Advice on which Pawnshop Beater SG for 3-gun

Training Competitive Shooting
1

I have been wanting to get into 3-gun, but for the life of me cant justify 1k on a shotgun when I have no use for one outside competition or any desire to play with one outside of that. I am also shotgun stupid and outside having shot a few 3-gun benelli’s and 1100’s after regular pistol matches I have not experience or knowledge of them.

I was at the local “too-expensive-to-buy-but-good-for-looking” shop and for the first time looked at the used shotgun rack. There was a couple Rem 1100’s in 12ga, a Winchester 1400 12ga, Winchester 1500 12ga, and a Rem 1100 20ga all for under $300. The 20ga was the only one that appeared to have removable chokes.

If I was to buy one for use as a 3-gun shotgun for 1-2 years before actually buying something more competition oriented which would be a more reliable, user friendly gun. I am a bit of a gun nerd and would deffinately get competent with the working of whatever I found.

2

If you buy the 1100 you’ll definitely get a chance to get competent working on it. Not the most reliable autoloader. :smiley:

I don’t know much about the Winchester models you mentioned.

3

I must have the magic 1100.

I’ve had my 1100 since 1984 and as long as you clean it, replace the o-ring on it every now an then it runs. The only time I had a problem was when the plastic bolt dampener got hard from being over 20 years old and fell apart from being too hard. I don’t 3 gun but I did shoot the crap out of this shotgun. Probably many more rounds than a 3 gunner.

4

Well lol honestly some of these gun may be 20 years old or older. I am just trying to find a filler shotgun for a year or 2.

5

Are ya hell bent on the autoloaders?
Why not an 870?
They’ve proven themselves over time
I just picked up a 3gun SG an 870 Wingmaster magnum w/20"RS barrel all blued for 220otd my local pawnshop, they had it listed on GB and I won it there so they can be had for cheap.

6

Well honestly I was looking for either an 870 or moss 500 but when I kept seeying autos for between $200-$275 I figured why not. Of course the “why” part is why I came here and asked the question.

7

If you are willing and able to do some research and read up on the maintenance and then do the regular maintenance you can make an 1100 work. I enjoy shooting more than reading and gun smithing so if I was in your shoes I would get on gun broker and find a nice 24" Benelli Nova for $300-375. Or you could search the classifieds, gun broker, etc and fund a used Benelli M1 or FN SLP in the $600-700 range and be set.

8

I was recently in a somewhat similar situation. This winter, I finally started shooting matches with my local club. Our winter matches almost all have 2 shotgun stages in addition to 4 pistol stages. At my first match, the organizer very generously let me use his shotgun.

Since I’m between jobs, hobby funds are very tight. Limited funds mostly go to primers, bullets, and classes. I don’t aspire to be winning any IDPA Nationals anytime soon, so I chose a Mossberg 500 at my local pawn shop for $100. I also grabbed a slip-on Limbsaver out of their junk box for $1.

I cut the barrel down to 18.5", removed 1" from the wooden stock, belt-sanded the Limbsaver to shape and epoxied it on like a grind-to-fit. It isn’t beautiful, but it really isn’t that bad.

For $101 in, I have been finishing in the middle of the pack on the shotgun stages and having an unexpectedly great time with it. More importantly, for $101 in, I am able to participate instead of waiting 'til March for a pistol only or pistol/carbine match.

I was proud of the $101 total, but yesterday I broke down and ordered a $29 Sidesaddle during a free-S&H promotion. Doing combat and tac reloads out of my dump pouch was working but the wasted movement and mixed shell orientation were costing me a lot of time.

As a lefty, I appreciate the tang safety. I like the 500’s always-raised loading gate 'cause the downward-parked 870 gate frequently catches the fingertip of my Mechanix glove and pulls it off. And finally, I appreciate the 500’s aluminum receiver during our sometimes wet, snowy matches. That being said, there was a smoooooooooth 870 Express at the pawn shop for $125 and 870 mag extensions are cheap.

Also, I found the Magpul Shotgun videos very valuable - my handling is already smoother and more efficient than some. My decent times are mostly attributable to this. Nothing hurts like seeing someone burn 10+ seconds during a stage fumbling to reload a $1200 shotgun.

At this weekend’s match, one of the club gurus was talking to a young local cop around the woodstove:
Young guy: “I just can’t bring myself to get a semi-auto. For what those Benellis cost, I could buy another black rifle!”
Guru: “Sure, but once you accept the idea that a shotgun is a legitimate thing to own, it makes more sense.”

An interesting perspective, at least.

I understand why shotguns don’t get a lot of love on this forum, and I share most of the prevailing reasoning/wisdom. I suppose I aspire to someday owning a semi-auto for casual match use, but it just isn’t that high on my list of major purchase priorities (along with more classes, a backup/KISS AR, a backup Gen3 G19, a Garand, a Python, etc.)

I am intrigued by this thread’s possibility of the “$200-$300 casual match semi-auto” concept and look forward to more discussion and ideas.

9

I like the 870 but pumps take a back seat in three gun.
Pat