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• Johnny reb Posts: 715 Senior Member

  May 2020 #2

  I’ve got a supernova I’ve had for several years. They are reliable I’ve used it for everything. They come with different shin kits. That you can alter the length of pull and drop. I don’t know you’re height or lop. I believe with spacers it will go to 14.75 in. Still too short for me but better than 13.5in. Mine is a turkey killing machine. If you end up with one and you turkey hunt buy a Indian creek turkey choke, that along with the Heavy Shot Magnum Blend is death to turkeys at distances you won’t believe.

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• bobbert Posts: 63 Member

  May 2020 #3

  I have duck, pheasant, quail and dove in mind. I was wondering how these guns come up, mount, balance and swing for fowl on the wing. 

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• Bigslug Posts: 9,774 Senior Member

  May 2020 #4

  I kinda touched on this in your other thread. . .
  
  When I was in the sales side of the trade, the Nova was a strictly a 3.5" chamber proposition.  I'm guessing that's the Super Nova now, and the Nova is a 3" and shorter platform?
  
  At any rate, you're gonna want to pick up a 3.5" gun and swing it before you lay your money down.  I've never held a 3.5" gun by any manufacturer that didn't feel like I was trying to maneuver a heavy iron pipe.  That slow, steady swing is OK for high-flying geese, or for long range turkey where you're not really swinging the gun at all, but I find them REALLY sluggish for upland-type shooting.
  
  If Remington still makes the "Light Contour" barrel, adding one to your Police 870 can make for a pretty responsive platform, if you can get over the fact that you'll have a blued Wingmaster barrel on your flat-finish cop gun.
  
  Mossberg does one 28" walnut model: https://www.mossberg.com/product/500-hunting-all-purpose-field-classic-50126/ and I've been favorably impressed by the metal finish on my birch-stocked 28" bird/ 24" slug combo model.  It's been a dove killin' machine.

  WWJMBD?
  
  "Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee

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• bobbert Posts: 63 Member

  May 2020 #5

  Bigslug said:

  I kinda touched on this in your other thread. . .
  
  When I was in the sales side of the trade, the Nova was a strictly a 3.5" chamber proposition.  I'm guessing that's the Super Nova now, and the Nova is a 3" and shorter platform?
  
  At any rate, you're gonna want to pick up a 3.5" gun and swing it before you lay your money down.  I've never held a 3.5" gun by any manufacturer that didn't feel like I was trying to maneuver a heavy iron pipe.  That slow, steady swing is OK for high-flying geese, or for long range turkey where you're not really swinging the gun at all, but I find them REALLY sluggish for upland-type shooting.
  
  If Remington still makes the "Light Contour" barrel, adding one to your Police 870 can make for a pretty responsive platform, if you can get over the fact that you'll have a blued Wingmaster barrel on your flat-finish cop gun.
  
  Mossberg does one 28" walnut model: https://www.mossberg.com/product/500-hunting-all-purpose-field-classic-50126/ and I've been favorably impressed by the metal finish on my birch-stocked 28" bird/ 24" slug combo model.  It's been a dove killin' machine.

  I want a "carpenter's hammer" for a shotgun and I've read the Benelli SuperNova takes a beating and keeps on banging. Google "BENELLI SUPERNOVA REVIEW – 10 YEARS LATER" and you will find an article of one of these "Shakespeare Ugly Stiks" of fowling pieces by a young chap named  Jason Tome. I like the comb height adjust feature and the shim kit to make this gun fit about about any shooter. Jason recommends a 26" barrel for flushing birds in tight cover, however. Might a 26" barrel give a snappier mount and swing for fast mourning doves in a field over MOJO's? Come to think of it, I don't want an expensive pretty gun to bag birds or ducks at all.  Looking at Benelli website, all new Novas and Super Novas in 12 ga. sport 3 1/2" chambers.

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• Johnny reb Posts: 715 Senior Member

  May 2020 #6

  bobbert said:

  Bigslug said:

  I kinda touched on this in your other thread. . .
  
  When I was in the sales side of the trade, the Nova was a strictly a 3.5" chamber proposition.  I'm guessing that's the Super Nova now, and the Nova is a 3" and shorter platform?
  
  At any rate, you're gonna want to pick up a 3.5" gun and swing it before you lay your money down.  I've never held a 3.5" gun by any manufacturer that didn't feel like I was trying to maneuver a heavy iron pipe.  That slow, steady swing is OK for high-flying geese, or for long range turkey where you're not really swinging the gun at all, but I find them REALLY sluggish for upland-type shooting.
  
  If Remington still makes the "Light Contour" barrel, adding one to your Police 870 can make for a pretty responsive platform, if you can get over the fact that you'll have a blued Wingmaster barrel on your flat-finish cop gun.
  
  Mossberg does one 28" walnut model: https://www.mossberg.com/product/500-hunting-all-purpose-field-classic-50126/ and I've been favorably impressed by the metal finish on my birch-stocked 28" bird/ 24" slug combo model.  It's been a dove killin' machine.

  I want a "carpenter's hammer" for a shotgun and I've read the Benelli SuperNova takes a beating and keeps on banging. Google "BENELLI SUPERNOVA REVIEW – 10 YEARS LATER" and you will find an article of one of these "Shakespeare Ugly Stiks" of fowling pieces by a young chap named  Jason Tome. I like the comb height adjust feature and the shim kit to make this gun fit about about any shooter. Jason recommends a 26" barrel for flushing birds in tight cover, however. Might a 26" barrel give a snappier mount and swing for fast mourning doves in a field over MOJO's? Come to think of it, I don't want an expensive pretty gun to bag birds or ducks at all.  Looking at Benelli website, all new Novas and Super Novas in 12 ga. sport 3 1/2" chambers.

