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VERSATILE??!!....
I've a battery of 870s that covers the whole spectrum, but I could do it with one and a coupla barrels.That's mice to moose to Mastodon to Home Defense to clay sports. ALL clay sports.
Warning, 870s are addicting.
The downside of a pump is it may be a trifle slower on fast repeat shots, tho Herb Parsons and Rudy Etchen might disagree.
One has to be quick for trap doubles with a pump, or true pairs on a sporting course, but practice and a smooth pumper like an 870 will suffice. Pull up 10 trapshooters, 9 of them will own 870s, tho they may be shooting other guns.
For "Serious" use, 870s are the standard by which all other shotguns are judged.BTE, I can traverse fire 00 in a stock 870 on 5 targets at up to 25 yards with good hits in under 5 seconds. You can too, with a bit of practice.
For Trap, several 870 records still hold for straights, including Etchen's 1005 bird string.
According to Rudy, recently deceased, the only thing he couldn't do with an 870 was wear it out.
One of the shorter versions, including the Turkey vartiant, can serve for ANYTHING. Like most compromises, it may not perform quite as well as a more specialized tool, but it will perform.
All round use, a 28", Remchoked bbled 870 with a short bbl for deer, "Serious" use, and things like quail and grouse will set you back less than $400, last generations with care, and will do anything you need to have it doing.
The Archives here have paeans of praise for the 870, and just about all of it is true....
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