There is no such thing. The most popular shotguns in history are the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500. Yet, no shotgun is completely immune from poor quality ammunition.

 

Randy,

I have read almost everything you have written about pumps, and I think I know the answer, but in your opinion what gun is most reliable?

 

There is no scientific answer. Whether Model 12s, Ithaca M37s, Browning BPSs, Remington 870s, Mossberg 500s . . . they are all reliable enough, but not immune from bad ammo, poor ammo, lack of maintenance, normal wear and tear, and so forth.

The soldier or law enforcement official that relies on an 870, M37, or Mossberg 590 might have far more on the line than a clay pigeon or a dove.

Though "reliability" is a common topic (and a more common ad-brag), repeating shotguns have been essentially completely reliable for over a century, autoloaders since the original, the Automatic-Five.

Shotguns, as a class, are more reliable than ever before, primarily due to plastic hulls that don't swell like the old paper hulls: better ammo, more reliability. It doesn't mean that mass-produced shotguns cannot have a tight chamber, a bad ejector, or a flaw that anything man-made is subject to. The shotgun that is totally immune from tolerances, tooling wear, mismachining, and bad ammo hasn't been invented yet.

 

If all lengths, then you require the ability to fire 3-1/2" shells? In that case your options are limited slightly. While I like the Ithaca 37 the best, my 870 has never failed me. No experience with any 3-1/2" shells. I've seen a lot of failures in Mossberg 500s and I wouldn't buy one myself but others swear by them. Shoot any gun long enough and something will go wrong sooner or later.

 

I've carried a Rem 870 then later on a Benelli M4 tactical while on patrol and trusted them with my life......but, then again I wasn't dove hunting or breaking clays with them.

 

Rem 870 or Mossy 500. Super reliable, millions sold (can always find parts), countless aftermarket suppliers. 870 Magnum will shoot up to 3". Don't know if your duck hunting or apocalypse prepping, but the Super Magnum will fire 3 1/2". Both very reliable and fairly standard among Law Enforcement. In my opinion the Remingtons are better looking and finished, but both reliable brands.

 

In my considered opinion, the most reliable pump shotgun on the planet earth should be the Mossberg 590, simply because it passed all the tests for adoption by the United States military forces.

As for shotguns that we'd use to hunt and shoot targets with, the number one malfunction trouble with any pump is always the owner, who will invariably short stroke any pump gun ever made or that ever will be made.

As for available pumps, I'd put the Mossberg 500 and other models besides the mil spec 590, and the Browning BPS, and the Remington Model 870, all on about the same level of reliability.

But the most reliable pump shotguns I own are not Model 12 Winchesters, although those are the most hand crafted, strongest, and safest, and come in second place.

The most reliable shotgun on the market today, for targets and birds, is the Ithaca Model 37.

It has two extractors.

The mechanism is simple.

The miraculous twin steel "fingers" lift shells and eject shells more positively than any other system, I've found

And the entire gun is made from steel and walnut, as it has been since 1937.

All that being said, I rarely but sometimes "short stroke" a M37, and a new M37 costs substantially more than the base models from Mossberg, Remington, and Browning.

Shoot what you like, and I like all the pumps on the market.

I just love the Ithaca Model 37 the most.

 

The only two guns I have had break downs on were two mossbergs 500. Never again will I buy one.

 

That settles it, 870!

 

Rem 870 settled !!!

 

870, carried one in the Corps, surrounded by them in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not a pretty gun, but has managed to get the job done for many decades. Not only have fathers of todays soldiers carried them to battle, grandfathers and great grandfathers! In my opinion it's the 1911 in the shotgun world and yep I carried a 1911 as well.

 

You want the same shotgun to equally and happily run 3 1/2" shells and 1 3/4" shells.

At least you don't want much.

 

The description seems a bit comparable to a 16 oz. claw hammer....reliable can be boring.

However, removing the "absolutely" preceding "everything"...I'll plump for the ol' model 31.
Vic Reinders put a train load of shotshells thru his.

