mossberg 590 reliability?

Coincidentally, I was thinking of asking a similar question but with bird shot included.

The link posted is for a Mossberg 930, not the 590.

It's a 930. The 590 is the pump. Which is stone reliable for me. Not familiar with the 930 however.

The Mossberg 590 is the only pump shotgun that passed stringent U. S. Military Mil-Spec 3443 standards.


.... how important that is might be debatable as I hear a rumor that Remington and Winchester were making all the shotguns they could and didn't bother entering.

I use the 930 JM pro for 3 gun. Very reliable, but I clean it between matches. The matches I compete, I usually fire about 100 rounds between birdshot and slugs. I fired a few 00 buck from it once just for laughs and it worked fine.

Ive put a few thousand rounds through multiple 590s, never had a problem. They just work. Ive also never had a standard 500 not work, so...

The M590A1 is the shotgun that was made specifically for the military to meet stringent reliability and durability requirements. You won't hardly find a better combat shotgun for the money. Here is mine:

bullseyebob47 said:

i meant 930

Click to expand...

Only anecdotal evidence...
I've had a 930 SPX for a number of hears that gets a workout twice a month or so when the weather's agreeable.
It didn't do too well with cheap birdshot (not entirely unsurprisingly) but with Buck or full strength bird shot it's been 100% reliable.

I'd wager that you could make the 930 run with just about any shell you choose to stuff in it, but it might not be able to run really light stuff if it's set up for 3" buck loads. Then if you set it up for light birdshot it's going to batter a bit with the really heavy stuff if you'd choose to shoot them, but should be reliable. I say 'should' because among all brands of guns you get some that are made better than others, and to say for sure that the one that you get will be perfect is asking too much for modern manufacturers to produce.

For the price they ask, you get a lot of product but it might need some tinkering and 'finishing' to make it really perform up to the potential of the design. Take the gas system: it likely is designed to run just about any shell you choose, but when things are new and less than optimally polished it very well might choke on the light stuff...but run the Magnums just fine as they have a lot of excess power to play with. To run light birdshot it's got to be working smoothly and this might take some effort inside...either by shooting (not my choice) or careful attention to sliding surfaces to make sure they're slicked up well.(better way to go)

A good example is the Benelli M1Super90 which was designed to fire full power buckshot, but mine ate cheapo bird-shot just fine. Guys at the range couldn't believe it didn't choke on the light ammo...but it ran really smooth. Never did anything inside to the springs, but DID polish it up a bit which just made it more reliable with any ammo type but was more attention than the factory was willing (and able to afford) and still produce it at a reasonable cost. I view every purchase as a 'kit gun' and as long as I get all the parts...I'm happy to make them run right. Some need nothing done, others are more 'kit' than 'finished' it seems.

I don't own one and can only report my experiences. I've shot with several 3-gunners who have had trouble with their 930s, including the JM Pro. This was shooting bulk birdshot in 3-guns in dusty conditions so take it for what it's worth. Based on what I've seen I wouldn't buy one unless it was a smoking deal. I've also heard on forums from several people who absolutely love theirs.

My 590 has been exceedingly reliable in the same conditions however. And pumps can be pretty fast: (just watch the first few seconds with the shotgun and ignore the crappy overall loading and shooting.)

https://youtu.be/jgQB3Pjn59w?t=3m20s

https://youtu.be/tpBoezSUDzQ?t=42s

I've got a 930 Rhythm that's basically the same setup with a different stock. I've used it quite a lot in 3 gun with never a problem. Mostly birdshot with a few slug stages thrown in and it eats them all.

Completely reliable. It has two extractors. Still, I managed to find coldwar-era ammo from Poland that failed to extract, the rim was round and off spec.


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The contract that Mossberg submitted the 590 for was a general use contact and it was the only pump shotgun submitted as other manufacturers chose not to lower their standards to meet the price required.

Military Armory's are full of Remington 870's and they continue to purchase them. The first 870 I ever touched was in Corps in 1970. Also, I was at the Factory re-certifying just last June and as always there were Military Armorers in class as have been in all the Factory classes I have attend over the years.

As for the reliability of the 590? Think of the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going. Of course the 590 design is a Remington Design that Remington abandoned in 1950 in favor of the 870. The patent laid dormant for ten years so Mossberg picked it up. It is based on the Remington Model 31. So yes it is a very reliable Shotgun. It is however not an optimal design like the 870 and is not as easy to work on as the 870. But the 590 or 500 is just fine to take to any gun fight you need to go to.

I will added just for vetting purposes that I am a Certified Armorer on both the 870 and 500/590 so my statements about design and easy of working on each is a fact not just an opinion as Is my statement that the 500/590 is completely reliable as a fighting shotgun.

Thanks for the history lesson AI&p tactical. My 590-a1 is crazy reliable, accurate and effective. Now I have to find a Remington 31, the "granddaddy" of this awesome weapon to add to my collection!

*****Edited to add. According to wikepedia ( I know ). The Remington 31 had a ultra smooth pump action do to a "bearing system". The model 31 was replaced by the 870 due to cut manufacturing cost. The 870 was cheaper to make. The 31 did have a hard time competing sales with other established brands.****

There's been occasional reports lately of some sort of feeding/extraction issue that has been apparently traced to out-of-spec parts. Anyone familiar?