Maverick 88- Stiff Safety Fix?

[RickC.]

I joined a new hunting club this season that was shotguns/buckshot only on dog drives, and bought a 12 ga Maverick 88 for that purpose. It fills the bill nicely for that and I collected one cowhorn spike with it.

I've owned Mossberg 500s before so I knew what to expect and have not been disappointed. The one thing I don't like is the very stiff crossbolt safety. I have probably 200 rounds through this shotgun now, and even with a lot of working it back and forth and generous amounts of BreakFree it has not become any easier to move. Fortunately with the one deer I shot, I saw him coming and had time to reach up and click the safety over with my thumb.

Is there a common fix/mod for this?

By the way, after patterning this shotgun with buckshot (which was not fun), I did the following:

1. Cut 3/4" off the stock and sanded the recoil pad to fit.
2. Bought a 24" ported barrel.
3. Got the shims from Mossberg to increase the drop 1/4". I hated to have to buy all 4 of the shims just to get the one, but this was a worthwhile improvement.

After testing several different shot size/brand/choke combinations, I settled on Rem 2 3/4" 000 with full choke as having the best pattern. The 120 lb buck was shot at 27 yds broadside and folded immediately. All 8 of the 000 pellets went squarely in the shoulder and were just under the hide on the offside.

Thanks,

Rick

 

[Krispy]

M88 safety.

i to o use the m88 on late season dog drives (buckshot only) too..
after cutting the stock 1" and installing a limbsaver i found it quite handy when getting in/out of truck ,picking up dogs and racing to the nearest swamp crossing to prevent deer from going into next county.
my safety is very stiff and in a way i kinda like it that way for safety reasons. sometimes there are two hunters in my truck with guns,radios
excess clothing,food and stuff..i feel safer knowing that it will take a lot to move safety during a bumpy ride down a logging trail with all the stuff flying around..
i replaced the barrel with a mossberg 20" security barrel with choke tubes..currenty using a full choke tube...700" id.. have not patterened this combo yet.....but i have patterned my mossy 835 and 935 and both like carlson's tubes with .696 id's for 00B.(Winchester Supreme and Federal Premium)..