 for rifle combo + $125.00 for scope at Gander Mountain. I shot my first deer ever at 110 yards right through the heart with Hornady's SST slugs. The factory barrel is very accurate! After sighting in at 25 yards, then at 50 yards at the rifle range, I actually hit dead center of the target bull’s-eye at 100 yards on my first attempt.

I also took it trap shooting a few weeks back and used the 28" smooth bore barrel. It wooked out great. I was also surprised to see that one of the trap shooting instructors had the same shotgun as I have.

All in all, I am very pleased with the whole package (including scope). Great value, good products.

I am not a fan of pumps, but I would go with a Benelli Nova or the 870. I understand that the Nova was not on the list, but if you want a quality pump gun, it should be seriously considered. JMHO