New to hunting...needs gun advice..
 

Hello to all. As the title says, I'm new to the sport, and looking to buy my first firearm. Where I am, taking a deer isn't a regular occurrence; mostly turkey and varmints around here. So with that being said, I was wondering if you guys could tell me how many folks hunt with a slug gun with success? I'm looking at a Mossberg 535 ATS combo Turkey/Deer 12ga....any advice and feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks.:confused0024:

Id buy the Remington 870 3" 12 ga. But thats just me, buy what you want....good luck.

I'd consider a good rifle. You can get amazing deals on deer rifles that will last you a lifetime if cared for properly.

I'd look into a marlin XS7 in .243. You can easily find these for under 300 bucks.

A step up would be a marlin model 336 in 30-30. These can also be found for dirt cheap, probably around 350.

Good luck.

If your on a budget then that combo package would be the ticket. Word of warning though, slugs out of a 12 guage can be a real kicker until you get used to it.

Many areas here in NY are shotgun only. So yes, they are very effective. If you only want one gun for now, the one you're thinking about is a good choice. Although if you plan to hunt varmints, use the bird barrel. The slug will destroy most of them. Then again.... maybe that's what you're going for.

I own a Remington 870 combo and I love it. If you took a poll, I bet you would find that more hunters own an 870 than any other shotgun. Now, that doesn't mean its the best gun out there. It just means its the most popular gun out there.

Since you mentioned deer and varmints, I'd suggest a .223, with the .243 as a 2nd option but is harder on pelts if you want to tan or sell the hides. The .223 is working caliber for whitetails on a good broadside shot in the vitals and can effectively take your fox, bobcat and coyotes without much damage to the pelt if you use the right bullets, as some are more devastating than others.

Shoot turkeys? LOL! Just plop open a hub ground blind and shoot them with a slingshot as they investigate your decoy.

iSnipe

Since you need a shotgun for turkeys and can't afford two guns this would be a good combo gun. This gun is ready to mount a scope on, if that is in your budget, or you can use the open sights and put sabot slugs into a 5 inch circle at a hundred yds or so. This gun can also be used for about any other critter you may need to kill as long as you aren't collecting pelts to sell.

Thanks everyone for the feedback so far. I really appreciate. I feel better about the decision to possibly start with a 12 gauge now. I was afraid I may be limiting myself too much. Thanks alot....keep the advice coming...I need to learn all I can...:biggrin:

A very good piece of advice for anybody that shoots a combo.... Never shoot slugs out of your bird barrel!

I saw a few barrels in a gun shop that were scary. Fortunately, it's easy to tell the difference between the barrels.

Also, if your bird barrel has threads for a choke tube, never shoot it without a choke tube of some sort. You'll ruin the threads.

Lastly, avoid 3 1/2 inch slugs. They're not worth the pain!!

You have gotten some great advice already. Here's my $.02. If you expect to be hunting deer in a "shotgun only" area, consider buying a quality pump or auto loader, and 2 barrels. One rifled for use with sabot-slugs, and one that accepts choke tubes, which most do these days. By doing so, you will have a combo that should be accurate enough with the sabots to take deer cleanly out to 100-125 yards or so. With a set of choke tubes, say a "full" , a "modified", an "improved cyl", and a "turkey choke". You would then be good to go fro anything from turkeys to ducks to rabbits to dove, etc. If however you will be hunting where a centerfire rifle is OK, I am a big fan of the 30 caliber hunting rounds. My favorites is the 308 Win. However for one gun, I'd go with a 30.06 Spr. I prefer a bolt action because generally speaking this action groups great and at least gives the hunter an opportunity for a relatively quick follow up shot. Nothng wrong with a 270 Win., 243 Win. , 30-30 Win., etc. ... however I personally would not use anything smaller than a 243 Win. on deer sized game.

+ 1 for a 12 gauge auto-loader with two barrels.


One smooth bore and one rifled.



This set-up can handle everything given the proper distance.



Good to have anyway down the road.

Thanks all, again, for your input. At my local pawn shop, I just found a Mossberg 500A with a smoothbore barrel and full-choke. They have it priced at $199. I checked it out, and even with little experience could tell it was well taken care of prior to being pawned. Should I grab it while the grabbing is good? I'd appreciate the feedback.

Walmart will have the same gun but with interchangeable choke tubes for about the same price, I'd pass on this gun.

remington 870 with lightfield slugs you cant beat it.

Deer, turkey, and small game...and comparable gun with interchangeable barrels at walmart is 340....looked today.

The gun at the pawn shop sounds like a decent deal. I believe that gun does have interchangeable barrels. If so, check to see how much a slug barrel would be and do your comparison from there.

The full choke will be good on turkeys. If you can find a slug barrel for a cheap price, I'd go for it. However, if the slug barrel costs $100 or more, I'd buy a brand new gun as Centaur suggested.

That 500 is a good deal. The only thing I'd suggest is once you get a little bit more cash check out the bargain cave at Cabelas and get a rifled slug barrel. Until then buy rifled slugs.

I would suggest the remington 870 combo.

if ur just going to buy 1 gun get you a remington 870 or 1187, you can hunt everything with that.

I would suggest a Remington 870. I have had one for almost 10 years now and never had any problem out of it. And ill be the first to tell you that I dont do the best i can to take care of that gun. Even with the abuse, it has never failed me.

If i was going to buy a rifle i would go with a .243. I have always been of the mind that i needed a larger gun, like a .270 or a 30-06. I own a .270 and just recently purchased a Savage Model 111 .243 for my Fiancee. Once i bought the gun i fell in love with it. They have that gun at Dicks for a little less than $350, and it comes with a scope. But I will tell you that the scope that comes with it is extremely cheap. I never even took the scope out of the box and went out and bought a Nikon to put on it.

If i had to decide between a rifle and a shotgun, I would take my 870 any day of the week. It is by far the most versatile gun I own.

I'd suggest dropping to a 20 guage, they are as effective as 12, with less recoil!

I have both Mossberg and Remington combos in 20 guage in the house, both have taken: turkey, duck, geese, deer.

Work great, pattern great, throw slugs great.

Remington 870

huh??? rifled shotgun barrels have been around about 20years, shotgun slugs were invented over a hundred years ago. were they just sitting on the shelf waiting for slug barrels to be invented? of coarse you can shoot slugs out of a "bird barrel" as long as they are not sabots.

It's not the smooth vs rifled barrel that I'm referring to. It's the choke that many bird hunting guns come in. The purpose of a choke tube is to constrict the shot as it leaves the barrel of the gun. If I'm shooting turkeys with a 3" shell loaded with #4 shot, I like the constricted pattern. If I'm shooting a slug, I don't want any constriction.

Many (most?) dedicated bird guns come with an improved cylinder which is recommended when shooting slugs. But, as evidenced by the OP's pawn shop find, some of them come with a full choke.

At best, shooting a slug through a full choke will cause a loss of accuracy.

Most new shotguns come w/ 3-5 choke tubes,the 870 express comes w/ 1 mod. choke I think. foster slugs are ok to shoot through full chokes, brennekee up to mod IMo. I use to shoot fosters through a mossberg 500 20 ga. w/ vent rib and IC choke, hit right where the bead was pointing at 50 yds off hand.