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Best All Around 12-Gauge Pump Action for Hunting

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TrillWill
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9:15p, 8/7/25
Looking to purchase a new 12-gauge pump action shotgun. I am interested in something affordable and versatile for various types of hunting.

Any recommendations on which shotgun(s) would be good options here?
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Agman
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In reply to TrillWill • 9:18p, 8/7/25
AG
Remington 870
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Gator92
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9:27p, 8/7/25
AG
Pre 64 Win Model 12
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JB93
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9:31p, 8/7/25
Browning BPS is a sweet shotgun. Bottom eject good for righty or lefty. Bought my son a well loved 20ga for his first shotgun. I've since added a thicker pad to increase LOP and a 28" barrel for it to replace the 22". He's 18 now and loves that shotgun.
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SGrem
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9:38p, 8/7/25
The best 12ga pump is a 20ga Remington 870.

Noone else makes a pump.
Www.gowithgrem.com
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Gator92
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In reply to SGrem • 9:46p, 8/7/25
AG
SGrem said:
The best 12ga pump is a 20ga Remington 870.

Noone else makes a pump.

Nobody makes a pump.

Slide action is the correct term.

Think I'lll have too add "pump shotgun" to the phrase hate thread...
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Larry Mondello
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In reply to Agman • 9:51p, 8/7/25
AG
Agman said:
Remington 870

I agree with Remington 870, but I prefer the 870 Wingmaster over the 870 Express.
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AgDad121619
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In reply to Larry Mondello • 9:57p, 8/7/25
AG
Larry Mondello said:
Agman said:
Remington 870

I agree with Remington 870, but I prefer the 870 Wingmaster over the 870 Express.
870 used to be the answer but I'm not even sure if there is any new inventory available since the RemArms folks re started the business. They have really slow rolled mass production
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SanAntoneAg
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10:05p, 8/7/25
AG
Yes, the 870.

OL article from today:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/remington-870-pump-shotgun/

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Aggie_2463
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10:14p, 8/7/25
AG
Benelli novas are cheap
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alvtimes
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In reply to AgDad121619 • 10:23p, 8/7/25
AgDad121619 said:
Larry Mondello said:
Agman said:
Remington 870

I agree with Remington 870, but I prefer the 870 Wingmaster over the 870 Express.
870 used to be the answer but I'm not even sure if there is any new inventory available since the RemArms folks re started the business. They have really slow rolled mass production


Man I hate to hear that….. my 870 was my every bird gun from teens to mid 30's…. it was flawless! Ducks, dove, geese it didnt matter. Its in my HOF!
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Gunny456
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In reply to TrillWill • 1:14a, 8/8/25
AG
Remington Model 870 Wingmaster or 870 Fieldmaster (Synthetic version of the Wingmaster)
Browning Model BPS. Discontinued last year but you can still find some NIB if you search. They are nice shotguns as well.
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Bradley.Kohr.II
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7:46a, 8/8/25
AG
Benelli nova/super nova.
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Gunny456
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10:18a, 8/8/25
AG
For as long as I could remember my dad had an old REM. 870 that he used for every dove hunt we ever went on.
He got it used from an old DPS trooper way back in 1951 or thereabouts. He was so proud of it cause it had a "PolyChoke" on it. (Which he said he never could tell if it made a difference or not).
My dad was born and raised during the depression and being a cop, he didn't have a lot of income, and would never buy himself a new gun.
I gave him a brand spanking new Browning O/U 12ga. for Christmas in 1980, but he never used it.
He would just always show up with his old weathered 870 and shoot the heck out of birds.
It hangs in my house today with fond memories of days long since past.
I would give anything to go hunting with him and that old gun just for one more hunt.
Love you dad. Miss you.
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cryption
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10:22a, 8/8/25
I'll be that guy .... why pump? Semi auto shotguns are reliable and can be had for a good price these days.

Yes the 870 would be the pump to get ... but why not something like a Weatherby Element? It's a great gun for a reasonable price.
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Gunny456
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In reply to cryption • 10:30a, 8/8/25
AG
Slide Action (Pump) shotguns have their advantages.
They are much simpler actions that require less maintenance and can be more reliable in muddy or dirty conditions.
They work much more reliably when using a variety of loads…..they will shoot very light loads and very hot loads without cycling issues like semi autos are prone too.
They don't rely on gas or recoil systems to cycle so a lot less prone to malfunctions when they get dirty with multiple shots.
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agfan2013
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10:35a, 8/8/25
AG
Dont know what your definition of "affordable" is, but I'd recommend the 870 Wingmaster if you are going the 870 route. I know of 5 people that bought new 870 base models over the last 15 years and 3/5 of them had problems that required sending in to get fixed. Sadly their QC went down the drain.

I've run a Wingmaster for almost two decades and never had a problem with it. It's my favorite shotgun. Otherwise I'd go with the Benelli Super Nova which is a few hundred bucks cheaper.
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cryption
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In reply to Gunny456 • 12:41p, 8/8/25
I guess I get the perceived reasons, but modern semis are so reliable I'd expect them to be equal with a slide action. My Beretta A300 has tens of thousands of rounds through it between hunting and the clays course. I hardly ever clean it, and I can't recall I've ever had a malfunction. My experience is expected of semi auto shotguns, and common. My cheap Turkish Weatherby I shot before the Beretta can claim the same. I'd argue that the modern semi has made the slide action obsolete and it's at least worth considering for the significant advantages a semi offers.
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krosch11
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In reply to Gunny456 • 12:44p, 8/8/25
AG
I do the same with my dad's Remington. First shotgun i learned to shoot birds with and never cared to try another.
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hillcountryag86
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In reply to Larry Mondello • 1:01p, 8/8/25
AG
Larry Mondello said:
Agman said:
Remington 870

I agree with Remington 870, but I prefer the 870 Wingmaster over the 870 Express.

