favorite shotgun from before this decade

[moisanfan11]

What is your favorite shotgun that you've ever had.

[darkgael]

An old Parker VH.
http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr287/PeteDoyle/PICT0048.jpg

[rcase1234]

Between my Remington Sportsman 58 and Remington 870 Wingmaster

[BigJimP]

Before this decade...as in before 2002 ....??? ( damn, I'm getting old )...:D

It was the same then, as now, Browning Citori Over Under ...and my all around Citori, although I have several Citori's - field guns, Trap guns, Skeet guns, etc...my all around Citori - is a parallel comb gun, the Citori XS Skeet model, 30" barrels, with an adjustable comb...and I have that model in a 12ga, a 20ga, a 28ga and a .410....

My most versatile of the XS Skeet models -is my 12ga..../ but my favorite is the 28ga. Either one of these guns is at home on any clays field ( Skeet, Trap or Sporting Clays ...or 5 Stand ....and in the field for Quail, Grouse or even Pheasant.../ I'm too darn old to be chasing Chukar anymore..and too crabby to change guns now !

[SauerGrapes]

I've had some shotguns come and go, but my Browning auto-5 remains even after 45 years.

[PetahW]

I'm torn, between a 20ga Beretta 686 Black Onyx O/U and a 28ga Ithaca Flues SxS.




.

[dalecooper51]

My favorite is far from my finest.

It is a humble H&R .410 single shot given to me by my father about 30 years ago.

[RockyMtnDan]

Remington's version of the A5, the model 11, in 20 Ga. The easiest shooting shotgun I've ever fired.

[Ricklin]

My 1941 Model 12 Trap, thank you very much!
The perfect repeater.

[drcook]

I recently got the top one. It is a 1956 vintage Ithaca 37 16 gauge.

The next picture is the newest one I am buying. A 1952 Ithaca. It will have screw in chokes put in, be reblued and have a correct recoil pad installed.

The last is my other Ithacas. Only the bottom gun has never harvested any game, mostly because it is 16 yrs old and still basically NIB. I restocked the laminate stocked one myself.

Each of these has its specific purpose and niche. For close quarters rabbits, the first 16 is a light, quick handling gun. The barrel is fixed choked modified.

I know where there is another one for sale.

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2063/10245039/18392501/404819924.jpg

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2063/10245039/18392501/405040671.jpg

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2063/10245039/18392501/404766034.jpg

[BfloBill]

For slugs- Ithaca 37 Featherlight in 20 ga.

For birdshot- Ruger Red Label 20 ga.

I always ended up with the 20's because as a kid when my Dad took us out he handed the 12 ga to my older/larger brother. I learned I could do anything with a 20 that he could do with a 12 and they grew on me.

[RedBowTies88]

Winchester 1200

[dgludwig]

Browning Double Auto. Purchased it new in 1961 for $149.99. I still have it and use it a lot for grouse and woodcock hunting.

[Virginian]

Repeaters - Remington Model 1100. 49 years and still going strong. Along with 4 more. Close second - Wingmaster Magnum.
Others - Browning BSS Sporter
I have owned a lot more, and a lot more expensive, but those are it for me.

[BigD_in_FL]

A 6#2oz 12 gauge Belgian SxS from the 1920's; had the frame like a 20 and was great for carrying after pheasant

[Scorch]

Either the 12 or 20 gauge Browning Auto-5 (both pre-war) or my 1977 Browning Citori.

[HungryHunter]

My father's (now mine) winchester 12. Believe its stamped '56. Dad hated grackels (blackbirds)with passion for eating his dog food. We lived near a feedlot with a grain silo so thry came in like a plague every year.Our best year dad n I shot 800+ shotgun shells, reloaded them and shot them again. That happened almost every year for ten years. I have been hunting awhile n so I know it sounds like b.s. so take it if you like it, if not sorry. Its retired now, but that's still old trusty.

[PJR]

Perazzi MX8

[Scout]

I think the Model 12 is my favorite. I like my Savage 67 very well too, even though it's supposed to be a POS.

[LSnSC]

1955 Wingmaster
70's era LT-20 1100
AH Fox Double

[Grant D]

I would have to say my Remington 1100. It's my all around go to shotgun for any use.

[JWT]

Browning BT-99 followed by a Remington 1100.

[MTSCMike]

Benelli M1 Super 90

[zippy13]

Perazzi Mirage

[jaughtman]

To me at least. I always had a thing for fine O/U's but could not afford the ones I lusted after. I found a 1956 Belgian Browning Superposed in our LGS "scratch and dent sale" for 700, and my wife paid around 300 or so to have all the wood refinished for our anniversary. So, mine is an OLD shotgun - way before this decade, but new to me from the past year....

