[Tropical Z]

If you really evaluated it against other comparable shotguns from Remington or Winchester or the like.Everyone always talks about how an 870 will outlast you AND your kids,but where does a 500 fit into this equation? Also,a question for those who know.How long has the 500 been around? How about the 870 or 1300?

[Tropical Z]

And by the way,mine is a 500A in the P78xxxx serial range.

[Al Thompson]

Several years ago my bro-in-law found one by stepping on it in an Arkansas duck hunting trip. It was underwater and covered in mud. He brought it back to SC and hosed it off. Cleaned it up and it shoots fine.

All things being equal, I don't think that either the 1300 or 500 will last as long as an 870, but it's probably a moot point. Your realisticly looking at decades of service with any good pump gun.

[Dave McCracken]

The 870 was introduced in 1950, it was intended to replace the Remington 31, a well made and slick pump with a lot of expensive machined parts. The 870 did so well at being just as good a shotgun that the Winchester Model 12 was unable to compete.

The 500 was brought out in the later 60s, IIRC, to complete with the 870 and Ithaca 37. It was made more cheaply than the 870, and part of that was the alloy receiver.

I've sen no 500s worn out, even some rental guns that get shot a lot. I doubt that one generation of shotgunner can wear one to junk. Two might, or a dedicated, recoil tolerant shotgunner with a heavy target Jones.

Best guess, 35K rounds through a 500 might leave it too loose for safe operation. Then buy another one....

[HSMITH]

I have broken several (maybe 6 or 7) Mossberg 500's. They do not stand up to extreme use (abuse?). I can break yours and anyone elses in less than one box of shells too. The real weakness is the pin that the bolt lug is pinned to the bolt with, this pin can be broken easily, and it renders the shotgun 100% useless for anything other than a club or tomato stake.

I broke 3 in less than 5 minutes without firing a single shot trying to prove a point to an officer that knew better than I, or so he thought. When I was in the service I was an armorer, and the 870's were hitting their duty life end, when sent back they were replaced with Mossberg 500's, NOT 590's. After about 2 years of this the 870's were all gone and the 500's were being replaced with 590's. Once the 590 was available in quantity I cas/rep'ed all of the 500's and got 590's.

The 590 and the 835 are DARN good shotguns. The 500 is not a good shotgun, and not worth owning IMO.

[Intune]

I've owned mine since '78. Still does what it was made to do. No, I haven't tried to break it or my Beretta SPII either for that matter.

[Navy joe]

I don't like 500s and have only used them to the extent of qualifying and watchstanding. That said, they are sailor-proof, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a mechanical device. My main reason for not liking them is that they do not say 870 anywhere on them. The upside is that the safety is lefty friendly and pretty intuitive for either hand. You won't wear one out.

[SASS#23149]

Not under normal use.Mine has thousands of rounds through it,and so does my buddys' maverick....acheaper version of the 'bergs.I would buy another one in a heartbeat.!!
That said,I would also buy an 870 in a heartbeat...hell of a gun.!

[HSMITH]

Navy Joe, being an ex sailor I can say they are not even close to sailor proof:D :neener: It was in the Navy that I had the 500's. The shotguns you currently have in inventory should ALL be 590's, the 500's were a stop-gap measure because Mossberg could not make the 590 fast enough. The 590 is a fine unit, tough as you could want really.

SASS, you are right that normal use on the target and hunting fields will not harm the 500, however if you are the heavy handed sort or abuse it they will die in short order. A steady diet of 3" mags will eat one up in less than 10K rounds too. The fact that it can be broken easily keeps me from owning one. It seems to me that if fragile that it will most likely break at the worst possible time, my luck or lack of luck tends to run that way.

One guy at the club has several, he does not believe that I can break it in just a few shots is what he says, but he darn sure won't let me shoot them........

[Tropical Z]

Whats the main difference between a 500 and a 590?

