Shotguns; Mossberg 500

[Greg]

So I'm looking at picking up a shotgun, something to use for home defense the majority of the time, a bit of skeet shooting now & again. I like having things that can do more than one task and I have the same desire for that characteristic in a shotgun.

I've been looking at the Mossberg 500 with the Defense / Field combo. It comes with 2 barrels, a 20" barrel for home security and a 28" barrel for field use. It's easy to change out the barrel in just a few minutes, apparently.

Anyone here had experience with one of these? I know that Mossbergs are quality shotguns, just wondering if anyone knows them any better. I might swing by Cabelas in Grand Junction and put my hands on one.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...search-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_requestid=128381

 

[solidfrontaxle]

Yes, that is a very good way to go. Barrel change is super easy, and IMO a Mossberg 500 is one of the most simple and reliable designs out there. It is commonly compared to a Remington 870 which is just as good in every way, except for a few features that to me, make the Mossberg a little better gun: the slide release is behind the trigger guard rather than in front, making it much more ergonomic, and the safety is on the tang rather than on the trigger guard making it more ergonomic and safer.

The Military adopted a heavier duty (but otherwise identical) version of the 500, the Mossberg 590, so you know its a reliable design that can withstand a ton of abuse.
My friend had the swappable barrel gun which worked well.
I have a 500 and a 590. The 500 is a long hunting shotgun, nothing too exciting, but reliable and it kills ducks . The 590 has a 20" barell and holds like 9 shells or something awesome. Its the perfect length for a defense shotgun IMO. I put the wood stock from the 500 onto the 590 so it looks like a trench shotgun. I absolutely love it.

And yes, it does have a bayonet lug too. :greg:

 

[SAMI]

I would like to see the guy who thinks he can meet the bayonet after 9 12ga 00buck his direction.

I would have bought the 2 in 1 Mossberg 500 package had I not been so impatient for a shotty. IIRC I was going to pick it up for right around $285 from Galensons in downtown SL. I ended up with a used and retired Remington 870, 20". I did take it out to hunt clay pigeons and it performed amaingly.. Not as smooth as Dom's 870 Mag Express or the O/U's that we had... But, my 20" rocked the scene for sure.

I'm particular to the slide release of the Remington only because I've grown up using a Remington Fieldmaster .22 pump and am very used to the feel of it.

You cannot go wrong with either IMO.

 

[4x4_Welder]

I have a 590 here, it's a nice shotgun to shoot. I have never had a misfire, however I have had a few failures to feed depending on the ammo used. Shooting slugs through that thing will give you a sore shoulder, though.
I'd rather play around with my M4.

 

[mesha]

My first shotgun was a mossberg and I still have it. I love it and the barrel is VERY easy to take off. I think you would be happy with one.

 

[1995zj]

I've got the Mossberg 590A. Bought it off an on-duty cop outside the precinct. Probably the strangest experience ever.

Love the gun though! Very accurate and simple.

 

[Greg]

I've got the Mossberg 590A. Bought it off an on-duty cop outside the precinct. Probably the strangest experience ever.

Love the gun though! Very accurate and simple.

Thanks everyone, I do want to get the 500, just haven't pulled the trigger, so to speak. I'd like to sell my 9mm first, but I'm having a hard time parting with it.

 

[bryson]

I have the Maverick 88 (cheap-o (Wal-Mart?) version of the Mossberg 500) and I really like it. The barrel is REALLY fast and easy to change. Nice and reliable, and cheap to upgrade.

I understand the hard time parting with the 9mm...

 

[spencurai]

I have almost no experience with the Mossbergs but I know a dozen or more people with 870s. I picked mine up when Ogden city traded in their old wood furniture 870s for newer 870s with composite furniture. I got an absolutely screaming deal on it through Impact guns. If you call them they might have a few of the latest generation that OPD traded in.

The ergonomics of the Mossberg make sense with the slide release and safety. The options and accessories between the moss and 870 are probably about the same. It's hard to go wrong on shotguns unless you get the cheap no-name K-Mart models.

 

[Greg]

Just to follow up with this thread... I took a cue from Bryson and started researching the Maverick 88, made by Mossberg.

From everything I've read the Maverick 88 is almost identical to the Mossberg 500, except for the fact that some of the internals are manufactured in Mexico and the location of the safety is different between the 2. It's an inexpensive pump shotgun, as of the end of 2010 it's priced at $177 from Walmart. I don't expect it to be the best shotgun out there, but for the price it should make a good home defense gun, used for occasional skeet shooting.

I wanted a dual purpose shotgun like I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, so I purchased a Maverick 88 All Purpose 12 gauge with a 3" chamber, 6-shot capacity and a 28" non-ported ventilated rib barrel and an interchangeable Accu-Choke tube system with one Modified tube.

It has a black synthetic stock and forearm, blued metal finish, front and mid-point sights are also included.

For home defense use, I purchased a 18.5" Mossberg 500 barrel from Cabelas, then added an ATI pistol grip stock and a ATI heat guard. ATI parts are cheap, I'm not too impressed with them, but they'll do the job. The heat guard might not last, it's super-cheesy and I'm not sure if the 18.5" barrel will ever get hot enough with repetitive use to justify it.

Here's some pics of how the Maverick 88 came out of the box, then how the build progressed.