J

[mach1.3]

I have several from the early and late days.
1. My old Winchester M59 12ga. with WinLite bbl. My first 12 and easy to tote and light recoiling. Great dove, quail, pheasant, squirrel or rabbit gun.
2. My Dad's A5 12 ga.
3. My 1986 Browning Citori Lightning OU 12ga.

[Zebulon]

Though I no longer have it....and it breaks my heart to say it. The Remington 18" Rifle Sighted 11-87 Police.....I'd love to have a pair of them now.................. Zebulon

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b260/Zebulon4566/My11-87P_zps5059d7be.jpg

[Willie Lowman]

Browning Superposed

[spacecoast]

My 12-gauge Remington 870 Wingmaster from 1970, barrel shortened to 18.5". Note the extra "safety" that I've installed.

http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac115/spacecoast_guns/Wingmaster/DSC02439_zps832c4147.jpg

[Tommy Vercetti]

I've had a Winchester 1300 for quite some time now, it has a 22 inch barrel and only holds 4 in the magazine but I'm still a huge fan of it, my youngest son said he wants it when he's grown up

[SmokeyVol]

Winchester Model 12 is by far my favorite all time

[Mikey Idaho]

My grandfather's Browning Auto 5 from the mid 1930s that I've acquired. Does need some TLC though

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2

[BigD_in_FL]

Just realized that MOST of my guns, let alone shotguns, are from before this decade.damn, this getting old sucks, I remember when I bought my target gun in 94.....( don't ask me what I had for dinner two days ago though), and now I realize some of my guns I bought go back to the late 70s.....::eek:

[mach1.3]

The prettiest guns I own are a Beretta A390ST DU from 1991 in NIB condition
and a 1985 Remington 700 BDL in .22-250 in LNIB condition. The wood on either is spectacular. I also have a 2001 Browning Gold Hunter with great looking wood. All these guns from over a decade ago. Good walnut was a given twenty years ago, today it's a premium priced add-on. A new 2012 Browning Cynergy has good walnut but would have been considered less than Grade 1 in the 80s or 90s.

All my favorite shotguns or rifles are from the 1950-1990s.

[Sphawley]

Winchester 1200 was my fathers, still a great gun and so reliable...

[mach1.3]

Pardon me if I reminisce but my Dad and Granddad were always big Browning A5 shotgun guys. At one time we had 6 of them at the house in the gun cabinet---most midwesterns didn't have safes back then. Of course, in our small town we left our houses unlocked and our cars too for that matter most of the time.

Anyway I digress, we had a magnum A5 twelve, a couple three light twelves in various bbl lengths and chokes, a sweet sixteen(wish I had now) and a twenty gauge in perfect condition(was bought for my Mom and she never shot it). Ah, those were the days when every weekend during bird season we were out and about, after quail and pheasant. We always had a bird dog or two pinned up in the backyard--generally Brittney spaniels. Good bird dogs with soft mouths but their hind quarters collected burrs like crazy. Would have to shave them to get them off.

Ahhh, good times indeed. These are the memories I have when I look at my Dad's old Light Twelve A5 Browning.

[Scorch]

damn, this getting old sucks,
Yeah, but considering the alternative, it's a pretty good gig.

[WV_gunner]

I like my Marlin Goosegun. It's not practical for much but it's a fun gun. Being bolt action and having a 3 foot barrel makes it very long. It's 2+1 with a detachable magazine.

[SR420]

My favorite is also my one and only shotgun that I purchased in 1993

HK Benelli M1 Super 90 Combat

http://www.athenswater.com/images/HKM1S90.JPG

[chesterfield]

So hard to choose. I guess it comes down to three: a Remington 11 in 12ga, a Remington 11-48 in 16ga, and a Remington 870 in 12ga. Love my Remingtons.

[oldgael]

circa 1930 Ithaca 20 ga. double and 1948 Win. mod. 12 skeet 20 ga.

[bamaranger]

I'm gonna mention two.

One is a Savage pump marked "Model of 1921" that belonged to one of my Grandad's. A 28" full choke, solid ribbed 12 ga. I killed my first gobbler with it. Appearance wise it resembles a MOdel 12 Win, but they are not similar otherwise. It was my hunting shotgun up until age 21. Then it broke, and Taylor's Trading Post scared up some parts to patch it up, with a stern warning about the difficulty in finding same. I decided then an there to retire tho old gal.

I bought a Rem Wingmaster Mag in spring of 1980 and have hunted it ever since. It wears a different barrel than it left the factoy with, in fact, I have 3 barrels for it, 26" full, 26" IC and a 20" threaded slug barrel. Remington screw in chokes were not on the market when I bought this pump.

