Can I use my Mossberg 590 for hunting?

[toivo]

I walked out of Gander Mt today with an 870 Express Supermag.

After paying, I hope!

Congratulations--Remingtons are great shotguns. I have an 1100 that I love.

 

[dfaugh]

Hunting with an HD shotgun

I've had two Mossberg pumps, and the plug that they came with WAS a wooden dowel, with two rubber O-rings around it to keep it from rattling around in the tube.

IANAL, nor do I play one on TV, but I believe this only applies to waterfowl (the 3 round limit) in almost any state. For other small game, I don't think its required.(also see below)

I have a 500A 20" Cylinder choke, and use it for hunting with some limitations.
For small game, you need fairly close in shots (as the pattern will spread ALOT)...Not usually an issue, because IMO most of these shots are less than 25 yards, most like 50 feet. Forget about waterfowl, you'll never get the distance with a cylinder bore. For deer, with Brenekke Slugs I can keep all my shots in a 5-6" circle at 50 yards, with a red-dot scope. Probably wouldn't take a much longer shot, but around here you rarely need to.

 

[MCgunner]

IANAL, nor do I play one on TV, but I believe this only applies to waterfowl (the 3 round limit) in almost any state. For other small game, I don't think its required.(also see below)

Any migratory bird, that includes doves, snipe, gallinules, and I'm not sure about rails, but does not include upland birds of course. This is a federal regulation to do with migratory birds. The only shotguns I own that have no plug or otherwise limited mag capacity are a double and a single shot and of course they're limited by design. You simply don't need more capacity than 3. 3 is enough temptation to waste ammo, I know...:banghead: I am fine just using my double. That's why I'm wanting an O/U.

Excellent shotgun for all around hunting and games, PT!

 

[ArmedBear]

In California, all shotgun hunting, including resident upland birds, rabbits, turkey and deer, is limited to 3 rounds total capacity. Every state is different.

 

[Zero_DgZ]

Do what I did: Install a Polychoke.

(Now I can't get my heat shield all the way off. So it goes.)

I can throw slugs, buckshot of any size, and game loads up to 3" with any choke pattern I want at any old range. Twist. Click. Pump. Boom.

People say that a longer barrel is 'required' for upland/clays/birds, but I don't find this to be the case; The velocity hit is minimal if it even exists at all (I'm not convinced) and I've become pretty adept at swatting things out of the sky quickly with rifle sights...

 

[ArmedBear]

swatting things out of the sky quickly

A short barrel is good for that. That can work for skeet, flushing birds, etc.

However, handicap trap and pass-shooting do not involve "swatting things out of the sky quickly", it involves a smooth swing and followthrough, at least if you want to hit much.

That's why there are so many shotguns with different geometries. There's not just one kind of shooting.

Before putting on a Polychoke or whatever, I'd just get a 28" Mossberg 500 and use both guns, where they're most appropriate.

 

[MCgunner]

I've seen it claimed in articles, though I've not tried to test it, that anything over 24" of barrel is not beneficial to velocity and it makes sense 'cause shotgun powders are VERY fast burning powders, in fact, used as pistol powders and fast for that! Blue dot is fairly slow, but faster than 2400 which is a popular magnum handgun powder. It's about as slow as shotgun powders get and only really suitable for heavy loads.

However, there's more to barrel length than just exterior ballistics. It's like sight radius in a handgun, but also more weight out front helps the swing and target acquisition. Short barrel shotguns simply handle and swing too quickly for trap or long range hunting, though they are quicker and might be okay for short range skeet stages and flushing birds at close range. Most of my hunting is on ducks, though, and 28" guns seem about perfect to me, 26" maybe. I've tried to shoot a 20" Browning and didn't like it at all, not enough muzzle weight and too whippy.

There was a short barrel (20") fad going around back in the late 80s, but it passed. It was spurred on, ain't it always the case, by some "expert" gun writer articles. I've never bought into it and the fad faded.

 

[ArmedBear]

anything over 24" of barrel is not beneficial to velocity

Not true. Depends on the load. If you're shooting a fair amount of shot (1 1/8 oz. or more), you need to use slower-burning powder to keep the pressure from spiking too high. So it may or may not burn up in 18" or 21" or whatever the "magic number" is. It is true, though, that long barrels were historically necessary for velocity, but modern smokeless powder changes the equation.

It is also true that, for most purposes, velocity isn't a big concern, even if there is some variation between barrels. Barrel length is chosen just like stock dimensions: for the balance and feel of the gun, and preferences vary between gun designs, between shooters and between applications.

 

[Zero_DgZ]

Well, I'll concede all that but my plan for my 590 was to make the ugliest, most effective "do all" shotgun I could.

So it's got a polychoke, holds 9 rounds, works for slugs, I shoot skeet with it pretty good, and I shoot birds with it pretty good, too. And it's got a folding stock so I can stow it away, duracoat finish so it doesn't rust, and when all else fails I can club things with it.

