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19 Comments

  2. With all of today’s pistols and AR-15s, shotguns just aren’t sexy. But many of us grew up with shotguns.

    A shotgun loaded with buckshot would be my weapon of choice in a target-rich environment (think urban). This is especially if the bad guys are wearing body armor. You can take them out of play long enough to escape ALIVE. ‘Alive and free’ is good.

  3. Ya I know, “They aren’t Sexy”, but a 4’10” frail granny can take out a 6’3″ linebacker, with his “pretty, sexy, handgun”….. people need to start thinking about functionality over “pretty, high priced, I want to impress my buddies”, type firearms. I’m an old grunt…give me an old M14 with 20 rounds and you can have any fancy 223 you like with as many rounds as you like, put a thousand yards between us and you will never get in range. Same thing with granny, give her a 12GA with 00 buck and don’t get within range with that fancy handgun!

  4. I use my 12 GA 18″ as protection when horeback riding and camping in the mountains
    where there are known to be griz and black bears that like my campsite and food as much as I do. Not to mention they will run off the horses and now it is Shanks Mare time.

    1. Well Vern, I sincerely hope you don’t run into an unhappy griz when all you have is your 12 GA. I’ll bet he/she would have her way with you and your food.

      1. So, jf a a 12 bore chock full of naught naught buck, or half dozen .69cal punkinball isn’t enough gun for griz… what is? A poodle shooter?
        I mean, we all know how dangerous that high powered, tank Killin .22 is.

  5. The economy of a shotgun goes well beyond the purchase price, there is also ammo cost. A round of buckshot cost less than a dollar and usually sends eight or twelve lethal projectiles downrange; that is much cheaper than any 8 rifle rounds! There is also the tactical advantage of eight or twelve buckshot pellets heading towards the target with each pull of the trigger. That is 48 to 72 projectiles with only six trigger pulls! Choose any attack weapon you like, if you are within 45 yards of a competent shot gunner you are at a serious disadvantage! If he has slugs you are in danger even at 100 yards or more!

  6. Everyone should have a shotgun. A very deadly weapon that can do so much with various loads. Help feed you or defend you. My funny memory is of a stranger visiting and seeing my shotgun, They kept saying “that’s a street sweeper” They kept saying it over and over. I think it scared the crap out of them. And it was just leaned up against the wall in a corner!

  7. The stevens 320 security model is a real turd. Spend a little more and go with a Mossberg 500/590 or a Remington 870. After owning a Stevens 320 for a few weeks, it had to go. Cycling issues, fit and finish issues. If a brand new mossberg/remington pump action is too expensive, buy one used, It will most defiantly be a major upgrade than the stevens 320 security turd.

  9. RE: 2 3/4″ vs 3″ ammunition – if one chooses to use 3″ for the extra shot capacity, it is very beneficial to test every 3″ round – manufacturer, shot size, shell type – one plans on using (plus ones not intended, because one never knows what ammunition one may be forced to use because of availability problems). Some shotguns are a bit tight on the ejection port size and/or contours, and ejection timing. Once the shell has been fired the crimp opens up, extending the length of the to-be-ejected empty shell, which sometimes causes ejection problems, especially if the action on a manually-operated shotgun is not operated in a sufficiently forceful manner. It’s also beneficial to deliberately mis-stroke the manual action with all intended ammunition to discover if there are user-induced ejection problems.

    And, don’t forget to pattern each and all of the intended loads at the anticipated usage distances; a 9-pellet 00 buck from manufacturer X will probably pattern differently from that of manufacturer Y.

  11. Like I told my like minded buddy once when he was biased against the using the .223/5.56 NATO round because of his reading/knowledge of that round tumbling, twisting and angle changes through flesh or objects, I made this reply to him…” if you think this or that round is ineffective at any range, are you willing to stand in front of that projectile when fired at you”?

    Made my point with him. It’s been said many times before, the best round/caliber to have for self defence is whatever you have on you at the exact time you need it”.

    Was it Massad Ayoob? Check out his “dated” 1970’s video interviews on YouTube, some 1 hour long, some 1.5 hours. I am being crass when I say dated. Watch 2 or 3 of his video interviews on gunfighting and self defence and you should realize that some things just don’t change when it comes to self defence.

  12. Shotguns are the most flexible of firearms:with a barrel change you can hunt anything from doves,rabbit,squirrel,turkey,rabbit,up to deer,moose and bear even two legged pests. A selection of chokes makes a single barrel adjustable to multiple rounds and conditions. Don’t forget that ammo is also far more diverse than just bird,buck,slug there are also many specialty rounds from nonleathal bean bags,breaching,flamethrower to signal(starshell,parchute flare,tracer). Not to be forgotten is the intimidation factor,the sound of a pump being cycled will make almost anything change its course of action and the sight of looking down what looks like a cavern has serious psychological effects. Financially a used shotgun(most aren’t used hard(unless a dedicated skeet/trap 3gun shooter)makes a lot of sense you can buy 2-3 for the cost of a black rifle and reloading your ammo can lead to even more savings and flexabilty. Would like to see a comparison of reloaders for shot shells.

  13. A most excellent critique / review of the Stevens 320, Mr. Cascio leaves out nothing that’s need to know info for us consumers so that we are well armed with good information before considering a purchase on a model 320, and he sprinkles his interesting and thought provoking review with various other important tidbits of information, we always get the whole scoop when Mr. Cascio does a review, be it firearms or any number of other potentially life saving pieces of SHTF equipment.

    Yes, one can get a more expensive riot type shotgun if desired; however there is a fair sized group of people out there who happen not to be financially capable to purchase those higher end more prevalent name notable defense / riot type shotguns. Thanks for the very well detailed and practical information on this Stevens shotgun! I am seriously going to look at one of these as an extra added level of protection…….in my truck!

  14. The Rock Island M-5 is also an excellent bargain. Available in matt black, in addition to a very handsome all weather version. On the used market they can be found for well under 200.00 dollars. Brand new in the box will set you back between 200 and 250 clams. Reasonably priced extended magazines are also available online. They are one of the smoothest running tubes I have ever experienced and trust me when I say I have run them all. When properly operated they are utterly reliable as long as you don’t short stroke them. They can handle 3 inch Mags but I would stick with 2 3/4 inch loads. May you all have a blessed remainder of your evening……………… Out

  15. The Winchester Model 12, and Ithaca Model 37 both had single slide bars, and they are considered some of the best shotguns ever.
    imho, Mossberg was responsible for the single slide bar fiasco with the early 500s cheap steel bars which were known to bend if used roughly… Mossy had to wait for Remingtons patent to expire to redesign the 500.

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