In Defense of Mossberg Pumps

[MCgunner]

I've been contemplating a first shotgun for a while, and I keep coming back to the Mossberg action, partly because of the top-mount safety ... I have a dislike of crossbolt safeties, so it appeals.

Me, too. I shoot lefty, but I had a lefty crossbolt put on my Winchester 1400 and still prefer a tang safety. But, it might be because I've shot double barrels a lot over the years. I also much prefer not having a loading gate in the way when I load. I've had problems with cold fingers waterfowl hunting loading an 870 and getting one up under the gate I didn't get in far enough because the gate/shell elevator pinched my thumb (that hurts when your thumb is cold).

My 500 is a camo finished plastic stocked model and it has been my go to shotgun for 20 years for bay and salt marsh waterfowl. I love that thing. It's been dunked, mudded, etc. I clean it up when it gets dunked. It still looks decent, no rust, and works fantastic after all the abuse. What more could I ask of it?

Mine didn't fit well out of the box, not enough drop. I solved that by shimming the stock. Mossberg sells shim kits, but I just cut pop bottle plastic and made my own shim material. It fits like a hand fitted shotgun, now.

 

[jojo200517]

I agree with some of the others, the Mossberg doesn't really need defending. I have an 870 wingmaster that I inherited from my dad and 2 Mossberg model 88 mavericks. I have also fired a couple other peoples 500's and a 535 as well as other 870's both in the wingmaster and express version.

My thoughts on it? I have yet to short stroke the pump on any Mossberg, partly because I have shot them more yes, and partly because the stroke is "different". When I say different I mean it feels like it is too close to the receiver on the 870's for me. It is probably more of a fit issue than a gun issue as plenty of other people have no problem with it. I don't like the safety behind the trigger on the Remington and the slide release seems like its a mile to reach for me. I'm not much of a fan of where the safety is on the 500 either to be quiet honest but I still prefer it over the 870's.

I dunno I guess i'm kinda middle of the road, I have enough pump guns, but if I was going to go pick one up between the 2 i'd go with the Mossberg product.

When they introduced the Remington NitroMag I was certainly interested in the way it was coated to prevent rust. For one reason or another I didn't look at or handle any for a while after they came out. One day I was in a gun store and asked to see one and it did feel really good in my hands and was pretty much sold on it until I slid the action back and realized the mag tube was rusty under the forearm. According to the guy there it had been on the display rack for about 3 months.

 

[MCgunner]

mossbergs are aluminum,870's are steel.nuff said

And that accounts for the lighter weight, better ballance and swing of the Mossy, I guess.

 

[whalerman]

I've got 870's, I've got 500's, I've got 590's, I've got Expresses and Marine Magnums. My next purchase is going to be a BPS. Don't have one of them.

 

[heeler]

Ford vs Chevy--Toyota vs Nissan....Since I own both shotguns I can say they are both very good shotguns.
The one thing I like the most about my Mossberg is the tang safety.
Too me at least this set up is more ergonomically correct.
They are both very good at what they do.

 

[JERRY]

maybe its because of the model.....i have a 18.5" Maverick 88 and cant find a descent clamp to hold a flash light for it.......dont want a tri-rail to hold my beer when i shoot....just a basic clamp that will hold a 1" Dia. light.

i tried some cheap plastic model i got at Academy that fell off on the thrid shot just like in the youtube videos......

i figure you cant be cheap AND good at the same time.....the maverick is just a low end shotgun that would take more money to "trick out" than it cost to buy it.

 

[jojo200517]

I went with the tri-rail eventually jerry because all of the others that I seen did suck at holding it on, short of spending more money on parts or duck tape there isn't too many options I know of here.

 

[MCgunner]

I've got 870's, I've got 500's, I've got 590's, I've got Expresses and Marine Magnums. My next purchase is going to be a BPS. Don't have one of them.

I like the BPS, but sounds to me like you might need an autoloader, maybe a SxS, or maybe an O/U. Pumps are okay working guns, but a man needs variety. Autos are sweet, doubles are fast to the shoulder and sweet (assuming they fit). Branch out, see the world!

Do like the BPS, though.

 

[gshack]

maybe its because of the model.....i have a 18.5" Maverick 88 and cant find a descent clamp to hold a flash light for it.......dont want a tri-rail to hold my beer when i shoot....just a basic clamp that will hold a 1" Dia. light.

i tried some cheap plastic model i got at Academy that fell off on the thrid shot just like in the youtube videos......

i figure you cant be cheap AND good at the same time.....the maverick is just a low end shotgun that would take more money to "trick out" than it cost to buy it.

Try the Elzetta mount. It is pretty inexpensive and should work with almost any flashlight and shotgun combo.

http://www.elzetta.com/zsmFAQ.htm

 

[JERRY]

thanks guy, but it has a dimentional minimum that im not sure the 18.5" maverick 88 meets.

 

[T Bran]

Jerry go to an electrical supply house and take the lite with you. A conduit clamp will only cost a couple bucks and is a heavy duty solution. When you find one that fits paint it to match the gun. Ive done this on several guns even my old single shot H&R that leans in the pantry for critter control.

 

[snakeman]

lets see some pics

 

[MCgunner]

 

[Dave McCracken]

IMO, Mossberg pumps need no defending, their record speaks for themselves. I've never heard of one going 200K rounds, but I also have never heard of one being worn out by shooting it plenty.

Maybe some of our more vehement Mossberg fans should start a high round,test until destruction, range test and see what happens. Betcha it'll take a while.

