I have one of the Mossberg MVPs with the 20" barrel. I bought it for firing the factory-loaded 5.56s to plink at steel targets to 200 or 300 yards. Inasmuch as I only ever have fired it at 25 yards indoors, I can't speak to accuracy. It doesn't impress me that at 25 yards, all 10 projectiles went through the same hole. Seriously, not hard. I will be trying it at the farm one of these days soon.
LIKES:
1) The trigger is crisp and that surprised me for the price. I have it set as low as it can be set.
2) The balance is as good as I can imagine a carbine being. It just "fits", sitting, prone, standing, sitting, kneeling. I have yet to get into an uncomfortable position. If you have ever followed any of my posts, I have a problem with "fits". Well, not me personally, not that I'll admit, but getting a rifle that fits me. Saved by the explanation; I almost outed myself.
3) Weight is great. It is heavy enough to be stable, and light enough that even the little 5.56 lets you know, you pulled the trigger on a centerfire.
4) Overall length and length of pull. Mine seems to be a bit short in length of pull, and overall length of mine is 39.5 inches. It may be a "youth" model. I haven't seen that indicated anywhere in writing though in the paperwork. I like the somewhat shorter length of pull, because my 18-year-old daughter is all of about 5'3".
5) Reliability has been flawless. Everything functions as it is supposed to. The bolt is tight, trigger crisp, magazines locks-in, and ejects flawlessly. It has a last-round fired feature. I mean, when the mag runs dry, the bolt cannot be closed until the magazine follower is out of the way (lowered manually, reloaded, or magazine removed.
6) The fit and finish are not just flawless, they are shocking quality! I can't believe that I paid $505.00 for this rifle! Having rifled 40 rounds in a single range visit, there was more copper build-up in the bore. I'm impressed. The safety is in a nice position, and it too is positive in function...crisp. The bolt can be manipulated with the safety engaged. For me, that is a huge plus factor.
DISLIKES:
I dislike the two pieces factory bases. Too, they Weaver. I prefer M1913 bases, one piece. I cannot interchange my other scopes to this rifle. That is a significant disadvantage. It means a dedicated scope, and that now adds considerably more money that borrowing from rifle A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, or Z for an hour of plinking after a 1 or 2 round zero.
2. It appears to me, and I have to investigate this future, that perhaps my bases are not drilled-and-taped perfectly in line. Regardless, it has not affected accuracy or zeroing ability. It may just be appearance, but in actuality properly aligned.
3) The after-market AR-15 magazines, such as MagPul do not seat easily. I have to insert the MagPuls with considerably more force than the Mossberg factory provided magazine.
4) I dislike that the internals to the magazine well are plastic. I never have liked plastic. It lacks ruggedness. Hopefully it doesn't break. Regardless, as I perceive it to be a weakness, I will order that piece in advance as a stand-by replacement for what I assume to be the inevitable catastrophic failure of that well piece.
Geno
