MCgunner
Member
I bought my 535 used recently. It chambers 3.5". I shot it the opener of dove season. To date, all I've fired in it is 2.75" dove loads, 1 ounce. It's quite smooth cycling and seems a might tighter put together than my 500, too. I really like that gun a lot, picked it up with like new finish and condition at a pawn shop for $170 bucks, couldn't leave it there for that price. Friend and my SIL both have 835s and have no complaints with them. My friend has had his for about 15 years, shot everything from doves to geese with it. He's shooting a O/U on doves now days, has kinda fell for it. It is lighter and comes to the shoulder faster on doves. The 835 and the 535 are a might heavy for quick shots over tanks and such. I found that out this year hunting over Mojos too close, had to back off with the 535 so the shots wouldn't be so quick and up close. I could swing on 'em smoothly with all that weight, though.
Yes, I have a Winchester 1400 autoloader (same safety location as the 1300) I like a lot. Best feature is the out of the box fit, perfect. One gun I never had to shim, and the recoil attenuation of the gas system is awesome. It feels lighter than my 500, probably not by much, if any, but it seems to come to the shoulder pretty quick. I've had it longer than I've had my 500, bought it late 80s at Walmart. I never liked the safety, but a couple of years ago, I found a lefty safety (reverses the action of the safety) for it at the numrich arms parts site. With THAT, I can live with the crossbolt.
I still prefer the tang safeties of the Mossies, but I no longer have to loop my finger under the trigger guard on the Winchester to take the safety off, which has cost me a few birds over the years.The Wingmaster I had would turn itself on safety occasionally as my finger would press it on recoil, especially if I had gloves on. Second shot, no go. That would irritate me no end. It was because the safety is BEHIND the trigger and shooting lefty, my finger pressed on it as I fired. Another thing it'd do is pinch my thumb when I was loading it in a hurry. I'd yank my thumb back out of reflex and the round would jam back under the gate requiring me to get out my pocket knife and dig it out while all the birds were flying into my decoys ignoring my loud foul language. That wasn't a problem in dove season, but when my thumb was numbed by cold, it hurt, and I couldn't load the thing with gloves on or it'd pinch 'em. If I held the gate up with my left hand while shoving rounds in with my right, it'd work, but if I was in a hurry, I'd not take the time. Little stuff like that made me hate the gun. I got rid of it in College, needed the money at the time, but wish I'd kept it because it was my Grandpa's, but I have his M10 Smith and his M722 Remington in .257 Roberts with which I shot my first deer at age eleven, will NEVER sell either of those. But, then, I actually LIKE those guns, too.
