Pump guns are cheap, they’re durable, and they work no matter what. They’ll cycle in all weather, shrug off abuse, and shoot faithfully for years, all in exchange for minimal care. The pump’s dependability makes it a favorite for law enforcement, for the military, and for home defense, all for the same reasons it makes a good hunting gun. They will shoot any load they’re chambered for, no matter how light or heavy.
Despite the pump’s advantages, you don’t see quite as many in the field as you used to. Semi-autos have cut the reliability gap, and the pump market has changed. The finely finished pump guns familiar to past generations are gone. The new breed of pumps places a premium on affordability. They make great first guns, backup guns, and only guns because they work and don't cost a lot. We rounded up some of the most popular slide actions today and a few classics that have stuck around. Here are the best pump shotguns—old and new—you can buy for the field or range.
Best Pump Shotguns of 2025
Best Overall: Mossberg 835
Best Value: Mossberg 500
Best Budget: Stoeger P3000
The Classics
Winchester Model 12
Browning BPS
Ithaca 37
Remington 870 Wingmaster
How We Test Pump Shotguns
I shot pumps at waterfowl for years, using all the popular models. I’ve used them for skeet and trap shooting as well, and I hunt turkeys exclusively with pump guns. Reliability, smoothness of action, and the ability to deliver fast follow-ups are the most important qualities of a pump, and every pump I’ve shot received a workout at skeet doubles to test those traits. I also test guns for weight and trigger pull. Although pumps are primarily budget guns now, I look at fit and finish. These are my favorites from over the years.
Best Overall: Mossberg 835
Specs
Gauges Available: 3 ½-inch 12-gauge
Weight: 7.75 pounds with 28-inch barrel
Barrel Length: Varies by model, 20-28 inches,
Capacity: 5+1
Finish: Urethane/blued, camo Black, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Max-7
Stock: Hardwood or synthetic, pistol grip “tactical turkey” available
Drilled and tapped: Yes, in addition, the optic-ready version features a cutout for a red dot
Price: Starts at $661
Pros
Large bore shoots good patterns
Extra weight dampens recoil
Cons
No black synthetic version available
The 835 is the original 3 ½-inch shotgun that debuted in 1988. It throws big payloads at turkeys and waterfowl through what is essentially a 10-gauge barrel with a long 12-gauge chamber on a stout, nearly eight-pound frame. It has a recently improved top safety and enough weight to swing smoothly and dampen recoil. The 835 comes in waterfowl, combo, and turkey models with a cutout in the receiver for a small red dot. The gun pictured above is the waterfowl version.
Best Value: Mossberg 500
Specs
Gauges Available: 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge, 3-inch .410
Weight: 7.5 pounds with 28-inch barrel
Barrel Length: Varies by model, 20-28 inches,
Capacity: 5+1
Finish: Satin wood/blued, camo Black, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Max-7
Stock: Hardwood or synthetic, pistol grip “tactical turkey” available
Drilled and tapped: Yes, in addition, the optic-ready version features a cutout for a red dot
Price: Starts at $533
Pros
Proven design (over 11,000,000 made)
Reliable
Top safety recently improved for easier operation
Cons
Forend held on by an annoying nut in place of mag cap
More Model 500s have been made than any other shotgun, ever, suggesting Mossberg had a good idea back in 1960 when the gun came out. Inspired in part by Remington’s old, great Model 31 pump, the Model 500 works. The top safety is equally accessible to right- and left-handers, and it has been redesigned to be easier to use. The Model 500 is made in several variants and combo packages in 3-inch 12-, 20-gauge, and .410, including scaled-down “bantam” youth models. New in the M500 lineup for this year are a trio of slug guns with synthetic stocks and iron sights. One is a smoothbore .410, the other two are a rifled 12- and 20-gauge.
Best Budget: Stoeger P3000
Specs
Gauges Available: 3-inch 12-gauge (3 ½-inch 12-gauge in P3500)
Weight: 6.9 pounds
Barrel Length: 28 inches
Capacity: 5+1
Finish: Black, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Max-7
Stock: Synthetic
Drilled and tapped: No
Price: Starts at $329, $399 for P3500
Pros
Smooth stroke
Cons
Heavy trigger
The P3000’s lines recall the Benelli Nova, and like the Nova, it has a rotary bolt that makes for fast cycling. It’s a fairly light gun, under 7 pounds in the 3-inch 12-gauge. Drawbacks include a small safety button and a heavy trigger, but it’s hard to beat at its low price. You can get it with a handsome walnut stock for very little money, along with the even cheaper black synthetic model.