[Tropical Z]

And for those who know,PLEASE tell US what not to do in order to destroy our 500's in a box of shells.

[Stinger]

A steady diet of 3" mags will eat one up in less than 10K rounds too.

HSMITH,

Who in there right mind would shoot 10K 3" shells???? :confused:
What reason would they have to do so. I've never seen 3" used in sporting clays, which in MHO is the only way 10K could (should) be put through a shotgun.

Stinger

[Al Thompson]

Me too! What's the secret?

[owen]

Stinger,

10K isn't all that many shells

[HSMITH]

Rack it as hard as you can hitting it hard to the stop in both directions, it will break if you have any wrist at all, less than 10 strokes if you happen to be pretty stout.

A steady diet of 3" is EASY to do between hunting, and SD practice. I shoot nearly 500 3.5" shells a year between hunting and the pattern board.

10K shells is a drop in the bucket, I will shoot that and half again more this year alone easily, and I have cut back by a good bit from when I shot seriously. Serious shotgunning and casual shotgunning are two totally different things. I have a shotgun that I bought in 1995, it has over 70K rounds through it while owning and shooting 19 other shotguns during that time. I have a shotgun I bought in 2000 that has over 12K through it and OVER 3000 are 3.5" mags!!!.

The 500 is not a serious shotgun, it will not last for anyone that shoots much at all.

[iamkris]

HSMITH

I have to say that I thought I had seen high volume shooters but they are all trap / skeet shooters and most are shooting the lightest recoiling shells they can.

I know turkey hunters that blubber like little babies after shooting 1/2 a box of 3 or 3.5" shells in a season.

You, sir, have a shoulder of iron. I am in awe...if not complete befuddlement.:eek: ;)

[Intune]

Snowgeese? Blackbirds? Clays? Nothin' with a limit? Sheesh! If any of that is in the range of "normal" shooting, what do you have to shoot to get a sponsor? Where do you find the time? Will you adopt me? I'm 6'3" 230lb stout? Why on earth would I treat a weapon like that when it cycles just fine with moderate pressure? Open and close a Perrazi o/u as hard as you can. Bet something bends or breaks.

[Onslaught]

OK, after reading these posts, I have drawn my own conclusions...

It sounds like telling a potential purchaser "don't buy a 500, they're crap and they break easy" is an unfair blanket comment.

"If you're gonna shoot 10K rounds of 3" magnum, or rack the slide like a spastic gorilla, then don't get a 500" sounds like a more reasonable warning. Shooing off a father on a budget wanting to buy his son a "first" shotgun from purchasing a Mossberg is (in my opinion) an unfair disservice since the 500 would be plenty enough shotgun for the AVERAGE shotgunner, and certainly a more than acceptable "entry level" scattergun.

[HSMITH]

A used 870, or 835 can be had under $200, which is what a 500 is going to cost you, and you are going to have a whole lot more shotgun.

Ducks, geese, pheasants, and crows are what I hunt, 3.5" steel on all but pheasant. I shoot at least 1 for 1 on the pattern board and in the field, new shells and chokes and all of that stuff. The search for the perfect pattern is a reward in itself. The 3.5" on the pattern board is not fun.......

I shoot a pile of skeet and sporting clays, and a limited amount of trap. Time is the hardest to come by. Funding is hard but not impossible with club memberships and reloaded shells. AA handicap equivalents for example cost me about $2.20 per box. I fund it completely, a sponsor would be a dream come true. Unfortunately I do not have the time to travel and shoot competitively and still make a living, traveling shooters are the only ones that get any kind of sponsorship. Sponsorships= advertising after all is said and done.

OK, it may well be gorilla activity that breaks it in short order but what do you think is happening each and every time you shoot it? It is to a lesser degree but it is still happening. It will break at the worst possible time if your luck is anything like mine. Why take that chance when it is known to be higher than the alternatives?