 

Browning BPS's and Remington Wingmasters are my two choices. Had them both and never a problem. Just my humble opinion. Grade6man

 

While I absolutely adore the Model 12's and they will always be my favorite, I must admit in my opinion a 60's-70's Wingmaster is a better shotgun. Dead nuts reliable, inexpensive parts you can replace yourself should something break (not likely), they will outlive four generations and still keep running through shells.

 

While I absolutely adore the Model 12's and they will always be my favorite, I must admit in my opinion a 60's-70's Wingmaster is a better shotgun. Dead nuts reliable, inexpensive parts you can replace yourself should something break (not likely), they will outlive four generations and still keep running through shells.

I agree on Remingtons. A BPS is right there also in reliability, but I don't like the ergonomics near as well as an 870.
That military contract that Mossberg won; they were the only submission. Nevertheless they did win it. Remington, Winchester, and Ithaca have all won them before, and Heaven knows how many police contracts have gone to all of them through the years.
As a former gun mechanic - I never called myself a gunsmith in spite of the license because I have not one artistic bone in my body - the following may be useful.
Most common issues with various pumps: (keep in mind there are a dozen 870s or 500s out there being shot like crazy for every one of the others)
Remington 870s - by far and away the #1 issue was a loose shell latch. Popped out when cleaning so no effect on reliability and anyone with any mechanical ability should have been able to carry on. Way up there also would have been vehicle damage - as in ran over it on soft ground. Used to astound me. A few broken firing pin springs with the old style springs. Saw a couple of broken MIM extractors in the early days of those on Expresses. Never seen a broken forged extractor on an 870, but several on 1100s, including one of mine in 1982. I also honed several Express chambers so people could shoot the cheapies.
BPS - owner took it apart like Browning says not to, and couldn't reassemble it. A five minute job. I cannot remember ever needing to replace a broken part.
Mossberg - Broken safeties and shell extractors. Depending on which extractor it was the gun may continue to run fine. Saw two broken action bars that I can recall, and both were on double bar guns. I attribute both failures to operator idiocy - excuse me error. I still have a little box of metal safeties somewhere.
Winchester Model 12s and Ithaca 37s - Something got worn. Those beloved hand fitted parts have tight tolerances because they are required for them to operate correctly. They could always be fixed, but often it took a while to figure out what was going on. And then you had to acquire the part, but in spite of the fitting hype in my experience they often dropped right in. Maybe they changed/improved the manufacturing process, I don't know.
Nova - Only ever worked on one (gratis since I no longer had a license), and it had a broken stock from beating it on the ground to eject a cheap shell. The chamber was not really bad either. And it had a broken action bar. My guess was the owner somehow bent it and in trying to straighten it broke it.

 

In my opinion, the safety on the BPS is a problem. My 20 ga failed and I received it back from Browning a few weeks ago. To Brownings credit, they repaired it free of charge, but I can't get right with it in my head. I will never trust the gun again with dux on the line. 870 Wingmaster, don't look back!

 

We have Remington Wingmasters, Browning BPS's, and Ithaca M37's. All are awesome pumps and extremely reliable.

I won't own a Mossberg pump. Personally I find them cheap and crudely made.

 

For 40+ years I would have said 870, but my BPS actually has a more reliable action (less likely to "double shuck" than my Wingmaster. You can't go wrong with either.

 

Lots of votes for the 870 and I can't say I don't agree. But I will say you need to qualify which 870. I'd be very hesitant to say an 870 Express is reliable. I witnessed 2 this past weekend that continually jammed and gave their owners/shooters fits.
My 40 year old Wingmaster on the other hand, just kept chugging along all day long with nary a hiccup or complaint.

 

The Express's need a chamber polishing to function correctly. I realize that Remington cuts corners to make them inexpensive but come on the chamber!

 

The rough chambers on Expresses are past tense as far as i am concerned.

 

The rough chambers on Expresses are past tense as far as i am concerned.

They fix the problem?

 

There is a co-mingling of terms here. Reliability and durability are not the same things.

As far as the Express barrels go, they are made on the same machines with the same tooling by the same people in the same factory as Wingmasters. There is no difference in the chambers whatsoever.

 

Remington 870 with Police upgrades!