Mossberg 500 Trigger Assembly Guide

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mlaustin

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So I decided to take my trigger assembly apart tonight...what a mistake. Took me almost 4 hours to get it all back together and working from exploded view diagrams. I was absolutely livid at the lack of any information about how to do this fairly essential task on this incredibly common gun...so I did it again (well, 2 more times) and took some pictures and wrote up some basic instructions the second.

If this guide saves even one person the trouble and hair-pulling experience I went through, I'll consider every second of typing it up worth it. Please let me know if it's of any use, it's always nice to hear a thank you (or if you have any suggestions for making it more useful).

http://doublehookrecords.com/matt/500trigger.html
 
LOL, I read in my manual "do not disassemble further", and I didn't disassemble any further.


I just spray synthetic safe solvent in there, and grease as needed.


Knowing me, when I actually have time for this in January, I will probably try it.


thanks man!
 
Thanks for doing that writeup... should come in handy for quite a few people. :cool:

I personally need video to show steps. I can't figure it out from description and pics if it's at all complicated.
 
Essential task?

To satisfy curiosity, maybe, but it won't improve the function of the gun one bit (unless there are obviously broken or worn parts)- and is more likely to cause damage.

Best bet is to LEAVE IT ASSEMBLED and clean it in one piece by soaking it for a bit in a solution of hot water and dish detergent. A good long rinse in more hot water and a blowout with compressed or canned air, and then re-lube, and it ought to be good to go till the next time you drop it in the swamp or salt marsh.

But, to each their own. Your gun, your choice.

lpl
 
Lee - Perhaps my diction was lacking, but as far as I'm concerned, knowing how every piece of my guns fits together is a responsibility. When I'm miles from civilization, or if, God forbid, there is no more civilization, "Take it to a gunsmith" is just no good. As far as I'm concerned, if you own the gun, you have a responsibility to know how the gun works.

Also, parts (and especially springs), break in the trigger assembly from time to time, and if you live far away from the nearest competent gunsmith and are not rich, like I am, you are often forced to do this work yourself. I'm fortunate in that I'm fairly technically skilled and was eventually able to figure this out, but there is zero information out there about how to do it, so I figured I'd do what I could to help out anyone else who needed to work on their trigger. Just because you have (I'm assuming here) a good, local gunsmith, because you have the money to pay him, and because you have never broken your trigger assembly does not mean that this is true for everyone.
 
Ever priced a spare complete trigger plate assembly from Mossberg? They don't cost all that much, relative to buying one each of all the small parts in the assembly separately, and and having a spare assembly on hand gives you an instant drop-in fix.

I love TEOTWAWKI talk as much as the next guy, but let's face some reality here. How likely is it you'll make it long enough for your shotgun to break? Think about it seriously for a bit, and calculate the odds.

Personally I don't anticipate living long enough to even shoot up all the ammo I've got put back, but I'm still an optimist. I have spare parts for everything I plan on using heavily. And I plan on being generally useful by being ready and able to fix at least some my good neighbors' stuff if need be as well.

But unless I miss my guess, there will be sufficient functional firearms left behind by people no longer in any condition to use them that lots of detailed repair is not going to be that big a deal.

And I stand by my opinion that there are in general no user serviceable parts inside most repeating shotgun trigger plate assemblies. Anyone who really wants to learn gunsmithing needs to be working from some of the available books, DVDs etc, and/or getting some informal or formal training. Butchering a serviceable shotgun without adequate information, skills, tools and replacement parts on hand is not one of the better ways to learn. Some small parts in some designs cannot be simply reinstalled when removed, they have to be replaced with a new part.

In good condition, unabused modern American firearms designs, very few parts ever break without some help from owners. It just doesn't happen very often with normal use, and when it does, it's often reasonably predictable with certain makes/models what part/parts are likely to break.

Any gun you buy is yours, of course, and is yours to do whatever you want with. I just dislike seeing perfectly serviceable guns damaged unnecessarily for whatever reason. That's the only reason I said anything.

lpl (who bought a brand new book back in the mid-1970s called Survival Guns by Mel Tappan, and who has been working on this stuff ever since)
 
Not thinking about about TEOTWAWKI here.

I'm talking about "Ho dag, we're almost to the top of the mountain, and I didn't put the spare trigger assembly in my backpack"
 
David - Thanks, that's exactly it. If there are infinite trigger assemblies in the world and conditions don't really let me get more than a few miles from my house safely, they don't do me any good.

Use it, don't use it, like I said, if it helps one person who was as stupid as I was to take it apart to see how it works from having to go out of their way and spend time and money having a gunsmith do it I'll consider spending the time putting a guide together worth it.
 
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