Buying a dedicated duck gun remington super mag 870 or mossberg 835?

[westside103147]

Howdy,

Buying a dedicated duck gun remington super mag 870 or mossberg 835? Any other options in the same price range that can handle 31/2 in shells?

Thanks for the input,

westside

[johnnyaustin44]

870 all day long. Mossbergs do make excellent boat paddles in a pinch though. Heard of and seen way to many mossbergs fail to ever buy one. But im sure some swear by mossbergs also. Is go with the 870 for sure though.

[jgoetz]

Go with the 870.  Cheap and reliable.  I have shot 870's since I started duck hunting and have never had any issue I couldn't fix in the field.  Excpet for the time my buddy launched it over the side of the boat in a channel that was 12 feet deep.  Go 870.

[bear hunter]

870 all day long. Mossbergs do make excellent boat paddles in a pinch though. Heard of and seen way to many mossbergs fail to ever buy one. But im sure some swear by mossbergs also. Is go with the 870 for sure though.

  I have both the 870 and the 835. The 835 jams all the time if there is any rust on the shells but my 870 never has jammed. Go with the 870 or  Benelli SB eagle

[CP]

Benelli Nova –

The 870s they make today are crap – totally jammers – stay away from them. 

[D-Rock425]

Id buy a nova

[thinkingman]

Everybody I know that has a 3.5 in gun has never shot a 3.5 in shell.
870 or Nova.

[lghtnquik]

Look at a Stoeger M3500 your shoulder will thank you for it!

[Stilly bay]

remington's quality has taken a nose dive in recent years. if you buy new you will probably need to polish the chamber to keep your shells from jamming - which isn't that big of a deal. remington 870's are notorious rust buckets, so an aftermarket finish might be a good idea, even a rattle can of rustoleum is better than their factory finish. but with a little tweaking to pick up where remington has left off you will have a gun that will outlast you.
  get an older wingmaster. you really don't need 3.5" shells, and the quality is so much better than current 870's. then if you find you don't like it you can sell it and recoup most of your money.

mossberg 835's have quite the following and a great warranty. I wouldn't discount them because of a few negative comments on here. 835's overbored barrel makes for a pretty sweet shooter and from what I  have heard/seen they can make even the cheapest nastiest shells pattern a little bit better.

[Whitpirate]

My old Charles Daly 2 3/4" Auto-pointer kills ducks, pheasants, and quail just fine.

[duckmen1]

I had the mossberg 500 and it jammed once in a while, but the big problem was when you would shoot a shell popped out of the tube to the bottom of the boat about 50 percent of the time.
My brother had the 835 and it jammed from time to time.
I also have the 935 and is one season half the paint wore off and it jams consistently after 10 to 15 shots. The action gets real dirty in a couple shots and won't cycle. Tried greasing different ways and oil nothing works.
Have stoeger 2000 and 3500 both never fail me. They just plain work and stay cleaner by far compared to mossberg.
My buddy has an old 870 and loves that gun
The stoeger 3500 you can get between 650 and 700

[gaddy]

got a 835 when they 1st came out & loved it. thing was a tool. torn down & cleaned with compressed air & wd-40 on a regular basis & never had a problem untill 1 of the extractors wore out. only problem i had was customer service at maveric arms.while waiting on replacement parts i got a nova mid season & it seems so tight & slow. the 835 was loose & fast & it ended up as a slug gun. probably going to change out the barrels & use it for waterfoul & the nova for turks only. my old 870 wingmaster 2 3/4 was the best but it just flat wore out.

[Fishaholic]

I had the mossberg 500 and it jammed once in a while, but the big problem was when you would shoot a shell popped out of the tube to the bottom of the boat about 50 percent of the time.
My brother had the 835 and it jammed from time to time.
I also have the 935 and is one season half the paint wore off and it jams consistently after 10 to 15 shots. The action gets real dirty in a couple shots and won't cycle. Tried greasing different ways and oil nothing works.
Have stoeger 2000 and 3500 both never fail me. They just plain work and stay cleaner by far compared to mossberg.
My buddy has an old 870 and loves that gun
The stoeger 3500 you can get between 650 and 700

    i havent had that problem  with my 500 and i have but about 2000 to 3000 rounds threw mine in the llast 3 years

[KFhunter]

remington's quality has taken a nose dive in recent years. if you buy new you will probably need to polish the chamber to keep your shells from jamming - which isn't that big of a deal. remington 870's are notorious rust buckets, so an aftermarket finish might be a good idea, even a rattle can of rustoleum is better than their factory finish. but with a little tweaking to pick up where remington has left off you will have a gun that will outlast you.
  get an older wingmaster. you really don't need 3.5" shells, and the quality is so much better than current 870's. then if you find you don't like it you can sell it and recoup most of your money.

mossberg 835's have quite the following and a great warranty. I wouldn't discount them because of a few negative comments on here. 835's overbored barrel makes for a pretty sweet shooter and from what I  have heard/seen they can make even the cheapest nastiest shells pattern a little bit better.

x2 on the wingmaster.   I got one from the 70s with multiple barrels I love it

Not so much for the Mossberg.

I have a  Mossberg 835 utili-mag that I can't use the factory barrel as the shells glue themselves inside the barrel when you fire it and gotta jam a stiff rod down the barrel to pop it out.  The extractor is fine and pulls hard, even leaves a divet on the shells rim if you slam it open.

So I gutted it and I'm making it a home defense gun with a shorter slug barrel.  Nice thing about the 835 is you can shoot the 3.5 inch buckshot!   The Mossberg 500 won't do that in the tactical version.  It'll be nasty as long as it's reliable and I think it will be.

