Bargain Home Defense shotgun
Bud's Gun Shop has the NEF Pardner pump, home defense model, on sale for $155
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/955/products_id/16597/Recent+...
I have one of these, it's a Chinese clone of an 870, mine works like a champ.
I have the turkey gun version, 21" barrel with optical bead
Front sight. Doubles as a great home defense gun just by changing out the choke. I have been quite pleased with mine. Walmart often has them in the $180 range. Mine has a youth model 20 gauge I have also debated on buying for general family use and my 7 yr old to grow into.
Bargain Home Defense shotgun
I'm pretty sure Fatboy (Bob M) had one and had issues with it.
I'm all for a bargain but when it comes to my family's defensive needs, I hate to scrimp!
Not quite an 870 or 500, but...
"My impression was that the Pardner is a pretty decent shotgun for the money. It could stand a little refinement; the trigger was gritty as hell and the base of the sight bead just barely protruded into the bore, perhaps enough to queer the patterns a little. None of these are problems for the hobbyist gunsmith. I am tempted to buy one, clean up the rough spots and have a set of choke tubes installed."
In my limited experience I would take a Pardner over a
Mossberg YMMV.
That bummed me out......
.....cause I sold it to him. I wish he had said something, I woulda made it right.
Otony
The 500 is beautifully easy to rebuild...
when it finally does need work and that's a positive attribute, from the perspective of a old gun mechanic.
I already rebuilt one - wasn't real impressed with the
Quality of the parts. Mine literally fell apart sitting in the gun safe. I guess from leaving it loaded. Hammer broke and the lifters fatigued.