Maverick vs. H&R Pardner

weaponhead

Have had this Maverick 88 for quite a few years now and got it because it was a less expensive version of a Mossberg 500, a very proven and dependable shotgun design. At the time I bought it I didn't have a lot of money to spend on a shotgun and the Chinese imports weren't available yet. The Maverick has been very reliable and durable plus it's easy and relatively inexpensive to get parts for it. I have looked over a few of the Chinese pump shotguns (Savage/Stevens and H&R), and they seem decent enough for the money but have no first hand experience shooting them.

Last I heard, maverick was made in mexico, but that was a while back. I had a maverick 12ga, and currently have a pardner 20ga. Pardner guns are pretty heavy. I would not suggest a pardner gun for any purposes where it might get carried much. Home defense is fine, duck blind accessed by boat is fine, squirrel hunting from a 4 wheeler is fine, walking a rabbit field or chasing a long beard on foot I would recommend against the pardner. Built well, functions well now that I worked out some little issues but I will not buy a pardner again.

The Mavericks are labeled Made in USA.

I went Maverick mainly because of it being made in the USA, parts availability if needed, and the crossbolt safety.

I really didn't have intentions of changing anything either but, surprise to me, I ended up buying another barrel.

Both the shotguns will serve you well. I would only throw a slight bias towards the 88 being more "homegrown" Mexico is closer to us than China after all.

Looks like the maverick is ASSEMBLED in Texas with Mexican made parts. Can I be right and wrong at the same time?

I'm not going to argue it... people can believe or accuse as they see fit.


If it was only assembled in the USA, they would have to use a 'qualifier' in the statement such as "Parts made in MX and Assembled in USA".


The Maverick 88s simply say "Made in USA".

It looks like they carry the same markings as the mossbergs.

They used to advertise the MX connection but now they take an extra step to attach an additional big Made in the USA label.

Quote:
For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S. The term “United States,” as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.

What does “all or virtually all” mean?
“All or virtually all” means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.

Click to expand...

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/doc...a-standard.pdf


If there is any evidence that Mossberg is lying, I'd like to see it and I'm sure the FTC and IRS would too.

The Chinese guns are made by Norinco.
Norinco quality control is very good.

But, if you don't want to buy a firearm that was made in China for personal reasons, that's a plenty-good reason.

One factor to consider with the Chinese guns, some of the Chinese guns are heavier than their western-made versions. That may-or-may-not be a positive/negative issue, depending on your intended use.

I bought a Partner about 2 years ago, in 12ga. For the price, less than $200, I was amazed at the quality and fit of that weapon. It is built like a tank. You can never wear that gun out. It has a stout recoil for such a heavy gun but it just works. The tube will hold five rounds. I like that gun so much, that I purchased a 2nd one and now have two 12ga Partners in the house.

We currently have three Mavericks, two in 12 gauge and the other a 20. I have owned others in the past. I have never had a problem with them and their barrels and stocks will interchange with the 500.

The Maverick 88 is assembled in Texas with U.S. and Mexican parts. I have one and love it. Seeing how half the U.S. domestic manufacturers make their cars in Mexico with good quality, I trust my life to Mexican and U.S. manufactured products, both cars and guns, over Chinese. Although, with China's fascination with making lead a big part of most of their products, maybe they might know what they are doing.

I have both, but in 12ga.
Used the H&R pardner in 3gun till I got an semi auto. Now its a home defense gun.
Use the maverick for trap and bird huntin.
Both have never failed me.
Great guns on a workin mans budget.

As per this article (the official link on the mossberg site is dead) http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2014/07/daniel-zimmerman/mossberg-adds-116000-sq-ft-capacity-space-texas-plant/ Mossberg claims 90% of their production happens at the Eagle Pass facility. I wonder if they are still using Mexican made parts or if the expansion to the TX site lets them move all production to our side of the river.

I have a H&R PPP in 12ga and a Westernfield (Mossberg) in 20ga. The Westernfield is an older pattern with only 1 action bar and has the tang safety. I like both and both are comfortable to shoot with.

