Is this Mossberg 500 lightly used? And worth $250?

I was taught some thing many years ago. A very valuable lesson that has saved me thousand of dollars. "ASK" Do this on all things. You will be surprise at how many cave in.

Also the shotgun in question does not look like much use, they can take a lot of use, and unless a avid hunter probably did not get much use. So many people buy shotguns and just use them as something to store away in a closet.

They are great shotguns for the money.

The Mossberg 500 has legions of fans. An honest product at an honest price for the working man. About the only thing that would ever fail is the resin safety slide (mine never have). If you're so inclined, replace it with an anodized alloy one available for a few bucks on the aftermarket and you've just resolved that issue.

A personal recollection of a guy that's used Mossberg's for 4+ decades: Hunted with a 12 and 20 Gauge Mossberg 500 back in North Dakota for years through some of the most brutal weather conditions imaginable. I dubbed the 20 gauge with a poly choke the 'Hungarian Hammer' because I used it primarily for partridge. For some reason that gun always made me out to be a better shot than I was. I can remember using the 12's butt stock to break ice in front of me as I was moving through cat tails across a duck pond in wind chill well below -20.

I'm loathe to use absolutes but in this instance they are appropriate. Both guns NEVER failed me when I needed them. Nothing broke. Nothing bound up. ALWAYS fired and ejected. I can't say that for a couple of shotguns my friends along side of me carried during those years that are billed as the "Best there Is" (and I have that brand in my safe as well).

The price is in the ballpark for one in that condition. As many above have said, offer less and maybe the seller will take it.

My current Mossberg 500 that's seen abuse on the front end of an ATV for 13 years on high mountain logging roads and desert washes.

lemaymiami said:

Looked back at this thread and realized that the advice I'd given wasn't as good as it could be... For anyone just learning about shotguns - particularly defensive shotguns - we have a wonderful resource right here... It's the third entry on this board.....
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/on-fighting-shotguns.355528/

This thread has been running for years - and I doubt anyone will get through it in a few hours. Crack a cold one and read everything Dave McCracken has written there. I never met him - and wish I had... first rate advice in every word.

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+1

OP, there's also a good post over at Lucky Gunner Lounge on basics. Apologies if you are beyond this level already, but I have shared it several times in the past month. https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/how-to-use-a-pump-action-shotgun/

Well did you get it?

Frulk;
Tell me about that barrel Guard with sights...
Where did you get it , and how much? Who makes it.
I like!
Especially the sights.

GooseGestapo said:

Frulk;
Tell me about that barrel Guard with sights...
Where did you get it , and how much? Who makes it.
I like!
Especially the sights.

Click to expand...

That's an item from ATI. I had one on my Maverick 88. I shot it fast 4-5 rounds and it started sliding around. I think I still have it in my junk box.

After Blkhrt13 made his posts I went to look who made it but didn't see anything written on it. Might be something underneath but I'd have to remove it to confirm. At any rate I think the link from Blkhrt13 is the exact same item.

I haven't had the issues as mentioned. Tried to move it around but couldn't. I have shot a fair amount of slugs and double 00 out of it over the years and no problems with it.

I did have to Dremel a bit off the front slide on each side for clearance. From what I remember I incrementally bent the tabs on the back end closest to the receiver that kind of wrap around the barrel and tested it until I was able to attain the fit I wanted and then cranked down the two front screws pretty tight.

I'd like the ghost ring sight to be just a little bigger. Wasn't an issue at first but my eyes have 'aged' over the years.

Mounted on a Mossberg 18 inch Cruiser barrel

Rear sight:



Full Length view:



Front Sight:



4 dimples are impressed in the metal. They keep the heat guard off the barrel and provide some contact points to limit flex and provide rigidness.



One of the two metal tabs on either side on the rear which needs to be conformed to the barrel.



And since we're discussing Mossberg 500's. This was a Model 500 'Roadblocker'. Think they only sold it for a year or two. Has a pinned clone of the .50 BMG muzzle brake on it. Supposedly there were instances of pellets coming back at owners. Don't see how that could happen unless you were moving crazy fast from one side to the other while pulling the trigger. Never been shot. Been offered crazy money for it. Twice what I paid. Apparently in my part of the country they don't show up much on the secondary market.

