All purpose tactical shotgun, pump vs semi?

[L-2]

I'm one of those old-guys and like my Remington 870P and Tac-14; Mossberg 590A1; and Remington 11-87P (my only semiauto). I do wonder how a Benelli 1301's recoil would feel or if I'd be a bit faster between shots, but not enough right now to just go out and buy another shotgun.

All I'm saying is the Remington 11-87P might be another option and may be easier to find on the used market, although still available new. The semiauto competitors back when I bought were the Benelli M1 or M2; and Beretta 1201FP. As I remember, the Mossberg 9200A1 was ending production ~year 2000. The Benelli M4 was just then being selected and was both an unknown, expensive (still is), and not readily available at that time.

[grinder01]

This is what I have. Dagger sap 6. Its a great go anywhere backpack gun. I always take it in my sxs up to the mountains back woods as my jic gun.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

I owned a Benelli M4 for about 8 years. It was a very expensive toy. Heavy, reliable, built like a damn tank, fed most everything (occasionally had issues with target loads), and looked very cool. I realized that, while shotguns have their own devastating niche, I could do far more to defend my family with an SBR than a shotgun, so I sold it.

I have a 590 in my basement for those just in case scenarios, but a shotgun is my last resort. There are enough dead-nuts reliable shotguns on the market now that, if it is your thing, you should be buying a semi. Benelli M2/M4, Beretta 1301 both come to mind, and seem like the only three options for serious use semi-auto shotguns.

[Todd.K]

1301 if you want to keep it light
M4 if you want to use it as a crowbar
M2 if you are into pain

I gave three top options with a quick and fun overview. Maybe I'm not funny or some people are too uptight. So...

Here are the top three reliable semiautomatic shotguns I'd recommend.

•The 1301T is the lightest and also the only one with a stock short enough for tactical use out of the box. Lightest recoil and runs the weakest bird shells reliably.

•The M4 is in the field with the USMC. It is heavy, but also the most abuse tested of the three. Poor stock has a ridiculous LOP. Mixed results with weaker shells.

•The M2 is easy to maintain due to the simple recoil operation. It's also harder kicking because of this. Recoil operated also makes it sensitive to excess added weight. Just a little heavier than the 1301T but not heavy like the M4, though it suffers the same stock problem as the M4. Mixed results with weaker shells.

[RHINOWSO]

Had an M2 for a couple years, shot it a bit but didn't like it. Traded it away.

Now I have a couple of 590A1s because I got them either as LEO trades or cheap on sale, <$400 each.

Never really shoot them but like having them available.

In my situation an AR-15 is superior in all aspects except the damage 1 shot can inflict <25 yards, but considering I can put 3-5 shots of 5.56 in the time I can put a single 12ga shot on target, I'm fine with that tradeoff for the increased capacity, range, and decreased reload time.

Shotguns have their place but don't fit into everyones situation. Hence the reason I dumped expensive autoloaders for a couple of cheaper pumps.

[The_War_Wagon]

"Supped up" M1 Super90 Tactical.




It's also at the very BACK of the safe. It's a (singular) box of .38 wadcutters through my J-Frame .357, and 18,000 rds. of .22 (through 2 rifles & a pistol) after that.

[Eurodriver]

Remington 870 is the only gun I've ever regretted buying. I'm damn near ready to give mine away. I bought a 590A1 yesterday. Looking forward to having a decent pump, it just feels better in the hand plus the Remington controls are stupid AF.

I just went to Mossberg and will never look back to Remington. **** them.

I also don’t wish I bought an M4. This is a toy and I love pumping hard to get that shot off. An M4 would be too practical.

With the red dot I can hit a 4” circle using Winchester 1oz slugs at 50y consistently. It’s just so much fun and I can’t wait to blast a doe with it next year.

The worst part about owning a pump shotgun is listening to all the boomers at the range say “JUST GOTTA RACK THAT ACTION. EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT THAT SOUND IS AND WILL RUN AWAY!”

Idiots. Then because I am abrasive and a dick I have to point out that giving away one’s position is tactically unsound without knowing how many of them there are. Plus the slow rate of fire coupled with overpenetration issues. I’d never grab this if I needed to defend myself with a gun. What a foolish choice. Stupid boomers.

[rojocorsa]

All purpose?

21" 1301.

Done.

[Bimmer]

Remington 870 is the only gun I've ever regretted buying...

It's not a fair comparison, but long ago my father bought a used Remington 1100 that turned out to be a Frankenstein gun (obviously mismatched receiver and barrel, God knows what else) that never ran correctly.

It's the only gun I've ever sold, and I was happy to be rid of it, and it soured me on gas guns...

Benelli is crazy reliability.

The M2 is easy to maintain due to the simple recoil operation. It's also harder kicking because of this...

This... I just wanted it to go bang every time, and I didn't want to need to fiddle with it constantly. So, I'm an M1/M2 fan.

Harder kicking? This reminds me of the people who put brakes on 5.56 rifles...

... no semi spring/gas related feeding nonsense.

Again, once you get used to a semi-auto, going back to a pump feels like going back to a single-action revolver... The nonsense is all the pumping and cocking.

In my situation an AR-15 is superior in all aspects except the damage 1 shot can inflict <25 yards...

Bird hunting. Clays.

All purpose?

21" 1301.

My M2 is a 21" barrel, and I think that is "Goldilocks" barrel length. It's long enough to shoot birds/clays (the sight radius is about the same as a 26" OU), but short enough to be handy.

I don't know about Beretta 1301 barrels, but M2 barrels are $300ish on eBay or GunBroker, so experimenting is cheap and easy.

[hotrodder636]

Not uptight...just wanted to see if we were on same...we are.

I gave three top options with a quick and fun overview. Maybe I'm not funny or some people are too uptight. So...

Here are the top three reliable semiautomatic shotguns I'd recommend.

•The 1301T is the lightest and also the only one with a stock short enough for tactical use out of the box. Lightest recoil and runs the weakest bird shells reliably.

•The M4 is in the field with the USMC. It is heavy, but also the most abuse tested of the three. Poor stock has a ridiculous LOP. Mixed results with weaker shells.

•The M2 is easy to maintain due to the simple recoil operation. It's also harder kicking because of this. Recoil operated also makes it sensitive to excess added weight. Just a little heavier than the 1301T but not heavy like the M4, though it suffers the same stock problem as the M4. Mixed results with weaker shells.