RCCsDad

The Stoeger 2000 is a benelli brand. Same basic function as a Benelli, but not near the same quality. Same as Franchi. A little nicer fit and finish of a Stoeger, but still not a Benelli. You may be able to find a decent used M1 Benelli in your price range. If you want to buy now, I strongly suggest the Walmart Beretta 390. Should be in most wally worlds that still sell guns. Around $550. It is jusy an American made Beretta and is one of the best buys in a shotgun today imo. FYI, Beretta owns Benelli as well. It is just not advertised much.

The Nikon is a pretty good scope. Teh Team Primos by Nikon is the previous Monarch and is better. Might I suggest the Vortex Viper 3-9x40? They have a $50 rebate right now and will be night and day above the Nikon IMO. I agree with the possibility of needing a more compact scope on the rifle. If you are satisfied with the magnification, the Vortex, or Burris FFII, Bushnell 3200 or even 4200 if you find the right sale, or possibly Leupy VXII would be great as well. The Vortex probably has the best glass of any of these except maybe the 4200. $100 more gets you into the Leupold VX3, Zeiss Conquest and maybe the new Nikon Monarch (nice, but HEAVY). These are scopes that you will not be disappointed in. I have also always been of the opinion to put a piece of glass on that is comparable in cost to the rifle. In this case, you would get into diminishing returns unless you are planning to shoot over the 3-400 yard mark or at dusk or dawn. All scopes look good at 12:00. However, if you can upgrade, I certainly recommend it.

The Nova is an extremely good pump gun. I have 2 of them- along with 2 870s and a Mossberg or two. The Nova, while heavy, is far and away my favorite. If budget allows, I always will recommend the semi Benellis or Berettas- but I remember when I was 18 too. You can get a regular Nova for b/t $300-$400.

But an extremely fun gun to shoot is a Remmy 572. Tube fed, plenty of shooting. I have had mine for over 20 years. I have had a couple of older Marlin bolts that were OK- not sure about current production. I would buy one without hesitation though. Savage will be a lot of gun for a little money. CZ will more than likely be the most accurate and nicest finished. I have had a few and they were all accurate in 22, 17, and 22mag. You may be able to get in the lower end models at a reasonable cost.

I have had 2 of the P3ATs. A first gen and a second. I personally never had a problem with either. I would suggest looking at the Ruger LCP. To my eyes, it has had more thought put into the production process. Just looks higher quality and is basically the same gun. Around here, there is only $10-$20 difference in it and the P3AT. I actually just gave my Mother my LCP for her to carry. She has had her permit for close to 10 years now and never carried a gun on her person until this one. For Christmas, she will get a Crimson Trace laser and a Galco holster handbag. Ammo to me is a non-issue. After the initial break-in, I do not anticipate her, myself or anyone else to shoot this thing at the range very much. I have too many other pistols that are actually fun to shoot. Sure, I would like for there to be more ammo available, but I have been able to find all the fmj I wanted at the Outpost and my Dad just bought 5 boxes of Hornady Critical Defense for her (out of the 40 boxes in the shipment) in Dickson.

Have you tried switching ammo? I have had a number of rimfires-many of which were Marlins- that would just not be reliable with one particular ammo, but 100% with another. Other than that, I would call Marlin or Brownells if they have them and order a new spring.

I would think they are pretty close to the same. My wife shoots a Benelli 20ga and says it kicks harder than a Beretta semi auto 12ga. Of course the 12 is heavier as well as gas operated. But, when I am not at home, I load her 20 with Buckshot because she is most comfortable with it. In a true home/self defense situation, I doubt if you would care much about recoil. Kind of like a 3.5" turkey gun- your shoulder never hurts until later. I would get the one that you would have additional use for (hunting, clays, etc.), but that is just me.

Something that will ease his shoulder a bit is possibly a PAST recoil pad that you could put on him. Also, maybe let him shoot interactive targets like 2 liter bottles filled with water. It may make him forget the recoil all together.

My Dad, Brother and I have been playing with the Blackhorn. One thing we have found is to use the black saboted Shockwaves. They are harder to load, but improve accuracy a bit. T/C came out with the Superglide (yellow) sabot after the Omega was released. Just made it easier to load. My Brother shot a 3 shot group MOA ~2" at 200yds. If I had not seen it, I would not believe it. He was shooting 120 gr- the max for Blackhorn. My gun likes 110. Dad has an older style Encore and he would shoot 200 gr. if he could, so shoots 120 fairly well. Be sure to use a regular 209 primer and not a ML 209 with the Blackhorn. No swabbing- although after 10 or so shots, it gets a little tougher to load, but not as bad as Pyrodex or T7 after a couple. Cleans up easily with Hoppe's 9 or others.

S&W Model 66 2.5" bbl. Had something messed up with the timing and if I knew then what I do now, I would have sent it back to S&W. The only other handguns I can think of are a few HKs. Just because I sold them too cheap. Glocks and Sigs, I can always just buy more. They never change. I only have a very few guns that I will never get rid of. Everything else will get a ride when I get the wants.

Colt branded 1911s? German Sigs? Glocks have not changed prices much more than 5% in 5-10 years. Sigs keep going up, but with the CPO program, you can buy cheaper. Berettas have stayed about the same price as well I guess. Maybe even come down a little on the 92. HKs are very high as well, and while I think they are awesome, they are overpriced for me to begin with. I would be nervous unless you could find something at a realy good price. I wish I had a tractor trailer load of the HK P7s and Sig P6s that Germany released a couple of years ago, but prices are still close to the same. You could have sold a lot of them though.

I shot Blackpowder for years, then Pyrodex, then Pyrodex pellets, then 777, then 777 pellets. Also have experiemented with IMR White Hots and Shockey's stuff. NONE of them compare to Blackhorn 209. It is expensive, but it is worth every penny. I did not like Pyrodex b/c of cleaning. 777 burns cleaner, but has sugar in the mix and that crud is extremely difficult to clean. Blackhorn 209 max load is 120gr. You will knock your hat off at 150. No cleaning b/t shots and it is by far the most accurate I have tested except for a $2000 custom ML that shoots 200 gr of Pyrodex pellets. My Father, Brother and myself all shoot Blackhorn and are getting awesome groups out to 200 yards. All of us shoot Encores with either the new or old style barrel with the 250gr T/C Shockwave EZ Glide sabot. You owe it to yourself to try it. Be sure to buy regular 209 primers, this stuff is a little harder to light per the manufacturer.

I'm originally from Hickman County. Historically, a great number of deer. However, since Unit L has been around, I think the number is dropping but quality is rising. At least on our farms. 25 minutes from Columbia and Dickson, an hour or less from Nashville. Good fishing, lots of turkeys. An hour to TN River. My mother is a retired school teacher that now sells real estate over there. If you are interested in the Hickman/Dickson/Williamson County area, PM me and I will get you her info.

These are a great sharpener as are Lansky Diamond, DMT, Gatco, etc. Anything that will help you hold the angle will be beneficial. Regular Stones are difficult to hold the angle on for a beginner and depending on the steel in the knife, you could be there forever trying to get it done with a stone. Try a diamond.

You can get a 23 at Buds w/ 3 mags for $359 shipped I think. Add a Lone Wolf 40-9 barrel and you have 2. Then a 40-357 barrel and 3 and on and on. I have been back and forth to the dark side for years. Sigs, XDs, M&Ps, etc. The only ones I truly like and shoot better are H&Ks. But not for the price difference. If you want new, pay $35 to join the GSSF, get the $100 off coupon, buy at a LE dealer and you are good to go.