JeeperCreeper said:

Anything mechanical, new or old, can fail.

Having said that, I bought a Mossy 500 from my brother that was used on an Alaskan fishing boat. Thing was abused, ridden hard and put away wet.

It still shoots great and has the features I wanted that were hard to find, which is why I bought it.

So basically, it's a pump gun. Rarely do things go wrong. For $250, if it's the one you want as far as features, I think it's fair.

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I'm with Jeeper creeper. I never met a Mossy 500 I didn't like. The aftermarket is flush with a fantastic selection of parts and upgrades. I'd go for it. (but that's just me...)

Thanks FRULK.

Now that I see the rear is not adjustable, I’m not interested.

But still, THANKS! For the pics!

Frulk said:

The Mossberg 500 has legions of fans. An honest product at an honest price for the working man. About the only thing that would ever fail is the resin safety slide (mine never have). If you're so inclined, replace it with an anodized alloy one available for a few bucks on the aftermarket and you've just resolved that issue.

Click to expand...

I bought a 500 - new - umpteen years ago, and the first time I used it the foreend broke. The plastic cracked enough to no longer be secure and it would basically short stroke itself due to slipping.

I put an aftermarket corncob type replacement on, replaced the safety with a metal part “just because”, and never had another problem with it that wasn’t my own fault.

Dibbs said:

I'm with Jeeper creeper. I never met a Mossy 500 I didn't like. The aftermarket is flush with a fantastic selection of parts and upgrades. I'd go for it. (but that's just me...)

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............... Me too. That would be a fair price around here for a decent 500. Got my Mossy 500 12 ga. turkey gun over 20 years ago and it was used when I got it. IIRC the owner said he got it new in the early 1990's. Works like a champ. Picked up a 20 ga. 500 with the Mossberg C-Lect choke adjustable choke last May as part of a package deal from a guy selling two shotguns. Believed to be of late 60's - early 1970's vintage. Haven't shot it as much as I had planned to but so far I'm really liking it. OP desired a home defense, occasional use shotgun and for that type of duty it would probably outlast him and then his kids could also get may years out of it.

I would do that deal.

No harm in trying to talk him down a few buck but I think the asking price is pretty fair, especially given the run on new guns. Six or seven years ago I bought a used Mossberg 500 in the Marine/satin-nickel finish for $250 iirc. Mine had one minor issue, the magazine spring was shot. The first four rounds fed fine but the spring didn't have enough oomph to feed the fifth. I took it to a gunsmith as to have it fixed and the whole fix was only $25 or $30 bucks labor included. The gun has been money every since. I'm agnostic in the Mossberg vs Remington debate. My first repeating shottie was an 870 Express and it was fine. I prefer the slide release of the 870 but I like the safety on the 500/590 more. To me it's six of one vs a half dozen of the other.

TL;DR- $250 for that gun is pretty fair.

I just bought a Mossberg 500 last week for $250. Older model 12g with nice wood, a 28" bbl, mod choke and very few rub marks where metal touches metal. Action was smooth so I handed the guy cash and didn't even try to haggle. Went straight to my oldest son's ranch and shot about 150 clays with him and it functioned flawlessly. I felt like it was a great deal and I couldn't be happier.

Lets see what you have into a shotgun before you pick it up.
Long distance calls and gas and time involved checking out seller, Id say buy it.
Looking at $10-$15?
Thru a FFL $25-$35?

The 500 is a good shotgun.
Id always thought that they were a lesser shotgun.
I had a chance to pick up a 7 year old one owner 500 that the local dog catcher had.
He was moving and couldnt take it with him (Anchorage some place)
It had been advertised on the local radio swap n shop for 2 weeks.
He was asking $250 OBO.
I paid $230 cash.
It was other than a few scratches a 500 combo that had a ported rifle sighted slug barrel and a ported 26" VR, w choke tubes, two boxes of buck shot and a Kopeland Gun Boot.

Since then its been a pretty solid shotgun.

A Mossberg 500 for $250 is a good deal these days. My brother struggled to find one for less than $500 with everything going on currently. Shotguns seem to be in short supply at the moment.