Benelli Nova or Mossberg 835 or Mossberg 935 **added gun***

ksyotehunter

ksyotehunter

New member
Help me out here guys.

I am looking for a turkey/coyote gun. I have found a couple used locally.

Mossberg 835 camo 24in barrel
Benelli Nova camo 26in barrel
Mossberg 935 black 38 in barrel (a little higher on the price)

Both shoot up to 3 1/2in. Is one better than the other or fairly close?
 
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Originally Posted By: filmitThe Nova is a much better gun.



That's funny stuff right there!I will put my 835's up against a nova any day of the week.The gun shops can't give them things away around here.
 
Benelli all the way. I would be hard pressed to compare a mossburg to a benelli. I've owned and shot both. Yes the price tag is more on the Benelli but you get what you pay for. Also just the ease to tear down and clean a benelli is worth the money, to me anyway.
 
I never had a benelli nova sent back for repair, while I've sent many 835's back for various issues as a dealer. I bought myself an 835 back in 1991 after they'd just come out. While mine functioned fine the vent rib came off the barrel (and I'm not hard on my guns). I've seen many problems with many 835's over the years. Not seen any problems with Novas.

I no longer own an 835 and will no longer own Mossbergs as their customer service is among the worst in the industry.
 
Easy choice, BENELLI!!! I have had both. Had many problems with the Mossberg. Only gun I have ever traded in. Love my Benelli Nova. Not a single problem with it.
 
Originally Posted By: roode301Originally Posted By: filmitThe Nova is a much better gun.



That's funny stuff right there!I will put my 835's up against a nova any day of the week.The gun shops can't give them things away around here.

Local gun shop here sells their Novas and Super Novas out within a week. After a trip to the range I counted 4-5 Novas/Super Novas and not a single Mossberg. There was only 12 of us there.

And other than the weight I cant complain with my Super Nova. Which is pretty much the same as the Nova.
 
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Sorry for the Highjack. Please tell me all the problems you guys have with the 835's have 3 now and had 3 others. Not a single feed,fire of eject problem.I work in a gun shop part time and have never had to send back a 835 and we have sold a truck load.
 
The biggest problem I've seen with 835's besides small parts breakage has been failures to both feed and extract. Mostly feeding/jamming issues, but also a number of broken parts.

When guns are being built/marketed by price point, it is inevitable that corners will be cut. Mossberg has always been an entry-level price-point gun. You get what you pay for and a price point gun will, as a rule, always have a higher percentage of problems. I'm not saying this to offend anyone who has a mossberg in their gunsafe. I'm just calling it as it is.
 
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I had two 835's (bought one, couldn't get it to run, got a new one out of it), feed failures were a daily part of life with it. Went back to an 870...

Then a few years later I had an impromptu range day on a business trip, ended up buying a Benelli Supernova (after handling a friends Nova a year before) because it had a good price, and I figured I could unload it for an "acceptable loss" shortly after if I didn't like it.

Now I have 5 Supernovas. Love them.

Last year while calling, a buddy of mine, that usually runs an 835, hit feed problems on back to back stands, so he borrowed one of my Supernovas. Since then, he sold his 835 and bought a Supernova.


THEN BEYOND RELIABILITY... A few shots at the range with both side by side and the decision is easy. My wife (5'3" and 130lbs) runs 3.5" rounds out of HER Benellis Supernova, the Mossberg unfortunately kicks a heck of a lot worse.

Both will have followers, but in my experience, the Supernova is a better shotgun.

Now, the 935 is a different animal. Comparing a semiauto to a pump just never seems fruitful for me. Typical of most semiauto shotguns, technique is critical. My mother picked up a 935 last year ("upgrading" from a Franchi 20ga to a 12ga for turkey). She's none too big, so unless she was aggressive against the stock, to resist the recoil, it failed to eject. 90% of the time on my shoulder, it'd cycle without fail, if I got sloppy shooting clays in the backyard and didn't shoulder it tightly, it'd fail to cycle. BUT, again, the 935 will have it's followers. It's not bad weight-wise, not really my taste on handling (bulky, feels like they started with a pump gun then figured out how to make it semiauto, lacks elegance), but it seems to run well enough when you treat it right.

Comparing a 935 to a Benelli Semiauto, there's no comparison, but then again, you're talking about double to triple the price as well.
 
My personal experience with the matter is:

Mossberg 835 had one with 2 barrels never shot it guy made me a trade offer for a ruger 10/22 .22mag nib 50th anni for my gun and 200 bucks so I couldn't pass it up.

Benelli I haven't shot a benelli in my lifetime. Found it after the 835 priced the same but has a little longer barrel.

Mossberg 935 dad has one and it shoots dead on and will even cycle 2 3/4 7 1/2 shot. Found this one last minute its black but I'd like to have camo.
 
I have never shot the Nova. I have had an 835 for years and it has done lots of killing. I recently bought a 935 for a good price at auction and I am pretty impressed so far.

If money is not an issue, I would go with the Nova, but Mossberg will serve you well also based on my experience.
 
I shoot an 870 super mag in a pump gun usuallly. Have shot a buddies nova at a clay shoot for a round or two and it pointed and hit everything i was shooting at. My brother has an 835, and i can not hit the broad side of a barn with it. It's heavy and it just doesn't point well for me. Is a decent slug gun though.
 
Nova all the way. I have had mine since the 1st week they were released. Solid work horse of a gun. I abuse it and it keeps working. Extremely easy to clean. I let a kid borrow it one morning in the duck blind he dropped in 2 foot of muddy water. We broke it down in the blind and completely cleaned it in less than 10 minutes. It work great.

The only complaint I have on my gun is the pump mechanism rattles. Not bad but enough to scare a yote away if your not paying attention. I only had it happen once now I know.
 
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