[Tropical Z]

I have nothing against the 870 but at least now i wont be breaking my 500 in short order from excessively straining it.Im not sure why somebody would do that but its good to know.Thanx:)

[Andrew Wyatt]

so i should make sure my 500 doesn't spontaneously dissassemble itself in the closet, then?


which parts break? are they replaceable? where can i get them and how much do they cost?

[makdaddy03]

One word "WINCHESTER".;)

[Dave McCracken]

In my younger days I had a B&O R/R security turnin, a well worn 500 for a while. I didn't put more than a couple cases of shells through it, but it did everything it was supposed to, and I recall shucking it just like an 870, which have proven Dave-Proof over the decades.

Back then I was assigned to the Segregation Unit at the MD House of Correction. I also worked the Special Confinement Unit, a place for mental cases. Not jobs for the puny.

If Mossies broke easily, mine was a prime candidate. It didn't. Mayhap I was lucky.

[The Plainsman]

Whatever a Western Field M550 is (Mossberg something?) was given to me by my old pappy in 1963 and it still works fine. It's been around the block several times and still shoots as good as the day I got it. It's been through a bunch of skeet ranges and a few trap ranges over the years.

I reckon that I (or anyone who is determined) could break it with some effort, but I think most of my guns (Winchester, Remington, Luger, Ruger, S&W, Savage, etc.) would fall in that same category. :uhoh:

[OEF_VET]

I traded a Russian SKS for an old 500 several years ago. The shotgun was so old it didn't have a serial number anywhere on it. It also had the old style action, with an action bar on just one side, versus both sides nowadays. After putting only 8 rounds through it, the action bar broke with the action to the rear. I never was able to get the individual I got the gun from to rep[lace it as he said he would. Unfortunately, Mossberg no longer makes the old action parts, so replacing it is near impossible. I have been told I could file the opposite bar off of a newer action, and it should fit. So, yes, Mossberg 500's can break. Having said that, it didn't prevent me from buying another one a few months ago (this one was new in the box).

[JerryN]

My youngest son's first shotgun was a mossy 500 in the 20ga youth model. He's shot a fair amount of skeet with it and the rest of the loads have been 3" mag eqv waterfowl loads.

So far its been an excellent kid's first gun and he really like to shoot it. It also comes with an offer to upgrade the stock to a larger size as he grows up FOR FREE.

Also, Mossberg is the only ISO certified firearms manufacturer (at least they were a couple years ago). You don't get ISO cert by making junk.

Cheap shotguns that are made well can be good shotguns. My primary duck/goose gun is a Winchester 1300. Its about the cheapest hunk of iron you can buy. I got it because waterfowling can really be torture on a gun and I keep the old side by sides for sunny afternoons.

I've blasted an awful lot of 3" magnum shells through this thing in the last 4 years. It is starting to loosen up some, but I've really beaten the hell out of it. I'd buy another 1300 as well as another 500.

They are fugly as all get out, but they work.

[JeepDriver]

I have never fired a 3" or a 3.5" shell through my 500. But I have fired thousands of 2.75" without a single problem.

In fact I now have 3 different 500's. I got tired of switching barrels on my hunting gun so I bought a 28" version, and the "Presuader"(8 shot) version looked really cool sitting on the shelf at the local shop, so I bought one.

I've been very happy with all of my 500's.

[Dorrin79]

Tropical Z - I also have one of those cheap Mossberg 500s

mine has a 26in vent-ribbed barrel and a compo stock.

I haven't shot mine a lot - I'm not a big shotgun person, just wanted one to keep under the bed as a HD weapon.

That said, I have shot it a few times, putting a couple of hundred rounds of Heavy Dove shot (2 3/4 in) and some 00 buck through it.

Never a hiccup.

I'll freely admit it is nowhere near as handsome as an 870, but considering it was 160$ NIB, and I wasn't wanting anything more than a HD gun, I felt like it was a good deal. I'd recommend it to anyone who just wanted a beater shotgun to keep around the house/ in the truck / etc.