Benelli Nova 3
Specs
Gauges Available: 3-inch 12-gauge
Weight: 6.4 pounds in 12-gauge with 28-inch barrel
Barrel Length: 26 or 28 inches
Capacity: 4+1
Finish: Black, Mossy Oak Bottomland, Max-7
Stock: One-piece polymer stock/receiver
Drilled and tapped: yes
Chambering: 3-inch 12-gauge
Price: Starts at $529
Pros
Light weight
Smooth action
Cons
One-piece stock/receiver cannot be shimmed or adjusted
Benelli’s Nova 3 is a redesign of their pump. The original Nova broke new ground with its steel-reinforced one-piece polymer stock and receiver. The new Nova has an all-polymer one-piece stock-receiver, shedding the steel frame and around a pound of weight. Yet Benelli claims the new all-polymer frame is stronger than the old one (the original Nova, in 3 ½-inch 12-gauge and 3-inch 20-gauge, remains in the lineup).
At around 6 ½-pounds in 12-gauge, it may be the lightest pump on the market. It retains the same fast rotary-bolt action, but adds the bolt-face from the M4 semiauto. Benelli engineers shortened the pump stroke, too, although at the expense of 3 ½-inch capacity. But the new stroke makes the gun even faster to cycle. The trigger guard is larger, and the trigger has an improved pull. The enlarged trigger guard makes the gun easier to handle with cold fingers. The receiver has a drilled, tapped steel insert for optic mounting. The guns come in 3-inch 12-gauge with 26- or 28-inch barrels.
RemArms 870 FieldMaster
Specs
Gauges Available: 3 ½-inch 12-gauge (synthetic only), 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
Weight: 7.5 pounds with 28-inch barrel
Barrel Length: Varies by model, 21-28 inches
Capacity: 4+1
Finish: Matte wood or black synthetic/matte steel
Stock: Hardwood or synthetic, compact synthetic shortened stock with spacers available
Drilled and tapped: Yes
Price: Starts at $529
Pros
Classic design
Steel receiver
Cons
Safety doesn’t reverse for LH
RemArms, the group that brought Remington out of bankruptcy, sells the FieldMaster version of the classic 870 that’s an upgrade from the old Express model. It’s not clear how many of these guns are being produced and how many are put together from parts in inventory, but the ones I have shot have functioned much better than the last guns to come out of the old Remington, and it’s nice to see 870s that work again. They come in 12- and 20-gauge in walnut and synthetic, and there are compact models available.
Stevens 320
Specs
Gauges available: 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
Weight: 7.5 pounds with 28-inch barrel
Barrel Length: Varies by model, 22-28 inches
Capacity: 5+1
Finish: black synthetic or camo/steel
Stock: Synthetic, compact, and turkey-thumbhole available
Drilled and tapped: Yes
Price: Starts at $219
Pros
Price tag
LH and compact models
Cons
Bad trigger pull
Patterned in part after the SXP, the Chinese-made Stevens 320 is the lowest-priced pump gun I am aware of, starting at $219. It has a smoother stroke than a cheap pump has a right to, although the trigger pull is weirdly squishy. That didn’t stop me from running a couple of straights with one on the skeet field though. It comes in several 12- and 20-gauge models, including a modified thumbhole stocked turkey gun and a true left-hand version. There’s a combo home-defense/hunting gun that includes two barrels for $239, which is incredible.
Winchester SXP
Specs
Gauges Available: 3 ½-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
Weight: 7 pounds in 12-gauge with 28-inch barrel
Barrel Length: Varies by model: 18 to 30 inches
Capacity: 4+1
Finish: Varies by model: blued, Perma-Cote FDE, gray, black, camo
Stock: Varies by model: hardwood, walnut, synthetic, camo
Drilled and tapped: yes
Chambering: 3 ½-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 12-gauge, 3-inch 20-gauge
Price: Starts at $399
Pros
Slickest pump action around
Cons
Some don’t like/can’t reach the safety at the front of the trigger guard
The SXP is a low-priced, alloy-framed pump gun with a rotary bolt that makes it so smooth you can pump it without even realizing you pulled back on the slide. It really does seem to pump itself. The SXP is made in 3 ½ and 3-inch 12-gauge models and 3-inch 20-gauge models in several different variants, including a trap model and a pistol-gripped turkey gun.
