Life is funny. As a lifelong gunwhore; I have had to balance my penchant for acquiring guns with a desire to simplify my life and get rid of things. Earlier I had stated I no longer run shotguns as a part of simplifying logistics when it came to reloading components and as a response to what I term the gunsumerism that wants to separate you from your money. Well, two shotguns dropped into my lap in fairly short order after I wrote those words and my gunwhore side won out. Seriously, how do you turn down two perfectly good pump shotguns for less than $300.00. One I am keeping mostly stock and the second will be outfitted in a manner that is appropriate to the limited role I see for a defense shotgun. In brief I think defense shotguns are at their best in the role of short range defense of a static position and in close quarters. To that end; I think the manual of arms, tactics and techniques should be simple and the weapons themselves light and maneuverable.
The first shotgun, of which this article is about is a Howa 3000. The gun in question is a 12 gauge in 2 ¾” chamber and an 18 inch bead sighted barrel. As the gun came it was covered in light film of rust and had plastic forend and plastic pistol grip. The previous owner lived on a boat and space was at a premium. I wanted the ability to be able to hit targets and so the pistol grip and the plastic forend had to go. A quick call to Gun Parts Corporation in New York and the wooden furniture turned up courtesy of UPS. I sprayed the entire gun with a film of oil and later bead blasted most of the rust off. I wanted to see what I was working with. No pitting, which was surprising given its exposure to the salty air.
I had some cans of Krylon paint lying about and decided in the interim to at least protect the metal finish until I can decide what, if anything, I want to do with the finish. The results would probably offend some folks, but to me it’s in keeping with the DIY attitude I want to foster with this blog and a return of the idea of the gun as a tool. You don’t abuse tools, but they are meant to be used. To my mind, nothing is more gratifying than seeing a gun with the marks of honest use. I drilled and tapped the magazine endcap to take a sling stud and am using a sling that I took off a US GI canteen cover. I may at some later date install a Big Dot tritium bead, but for now the standard bead sight works and costs nothing.
I don’t see the shorter 2 ¾ inch chamber as a handicap. For a ¼ inch longer chamber I may get a few more pellets of buckshot, but at the expense of added recoil; No thanks, I’m good. There isn’t a sidesaddle made for these things even if I should be so inclined and I wasn’t going to trust a velcro shotgun strip. I broke out the leather working tools and made the shotshell buttcuff you see in the accompanying pictures; it is homemade and looks it. It also works and I gained some satisfaction from being ably to do it without spending money.
Howa 3000s were imported and distributed initially under the Smith and Wesson banner in an attempt to gain some of the defense shotgun market from Remington. Too little, too late; It is a good shotgun. In my mind the build quality and the features all speak to an attention to detail and quality. Later, Smith and Wesson departed the shotgun market and they were later distributed under the Mossberg as well as the Howa banner. Having owned other Howa products in the past; I have no reservations vouching for their quality. It’s good to see that the Howa 1500 rifles are giving Remington a run for their money.
I’ve always liked what people would term “off brands”, earlier it was a function of being a broke college student. You learn to spot quality, being able to look past the brand names and focusing on the engineering and execution that went into the final product. I’m keeping this Howa 3000 as it is a solid, well made gun.
In all her ghetto glory. Homemade paint job, shotshell buttcuff and sling.
It ain't pretty, but it works.
A closeup of the ejector. Easily replaced and better executed than the staked in Remington 870 ejector.
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