I have a home defense Rem 870, 18 inch barrel, 7 round. Had issues with it when i first got it.It would not extract the spent round. I also have Rem 887, first round first fired, slide the forearm back to eject the spent round and could not get the forearm to slide forward. 2 calls to remington and 6 weeks to wait for parts and it is finally working. I would go for an older used Rem 870, or the Beneli Nova. I also looked at getting a Mossburg 500, but 2 of my friends already Rem 870's so i figured I could always borrow a barrel if i needed too.