As far as quality at a great price, a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 would be the way to go. If you want to spend the extra money for something a bit nicer, look into Benelli.
Thanks - well timed infopump will cycle anything, everytime.
semiautomatics may not cycle light loads.
Pump will contain most of the powder residue to the barrel.
Semiautomatics will get more residue in the action, piston, and other moving components.
Pump can be short cycled and jammed.
Pumps will not always cycle everything, every time. I had to work on my 870Z for it to properly feed light trap shells, though it fed buck and slugs fine. On the other hand, my Benelli M1S90 has fed everything, including mixed mags, with never a bobble.pump will cycle anything, everytime.
semiautomatics may not cycle light loads.
Pump will contain most of the powder residue to the barrel.
Semiautomatics will get more residue in the action, piston, and other moving components.
Pump can be short cycled and jammed.
If you cycled the action slowly, they would cycle/feed fine; rapidly, they would hang up.I said cycle, not feed.
Yes, pumps risk operator error.
I have heard of more light load problems out of auto than pumps. Pumps will even cycle on those goofy 2" (assuming the gun doesn't drop the round).
cuda, what did you have to do to your 870 for light loads? what was the gun doing?
Got a 5 choke package with 2 barrels and 2 stocks for about $480. Nice and light, easy action, fast dis and reassembly, but the 870 and 500 are a far better choice for aftermarket items and from what I found out too late reliability too.Another gun way under the radar is the Stoeger P350. It's basically a Benelli Nova or Supernova. Very very little recoil. Not for a small framed person. I've been told that Benelli barrels interchange as do most of the components. Stoeger is owned by the same company that owns Benelli and from what I've researched they are just assembled in Brazil or some place cheaper. It comes with a bunch of gear too. I think like 4 or 5 chokes and it's only 299.
it is 28 inch. Offer has expired but this was a great deal at $259 that I learned about at this thread here on XD. For OP, maybe Big5 will run that deal again. If they do I would highly recommend for what you are seeking. I had my new 500 with the long barrel out trap shooting yesterday morning - fun fun fun turning some clays back into the dust they were molded from... Mossberg 500 has quite a few options and is cheaper than the 870 but just as reliable. You can even buy this one with 2 barrels. The 18.5 and regular sized barrel. Not sure what size that is ...