Easiest shotgun to maintain/clean?

[gunnarsport 13]

Hi,

 

What is the best reasonably price 12 gauge shot gun that is the easiest to maintain and clean that is lefty friendly?

 

Thanks

 

[Purple Patrick 638]

Pump or double barrel? Semis are more involved but not necessarily harder. mossberg 500 or maverick 88 are great places to start and have a top mounted safety that is lefty friendly

 

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[djg0770 481]

Single shot break open would be the easiest based on your criteria.

 

Next would be an over/under or side by side.

[checko 180]

You clean your shotguns?

 

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[Vlad G 345]

Also shotgun for what? Defense? Hunting? Clays? TEOTWAWKI? Big Game? 3 Gun? Cowboy action? Ridding shotgun on the Pony Express?

[gunnarsport 13]

To double as clay/home defense.

[DirtyDigz 1,811]

Single shot break open would be the easiest based on your criteria.

 

...

 

Winner.  Easiest to clean, totally ambidextrous.  Those were your only two criteria....

[MikeL417 33]

Easy and cheap. Break barrel single shot. I found a nice one for 150 tada but you're probably not lookin for that

[kirk2022 43]

Straight stocked O/U. (no cast built in) Considered you said lefty, Plus you mentioned clay shooting. Kinda tough shooting sporting clays or skeet with A single shot.

 

Or A used Remington 1100 auto.   They shoot for ever.

[W2MC 1,699]

Hi,

 

What is the best reasonably price 12 gauge shot gun that is the easiest to maintain and clean that is lefty friendly?

 

Thanks

 

Posted Today, 12:12 PM

 

To double as clay/home defense.

 

A single shotgun to do all of that... 

 

A lot of what you're looking for depends heavily on what you call "reasonably priced"...are we talking $200, $300...$500?  New?  Used?  but most likely you are talking about a pump shotgun. 

 

A pump like a Mossberg 500, Remington 870, or a Benelli Nova.  Mossbergs have the safety on the top of the receiver - no "left" or "right".  Remington makes a lefty 870, or you can buy a lefty safety button for about $20...Benell's safety is -I think- reversible. I have owned/shot many remingtons (right and left) and a couple mossbergs, and I would give the edge (in quality and construction) to the older Remington wingmasters, and even the older Express models, over the newer Remington express.  The mossbergs tend to be a little lower in quality of construction; however they are also noticeably lighter than the remingtons (aluminum receiver vs steel) and tend to be very reliable (i.e., pull trigger, gun go bang).  I think they are better than the "new" Remington express.  I have fired, but never owned, a benelli...from what I have seen, those that do own them, love 'em.  I have also owned a Winchester 1200, and found it to be a little 'touchy' going together after you cleaned it...I've had to replace that ejector spring because I caught it wrong and bent it back.

 

For me and pump shotguns (as a lefty), I have come to prefer Browning BPS's.  They tend to be a bit more expensive, but the quality difference is noticeable, and like the mossbergs, the safety is on the back or the receiver...no right or left version.  They are also more difficult to disassemble/reassemble for cleaning.  Remington 870s and Mossberg 500's come apart very easily for cleaning, and its almost impossible to put em together wrong.

 

Autoloaders tend to be a bit more expensive and more difficult to take-down/reassemble. 

 

I also really like over/unders and side by sides, but good ones tend to be expensive, and despite what Joe Biden told everyone, they aren't really "home defense" material. 

[W2MC 1,699]

Used Examples Floating around the 'net:

 

http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/forums/82-classifieds-free/199129-f-s-benelli.html

 

 

http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/forums/82-classifieds-free/198851-wts-lh-remington-1100-a.html

 

 

and

 

http://www.gunbroker.com/Pump-Action-Shotguns/BI.aspx?State=NJ

[SuRrEaLNJ 294]

Id chalk a vote for the 500. The safety is pretty much ambi.

 

I shoot clays with my HD barrel, but you could always get a terget barrel for that.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Id chalk a vote for the 500. The safety is pretty much ambi.

 

I shoot clays with my HD barrel, but you could always get a target barrel for that.

 

They make Mossberg 500 Field/Security combos too...

[fishnut 2,358]

I'd vote for a mossberg 500 for the same reasons everyone elce already stated, as long as you don't mind the shell being ejected in front of your face. Or as w2mc suggested a browning BPS if you don't want a shell ejecting in front of your face, and it just so happens I have a 20g BPS medallion that I would sell for a good price. PM me if your intrested

[W2MC 1,699]

^^^^^

[Candyman87 10]

I'd say an 870 is easier to maintain/clean than a 500. But the 500 is more lefty friendly.

 

FYI the position of the safety on an 870 is awful for lefties. My buddy managed to bump the safety every other shot while shooting clays.

[Parker 213]

I'd say an 870 is easier to maintain/clean than a 500. But the 500 is more lefty friendly.

 

FYI the position of the safety on an 870 is awful for lefties. My buddy managed to bump the safety every other shot while shooting clays.

 

 

That happens with a lefty shooting a shotgun with a right-handed safety. There are after-market left-handed safeties for right-handed Rem. 870's.

 

BTW - No one mentioned the Ithaca M37, a lefty-friendly pump when paired with a left-handed safety. 

