leadchunker

I grew up shooting other people's 870's. Since then I have owned Mossbergs and now a Benelli Nova. The 870 Wingmasters I used to shoot had a great action and a decent finish, but these were 1960's guns. The 870's today don't feel like the old ones. The finish seems a little lower quality as well. I can't say if they are more prone to corrosion than the old ones as I have not owned a new one. My Mossbergs were good guns and had a decent finish, actions were a little rough though. I love my Nova. Decent finish and the best action out of the 3, with the exception of the 60's 870's which we will probably never see the likes of again.

I know exactly what you mean. I did the math. For the AA clays load I normally shoot, it would be $1.00 cheaper per box than store bought. This of course did not factor in the price of the press over a given amount of loads, which brings them even closer to store boughts. I figured the cost per box at roughly 500 rounds of loose supplies divided to give the cost per 25. Mabye a little better price break if you buy supplies at 1000 or 2000 rounds at a time. If ammo mfgs. would give a price break in case quantity it would be a no brainer. It is easier at times, in my neck of the woods, to find discounts on loose supplies than loaded ammo.

A wise man once told me, " If you knew where to expect trouble, You would not go there in the first place. ". Aside from stupid decisions and putting yourself into bad situations, you don't know what to expect from the criminal element anywhere. Keep a gun, Learn how to use it well and safely with much practice, Use it when all of your other choices are gone.

I've done some reloading before on other people's equipment, so I'm not exactly a rookie. I'm thinking of buying my own with the prices of ammo what they are. I'm just looking for some input on what the experienced guys like and dislike. I'll be reloading for clays and trap. I'd prefer a single stage loader. I'm more about accuracy than speed. Right now I'm leaning toward M.E.C. loaders. Don't care about auto primer feed and the such. I just want a simple press that is a quality product.

Thanks Plowjockey. Sounds like both the Nikon and a Badger barrel are worth taking a look at. Might even be able to get the combo cheaper than a dedicated slug gun alone.

Speaking of old eyes, How is the sight picture on that Slughunter in lower light settings? Sometimes I have issues with long relief scopes as it approaches dusk.

You beat me to it in mentioning the 5.56 or .223. I heard that the Federal 45 grain hollow point load works great in home defense situations. I don't currently own a weapon in that chambering, so my primary defense choice would be the shotgun with a handgun on person as a backup. Both buckshot and handgun rounds penetrate a lot of building material, so take that into consideration for your particular situation. There are many handgun rounds designed for close quarters defense, such as frangible loads, Glaser saftey slugs ect. I have not heard a solid track record yet on what kind of fight stoppers they are, while some of standard rounds that might overpenetrate, do have a proven record. There are a lot of comprimises in defensive situations.

Hello all. This is my first post here. I am an experienced shooter, but had never owned a Benelli. I just bought a Nova 12 ga. Took it out to the range and shot a round of 50 clays. Wow! I'm very impressed with this gun. It might be my first Benelli, but won't be my last. My thanks to Benelli for building a quality product!