# Which Roofing Gun Is Best, Hitachi or Bostitch?



## daviddeschaine

We all use roofing guns to put down the shingles - Which Roofing Gun do you prefer?

















Hitachi Or Bostitch Roofing Nailer?


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## RooferJim

Hitachi and only Hitachi. for cedar roofs Makita is also very good.

RooferJim
www.jbennetteroofing.com


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## RemStar

Hitachi...but I bought 2 of the brand new ones and they both seem to have problems.


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## daviddeschaine

*Right - We had a couple not work out of the Box Also?*

Remstar,

Recently we had a couple not work also?

Skip and not advance the nails?

*What's up with that ... *



RemStar said:


> Hitachi...but I bought 2 of the brand new ones and they both seem to have problems.


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## jimsonburg

The Hitachi roofing gun is powerful and light wait, which nice for extended use. A little more time to load since the magazine and chamber are opened separately. I have problems in cold weather driving nails all the way, because it is so light. In cold weather I usually use the Bostich roofing gun. But in hot weather, I grab the Hitachi, because the depth of drive is nice. The Bostich is extremely heavy duty and can take a beating, and easy to load.


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## Billy Luttrell

Bostitch all the way, I am not a fan of the lightweight guns because of the recoil, and I have had issues with Hitachi not fully driving nails and getting hung up more. Different strokes for different folks but thats my 2 cents.


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## daviddeschaine

*Most of my roofer split this question!*

Most of my roofing installers are about 50% Hitachi & 50% Bostitch, which ones work the best?..:thumbup:


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## daviddeschaine

*Sure...Jim....Good Points!*

Great ponits Jim....Cold makes the diffrence!



jimsonburg said:


> The Hitachi roofing gun is powerful and light wait, which nice for extended use. A little more time to load since the magazine and chamber are opened separately. I have problems in cold weather driving nails all the way, because it is so light. In cold weather I usually use the Bostich roofing gun. But in hot weather, I grab the Hitachi, because the depth of drive is nice. The Bostich is extremely heavy duty and can take a beating, and easy to load.


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## daviddeschaine

*More Great In-put Bill!*

Under pressure....I also liked Hitachi personally!

*To each his own....*



Billy Luttrell said:


> Bostitch all the way, I am not a fan of the lightweight guns because of the recoil, and I have had issues with Hitachi not fully driving nails and getting hung up more. Different strokes for different folks but thats my 2 cents.


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## blageurt

Hitachi then Paslode then Senco ..Bostich are Boat Anchors....expensive to fix and are easily broken....


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## dougger222

Hitachi only. Tried the others and don't like them.

Up until last week only used the bottom loaders but have now started to use the side loaders. My guys went from Pasloads so they were more natural with the side loaders.

As far as typical wear issues with Hitachis it's the large rubber o-ring for the driver, the feeder spring, and for the bottom loaders the plastic catch.

Right now have two that are blowing air out the trigger area and have not yet got into that area of the gun. Both are bottom loaders and both are about 5-6 years old with a thousand or more squares on each of them. Got a couple o-ring rebuid kits just need to find time to open them up.

Got a new style Hitachi in the shop never used along with two older style ones. Nice to have back ups but when you know how to fix them on site it's not too bad.


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## Interloc

We use Max guns, have a couple of them for about 3yrs now and not one problem...seriously not one. :thumbup:


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## cavesrus

I love hitachi personally hate max to heavy way to heavy have one but no problems with max I have crap ton of hitachtis though they break but use them all the time check pawn shopworn to getbthem cheap lol. But price is way down from 599 when they first came out lol like 250 now some places free gun with pallet of nail love those


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## rooferjon

i prefer the bostich, our new hitachi seems to want to bend nails over or not drive them all the way


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## stoneroof

hitachi jams less. I also like senco products. Never used max.


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## JWilliams

Never liked hitachi personally. I've always been a bostitch user myself. most of my roofing coiler nailers are bostitch. and my other one is dewalt.


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## MGP Roofing

I use Max, they are nice and reliable. Only trouble I've had is one I borrowed from another roofer that liked to drive most of the nails crooked and often not all the way.
I also have a Porter cable, nice and light but lacks power. Won't drive the nails all the way when the going gets tough - 50yr shingles, 17mm ply, old dry timber etc.


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## JWilliams

i found a porter cable at a pawn shop and it had been modified. and it kept up pretty well with the rest of my guns. one of my guys liked it so i ended up selling it to him for what i bought it for.


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## daviddeschaine

*Roofing Guns - A Lot Of Good Brands*

Your Right there are a llot of Great Roofing Guns on the market.... I sure is eaier than nailing by hand....

All though I did have a subcontractor crew from Georgia, and could those guys put the nail in by hand...*FAST..!!!*


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## FerrisHI

Hitachi for me...I got 6 of them and they work great they need some maintenance here and there but so does everything when you use it all the time...


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## seoforu

bostich hands down, mine have more "miles" than any gun I have, still work, easy to load. I have seen a "friend" replace 3 porter cables in the last 3 years. My personal opinion is bostich, all my guns are bostich.

Professional certified roofing contractors


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## angielily18

As a construction worker, I have been using the Bostitch roofing gun for more than ten years. Aside from composition roofing, this is also the best gun used for vapor barrier installation, and insulation board, vinyl siding, and fiber cement siding. It is very lightweight and you wouldn't have any problem with how it is operated.

Some roofing tips: roofing minneapolis


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## MGP Roofing

No problems with Max until our supplier started sending out these 'no name' Chinese nails. Heaps of jams from the wire coming off the nails in the gun instead of breaking like usual & leaving long coils in the gun that either jam the gun or else stop the shingles laying flat.


