[Nix]

im looking at the mossberg 500 tactical 12ga. 18.5" barrel with a telescoping black synthetic tactical stock... are they a decent shotgun for home defense? and what should i be paying for one? thank you in advance

[Fred Fuller]

Keep in mind this opinion is worth only what you paid for it.

There are no tactical guns- only tactical shooters. Get a plain ordinary shotgun of whatever make and model moves you personally, and learn to run it.

Mossberg 500 + pistol grip stock = can't reach the safety without breaking the firing grip. Everybody yells about liking Mossbergs soooooo much better because of the huuuuuge advantage of the top tang safety. Then they put on pistol grip aftermarket stocks so they can't reach the safety in normal fashion. But they're tactical, by cracky.

Mossbergs are good tools, if you prefer Mossbergs. If I were getting a Mossberg for a 'working' gun, I'd be looking at one or another model of the 590, not the 500, because the 590 redesign included a straight-through cleanout magazine tube- not something you can do with the 500.

What should you pay? No more than necessary. I don't know what prices are like in your area, and price can vary a good bit over various parts of the country. You have the whole wide world of the Internet in front of you- look around for good prices. Like here- http://www.jgsales.com/index.php/rifles-shotguns/shotguns/cPath/209_302 . Or here- http://www.summitgunbroker.com/1704458.html .

Don't forget, you can have shotguns transferred to a friendly FFL dealer near you from anywhere in the country- shop around.

hth,

lpl/nc

[Dave McCracken]

My opinion is worth exactly what Lee's is.

The Mossie 500 is a good shotgun for HD/CD.. So are 870s, 590s, 1300s, 1200s, 37s, 1100s,11s,A-5s and so on.

The weakest link is us. Get a good used example of any of the above and try to wear it out. About the time the pile of empty hulls reaches your knees and your split times drop below a second, you'll discover you're holding a FINE defensive shotgun.....

[Nix]

thats mainly what i was wondering... as i dont know much about shotguns i know this gun is not very expensive... and im wanting to make sure i dont get the "hi-point" of the shotgun world.