Get the Wingmaster over the Express. Aside from better wood and bluing / finish, parts a better and those parts are polished with better fitting than the express. Smoother action, less friction.

It's just a better gun.
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SGrem
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1:08p, 8/8/25
I have one semi Auto... a 12g Beretta A300 . Hasn't been out of the safe in a long long time.

I have three over/unders that I enjoy shooting for clays. 20/28/410

I have about fifteen or twenty 870s set up for different things and prefer them to everything else I shoot. Just more fun. They are all 20g and 28g. I hunt ducks, turkey, pheasants, and home defense with 20g. Dove and quail with 28g.

Never had that feeling with any semi auto ever. I keep the one i have in case I accidentally accept a goose hunt invite by mistake. No need for a 12g for anything else.
Www.gowithgrem.com
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Agman
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In reply to SGrem • 2:33p, 8/8/25
AG
SGrem said:
I have one semi Auto... a 12g Beretta A300 . Hasn't been out of the safe in a long long time.

I have three over/unders that I enjoy shooting for clays. 20/28/410

I have about fifteen or twenty 870s set up for different things and prefer them to everything else I shoot. Just more fun. They are all 20g and 28g. I hunt ducks, turkey, pheasants, and home defense with 20g. Dove and quail with 28g.

Never had that feeling with any semi auto ever. I keep the one i have in case I accidentally accept a goose hunt invite by mistake. No need for a 12g for anything else.


FIFTEEN? Hah

Let me know if you want to offload that A300.
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Gunny456
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In reply to krosch11 • 3:44p, 8/8/25
Mark Fairchild
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In reply to Gunny456 • 8:40a, 8/10/25
AG
Gunny456: Howdy, your post brought back flood of memories when you said 'PolyChoke'! Wow, my Grandfather had a 16 ga, Browning A-5 hump back with a 'PolyChoke'. Wishing we still had it, I was at the age did not know what a choke of any kind, much less a Poly was. Thanks, had not thought of that in MANY years!!!
Gig'em, Ole Army Class of '70
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bam02
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9:32a, 8/10/25
AG
Browning BPS gets my vote. Bottom eject is a nice feature.
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Gunny456
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In reply to Mark Fairchild • 9:38a, 8/10/25
AG
Yes sir. I can still see my dad in his old tattered " dove vest" that had old feathers and dried blood in it that had been it for years……hollering "bird"! and swinging up that old shotgun.
I'm sure it brings back images of your grandfather as well. Guess that's what it's all about anyway right?
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SGrem
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12:51p, 8/10/25
Outstanding. Gotta love it.
Www.gowithgrem.com
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Gunny456
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In reply to SGrem • 12:59p, 8/10/25
TXCAV
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4:01p, 8/20/25
Pre 2000's Remington shotguns only. I've seen nothing but failures from those Remingtons to ever own one again. I just don't trust them. Browning BPS and Beneli Nova are fantastic pump guns.

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schmellba99
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In reply to Agman • 4:02p, 8/20/25
AG
Agman said:
Remington 870

This is the answer, look no further.
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trip98
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In reply to cryption • 4:16p, 8/20/25
AG
cryption said:
I guess I get the perceived reasons, but modern semis are so reliable I'd expect them to be equal with a slide action. My Beretta A300 has tens of thousands of rounds through it between hunting and the clays course. I hardly ever clean it, and I can't recall I've ever had a malfunction. My experience is expected of semi auto shotguns, and common. My cheap Turkish Weatherby I shot before the Beretta can claim the same. I'd argue that the modern semi has made the slide action obsolete and it's at least worth considering for the significant advantages a semi offers.

the first shotgun I bought was an 870...dove hunting...swamp hunting...coast hunting

second was benelli SBE 2

third was Weatherby SA08 20 gauge for my son

unless things have changed on the 870 since 1999 there is no comparison on how much easier/faster it is to strip and clean the 870 compared to my 2 semi's...one is gas operated and one inertia.

The SBE is pretty darn easy too but the edge definitely goes to the 870
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CTGilley
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In reply to JB93 • 2:57p, 8/22/25
AG
JB93 said:
Browning BPS is a sweet shotgun. Bottom eject good for righty or lefty. Bought my son a well loved 20ga for his first shotgun. I've since added a thicker pad to increase LOP and a 28" barrel for it to replace the 22". He's 18 now and loves that shotgun.

This is what I ran until I inhereted my dad's Winchester. The Winchester just fits me better. No issues with the Browning. I like having it because like said above it can be shot left or right handed.

Sent my 870 express (~2003) to Remington 3 times with jamming issues they never fixed. I finally replaced it with the Browning. Full disclosure I went to buy a Winchester but it was the year they were discontinued.

I know at least 3 others with the same issues with the 870 express. It seems to only be an issue with the 3" mag the 3.5" runs well.
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TxSquarebody
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3:44p, 8/22/25
Old New Haven 600 with C-Lect choke. Smooth and deadly!
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SoTxAg
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7:40p, 8/22/25
AG
My preference is the browning bps, have hunted with one for over 30 years. Other 12ga i have are an 870, a mossberg and a winchester model 12. I understand the love of the 870 but imo the new build 870s aren't as good as the older ones.

*edit to say i forgot i bought a benelli last year. Have only used it once so still undecided on it
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SanAntoneAg
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8:59a, 8/23/25
AG
Find an 870 Wingmaster.
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