The slug barrel gets a turkey super full choke tube screwed in every spring, and with its rifle sights and a load of 3" W-W #5 shot is a very dandy turkey gun.

[eastbank]

remington 1900 doublebarrel in 12ga(steelbarrels) and three fox sterlingworths,two 12ga and one 16ga. eastbank.

[edm1]

I’m bringing this back from the dead…. I have my Grandfathers 1100. Those just fit me like a third arm. My dads nitro special 16 gauge got me on a 16 gauge kick, which purchased me a model 11 in 16 which also fits me perfectly.

[JasoninSD]

I can't believe I missed this thread a decade ago.:)

Anyway, my favorite shotgun is a 1910 vintage LC Smith in 16 gauge. It is like a death ray for pheasants.

[cdoc42]

Wow! What a tough question. Your favorite can be functional -assuming it is a factory purchase, one which happened to be the right fit and hit most often, what you shot at.
Or, it is one that you had specifically fitted, that turned out to be what you expected and it hit most of what you shot at.

It can be a favorite of your Dad's or a close relative that had an impact on your life, that fits and hit most of what you shot at.

It can be none of the above, but the bottom line is it hit most of what you shot at.

Given all those situations,

My Model 12, 16 GA pump is a favorite. My second shotgun because the first was a Sears Bolt action that malfunctioned and was replaced by the model 12 that hit most of what I shot at.

My AYA Spanish 20GA double that I happened to meet at Sears in 1971 for $50 that took the first 13 rabbits and pheasants I shot at. (When I saw it was an AYA I went back and they were all gone - or pulled).

My Ruger Red Label 12 GA O/U that does as well as those shooting Sporting Clays or Trap compared to any model with a multiplier of the cost.

My Win Model 12 is 12GA pump that has a 30" barrel as thick as a Cocoa Cola Bottle that belonged to an old hawk hunter when that was legal in PA with which I harvested a single Snow Goose traveling alone at 60 yards in the Eastern Shore 40 years ago.

My Savage Fox Model B double in 12 GA that my aunt sold to me for ten bucks when my uncle died took more rabbits than I remember when I was just starting to seriously hunt small game with my Beagle back in 1968.

So, it's not just about the shotgun. But the background that supports your desire to do what it is expected to do.

The "bads?" A 12-GA Weatherby Athena- an absolutely magnificent looking O/U that I couldn't hit my car with it; a 12_GA double S/S - fabulous looking, wooden stock right down to the butt plate. Made in Spain- cost me $1200 - light-weight - but I can't hit anything with it because it doesn't fit.

I hunted with my wife's brother-in-law who would typically buy his license the same morning we were to hunt in PA's first day of small game after we filled up with more beer the night before than I can possibly handle these days. He used an old break-open single shot 12 GA of an unknown manufacturer successfully until he ran out of shells and I gave him some Russian-made shotshells that paused his confidence when he found himself surrounded by the cloud smoke created by the black powder used to make these devils (known to me, of course). He missed the next several shots as a result. No fault of the shotgun.

So it all depends on many factors, many of which are beyond our control on a comparative basis. But most important seems to be similar to what OJ's attorneys said at his trial, "If it fits......"

[jrothWA]

Wear to start!!!!
Parker VH from Dad, Granddad's Rem1894, Uncle Al's DT Model 90 ,
My Win97 bought in1973, followed by the Red Label 20ga.[skt 1 / Skt2']

Newest onr is a Mossberg .410 security for the house. As I and the wife are getting used to it. [PS. I need a .401 filed barrel for woodcock / Grouse.]

[stuckinthe60s]

winchester model 50.

[4V50 Gary]

Rem 870. It's what I trained with but I also like the Itahca 37.

[LOLBELL]

Ithaca Model 37. 16 gauge

[GlenF]

Beretta 1201FP. Makes my 870 go to the back of the safe.

[Ricklin]

All of my shotguns are prior to this decade, it's like asking to pick your favorite kid. Easy for me, only had one. Much harder with old shotguns.

[RayGee]

Winchester M21 (c.1933) 12g trap grade w/ WS1 & 2
Remington 11-48 20g

Regards -------

[FITASC]

Prior decade? My Browning O/Us in 12 and 20 or my Beretta A400. In this decade, my Beretta DT-11

[skywag]

That would be my Remington 870 Trap TC

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/800x600q90/923/6VBnQl.jpg (https://imageshack.com/i/pn6VBnQlj)

[bladesmith 1]

The first shotgun I bought was a 870 TC. Latter a Model 11 in 12ga, and then my Remington SxSs. At this time nine of them - 1873, 82, 89, and a bunch of 94s. My 73, 89, and C grade 94 are probably my favorites. So most my guns aren't a decade old , but over two centuries old. And there's a couple three Parkers and a Lefever. My favorite Parker is a SBT in C grade. It's hard to have a favorite. I just enjoy shooting them three times a week at clay birds. Getting too old to walk the woods and fields.