[jeff47 30]

The Mossberg 500L or 590L would be my choice since they are left handed guns that eject to the left. My 590 is awesome (but I'm right handed).

[Vlad G 345]

Sadly your requirements are working great with each other.

 

Left side ejection isn't really a thing. Downward ejection might be answer if you want a M37. Otherwise if being a lefty is biggest concern then double/single type guns are your thing

 

Next lefty issue is control locations, which brings up the mossberg safety location. Other guns have safeties that can be flipped, I think. To me this wouldn't be a killer feature as you can train to use a wrong handed side safety. For example I have multiple shotguns with the safety being a trigger finger actuated button and I have to reach around the trigger guard to put the safety on all the time. With a bit of training that doesn't really matter and becomes second nature

 

Reasonably priced is subjective.

 

Almost any shotgun can be used for hunting with the correct loads, so that shouldn't matter.

 

Easiest to clean maintain would be pumps like the 500 and 870 or inertia driven semi-autos (Benelli M1/M2, Stoeger M3000, Browning A5) etc.  Gas guns like the 1100/11-87/versamax/SLP/etc will require more attention but this boils down to what are you going to do with them? If hunting means 1000 shells a day on doves in Argentina then how long a gun runs before it gets caked in crud matters. If you can spend 10min cleaning it after every 100-300 rd fired then it doesn't matter so much.

 

I used to think pumps were better for self defense because the internet said so. Over time I've seen a lot of people fumble and short stroke pumps and I've seen a lot of semi-auto's run flawless for thousands of rounds. If you made me pick a shotgun as my only one gun for defense, hunting, sport I would probably pick an M2 if money was no object or a M3000 if money was an object.

[jeff47 30]

How is left side ejection not a 'thing'?  It obviously exists or are you saying it's not practical in some way?  It's certainly a new series, but I have no reason to doubt it works.

 

http://www.mossberg.com/category/series/specialty-series/left-handed-l-series/

 

Left side ejection isn't really a thing. Downward ejection might be answer if you want a M37. Otherwise if being a lefty is biggest concern then double/single type guns are your thing

 

[W2MC 1,699]

How is left side ejection not a 'thing'?  It obviously exists or are you saying it's not practical in some way?  It's certainly a new series, but I have no reason to doubt it works.

 

http://www.mossberg.com/category/series/specialty-series/left-handed-l-series/

 

What he means (as a lefty) is that a few south-paws find that the ejected shell whizzing out a few inches from their nose can be a bit...um...disconcerting.  A right-handed gun, with the ejection port on the side, does this, and for right handers, its out of your field of vision, so you are not aware of it.  If the ejection port is on the bottom of the receiver (like a Ithaca Model 37 or a Browning BPS), this isn't an issue; as they drop the empties at your feet. 

 

Personally, it never bothered me....I am concentrating on the target! 

[W2MC 1,699]

Interesting!  I didn't know Mossberg came out with a lefty model 500!

 

 

http://www.mossberg.com/product/500-left-handed-hunting-all-purpose-59810/

[Vlad G 345]

Yes I kinda meant both. There are fewer options for left hand ejection and I know a bunch of lefties shooting right hand ejecting guns just fine.  It seems all the major manufacturers make some form of left hand ejecting shotgun, but how often do you see one?

[jeff47 30]

A good friend of mine is lefty and I get that when you do find left handed long guns (which isn't often) they are at a premium.  Just pointing out though that Mossberg announced they have apparently tooled up to make a whole slew of left handed shotguns in 15 different variations.  If he needs one today he's probably out of luck but I would suspect you'll see them in larger numbers soon, especially online. 

 

Although if you were the only lefty in the house I could see the Ithaca being a great compromise. 

[W2MC 1,699]

Lefty guns? 

 

I have three - a Rem 870, a Rem 1100 Mag (both 12 gauge), and a Savage 110 in 30-06

[djg0770 481]

Ultimate lefty pump = Ithaca 37, bottom eject.  I don't know if the safety button can be flipped.

[fishnut 2,358]

Ultimate lefty pump = Ithaca 37, bottom eject. I don't know if the safety button can be flipped.

BPS has the same bottom ejection with a tang safety (I think that's what you call it) so it's ambi

[weekend_junkie 129]

Ultimate lefty pump = Ithaca 37, bottom eject. I don't know if the safety button can be flipped.

Agreed, but also keep in mind that the bolt release is righty-only.

[Parker 213]

Ultimate lefty pump = Ithaca 37, bottom eject.  I don't know if the safety button can be flipped.

 

 

You can get a left-handed safety button for a Model 37. http://ithacagun.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=77

 

As for the bolt release being on the "right" side, remember that the bolt release on a standard 870, M12, BPS, & 500, are all located on the left-side of the shotgun, either fore or aft of the trigger. 

[Ricky_Bobby 130]

I'd say an 870 is easier to maintain/clean than a 500. But the 500 is more lefty friendly.

 

FYI the position of the safety on an 870 is awful for lefties. My buddy managed to bump the safety every other shot while shooting clays.

 

^As a Southpaw I will agree, I love the 870 in theory but being lefty that safety is in the WORST possible position - Thus why I have a 500 - its sturdy and easy as can be to completely strip and put back together - real rugged shotgun.