I have been trying to figure out which tactical shotgun I want for protecting my home and also following up wounded animals with (mostly hogs). I thought I had settled on a Benelli Nova Tactical....but today I got to handle a Browning BPS Tactical and I must say, I was pleasantly suprised. It is a very simple, and seemingly well-made weapon. Do any of you have experience with this gun?

Thanks.

Bottom loading shotguns are clumsy to reload.

I really like the BPS, however I would not use them as a tactical for several reasons

Very difficult to clear a jam
a side ejection facilitates a quick reload almost impossible with the bps since the gun would have to be flipped over and have the slide in the proper position.

My recommendation the tried and proven Remington 870

From what I've seen in 3-gun, so far:

All Shotguns suck. Run them fast enough/hard enough, they break. All brands, all types. Probably not one built by Benny Hill/other top-end 3 gun builder, but those are very expensive.

Going off what I've heard, a Benelli Pump is more likely to hold up than the Remington or Mossbergs. I haven't seen anyone run a Browning, but shotguns, in general, are designed to be used lightly, for shooting birds (unless they are competitive skeet guns.)

From what I've seen personally, and from my personal shooting experience, ARs are much more reliable.

I have a Kel-Tec KSG on order, I'll see how that holds up once it comes out.

We used M870 for years, 10's of thousands of rounds and very few failures that were not the results of poor maintenance.

The biggest problem was not tightening the barrel nut, when this happens the barrel mount pounds its mating part inside the receiver causing it to deform and malfunction occur. The receiver is not repairable when this occurs, remington does not sell replacement receivers .

We usually see extractors fail, or magazine tubes - admittedly, we're all running longer than normal mag tubes - some full-length, factory tubes as well. But I've seen the welds on the tubes, or the clamps on the tubes, break several times - I don't think that's really anything other than more stress they the guns are designed for.

I don't know that police training and three gun are quite the same stress - a stage might have 27 rounds in it, as fast as you can fire, w. a mix of slug, buck, and birdshot.

I shot someone's... Maybe a Vang? 870 w. a Knoxx recoil reducer after I broke a few guns in a row*, which felt very slick and good.

*(My Mossberg -clean, and just from a smith - refused to pull a shell out of a hot chamber - did OK once cooled down, and the welds on my buddy's Berretta mag tub broke.)

The Winchester/FN SXT and the Mossberg 930 might be decent choices - both are supposed to have been designed for 3 gun, rather than hunting - but I'm hoping the KSG will be a better choice.

(Its not a modified hunting design, and its operating at a higher price point than most pump shotguns - again Browning might be a better choice, vs. Remington or Mossberg.)

Haven't used them in a "tactical" context, but I really like the BPS platform. Have owned and used, hard, a number of BPS shotguns. From 10 gauge, 3 1/2" 12 guage to 20 guage. My use has been on birds, but a lot of pretty hard use on waterfowl, in the mud, rain, etc.

Brownings are by far the heaviest, sturdiest constructed shotguns around. While I understand the concern about a jam due to the bottom eject, I have yet to encounter one despite thousands of rounds over the years. The only jam I can recall is when I inadvertently chambered a 3 1/2' 12 gauge in a 10 guage. It went off, but I had some ejection issues. No damage to the gun.

I also have Browning Autos, and Bennelli autos -- I've never handled a Benelli pump -- but if I wanted a good reliable pump shotgun, I'd go with the Browning. Only downside is the weight and they are a bear to put back together after disassembly if you have big fingers or are clumsy like me.

I don't find them clumsy to reload and an added benefit -- look at the forend of whatever pump shotgun you are considering. Most, except the Browning (and I believe the Ithaca, both bottom feeding and ejecting shotguns)have only a single bar, on one side of the action, to cycle the action. The Browning has a bar on either side. Not just redundancy, it reduces torque.

I bought the BPS yesterday....and I am very pleased. It seems to be very well constructed!!

Can't wait to shoot it...

Keep us posted on how you like it.

Here she is...