Maverick vs. 870

[pablo45]

I have owned a Maverick 88 by Mossberg for over 3 year's now and i have been wanting a new shotgun for the fun of it. I went down and picked up a Remington 870 in a tactical green with a pistol grip butt stock and a recoil pad. To be honest with you i am not that impressed with the 870 compared to the Maverick 88. The Maverick is so easy to maintain. It is easier to shoot. It never jam's up or feel's like it is getting stuck. The 870 on the other hand i have to keep cleaned and oiled all the time. The finish is not all that durable. The pump constantly seem's like it is getting stuck. The recoil pad does not obsorb the amount of recoil i expected it to. So is it me or is this $502.28 not as good as the $182.67 shotgun. I just do not know but i will probably be trading in the 870 for a Mossberg Marine. Has anyone else had this experience?:banghead:

 

[Zrex]

Has anyone else had this experience?

Nope.

 

[exar]

no

 

[cdcmj]

nope!

 

[MCgunner]

If I pay 500 bucks for a shotgun, it better pump itself. Probably why I don't have a BPS. I think a Mossy autochucker is under that. My Winchester M1400 was WELL under that. I admit, most autos are more, but but a lot of 'em aren't THAT much more. But, none of 'em are tacticool.

I've owned one 870, was a Wingmaster. No problems, many dead birds and years of service. Somebody on this site claims the WalMart stuff, cheap 870s, ain't up to Wingmaster par. Perhap. They're built to a price point and probably use a lot of plastic here and there. But, a $500 870 should NOT be a WalMart quality gun.

 

[terry264]

A few years ago, one of the "gun rags" did a test on pump shotguns. Several were in the running, and the Maverick beat them. If I can find the article I'll refer you to it, don't remember if it was "Gun Tests" or where it was but I saw it.

 

[Dave McCracken]

NO....

 

[3 gun]

You might want to find a fellow 870 owner to see if yours really is that different. Anyone can make a lemon, even Remington, you might have one. Overall I would give the 870 the nod over the 88 as far as build goes. Bottom line for me is I hit better with a Mossberg out of the box.

 

[Essex County]

The Maverick is assembled in Eagle Pass, Texas a couple of stone throws from the Rio Grande, where labor costs must be a bunc lower than Conneticut. The guns function fine, but it's not a Mossberg 500 or aRemington 870. Do not be deluded. Essex

 

[PITBULL]

i dont got a 870 but i have held some. i like the slide relese on my maverick 88 better than a 870s

 

[pablo45]

The 870 is almost out the window. I can not put up with the sticking in the pump. I know everything is okay with it. I had a gunsmith take a look at it and he was impressed with the gun. I just do not know what it could be. I think i will probably melt it down and make another maverick hahaha! I wish. I will probably go and trade it in for something more me. Thanks for all the input guy's.

 

[dpote]

I'll give ya $20 for it...

 

[PedalBiker]

I have a Mossberg 500 with a lot of use. The plastic trigger group now has oval holes, the spring that holds the retaing pin in falls out when I take it apart. The slide frame is cracked. The aluminum receiver is really beat up on the inside (outside is fine).

It still works just fine. It's seen a lot of rounds (at least 5k) many of them hot handloads (slugs & buckshot too, but no 3" shells). I'd say I got my money's worth. It's probably good for a few thousand more rounds too, but it's retired from any serious use now.

I just recently bought an 870 (used, but no wear at all). I don't like the slide release or the safety as well as the Mossberg, but I can get used to the different controls just fine. Twenty years from now I'll be able to say if it was any better than the Mossberg, but what little shooting I've done so far I like it a lot better.

 

[rugerdude]

I think you must have gotten a bad 870...and I own a maverick 88 and a mossberg 500!

If the Maverick is better to you, then that's great, but it may be that the 870 just needs to be broken in a little, I've always known them to be smoother than mossbergs.

 

[toivo]

Just a guess, but maybe three years of break-in is why your Maverick pumps smoother than your 870.

 

[HeedJSU]

+1. I've heard the break in time for the 870 lasts a little while. I've never had the pleasure, since all of mine either belonged to my father or my grandfather. They pump smooth as silk. Hearing the action on an 870 brings back a lot of memories.



Give it time. The 870 has been one of the most reliable shotguns in the last 50 years. You'll be a believer before too long!

Justin

 

[Cesiumsponge]

No problems with my 870 HD and its less than a month old. Only "issue" I had was shells not dropping into the chamber using my right hand when handfeeding into the chamber directly using snap caps as practice for speed loading. Barrel had a chamfer at the edge (right in front of the receiver mounted ejector spring deal) to prevent the front edge of the shell from catching when loading but it'd always catch on the snap cap. Turns out the snapcap had a sharp edge with no radius like typical plastic shotshells so when I was sliding snap caps in there with my right hand, the edge would catch. Sanded down the edge of the snap cap for a radiused edgebreak like real plastic shotshells and no problems practicing now

Brother has a Maverick 88, no issues when I handled that either. It's hard to go wrong with pump shotgun designs that have been around for decades. They work.

 

[aaronrkelly]

The Maverick is assembled in Eagle Pass, Texas a couple of stone throws from the Rio Grande, where labor costs must be a bunc lower than Conneticut. The guns function fine, but it's not a Mossberg 500 or aRemington 870. Do not be deluded. Essex

Uhhh, actually it IS a Mossberg 500....with a different safety and a few, very small differences. Almost all parts interchange.

 

[foghornl]

Have both a Mossberg 500 and a Maverick 88, and other than location of the safety, not a whole lot of difference.

I would REALLY like an 870, but they just don't "fit" me as well as the Mossys/Mavericks.

I suspect your Remington just needs a bunch of ammo run through to smooth it up.

 

[12GA00buck]

I like the feel of mossbergs better. I've put my maverick through pretty hard use without any malfunctions. The slide's a bit loser on the maverick compared to a 870, but I prefer it. Cant beat the price either. If I ever have a problem, I might change my mind.

I had to "bubba" mine a bit to get it just right. I filled a sock with lead fishing weights and stuffed it into the hollow plastic stock, reduces recoil and its not so front heavy now, balances just right. I also shorted the legnth of pull a bit and added a sling.

Just out of curiosity, besides the cheap stock, anyone know how exactly a maverick's different than a 500? I cant tell the actions apart, and all the 500 parts will fit a 88.

To each his own

 

[556A2]

My 870s have never given me a headache.

By getting "stuck" do you mean the shells are not ejecting easily? If so, are you using very cheap shells with steel bases? Your chamber is probably not cleaned very well, and/or you could have some slight burrs in the chamber. Clean the chamber very well, and if that doesn't work then polish the chamber (a 5 minute job).

Also, I have never had a shotgun that had to be ultra clean. My Wingmaster had 40 years of dirt and debris in it when I first got it, and it still ran before it was cleaned. Your description of your Cleaning and Maintenance is vague, so please go into more details.

 

[pablo45]

Well i just went to the candy shop and saw a Mossberg marine and a Remington marine. Both look very nice but with the experience i have with the 870 i will probably go with the Mossberg. Does anyone have a marine Mossberg or Remington that they would like to to share some info about?

 

[Smitty in CT]

...I have a Mossberg 500 with a lot of use. The plastic trigger group now has oval holes, the spring that holds the retaing pin in falls out when I take it apart. The slide frame is cracked. The aluminum receiver is really beat up on the inside...

If the gun isn't 10 years old, send it back and let them fix it, all of their pump guns have a 10 year warranty, they don't even care if you're the original owner.

Smitty