The Classics
Pump guns have always been less expensive than semiautos and O/Us, but many of yesterday’s pumps were built to a higher standard than today’s pumps, which are largely meant to be very inexpensive guns. Those older guns were made to last, and there are many on the used market if you want to shoot something more refined than most currently-made slide actions. Here are some of my favorite classics.
Winchester Model 12
Introduced in 1912 and made until 1963, the Model 12 became a legend as a hunting gun, a target gun, and a combat shotgun in WWII. Two million were made in 12, 16, and 20 gauges. Only a few 28-gauge guns were made, and the .410 version of the gun was a different design called the Model 42. Some 3-inch, 12-gauge magnums were made in the '50s and early '60s, and they are great duck guns.
Browning BPS
Made from 1977 to 2024, the bottom-ejecting BPS came in 10-, 12-, 20-, 28-gauge, and .410. It was always well fit-and-finished, especially throughout the '80s and '90s. They had a thumb safety on top of the receiver that made them a favorite of lefties and break-action owners.
Ithaca 37
A lightweight, bottom-ejecting pump, the Model 37 was based on the John Browning-designed Model 17 Remington after its patents expired. It remained in production for fifty years, died, and was resurrected a time or two. My understanding is that the current Ithaca company has parts and will repair guns, but isn’t making them. The “Featherweight” was a favorite of upland hunters. The Deerslayers were among the first dedicated slug guns, and later rifled Deerslayers are some of the most accurate slug guns made.
Remington 870 Wingmaster
While there are still 870s coming out of the new RemArms plant, there are tons of Wingmasters from Remington’s glory years still out there on the used market. Those old guns from the '70s, '80s, and '90s were made to a high standard of fit, finish, and function. They are made in all gauges but 10. You do have to be aware that not all the 12- and 20-gauges were 3-inch guns, and the 16s are nothing more than 16-gauge barrels on 12-gauge frames. Otherwise, these were some of the best mass-produced shotguns ever made.
FAQs
Q: Can you shoot clay games with a pump?
You can shoot clay games with pumps. Before reliable gas semiautos and affordable O/Us appeared in the '50s and '60s, many people shot clays with slide actions. Pumps have no drawbacks at all for singles trap, in which you only shoot one shell at a time. A round of skeet includes four true doubles, but it’s not difficult to cycle the action in time to break the second bird, which is coming at you. For years, Model 12 and Remington Model 31 pumps dominated skeet shooting in the United States. Sporting clays stations vary widely. All the targets are thrown as pairs. Some are no problem to shoot with a pump. Others will test your shucking skills. There are special pump gun events at some shoots, which often include triples.
Q: Are pumps good waterfowl guns?
Pump guns were practically made for waterfowl hunting. They are rugged and simple. They work well in cold conditions that might turn a semiauto sluggish. A good pump can take a real beating and keep on working. They are not sensitive about ammo the way some autoloaders can be. Any load, from the lightest to the heaviest, works in a pump. Finally, they don’t cost much, so when you beat them up, you don’t feel so bad about it. Some coastal hunters buy a new, inexpensive pump every year to replace the gun that’s corroded from the previous season in the salt marsh.
Q: Can you use the same pump for home defense and hunting?
Pumps, because of their reliability, make excellent guns for hunting and home defense. You can absolutely keep your hunting gun ready in the house for home defense if you choose to. Extra barrels available for most pump guns, letting you change from a long-barreled waterfowl gun to a compact HD model with a quick change. Mossberg sells a couple of different hunting/HD combo sets consisting of Model 500 or Maverick 88 and a long hunting barrel and a short home-defense barrel, and Winchester offers a similar SXP package.
Everyone Should Own a Pump
Pumps were always utilitarian guns, and that’s truer now than ever. Find one that functions and that suits your needs. If you upgrade to other guns, the pump will always have a place as a truck gun or a bad weather gun, or the fool-proof gun you shoot when its fancy replacement is in the shop.