Oh, and it has a bayonet mount. For... some reason.

 

[MCgunner]

Being as I'm primarily a duck and goose hunter with doves an early season fun bird to warm up on, I'd have no use for your gun. ROFL! But, if it works for you, great!

The stow and go thing always intrigues me, though, being as I ride a motorcycle. Lately, I've been thinking of trying to find a super 16 .410/.45 Colt barrel for my TC Contender and getting a butt stock for it. It being a .45 colt, I THINK I could get away with a 16" barrel it's rifled) and a butt stock, even when shooting .410 in it, but I'm not really sure. I need info on that. I just thought this idea up while reading one of those tacticool mags they always are sending me that has a TC Contender folding stock in it for 100 bucks. Well, no need for the folding stock, just take the gun apart to stow in my saddle bags. I have a 10" .45/.410 barrel full choked, but it's only good to about 20 yards with that ultra short barrel. Be nice if I could extend the range another 10 or 20 yards and still have a gun easily stowed in a Gold Wing's bags. And, hey, the .45 Colt would be a pretty awesome caliber on most of the medium game I hunt.

 

[Panthera Tigris]

After paying, I hope!

No, I just grabbed it and walked out! After all, it's a shotgun, who was going to stop me?

KIDDING! Interesting from the one poster to discover he shoots skeet with the 590 and hunts. But I do have the Remington now so I've got the option. I'm hopeful the trap ranges in town will let me shoot both of them there so I can get used to both.

 

[bad LT]

Zero_DgZ,
The bayonet mount is for hunting deer the cost effective, old fashoned way.

 

[toivo]

The bayonet mount is for hunting deer the cost effective, old fashoned way.

Dogs and spears: That's how they used to do it in the good old, old days.

 

[USMC_2674]

I own one shotgun.

A mossberg 590-A1.

It has a vang comp barrel on it (read REALLY tight choke, which still allows for slugs).

It has ghost sights.

18.5 inch barrel.

It has a side saddle.

I have killed a LOT of doves with it. I have killed a LOT of ducks with it. I have killed a LOT of grouse, pheasants, and geese with it.

I have killed a whole heck of a lot of rabbits with it.

And, I have shot quite a few perfect rounds of skeet and trap with it.

Don't listen to the naysayers.

YOU WILL DO FINE WITH IT IF YOU DECIDE TO HUNT WITH AN A1.

**********

Now all of that said, I shoot clays out of the sky with my ar15 /.22 (I learned to shoot in the Corps with an M16) as well.

**********

And with all of that said, there are far better guns available for shooting birds.

But you don't NEED them to be successful.

Semper Fidelis

 

[MrMex]

Wow, kudos on shooting clays outtat he sky with the ar. How big are the clays, two feet?

How much for the vang comp barrel?

 

[USMC_2674]

his site is www.vangcomp.com

Check them out there.

Regular clays... what are they? 3" 4" ?

I can't hit them 100% of the time, but enough to compete with people who aren't very good with a shotgun.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, I learned to shoot at age 6 in 1958 with a Daisy BB gun. I prefer normal firearms. My hunting shotguns don't have ghost rings, pistol grips, bayonets or laser sights, but to each his own. Actually, I hunted for years with a double and am looking to get an O/U. I don't think they make heat shields for an O/U, do they?

 

[USMC_2674]

McGunner,

What the heck is a "normal firearm"?

My goodness... I do get tired of people claiming that "such and such" weapon doesn't fall into the "right" guidelines to be "ok" according to these self-proclaimed gods.

Shouldn't we all be on the same team instead of some people saying "Oh, that weapon is too "cheesy or tactical" for hunting" and then attempting to make them feel bad?

I own military style weapons. It is my background. And I haven't spent the money to buy any "hunting" weapons because what I have works JUST fine for hunting.

No wonder the libs have such an easy time slowly passing gun laws against us... sporting clause anyone?

Semper Fidelis

P.S. If I misunderstood your intent and you aren't being a jerk with your , then I apologize for the rant.

 

[MCgunner]

What the heck is a "normal firearm"?

One that ain't tacticool pimped out. I don't deer hunt with an M2 or duck hunt with a trench gun, all I'm sayin'. There are more optimum tools for the job. A 28" pump swings a lot smoother on a fifty yard high goose and patterns better with a modified choke and 3" Federal tungsten iron at that range than an 18" cylinder bore or even an 18" properly choked gun. Why should I buy a tacticool shotgun to hunt with? I don't have any other use for a shotgun than the occasional clay shoot with the club or my bird hunting. My daily carry gun is a handgun and that's what I use for self defense. I really don't consider a shotgun very practical for daily carry in downtown Houston where I'm most apt to be accosted.

