Mossberg 500 Project

[madwell]

Hey guys trading into a Mossberg 500 with a 28" barrel and wood stock this week. I thinking about cutting the barrel down to 20 inches and cutting the stock into a birds head pistol grip. Has anyone else done such a project that could post some pics. Also this would just be a fun gun I have many other shotguns at my disposal for hunting and home defense so that is not a concern.

What do you guys think good/bad idea waste of time?

Thanks for looking

 

[augustino]

Mossberg 500 project...


Hey friend!
Far be it for me to give advice regarding shotguns on this site, heavens knows there are far more that know far more about this area of firearms than I can ever hope to learn. BUT after having shot pistol grip 12 gauge shotguns and full stock shotguns I can tell you that I definitely prefer a full stock shotgun and don't care much at all for those pistol grips. A shotgun just doesn't feel natural, doesn't feel right to me with a pistol grip. BUT there are others that swear by them. If you haven't already, get your hands on a pistol grip SG and check it out. Then if you like it, go for it!

 

[madwell]

Thank for the advice I haven't ever shot a pistol grip shotgun but i have hip fired and shot a stocked shogun one handed plenty of times (yeah I'm a red neck). That's why my plan is to cut the original stock because the angle of the production pistol grips doesn't look like it would be very comfortable. My other though is that if i don't like the Grip when I'm done I can easily get a replacement full stock fairly cheaply.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

I vote for no.

If you do, do not aim via the bead.....

 

[kennedy]

buy a 18 in barrel for it, than you can use it for hunting or self defense

 

[madwell]

I was thinking of buying an 18 inch barrel and selling the 28 inch barrel but the 28 inch barrel I looked at on gun broker don't seem to be flying of the shelf. I wouldn't hunt with this gun regardless of the combination of barrels I had for it. I mainly use my Beretta 391 for hunting it's light and fits me like a glove and if I'm feeling frisky I have about 8 other shotgun I can hunt with (12, 16, and 20 gauge).

 

[Wood Man]

Sounds like you're just looking for a fun gun. Sounds like a good plan to me. I've done several shotguns like that over the years, single barrels and pumps. They are fun to shoot from the hip and if you do it enough, you'll actually get to where you can hit with it. ( at short distances, that is ) Like you said, you have others to hunt with. If you crop the barrel and stock you have, you won't be out any $$$. That's always a good thing. So I say go for it and have fun with it.
P.S. - check out "hickok45" on YouTube. He has one like you're talking about he shoots every-so-often on some of his vids. It has a cropped vent-rib barrel and wood pistol grip all painted black. He keeps it in his grandfather clock in the house, lol.......

 

[madwell]

Wood Man
When I started researching this I saw the hickok45 video you're talking about. The Mossberg he's shooting is what I would like my finished project to look like. Do you have any pictures of the ones you made I'm trying to gather ideas about how to shape the grip.

 

[stnjohnson]

I'm with woodman. As long as it's a fun gun, why not?

 

[Smoovbiscuit]

My mossberg 500 project would be to sell it and buy a remington.

 

[USAF_Vet]

Just make sure before you grab the hacksaw that you won't drop the overall length below 26 inches. Despite the barrel being > 18" you'll still be in NFA territory* with a SBS.



*Please correct me if this is inaccurate.

 

[madwell]

USAF vet:
I thought of that my plan is to cut the grip first and then measure and cut the barrel. I'm not aiming to go to terribly short on the barrel either. I'm shooting for 20 inches that way if i jack it up a smith will still have some room to work with to fix it.

Smoovbiscuit:
As for the just sell it and buy an 870 I already have a couple. In fact a 1960's Wingmaster with a 18 inch barrel is my HD shotgun. This would just be a fun gun and a chance for me to try some gun smithing and honestly I don't think I could bring myself to cut up a nice Wingmaster.

 

[jon_in_wv]

Check Brownells and see how much a replacement barrel is for you 500. They aren't very expensive and you would have two options for your weapon.

 

[au01st]

Your barrel a vent rib? I've got a 30" tube (not ribbed) with a fixed full choke. If you're planning to cut yours down I'd be happy to trade you (should go to an open choke at the lengths to which you're planning to cut).

 

[USAF_Vet]

My Mav 88 came with a 28" ribbed bbl, bought the 18.5" for less than $100. Still have a decent bird bbl and HD.

The ATI 6 position stock is actually a 2 piece stock. The rear portion of it is removable, leaving the pistol grip only. You could do something like that and save yourself from hacking up a perfectly good wooden stock. depends on your budget tho.

 

[Nushif]

Sounds like you're just looking for a fun gun. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I'd say this. I've shot pistol grip ones and while they're kinda fun, I think the birds-head variety looks way cooler.
Either way though ... beware the PGO hate.

 

[GWARGHOUL]

I'll trade you a 24" slugster, if you want to lose a few inches.

 

[Frozen North]

Just make sure the fun gun is gonna be fun. I have shot a couple pistol grip shotguns and the ouch factor is pretty high if you don't watch the loads.

A friend of mine did it to a single shot and the gun is not fun! A pump may give you the mass you need though.

If my daughter was to bring home a boy, a sawed off pistol grip shotgun would be my choice to be cleaning when he picks her up...

 

[madwell]

Thanks for all the replies. Yeah it's a vent rib I'm not looking to trade because I have a bunch of time off this week and I want to tackle this project during my time off. I also don't want to buy a barrel to keep costs low. I thought about buying a short barrel and trying to sell the current one but I checked gunbroker and I don't think I could sell it for enough to cover the cost of the new barrel. Also you don't see many wooden pistol griped guns around and I think it'd be fun to have one.

 

[Guns and more]

my plan is to cut the original stock because the angle of the production pistol grips doesn't look like it would be very comfortable.

I've got a couple of P/G Mossbergs, and the factory P/G is quite comfortable.
I would caution you about cutting the stock to make a "bird's head" grip. It puts the recoil at right angles to you wrist, and could cause pain.
Besides, if you use the factory P/G (or better yet, the Knoxx grip) you can always change back to the stock configuration.

USAFVET had good advice, don't forget the overall length or be ready to get a AOW stamp.