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## acc

Hitachi is my personal favorite....we used Prime also they do the trick with very few repair trips lol. The Prime salemans are pretty aggressive up here for some reason, we tend to get a lot of free nailers and nails , must be because they wanna compete with the big names like Hitachi and Bostitch .

Ridgid has good tools but not in a roofing nailer !!!


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## FCCR

Have mostly used Bostitch. Good heavy guns with low maint. The only down side is finding someone to repair them. Last time I had to ship them out of state. But I still like them and will continue to use them.


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## PTROOFING

We gave up replacing the Bostich guns years ago. They would drop and break, nails would get stuck, etc. Hitachi guns are like an armored car IMO. They work just as good in the summer when its 100degrees as the do today when its 10degrees. It's probably been 2yrs since we had one go bad, and we re-roof all year long.


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## waverider

FerrisHI said:


> Hitachi for me...I got 6 of them and they work great they need some maintenance here and there but so does everything when you use it all the time...


:thumbup:


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## lsaver07

I know this battle is between hitachi and bostitch but i have to give props to the Max Superroofer. I have all three guns but there is nothing even comparable when you hold that max in your hand!


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## Mr Roofer

Hitachi NV45AB2 :2guns::gun_bandana::gunsmilie::tank:

Once in a while I will see someone selling a Bostich, brand new never been used for about 250. I have never seen a hitachi like that


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## vtroofing

I like the MAX. I bought it last fall, not a issue yet, even tried suicide, still shoots perfect, adjust for depth fine as the Bostich adjustments are faded. The MAX fits well in my hand, nails even the cheapo nails without lifting the corner of a round head and I like the name- Super Roofer LOL
Bostich are fast but loud. 
Hitatchi with the pressure release annoy me.
I'm getting older so I don't mind so much stretching the back as I have one more step to open and reload, my back likes the break.

I know when I am not on site its always a race to get to the MAX, and the Bostich are always last kid picked.


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## lgb1roof

daviddeschaine said:


> We all use roofing guns to put down the shingles - Which Roofing Gun do you prefer?
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> Hitachi Or Bostitch Roofing Nailer?


 When I started using nail guns the first I used was a Senco. It was the lightest and performed very well. I then bought a Hitachi and several Bostitch. The Bostitch took a lot of abuse and so did the Hitachi but the Bostich was repaired 4 tp 1 pver Hitachi. The Bostitch felt better to work with, not as stiff as Hitaachi


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## 2ndGen

You're all wrong and you're all right! 

Best Guns in order: 

1. Bostitch
2. Max
3. Hitachi

Bostitch is the best for the following reasons: 
-The lightest available (maybe 2nd place, but not by far) 4.9lbs wet
-Easy field rebuild
-Super reliable when maintained (that means NO WD-40 as a lubricant dummies! LOL)
-Best coil change of any (fastest, easiest, safest)
-Easy depth adjustment 
-Excellent balance
-Reasonable cost (avg $200.-$250. NEW)
-Super fast (Hitachis can't keep up with me)
-Last nail lock out
-Tooless shingle gauge adjustment
-See through coil usage
-POWERFUL 410lbs 
-Shoots down to 3/4" nails (up to 1 3/4")
-Magnesium housing/construction
-Operable as low as 70psi up to 120psi
-Tough...can take a fall from a roof

And point blank, it does what it's supposed to do...
fire nails as fast as I can move my gun (3-4 in 1 second). 

The BOSStitch is the current title holder bar none. 

http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/industry-news.asp?sectionID=1491&articleID=501433












Have used several Hitachis and while they have a great feel, loading them and unloading them is a female 
dog and they all develop wheezing sounds that I can't stand. Drives me crazy. But they are great guns. 

Max, once they left Japan, their quality fell off (I had one of the Bostitch RN45's...bulletproof). 
However, they continue to be one of the best roof nailers around.


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## Roofmaster417

Hitachi IMO.I really hated giving up my Bos N12 to the 45 Ridgerunner.I was a hardcore bostitch man but when I used a Hitachi it was true love destiny.I am thinking of trying a Max but I have not pursued it yet.


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## billwestroofing

Hitachi for me and 95 % of my crew we have all kinds hate the max weights a ton! And kicks like a mule lol


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## 2ndGen

RM, Bill...either of you try the RN46?


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## Interloc

billwestroofing said:


> Hitachi for me and 95 % of my crew we have all kinds hate the max weights a ton! And kicks like a mule lol


 this i find funny considering max is lighter 
Hitachi= 5.5 lbs
Max= 5.2 lbs


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## billwestroofing

The one we have isn't lighter than hit it is built like a. Sherman tank lol I have one guy on crew loves it but that was only gun he has used I mainly only used hit. So but one we have is not light by any means


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## KenB

I love my Max, Hitachi never lets me down, but my Bostitch is always in the repair shop. Super Max says it all. Oh yeah my ridge runner is still alive and kicking it has been there forever and just won't die. The newer aluminum Bostitch just suck in the cold.


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## The Roofing God

Mr Roofer said:


> Hitachi NV45AB2 :2guns::gun_bandana::gunsmilie::tank:
> 
> Once in a while I will see someone selling a Bostich, brand new never been used for about 250. I have never seen a hitachi like that


Usually they`re stolen from a roofer who would like them back

Bostitch for the last 20+ years,never a problem,better adjustments for pressure,including set adjustments that allow me to nail felt with it (15#),Hitachi is a nice gun,but tends to overdrive the nails,and I didn`t care for the way the old model loaded the nails-the new is better in that respect ,But I still prefer Bostitch

The problem you noted about skipping nails is usually caused by a damaged/worn feed pawl ,Have about 10 Bostitch roof guns,a drop of oil a day,and changing the feed pawl when necessary is the only maintenance I`ve ever had to do


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