Ok guys, you've helped me a lot in the past as there are a lot of gun nuts on these boards.

The choices

Mosin Nagant (sportsterized) 7.62x54R - $89-119 (~$200-250 after accessories/tax)
+ Cheap gun
+ Cheap ammo
- I don't hunt




Saiga 12ga semi-auto shotgun - $499-599+
+ Semi-auto
+ Looks awesome
+ Very powerful/good for home defense
- Higher cost
- Ammo consumption could be expensive


Remington 870 Tactical - $399
+ Powerful gun/good for home defense
+ Reasonable price
+ Popular shotgun




I'm not in any hurry to buy a new gun, but am actively looking (when does it end right?). Also, if you have other suggestions for similarly priced/awesome guns, I am open to them.

 

I like the remington 870 and have owned a couple. The saiga looks good though.

 

It's basically an AK47 shotgun

If it weren't so expensive, I'd probably pick that one. But the extremely cheap price of the Mosin rifle is very very temping, especially for a decent quality high powered bolt action rifle. And the Remington is kind of the in the middle price range weapon, yet still very high quality and functionality.

 

The 870 is a better choice for HD, as you can get 7 or 8 rounds with the extended tube. It's also less likely to malfunction than the Saiga. You can only have a 5 round magazine maximum in the Saiga unless it's converted to 922r standards. That being said, the Saiga is bleeping awesome. You can figure in at least $150 for a cheap pistol grip conversion, more for one moving the trigger forward unless you can do all the work yourself. My Saiga is a little finicky (FTE) occasionally with walmart value birdshot, but it has never even thought of malfunctioning with high brass slugs and buckshot. It was made to run on high powered stuff anyways.

 

Without a doubt 870.Jus plain good solid shotgun.

 

In time I will have all of these weapons, so I'm a bit more inclined to go with the Saiga since it would be more fun to shoot. The 870 is a tad cheaper and a great shotgun however.

GMCtrk, any pics of your Saiga? And I'm honestly not to worried about using a mag that holds more than 5 rounds. This is Texas, I doubt I'd get hassled about it. But to be safe I would probably only load 5 rounds at a time at the range.

 

Here ya go Scott.

BTW, the 922r law is a federal law, so it doesn't matter what state you're in. Missouri has as good or better gun laws than Texas, but I still comply just because I'd rather not deal with any consequences, as slim as they may be. And trust me, with the Saiga you'll be wanting a lot more than 5 rounds at your disposal, since the fun factor goes up exponentially when you have 4x more rounds than that to rapid fire.

 

I know 922r is a federal law, but there has never been someone actually convicted of violating it from what I've read.

Btw both those guns are sexy. Where did you get your Saiga from? How much?

 

I got it from a local FFL on GunBroker. It was $499, but since it was in-state, I had to pay tax, so it was around $540 OTD. He didn't charge me any transfer fees. All told, as you see it in the picture I have around $740 in it.

 

Now if only civilians could get their hands on an AA12


I'm thinking about buying the Mosin because it's cheap and possibly just getting the Saiga or 870 for myself at christmas time? hmm