  If you want a hammer I say go ahead and get a hammer. I would say I’ve had mine for 8-10 years. I have no complaint and would buy another in a heartbeat. I have used mine for everything from doves,ducks, up to coyotes. As far as being hard to swing tracking doves or other birds I’ve not found it to be a problem. They are also very soft shooting I’ve shot several hundred rounds through mine in a day on multiple occasions.

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• sakodude Posts: 4,796 Senior Member

  May 2020 #7

  You seem awfully convinced on the Nova’s superiority so why are you asking opinions? Or are you just shilling for Benelli? 

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• Bigslug Posts: 9,774 Senior Member

  May 2020 #8

  The Mossberg your carpenter's hammer.  It dispenses with the staked in shell latches & ejector & welded-in mag tube of the 870 and gives you parts that are held in with screws or braced in by other parts, so it's easier to get all the way in and truly get it clean or fixed without a professional.  It's trigger group only does fire control and does not incorporate the shell lifter function - instead tying that to the receiver & action bars.  It runs on twin extractors, so any sticky chamber event is unlikely to bring you grief.
  
  As a combat gun, or one you have to keep feeding while distracted (like on a busy dove opener), I find that the Mossy is more resistant to the "brain farts" or fumbles that less dedicated shotgunners are prone to.  The ejection port is bigger than that of an 870, so it's easier to load your first round on an empty gun through there.  The shell lifter is "hard linked" to the position of the forend - if the action is open, the lifter is locked DOWN and the only way to load a round is to the open ejection port; if the action is closed, the lifter is locked UP and is totally out of your way to allow easy loading of the magazine without finger/glove pinching.  If you accidentally load a round facing backwards in the magazine on an 870 (and probably any other gun with a flappy shell lifter), it will shoot backwards on top of the shell lifter, but still have its rim retained by the shell latches -  totally locking up the gun until you can get in around the lifter with some narrow pokey tool and trip the shell latches.  On a Mossberg, just grab the shell and pry it out.  The tang safety is not only ambidextrous and intuitive as to which direction does what, but it is easier to run in either direction while holding the gun in a wider variety of positions and does not have the amateur's trigger finger wandering around dangerously in search of a button.
  
  I know the Benelli autoloaders fairly well.  Their trigger groups seem fairly heavily inspired by Remington, but are less solid-state with semi-permanent staking and more easily worked on.  I would assume the Nova to be mostly a manual version of the same.
  
  A Nova is not going to have the same ability to shim the stock for comb height and cast like the Benelli autoloaders will.  Those shims install in the juncture between the stock and receiver.  Since the Nova's stock is part of the receiver, you're stuck with the angles they give you.
  
  So that's just the mechanics.  Beyond that, a reliable pump gun for most conditions is not a hard thing to find.  Wingshooting, however, is more like buying shoes - the gun has to fit you, and nobody else can tell you what will.  You have to try on several.

  WWJMBD?
  
  "Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee

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• bobbert Posts: 63 Member

  May 2020 #9

  Bigslug said:

  The Mossberg your carpenter's hammer.  It dispenses with the staked in shell latches & ejector & welded-in mag tube of the 870 and gives you parts that are held in with screws or braced in by other parts, so it's easier to get all the way in and truly get it clean or fixed without a professional.  It's trigger group only does fire control and does not incorporate the shell lifter function - instead tying that to the receiver & action bars.  It runs on twin extractors, so any sticky chamber event is unlikely to bring you grief.
  
  As a combat gun, or one you have to keep feeding while distracted (like on a busy dove opener), I find that the Mossy is more resistant to the "brain farts" or fumbles that less dedicated shotgunners are prone to.  The ejection port is bigger than that of an 870, so it's easier to load your first round on an empty gun through there.  The shell lifter is "hard linked" to the position of the forend - if the action is open, the lifter is locked DOWN and the only way to load a round is to the open ejection port; if the action is closed, the lifter is locked UP and is totally out of your way to allow easy loading of the magazine without finger/glove pinching.  If you accidentally load a round facing backwards in the magazine on an 870 (and probably any other gun with a flappy shell lifter), it will shoot backwards on top of the shell lifter, but still have its rim retained by the shell latches -  totally locking up the gun until you can get in around the lifter with some narrow pokey tool and trip the shell latches.  On a Mossberg, just grab the shell and pry it out.  The tang safety is not only ambidextrous and intuitive as to which direction does what, but it is easier to run in either direction while holding the gun in a wider variety of positions and does not have the amateur's trigger finger wandering around dangerously in search of a button.
  
  I know the Benelli autoloaders fairly well.  Their trigger groups seem fairly heavily inspired by Remington, but are less solid-state with semi-permanent staking and more easily worked on.  I would assume the Nova to be mostly a manual version of the same.
  
  A Nova is not going to have the same ability to shim the stock for comb height and cast like the Benelli autoloaders will.  Those shims install in the juncture between the stock and receiver.  Since the Nova's stock is part of the receiver, you're stuck with the angles they give you.
  
  So that's just the mechanics.  Beyond that, a reliable pump gun for most conditions is not a hard thing to find.  Wingshooting, however, is more like buying shoes - the gun has to fit you, and nobody else can tell you what will.  You have to try on several.

  The Super Nova (not Nova) has the adjustable stock right from the factory: both shims and movable comb height piece. On this "Super" model, the stock is in fact separate from the receiver by design and that's why a Super is about $100 more.  Mossberg has lost my respect by putting girly pink camo in its lineup. Ditto for Browning. The Super Nova shell lifter can be pushed up to stay in place like the Mossy's. What other pump has a magazine cutoff to boot? I'm not being a shill for any brand. All these guns are not perfect. 
  
  I mainly wanted to hear from folks here who already own the Nova or Super Nova and actually use their guns in the uplands. 
  
  
  

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