[Ricklin]

Well bladesmith, not quite two centuries, shotguns from the early 1800's are not very appealing. Shotguns from the late 1800's?...now we are talkin.
My Smith SBT is from 1918, it's currently the oldest in the safe. Amazing that a gun made in 1918 is competitive on the trap fields today.

[Virginian]

Semi auto - Remington 1100 first generation and/or 11-87
Pump - Remington Wingmaster, early 70s
SxS s - Browning BSS, Winchester 23, Bernardelli - the ones imported by Stoeger in the 60s were great deals, Parker Reproductions, Beretta Silver or Golden Hawk or 471, AYA. Winchester 21 if you can handle the cost.

[Mike Irwin]

I love all of my shotguns...

I have my Dad's Remington 58 Sportsman, which I initially bought him for Christmas in 1986, and which came back to me when he passed.

I have my Dad's Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight, which he bought when he was a teenager.

I have my Winchester 1200 pump, which Mom and Dad bought for me at a yard sale (great price!) in probably 1984.

I have my Smith & Wesson 3000 police cruiser, which is my home defense shotgun.

And finally I have my Stevens 311 20 gauge (1950s vintage) that I bought from a former member here. I absolutely adore that gun for wobble trap.

[bladesmith 1]

All my SxSs were built in the late 1800s or a couple of 1894s in the very early 1900s. There's my 1873 Remington hammer lifter, the first year Remington made a SxS, 1882 hammer 10ga with a 40/60 rifle barrel insert, the 1889 which I believe are the nicest hammer guns Remington made, and then the 1894s. That was the first year Remington made a hammerless SxS.
I still shoot my SxS , one or the other at the club three times a week, at times with black powder, and enjoy shooting my Parker SBT gun. I installed a " add a rib " so now the gun comes right up, I don't have to move my head one iota. That gun was made in the early 1917, looks new, and shoots like a new gun. There's just something about shooting old guns that makes me very happy.

[gwpercle]

Remington model 17 - 20 ga. pump .

SWEET !!!

Sweet to carry , sweet handling and sweet shooting ...
... and that's all I have to say about that !
Gary

[BourbonCowboy]

My Smith & Wesson 1000 that I got for Christmas in '82. I recently replaced the piston shock absorber and it's like new again.

[stinkeypete]

Ithaca Model 37. Mine is from 1946, 12 gauge.

The old pump guns are Model 12, Wingmaster, and Ithaca... and the fellas that have them may bicker about which is best but they are all very very nice. They have souls, just like a nice old double barrel.

[The Happy kaboomer]

My A5 Brownings and my Winchester mdl 12's.

[bladesmith 1]

My Rem model 31 is a great pump gun. I rate it right up there with the Wingmaster. The Rem model 10 is a over engineered nightmare - at least for me. Way too many moving parts, but in old photographs I see many on the trap line. Back in the day I guess they were well thought of. The model 10 pump and model 11 auto were the reasons Remington quit making SxSs. They were cheaper to produce and many seemed to be wanting them more than a double.

[44 AMP]

Winchester Model 12 (made in the 1920s) and my Grandfather's Ithaca SxS bought new in 1909.


also, any Rem 870 made before they began using plastic parts (other than the buttplate)

[GeauxTide]

My 11-87 Left Hand. Had it Cerakoted, bought an extra barrel with rifle sights, and put a Boyd's Thumbhole stock for a short-range hog MOLESTER!!!

[Blue Duck]

All of my shotguns are 40 years to over a hundred years old. I guess my favorite is my J.P. Sauer 12 ga side by side. it's taken a lot of pheasant and quail over the years. As far as autos go, it hands down one of Browning A5's.

Another favorite of mine was made in 1898, it's a Charles Lancaster 12ga side by side. I love to take it dove hunting, and sit there and remember that more than likely, the first owner of this old British gun, (I think it says made in London on it), was probably shooting driven pheasant with it, before or slightly after Teddy Roosevelt made his famous charge up San Juan hill.

[The Happy kaboomer]

Browning A5 and Winchester mdl 12

[Electrod47]

Browning BSS 12 gauge, hunted all over this great land with it. Tune your ammo to match the game. Young guys always gather round after "Ole Thunder" brings down another double.

[ammo.crafter]

Remington G-3 20ga.