I've also got an old Mossberg from the 80's that is junk, the extractor is garbage.  I've tweeked it and worked on it and it's working somewhat now, but I don't really trust it as it's a flawed design prone to failure.


I do love shooting the Mossbergs though; when I can get them running 

[duckmen1]

I know some that have had good luck with mossbergs. It's just we have not. Any other brand gun we have had no issues with as far as pumps and semi auto goes. We have had good luck with stoeger, benelli, and browning.

[ghosthunter]

Yep
Go 870
I have a wingmaster i have had since i was 16 . Took it in got the full choke changed to modified to shoot waterfowl. never a problem.
Have two mossbergs they both pop shell out the bottom when you shoot. 

[duckmen1]

Looks like I'm not the only one with the problem with shells popping out. What models do you have?

[KFhunter]

now that you mention it, I've had shells popping out too.  but it's rare that it happens, cause the gun doesn't cycle anyways with tHE FREAKING SHELLS GETTTING STUCK IN THE CHAMBER

sorry, was getting all worked up over it again 

If you can't tell, I really hate that gun.  It was a gift, from my wife, after my other gun got stolen 
She knew I'd lost a Mossberg, so she bought me a replacement   

Wish she'd have gotten me a wingmaster 

[hillbilli]

currently have a m500 mossberg. had it over 10 years and it is getting to need a mag follower spring, but otherwise has been great. owned a couple 870's, one a supermag-never had anyproblems. had friends with Nova's.. and they've always worked...

[Stilly bay]

now that you mention it, I've had shells popping out too.  but it's rare that it happens, cause the gun doesn't cycle anyways with tHE FREAKING SHELLS GETTTING STUCK IN THE CHAMBER

polish the chamber with some steel wool and scotch brite, they will never stick again.

both the newer 870 express and -to a lesser degree- the 835 are bottom of the line guns. you get what you pay for these days, but even at the highest price points your still going to get guns that for whatever reason jam occasionally. even the SBEII, highly regarded by guides and black hoodied duchebags alike will go "click" instead of BOOM BOOM BOOM sometimes.

[CP]

now that you mention it, I've had shells popping out too.  but it's rare that it happens, cause the gun doesn't cycle anyways with tHE FREAKING SHELLS GETTTING STUCK IN THE CHAMBER

polish the chamber with some steel wool and scotch brite, they will never stick again.

Better yet, sell it and buy a decent shotgun.  Life is too short to hunt with an unreliable gun.

[KFhunter]

now that you mention it, I've had shells popping out too.  but it's rare that it happens, cause the gun doesn't cycle anyways with tHE FREAKING SHELLS GETTTING STUCK IN THE CHAMBER

polish the chamber with some steel wool and scotch brite, they will never stick again.

Better yet, sell it and buy a decent shotgun.  Life is too short to hunt with an unreliable gun.

I've came to that conclusion a long time ago, so was trying to impart my knowledge (learned the hard way) to the maker of this thread 

[Rick]

 I have experience with both and wouldn't buy either again. The 835 functioned better than the 870 SM but the ported barrel on the 835 made it REALLY loud in a duck blind.

If you have to have a 3 1/2" gun,I'd get a Super Nova.

As good as non-toxic shot has become,the need for anything more than a 3" gun is gone IMO.

[BigGoonTuna]

i like my 870 wingmaster, but some days it just doesn't want to eject 3" shells reliably(stove pipes).  other days it works just fine.  of course, mine was made in the past 5 years, my dad's that he bought in the early '80s never has that problem.

[Kola16]

now that you mention it, I've had shells popping out too.  but it's rare that it happens, cause the gun doesn't cycle anyways with tHE FREAKING SHELLS GETTTING STUCK IN THE CHAMBER

polish the chamber with some steel wool and scotch brite, they will never stick again.

I did, and it works great. The only other pump gun I would choose over an 870 is an 887. Nothing else.

[full choke]

Howdy,

Buying a dedicated duck gun remington super mag 870 or mossberg 835? Any other options in the same price range that can handle 31/2 in shells?

Thanks for the input,

westside

Sorry to jump in a little late- but I just saw this thread. If what you are looking for is a pump gun that will handle 3 1/2" shells, I would go with what some on here have suggested in the Benelli Nova. They are kind of clunky, and rattle a lot- but they are pretty damn reliable. They kick like a mule with the big shells though. They do make (or made-not sure if you can still get it?) a recoil buffer that you mount inside the stock. I never had it, but if I kept my Nova I would have eventually bought one. I sold the Nova to a friend- the stock is a little long for me and never really felt right for me. My buddy still has that gun and has had zero problems with it.

I have also owned a 835. Actually- I still own it. I leave it up in Alaska as a general kick around gun. Mine was one of the first generation- wood stock and forend. I have never had any issues with it- but I hardly ever use it. It is a Mossberg- so I never have any real confidence in it. The one problem I have noticed with it over the years is that the safety is super sloppy and not reliable. That is not in it's self an issue for me, but could be for others.

I personally know seven people who own the 870 supermag. Each and everyone of them has major problems with them. The most obvious is the failure to eject/chamber shells. I have witnessed those guns save the lives of hundreds of geese. The supermag IS NOT the same gun as the trusty old 870 wingmaster! It is a completely redesigned chamber for the 3 1/2" shell. Do not be fooled by the reputation of the original 870- which in my opinion is one of, if not they best, waterfowling gun ever made. I own a couple of them but will not ever own one of the 3 1/2's. I am sure there are guys who have them and love them- I have never met one though. Anyhow- just my two cents...

[Wacenturion]

Ditto on an older 870 Wingmaster.