[Slater]

I've heard a lot of positive comments about Mossbergs, and a few negatives also. How does Mossberg's overall quality (fit & finish, reliability, etc.) stack up against the other major manufacturers?

[Dave McCracken]

Mossberg pumps are darn good shotguns. They may not last quite as long as 870s, but it'd take more shooting than most of us do to wear one out in a generation. Best guess, 30-40K shells. The safety will probably need replacing with a steel button.

HTH...

[Selfdfenz]

I had an 835.
Very sturdy. Functioned fine.

Could never hit anthing with it.

But it was a well enough made, but plain firearm.
S-

[BWC]

I have a Mossberg 590 Mariner. I keep it on a work boat. I clean it "when I get around to it". I shoot flares, line carrying rounds, wierd esoteric rounds and regular shells (both shot and sabot). And generally beat the crap out of it. It has held up well, and shoots fine, and puts rounds where I need them. No complaints from me.

[BHPshooter]

Well, I don't know a lot about shotguns, but I do know that I like my Mossy 500A a lot better than my Dad's Remington 870. The biggest thing for me is that the Mossy has the safety that can be fully manipulated with either hand, and the 870 has what I call a "BB-gun safety."

Wes

[HSMITH]

The 590 and 835's are every the shotgun an 870 is. Will they last as long? Hard to say, but IMO and IME they are brute tough and should last as well. The 835 may even be the toughest pumpgun on the market.

The 500 and Mavericks are not even in the same league. For a casual bird hunter they are ok, but not for a shotgunner.

[JStordahl]

The single thing I like best about the Mossberg shotguns is the design of the action.........the bottom is wide open for pushing the shells into the tube.......no shell lifter getting in the way. Overall finishing is not too bad. I have a camo turkey 500, so finish is somewhat moot. I also have a 590 with parkerized finish and ghost rings. Its okay, but as most do, I dislike the plastic safety button and trigger guard assembly. A good shotgun for the money, though.

Years ago I had the dreaded shell back out with an 870, which tied up the gun when the deer were running past. This soured me on 870s for a long time. I got rid of it, even though I may have failed to push the shell in far enough. At least on the Mossberg, the shell would just fall on the ground if that happened, but now I have read about the flextab on the Remingtons, so I will likely get an 870 again. I always liked the slick feel of the Wingmaster. :D

[Andrew Wyatt]

Mossbergs are decent shotguns. their fit and finish is about on par with remington 870 expresses and winchester defenders. the plastic safety MUST be replaced with a steel one.


The thing about mossbergs is people don't understand them, they put PG stocks on them and complain about the safety being in a bad place, and other things. With a proper standard stock, the mossberg is probably the most ergonomic shotgun around.

[scout26]

Slater,

If you do a search you'll find a lot of discussion about this issue, all shotguns have their advantages or features and disadvantages or drawbacks, but what you'll see and hear is that the fit and feel of the gun is the most important part thing.

I grew up in a Remington house. I always shot okay with Remmy's but it wasn't until I was and MP in the Army that I got a chance to fire a Mossy that I fell in love. It FIT right and FELT right. Came up nice, my eyes naturally lined up the beads and I could keep my head (almost) straight up. I had found shotgun Nirvana.

After listening to my stories of Deer Camp and of trudging through fields and woods after Grouse, Pheasant, Chukkar and Quail, I took two guys I work with to my club for some trap and skeet last week. (After they got their FOID cards and we spent a good deal of time on Cooper's Four Rules, Range safety and etiquette). They used my guns (Mossy 500's and 9200's) and they really enjoyed the experience. They were really surprised at how nice and helpful were everyone the met.

Monday, I took them to Gander Moutain and had them try pretty much all the shotguns they had there. I wanted them to find a gun that fit them the way my Mossy's fit me. After about 20 minutes a guy comes up to us and asks if he can help since "you guys have racked the slide on every pump gun here". I explained what we were doing and rather than adding his expertise and providing assistance he just said "Okay" and walked away. [End of Rant about Gander Mountain]

Anywho, one guy found that a Mossy 500 felt good to him and ordered a Combo (field and rifled slug barrel). The other guy liked the feel of the 870 and we ordered him the Left Hand version since he's a lefty. Now I could have forced my opinions on them, but then they would have bought guns that didn't fit and not feel right. Then when they would go to shoot, they wouldn't be very successful on the trap field (or worse end up crippling alot of game rather than making clean kills). They would then get frustrated and angry and then quit the sport and be mad at me. Instead they'll have tools that fit and be able to be as successful as their natural skills and learned/taught/trained abilities will allow.

So I got them signed up for a Hunter's Ed course, got their Hunting Licenses, and when their guns come in we'll go back out the club and practice, practice, practice. I also made reservations to hunt Pheasant and Quail in December.

The bottom line is that I now have two new hunting and shooting buddies who (looks like they will) enjoy the sport and (hopefully) pass it on to their kids. That's what it's really all about.



Ummmm, now what was the topic again ?????

[Devonai]

I have a Mossberg 500A "Slugster" with a 24" smoothbore barrel. I bought it to replace the Remington 870 that I sold during leaner times. I would have been perfectly happy with another 870 but the 500A was just too inexpensive to resist.

I prefer the safety and elevator of the Mossberg but for some reason I still find the 870 to be the better looking of the two.

I always suspected that the 870 could be used as a mace against invading hordes of huns, but the 500A doesn't feel as tough. I suspect this is because the 500A is a full pound lighter than the 870.

I trust my Mossberg as much as I did my Remington, but only time will tell if it is indeed as indefatigable.

[Andrew Wyatt]

I suspect this is because the 500A is a full pound lighter than the 870.


...really? the 870 feels lighter.