My advice is to go to a gunstore and fondle both, see which one feels nicer in your hands and which shoulders better and is more comfortable. If you have a rental range nearby or friends with them then do a live fire test. RE actual usability and durability they are basically the same.

The Maverick I had several years ago was made in TX, according to the folks I talked to at Mossberg/Maverick. I no longer have it, but have have a H&R Pardner pump 12 ga. - made in China - instead. I don't like that it's made in China - or that H&R is having their shotguns made in China, but I use a shotgun so rarely that I couldn't justify spending a lot for one.

It seems to me that both were of comparable quality, though I didn't own them at the sime time so I had no side by side comparison.

Maverick shares some parts with the Mossberg 500, which makes them plentiful and available. I'm not very familiar with parts availability on the Pardner.

If price is an issue, you could probably get a used Mossberg 500 for the price of a new Maverick. I like the tang safety of the Mossberg over the Maverick, personally.

Good choice. I'm pretty sure my once beloved H&R is now owned by the scumbags at Freedom Group - the same losers that destroyed Remington, Marlin, etc.

Great choice! You will be happy.

All of my shotguns are Mossberg. The one not labeled made in USA had Mossberg international clearly marked on it.

The one most clearly marked is a maverick. From what I found online, the major parts are made in the same factory as the 500 in the USA then sent to be assembled in Texas with small parts imported from Mexico.

Double post. Sorry.

I had the same discussion to make. Decided on the H&R. Yes, they are made in China, but by an American company called Hawk. The receiver is solid metal, it comes with a non MIM extractor. The trigger assembly is all metal, not polymer. All parts except the barrel are interchangeable with the Remington 870. I did have to port and polish the chamber though. Did it myself, watched a few YouTube videos on the subject. I have many modifications to create my own HD shotgun. See pics.












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I had a HR Pardner Pump for a bit, can't recall just how many shells I put through it, but it wasn't a lot. It was the field model with the rib on the barrel.

I had an issue with it failing to extract fired shells. There were rough chatter marks just outside the chamber the rim of the shell was getting hung up on. After smoothing that out, it worked fine.

It was heavy for what it was, especially when holding it next to an 870. As far as parts interchangability- I know that stocks and forends can be made to fit, but I've yet to see someone swap a trigger assembly or a bolt. Not saying it can't be done, but haven't seen it done.

If all I could afford was the pardner, it's not bad. I've seen them for around $170 on sale at Cabelas.

I've never used a Mossberg, but would like to try one someday to see how they are.

weaponhead said:

I am looking at two very similar models in 20 gauge and trying to decide...the Maverick is American made and would likely have good support and parts from Mossberg if needed.....the Pardner gets great reviews and is a little cheaper, but it is made in China. I plan on using either model pretty much "as is"...so the ability to mod with add-ons is not a factor. Reliability and durability are most important to me.

I am open to anyone's thoughts!

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Given choice I would buy something made or assembled in USA particularly if the other product is made in country unfriendly towards us.

I know this thread is a couple of months old, but I figured I'd jump in and give my .02 cents.

I've had 3 pardner pumps, and I just recently purchased an maverick 88. I also would like to mention that I worked a a big box sporting goods store here in Michigan, and for the time I worked there I had only been aware of one pardner pump come in for shipment to the parent company(we sold a lot of that particular firearm).

The pardner pumps were quite a handful. 2 had been off to the factory for various issues both big and small, whilst the last didn't have an issue. I'm not going to go into detail about the breakages or we'll be here all day(there aren't too many, it's just the long winded explanations). Though I will mention that I don't like the way the shell stop bars are pressed/soldered into the action on the pardners. Would I recommend a pardner pump from my experience, no, though YMMV.

Now I've had the maverick for a little while, and I've put 200 rounds through it as well. Everything works fine and I haven't had a malfunction as of yet. With my current experience would I recommend maverick 88 to anyone who asked, Yes I would.