Also, last time I looked, the 870 safety was BEHIND the trigger.

As for using one of the other, my O/Us have their safeties where the 500 does. So, I switch back and forth every time I change shotguns. No probs to report. IOW, one can get used to either, or even both.

 

[straightshooter9]

I'd kinda like to see a MAVERICK 88 and REMINGTON EXPRESS with shells in the tube thrown down in the mud for several days...
then picked up, racked and fired.

Just from reading all ya'll's (I'm SOUTHREN) opinions I would bet on the Mossberg for one big fact.......they were built per MILITARY SPECS, which includes the wobbly forend for the mud.
Anybody that has served in the "field" with a weapon will understand how critical it is to continue firing in an impossible environment, especially while "low crawling"!
In SE ASIA we had muck, rain, slime, rain and rain.
In the Middle East nothing but sand storms!

On the other hand, the EXPRESS may have an issue with the tighter tolerance of the forend and, from what you guys have reported, a rust issue......but apparently ONLY with the EXPRESS. :banghead:

I think I want a WINGMASTER OR any MOSSBERG.......

 

[bigfatdave]

I've never heard of one going 200K rounds, but I also have never heard of one being worn out by shooting it plenty.

Back in my seafaring days the armory at Pearl Harbor had Mossberg pumps as the training shotguns for the entire sub base* They were worn, smooth, and rattled in ways I found disturbing at the time**. Now, obviously they didn't come with little round counters on top, but I can only imagine how long they went before getting checked over by an armorer, I do not recall anyone getting malfunctions in the ~100 rounds we got for familiarization and qualification, and there were often 12-15 squids sharing two shotguns, trading the fixed and folding stock back and forth.



* (maybe the surface base as well?)
** (I was not a "gun person" back then, just liked shooting on the .gov dime and went to every gun qual I could weasel my way into by knowing the TMs and showing up early on those days)

 

[MCgunner]

Maybe some of our more vehement Mossberg fans should start a high round,test until destruction, range test and see what happens. Betcha it'll take a while.

Hey, if THR could arrange an expenses paid trip to Argentina for a dove hunt, I'll bring my 500 along.

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

but apparently ONLY with the EXPRESS.

I try my best to keep my Express from rusting while my brother neglects his Marine Magnum and not a spot of rust is on it.

 

[Oxide]

I can't believe someone compared Toyota to Nissan....

Also, where is this trash protection from the mods when Taurus is mentioned? Uh-huh.

I use both a Remington 870, and a Mossberg 835, and a Benelli, and a Saiga, and a Winchester...and, if you want to split hairs, a Suhl Drilling.

 

[MCgunner]

Most of the guys I know that hunt with expresses in the salt marshes and bays around here just paint the gun with flat black. A store bought camo dip is the way, very rust resistant, but black paint works, just gotta touch it up now and then. Heck, you could get fancy and buy one of those camo kits and paint it with that.

My Wingmaster never had the rust problem. The express just seems to attract rust, though.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Toyota and Nissan, Ford and Chevy... it'll never end.

lpl

ETA - The truth is, the first Mossbergs the government bought were ordinary 500s, starting in 1981 as far as I can tell from the contracts. The 500M MILS guns came later, as did the designation 590 in 1987 if I read the contracts right. The manual at http://www.mossbergs.com/manuals/500 MILS_500M MILS.pdf isn't dated but it shows the modifications made to meet the military specifications that became the 590 (see http://www.assistdocs.com/search/do...1&PaginatorPageNumber=119&search_method=BASIC for the MilSpec 3443 ).

That manual might be a good one to print out and save if you have a 500 or 590 and have lost your owners manual, by the way...

 

[sarduy]

500s are good and a lot of gun for the money. I just like 870s better than anything else...

The 500 I had looked like a steaming pile, but functioned flawlessly. It had been a C&O railroad gun before I bought it for $65,IIRC.

The sole reason I sold it was because both my other pumps and the ones at work were 870s. Didn't want to mess up my "Chops

looks to me that you are a rem fan and everything alse is not as good in your book.

what happen to...

A large part of my Mod duties,besides herding cats, is stopping any of the "Mine is better" stuff as well as eliminating the dreck that's bashing other folk's choices.

?

 

[amd6547]

I picked my Mossberg 500 (marked Revelation for Western Auto) out of of a pile of beat up riot guns at a gun show for $75...beat, well used, most finish missing from the wood stock, barrel half covered with camo paint. Bore filthy from uncounted shells.
Cleaned it up, lubed it, and have put about a 1000 shells through it of all types...slug, buck, birdshot...never a jam or a broken part.
I think I got my moneys worth.

 

[sarduy]

Toyota and Nissan, Ford and Chevy... it'll never end.

lpl

+1 vote

 

[MCgunner]

I picked my Mossberg 500 (marked Revelation for Western Auto) out of of a pile of beat up riot guns at a gun show for $75...beat, well used, most finish missing from the wood stock, barrel half covered with camo paint. Bore filthy from uncounted shells.
Cleaned it up, lubed it, and have put about a 1000 shells through it of all types...slug, buck, birdshot...never a jam or a broken part.

I had one, single action bar Revelation M310, had a C-lect choke on it I replaced with a Mossberg accu-choke barrel. Believe I mentioned that. I used it for 10 years after the steel shot laws were passed, still fine, but wanted a camo 500 and found one cheap. I sold the old Revelation, not sure why. I'm not one to duplicate, though. I think I financed part of my Winchester 1400 auto with the proceedings IIRC.
I think I got my moneys worth.