Walmart had this in stock.-

Mossberg 18.5" barrel, ATI Pistol grip, ATI heat guard and a 12 gauge bore snake.-

18.5" barrel above, 28" barrel on the Maverick-

I've got a case of shells and a box of clay pigeons that I need to use once the weather clears up and see how this shotgun works. I'll try to follow up with my impression after I get some use out of it!

 

[lewis]

Nice, how much you figure you have into the build with the new barrel and all the parts? Just wanting to compare the price with my similar build on my 870. Do they make the magazine extension for these? Now you just need to add a light (not really a need but more of a personal preference thing for me.)

 

[Greg]

Nice, how much you figure you have into the build with the new barrel and all the parts? Just wanting to compare the price with my similar build on my 870. Do they make the magazine extension for these? Now you just need to add a light (not really a need but more of a personal preference thing for me.)

Here's a breakdown of the parts and prices.-

Maverick 88 - $177

Mossberg 500 18.5" barrel - $89

ATI Stock - $45

Pachmayr slip-on recoil pad - $20

Truglo site - $15

LED flash light, free! Tube clamp - $8

____________________

Total $354


I planned to build it in stages, but one of my Christmas gifts was a gift card to Walmart, which really helped me do it all at once.

I don't know about the bigger tube for more shells, I removed the plug and can now get 5+1 in and that should be enough for me.

I do plan to add a flashlight down the road, something with a pressure activated switch would be nice and bright enough that I can verify any targets before shooting.

BTW, your 870 looks badass!

 

[lewis]

Thanks! I thought about the pressure activated switch but then realized that a button ended flashlight would put my thumb next to the end of the light when holding the gun. Yours will be different I guess without the extension. Its too bad that your weren't closer, I need to get out and shoot some clays as well.

 

[SAMI]

I was looking at shotguns this last week at Galensons and Doug's.. I'm shotgun hungry again. I looked at tme Maverick 88, and was pleasantly surprised that the safety is on the trigger gaurd, unlike it's fraternal twin tge Mossy 500.

I'm thinkin that for around $300 for some gun purchases, the inexpensive Maverick and a few parts to start an AR build.

 

[Greg]

Thanks! I thought about the pressure activated switch but then realized that a button ended flashlight would put my thumb next to the end of the light when holding the gun. Yours will be different I guess without the extension. Its too bad that your weren't closer, I need to get out and shoot some clays as well.

A button end flashlight would work, I'd just have to turn it off & on as needed. We'll see.

I haven't been skeet shooting for a handful of years now, I'm getting excited to get out! I've been watching a 1 person operated skeet thrower at Cabela's that's priced at $100. I doubt my wife will want to manually throw for any duration, so I guess I have my answer.

There has been talk in the past about an RME Shoot, but I'm scared how it would turn out, especially if Tacoma showed up.

I was looking at shotguns this last week at Galensons and Doug's.. I'm shotgun hungry again. I looked at tme Maverick 88, and was pleasantly surprised that the safety is on the trigger gaurd, unlike it's fraternal twin tge Mossy 500.

I'm thinkin that for around $300 for some gun purchases, the inexpensive Maverick and a few parts to start an AR build.

One at a time Jason! An AR has been on my list for some time, not that I have the 12 gauge out of the way, I might start looking into AR parts.

 

[Greg]

So I decided to brave the rain & mud and head out into the desert before it got too dark and shoot off a few rounds, just to get a feel for the Maverick 88. Everything went well and the gun worked as expected and everything seemed fine... until I got home.

While I was cleaning it, I noticed that the front bead has been broken off and the heat shield had moved. I'm sure the heat shield bumped the bead and broke it off, as the mount for the ATI heat shield is VERY poorly designed and doesn't secure the heat shield in place well at all.

I decided to pull the ATI heat shield off and will edit my build cost list to reflect that it will be returned. I don't think I'll be buying any more ATI parts in the future, too poorly designed and built, IMO.

 

[lewis]

Interesting. I had heard some bad things about the heat shield. I put one on mainly for the looks and had planned on removing it before taking it out shooting. However my flashlight mount uses the same mounting holes so its all bolted together and won't be moving. It was alot of work to put it together since all the holes didn't line up perfectly. I haven't shot it yet though, I hope I don't have an experience like yours. I almost bought a heat shield off ebay that was supposedly composite/plastic that didn't rattle and supposedly better mounting.

 

[Greg]

Interesting. I had heard some bad things about the heat shield. I put one on mainly for the looks and had planned on removing it before taking it out shooting. However my flashlight mount uses the same mounting holes so its all bolted together and won't be moving. It was alot of work to put it together since all the holes didn't line up perfectly. I haven't shot it yet though, I hope I don't have an experience like yours. I almost bought a heat shield off ebay that was supposedly composite/plastic that didn't rattle and supposedly better mounting.

There were a couple options for heat shields at Cabelas and admittedly, I bought the cheaper one. There was another ATI heat shield that cost $5 more, but it didn't look any different. Being that it was a universal mount, it's not built for anything specific.

The one I bought has 2 small bolts that clamp the heat shield onto the front of the barrel and then a 2nd clamp that you bend against the barrel with pliers, and that's it. The front bead pokes up thru the heat shield and looked like it would have easily been a problem, but I didn't expect an issue the first time out. I tightened the 2 bolts more than what I was comfortable with and it still wasn't totally secure.

There might be a better option out there, but I think I'm going to leave a heat shield off and be happy with the gun as it is.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Guns are about as fun to build as 4x4's

 

[Greg]

Guns are about as fun to build as 4x4's

Yep!!