My Mossberg Epiphany

I've never owned a Mossberg shotgun, rifle or (lately) their handgun offerings.

I'm not opposed to buying one. I just haven't had one "pop" for me when im browsing the gun racks and money is burning a hole in my wallet.

Three of my friends bough the combo guns that were mentioned above at Big-5 for around 220 bucks (I think). They all like them.

Stay safe.

I too was a Browning and Remington man for many years, until I won a Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag at a gamefeed raffel. It was not what you would call pretty with the dull parkerized finish and plastic furniture. I kind of turned my nose up at it. I eventually took it to the range and really fell in love with it. I ended up buying a rifled slug barrel for it and a after market collapsible stock with an evil pistol grip on it. I use it for turkeys and deer hunting. I loved the gun so much that when my son passed his hunter safety course, I bought him a Mossberg 500 youth set up for turkey and deer in 20 gauge. That gun has wood furniture and a blued finish. Not a work of art by any means, but a solid “working man’s” gun! I would analogize the Mossberg shot guns as the AK-47 of shotguns. They’re a little loose fitting, but they really take a beating, they shoot well, and they go bang everytime you pull the trigger.

I'm kind of agnostic when it comes to shotguns. My first shottie was a Stevens single barrel 20 ga. I shot a lot of birds and rabbits with that gun as a kid. Dad kept it when I went to college and it kind of went missing. I didn't own another shotgun til I was in my late 30's and that was an 870. I used an 870 quite a bit when I was younger as my dad had a Wingmaster so it seemed like the natural choice. At the time I bought mine it was an impulse buy and I didn't really use it a lot and sold it eventually. Then I was planning a camping trip to an area where big Grizzlies were common and decided I needed a shotgun again; 12 ga slugs are fairly potent and a used pump gun was a cheaper option than buying a big bore wheelgun I'd likely never use after trip. The best deal to be found at the time was a used 18" Mossberg 500 Marine Coat/nickel gun for $250. I really like it a lot and probably won't ever part with it, especially since I eventually moved out here to Montana.

In my experience the 870 and the 500/590 are both great guns. I preferred the slide release of the 870 but I like the tang safety of the 500 better than a cross bolt. In truth I'd feel comfortable with either gun but if I ever find a good deal on a Beretta 1301 I may go that route.

Funny thing was the first Mossberg pump shotgun Id ever seen was a model 200-K



That pretty much set my expectations of the Mossberg pump for many years.
Same as posted by others, I thought the mossberg 500 was a lesser gun.

It was by impulse that I bought a used 12 ga 500 (3" chambers)with set of factory ported vr& slug barrels off a fellow that was moving to the city and said he couldnt bring it along.
I bought it for what I thought was a decent price.
To this day thats the shotgun that gets picked to go hunting.
I have a Remy870 wingmaster thats a very nice shotgun but is 2.75" vr bbl thats just a tad too nice to drag across the snow, slush and wet tundra by snomobile for spring hunting.

I like the Mossberg safety because I’m a lefty. I have an 870 and I bought the LH safety conversion but I talked myself out of installing it because I’m so used to manipulating the RH version on my 10/22 and every other gun I have with a button safety.

For a home defense gun it doesn’t matter to me because I store the gun with the hammer down on an empty chamber.

The 500 is a very strong gun. When I was teaching BSA shotgun we had two ka-boomed (at the receiver end) shotguns set out on a table when the Scouts first came into the classroom to impress on them what could happen.
One was a steel Remmy 870 the other an aluminum Mossy 500.
The Mossberg 500 ka-boom looked far more survivable,

John Joseph said:

The 500 is a very strong gun. When I was teaching BSA shotgun we had two ka-boomed (at the receiver end) shotguns set out on a table when the Scouts first came into the classroom to impress on them what could happen.
One was a steel Remmy 870 the other an aluminum Mossy 500.
The Mossberg 500 ka-boom looked far more survivable,

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Would love to see pictures.

Blue Brick said:

Would love to see pictures.

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The BSA and I have parted company when my son aged out, I haven't taught the course in maybe ten years and I have no idea who is teaching the course these days, so sorry, no pictures'
I do remember the sight of those guns sure left an impression on me though---a very effective way to start a shotgun class!

I have 4 Shotguns three are Mossberg's .

John Joseph said:

The BSA and I have parted company when my son aged out, I haven't taught the course in maybe ten years and I have no idea who is teaching the course these days, so sorry, no pictures'
I do remember the sight of those guns sure left an impression on me though---a very effective way to start a shotgun class!

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Well how about a explanation? What was the difference on the blow ups? I,d think a solid steel receiver would hold up better than a aluminum one. Or was it the way the force of the blow up was directed. Inquiring minds would like to know.

Scooter22 said:

Well how about a explanation? What was the difference on the blow ups? I,d think a solid steel receiver would hold up better than a aluminum one. Or was it the way the force of the blow up was directed. Inquiring minds would like to know.

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The 870 blew about a 6" jagged spear of the billet steel backwards---u shaped---into where the face of the shooter would be. The aluminum receiver on the Mossy was violently inflated yet held together enough to contain most of the innards.
I too thought the steel would have held up better, but apparently not in that particular kind of ka-boom

Thanks.

tell us what caused the blowup. i watched a show called myth busters and they put two 20 ga loaded shells in a rem 870 express 12 ga,s barrel and fired it with no blowup.