XD Talk

michael59 · 07-06-2012, 12:24 PM

Hi All,
New to forum. First post. My wife and I recently took CWP course in SC and are waiting for the permits to arrive any day. (been almost 3 months). That was our first foray into shooting and now we have a new hobby! I bought the XD9SC and love it! I got her a Sig P238, then went looking for a single stack 9 for myself and ended up with a Ruger LC9. We've joined a club and shoot about every other weekend. Oh yeah, have a Buckmark too.

That's background. Now I'm in the market for a HD shotgun. That will round things out and be about all the wife will tolerate for now. I found a Mossberg 835 camo 18.5" barrel at a pawn shop and they'll take $140 for it. I want something that we both can practice with that won't scare her and be able to shoot if the unfortunate situation arises. I've been looking online and have seen a lot on the 500 and the Remington 870, but not much on this one. Lastly, we are early middle aged

50 +/-...wish I had done this much earlier in life! Budget around $400.

Thoughts and advice appreciated.

JBubbs · 07-06-2012, 01:02 PM

That's the 3.5 inch chamber right? That means you can't put 2 3/4 in shells thru it, kind of overkill if you are worried about wall penetration. Price sounds decent though, but it will put a wallop on your shoulders! I'm more of a 45acp guy myself when it comes to HD. For $400 you could get a Rock Island GI or ATI Commander and enter the 1911 club, you won't regret it

But back to a home defense shotgun, you can have a 870 in that price range. I had a 500 defense gun and it didn't like heavy loads, personally I think the 870 is a better gun

michael59 · 07-06-2012, 03:47 PM

It says it shoots 2-3/4, 3 and 3-5".

JBubbs · 07-06-2012, 04:01 PM

Well there you go, for that price you can't really go wrong. I still stand behind my 1911 comment but doesn't every house need a scatter gun?

michael59 · 07-06-2012, 04:20 PM

Then I think at that price I could put on the Advanced Technology 6 position stock and forend.

We've only been shooting since April. Maybe a 1911 for xmas!

windsearcher · 07-06-2012, 04:26 PM

I've got a Moss 500 with the ATI stock and recoil pad. Kicks pretty good with the short barrel, but will work good for the home defense situation.

In your case, for the price??.... I'd snap it up in a second!! The pawn shops in my area are nuts, I may as well just buy new with what they are asking.

JBubbs · 07-06-2012, 04:26 PM

Don't do those stocks unless it has the recoil system in it! I put the M4 style stock on my Mossberg 500...OUCH! And I go 6-1 230...the forend with the light holder is a good idear tho!

Cuda66 · 07-06-2012, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBubbs

That's the 3.5 inch chamber right? That means you can't put 2 3/4 in shells thru it, kind of overkill if you are worried about wall penetration. Price sounds decent though, but it will put a wallop on your shoulders! I'm more of a 45acp guy myself when it comes to HD. For $400 you could get a Rock Island GI or ATI Commander and enter the 1911 club, you won't regret it

But back to a home defense shotgun, you can have a 870 in that price range. I had a 500 defense gun and it didn't like heavy loads, personally I think the 870 is a better gun

Highlighted is utterly and completely false.

Seriously--before you make a statement like that, you may want to have some actual experience, and know what you are talking about.

To the OP:

For the price, it would be hard to beat; just be aware that if you want to try and mod it down the road, there's not much out there fro the 835.

Heck, for that price, I'd likely pick it up and throw it behind the seat of my truck...

Cuda66 · 07-06-2012, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael59

Then I think at that price I could put on the Advanced Technology 6 position stock and forend.

We've only been shooting since April. Maybe a 1911 for xmas!

Just keep the standard buttstock on it; much better for recoil absorption, and the pistol grips with a Mossberg tang safety don't work all that great together.

I'd recommend buying it, learning how to run it (see if there's a local instructor that can give you some of the ins and outs of defensive shotgun use--there's a hell of a lot more to it than "point in the general direction and pull the trigger"

), run it as is for a while and then decide if there are any modifications you want to make to it.

DevJames · 07-08-2012, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBubbs

That's the 3.5 inch chamber right? That means you can't put 2 3/4 in shells thru it, kind of overkill if you are worried about wall penetration. Price sounds decent though, but it will put a wallop on your shoulders! I'm more of a 45acp guy myself when it comes to HD. For $400 you could get a Rock Island GI or ATI Commander and enter the 1911 club, you won't regret it

But back to a home defense shotgun, you can have a 870 in that price range. I had a 500 defense gun and it didn't like heavy loads, personally I think the 870 is a better gun

It'll take 2 3/4

I don't think all of the 835's were 3 1/2" chambers either though.

If it's an 835, I wanna say it has a button safety on the trigger guard as well. (nope, still tang safety)

The 835 won't have quite as much fun accessories for it, but it's still a fine shotgun. I didn't know they offered an 18.5 barrel on them honestly.