Like I say, to each his own. If you feel you have a need for a sawed off pistol gripped shotgun, great. I don't consider it the optimum in shotgun configurations, though, for hunting unless you're deer hunting with slugs. There are MUCH better choices for bird hunting and clays shooting.

My uncle was the best shot I ever knew. A veteran of the European theater in WW2, he grew up shooting squirrels in the woods around Conroe, Texas during the later depression years. His mom ran a boarding house there. That man could take an empty .22 brass, flip it in the air, and shoot it 100% of the time, no misses. I've seen him do it. He could literally shoot dove with that .22, but he used a shotgun for that, his favorite M1100 in 20 gauge for bird hunting. He loved to hunt quail and dove and had pointers for the quail. I never even saw a "riot gun" until I was a 20 something adult, never knew they existed. As into waterfowl hunting as I was at that time, I didn't really care about "riot guns". They were for cops and soldiers, not sportsmen.

I support your right to use what you want and certainly to own what you want, but I think hunting with a riot gun is a bit silly when more appropriate shotguns are available so affordably. You don't putt with a driver, do you? JMHO of course.

I'm not advocating gun laws here. I wear a helmet every time I get on a motorcycle, but I'm totally against helmet laws. I'm a libertarian. I just figure use the right tool for the job. If the job is killin' people, a riot or trench gun may be the tool, but not wing shooting. I think trying to tell the antis "Yes, I can hunt with my M16." is the wrong political approach. Sure, you can, but there are better weapons for hunting, closer to what you'd use as a sniper, perhaps. I also think in the helmet law debates, guys who try to use arguments that a helmet is dangerous because "you can't hear out of one" or "they cause neck injuries" are using the wrong argument, too. The pro helmet laws can chew that one up with logic, not to mention accident statistics. The argument to use is "because I don't want big brother telling me how to save myself". With firearms, there is this thing that guarantees you the right to keep and bear arms specifically for MILITARY use! You're guaranteed that freedom. Why should you use some lame argument that a sawed off shotgun is a viable sporting arm????? All they have to do is use logic to kill your argument. Fight 'em with libertarian and constitutional arguments and you will be right! Their arguments refuting the second amendment are lame and they know it!

 

[USMC_2674]

This is my last response to you McGunner.

Let me post the original question


"Can I use my Mossberg 590 for hunting?
________________________________________
I recently bought a 590 for HD, now with hunting season coming up I was hoping I could use it for that also. Now Im pretty green when it comes to shottys, not syure what all the lingo means: improved choke, full choke, turkey gun etc.

The gun is equipped with basic front bead sight, speed feed stock and parkerized. Does this model allow for barrel changes?

I guess Id like to know what type of game I could use it for in its current state. Or hell, can I even use it for hunting at all?

thanks guys"

************

You didn't bother to answer his question... all you did was make fun of "tacticool" weaponry and suggest a different gun.

He could have EASILY hunted a lot of different small game with his 590-A1. But instead someone had to be an ass and instead of encouraging him, you belittled the idea that he could use a "subpar" weapon to hunt with.

Shouldn't we be helpful, encouraging and say, "Yes, you can hunt the following with that weapon... but it isn't as good as "such and such" for the job."

Really, there is no reason to reply to me.

I think you should take that A1 out and hunt with it friend. Hunting is GREAT training on how it points and if you can hit a rabbit running across the field, you can certainly hit an intruder.

Semper Fidelis

 

[MCgunner]

I stand by my statements, why put a choke on his 590 and spend all that money and effort when a proper hunting shotgun is cheaper? I'd rather own two guns, anyway, than one!

 

[ArmedBear]

It has a vang comp barrel on it (read REALLY tight choke, which still allows for slugs).

Sure, you can shoot trap with that. That's a whole different animal from a standard barrel.

The fact remains that you can buy a 500 with a 28" barrel and three chokes for a hair over $200 brand new, or an 870 Express with the nice new stock and barrel for well under $300 (Remington is also doing a rebate right now, so take off $30 more I think). It doesn't make economic sense to trick out a stock 590 for hunting. If you have it set up like yours, you can hunt with it.

Then you can leave the 590 set up, and loaded, for defense, while leaving the plug in the 500 or 870 so you don't have to screw around when you want to shoot a bird or two.

 

[MrMex]

Well ust because my b-day coincides with hunting season Ive started to look around at hunting shottys. Ive been swingin by the pawn shops and so far I've found these: a Beretta 390 for $450, a winny 1300 28" for $140, and a mossberg 9200 for $310.

Now these are just some "im bored so lets go look at shottys" finds, nothing definte but Ive think i want a autoloader or o/u. To start off the bird killing, were going to hit the skeet place tomorrow and Im going to borrow a friends autoloader and just for ****s ....the 590 will make an appearnce at the skket range

 

[rich e]

MRMEX..I have a Mossy 9200..It has been a fine performer since I bought it 7-8 years ago...You would be well served with that shotgun in the field.

 

[RiverwinoIA]

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