Mossberg 500 wood stock fit questions

[MacTech]

I have a 1990's vintage Mossberg 500, I've come to realize that the original wood stock is just a hair too long, the pad of my trigger finger barely extends past the trigger

when I remove the factory hard rubber recoil pad and mount just the bare stock, it fits much better

I can see two solutions here

1; cut 2" off the butt of the stock and mount a Limbsaver grind-to-fit recoil pad (1" to compensate for the LS pad, 1" to bring the stock down to size)

2; somehow, some way, find a wood Bantam stock, Mossberg does have the synthetic Bantam stocks for sale, but I'm a fan of wood furniture

option 2 is more expensive, but it does not permanently alter the factory stock, option 1 is cheaper, but not reversible

unofficially, option 3 would be to trade the Mossberg towards a Remington 870 Wingmaster with 28" and 18" barrels, I tried a WM today at the local "fun store" and it fit me better than my M500, but there are some potential downsides to that as well

I'm not a fan of the "in the way" shell lifter on the 870
the ?ejector? is staked in the 870, it's screwed in in a 500 (easier to replace, if needed)
the 500 has dual extractor claws, the 870, single claw
My 500 is a known reliable gun, i'd be trading towards a used gun of unknown reliability

If I wasn't opposed to plastic/poly stocks, the answer would be simpler, get the Bantam or a Knoxx, but I prefer the look and weight of wood, I'm just not a fan of permanently altering my stock either

 

[Armored farmer]

forget about that "in the way" hoo-haw.
I could maybe look up my registered target count on shootata.com, but i'm guessing 25,000 rounds through an 870 (one at a time). I never had a problem with it
oh...I never had to replace an ejector either.

 

[mnrivrat]

Mossberg wood is not crazy expensive and used stocks are available on web auctions most any time for less than $50 and sometiomes as low as $10 or $20 .

Cut the stock to fit you - if you haven't done one before do a little research on the best way to keep your cut straight, not chip the wood, and how to fit the new pad.

 

[oneounceload]

i'd be trading towards a used gun of unknown reliability

Yep, all those 10,000,000 + that have been made makes it unknown reliable........

Just have a smith cut your stock and fit the pad - the wood has various measurements to keep in mind besides LOP, and if you just saw, you could make them worse for you.......

 

[MacTech]

I did not mean to impugn the reliability of the 870, I *know* they're reliable, all I meant to say is that I *know* my 500 is reliable, wheras any 870 I consider purchasing used I have no idea of it's reliability, it could be the same, more, or less reliable, it's just that it's an unknown variable at this point

 

[ithaca49]

Well, if you want a much shorter length of pull you can check out some stocks and forearm combos for sale on midwayusa. If i remember there is a combo for 50 bucks. It isnt wood but it might be a better size. Also, what type of finish does it have on it. Also, if it isnt the birch stock and its the older style, I may be interested in buying it (not sure though) because i have a mossy from the 1960's that the stock's pistol grip has 2 hairline cracks in it.

 

[MacTech]

I stopped back at KTP, the 870 I was looking at turned out to be an Express, not a Wingmaster, and my 500 wouldn't have been worth much in trade anyway, they were only going to give me $180 for the gun and the spare 18.5" barrel, for that price, I'll keep it, can never have too many shotguns anyway

I'll just keep an eye out for a decent 870 Wingmaster to add to the collection

 

[jimmyraythomason]

they were only going to give me $180 for the gun and the spare 18.5" barrel,

Hmmm... shows you how long I've had my Mossy 500. I bought it new for $88 + tx.

 

[rcmodel]

I'm thinking that if your Mossberg stock is too long, and a new Remington 870 isn't?

Then your recoil pad isn't one put on at the factory.

Sounds like somebody screwed on a pad without shortening the stock to make up for its thickness.

I think both adult size guns come from the factory with the same 13 7/8" or 14" L.O.P.

rc

 

[MacTech]

I've been thinking...

the 870 I was looking at had a "rough" finish, almost looked parkerized, and had a rather nice looking set of laminated wood stocks with a reddish-brown finish, it had an embossed "R" on the base of the handgrip section of the stock, the only model information on it was "Remington 870", it did not specify that it was an Express, however, I just checked the Remington website and that exact gun appears on the site as an Express, the used model they have there is tagged at $230

The potential problem I see here is that we have a salt marsh on our property, and I've seen a lot of the Express models in KTP with a haze of surface rust on them, I have yet to see a Wingmaster with surface rust

They also have a "cinderella" model 870 Wingmaster Magnum, the barrel looks good on the inside, but the outside has minor bluing issues, and the tube mag not only has wear marks, but dings down near the reciever, the reciever itself has "beauty marks" and the wood is dinged up a bit, but it appears to be in good mechanical shape, they're asking $195 for it

Can the Magnum shoot 2 3/4" shells, I'm assuming it can

I might see if I can talk them down on the Magnum, as it looks like the issues are cosmetic and can be fixed with a minor refinish job, now that I realize the Express I was looking at was a box-stock off the shelf Express, it's become less desirable to me

as far as my 500's wood, I'm sure it was factory stock, as the new Mossbergs have the same style recoil pad (hard rubber with metal rail embedded)

the fact remains, the 870 just plain fits me better, plus I really like the lack of the wobbly forearm, I still like my 500, but the 870 fits me better and just feels tighter

till torn on what to do, fixing the stock on the 500 would still leave me with the rattly forearm, yet I still find the shell-lifter in the way on the 870

why can't someone make a hybrid of the two pumpguns, the fit-and-finish of the Wingmaster, the top-mount safety and out of the way shell lifter of the 500...

 

[rcmodel]

Can the Magnum shoot 2 3/4" shells, I'm assuming it can

Yes.

rc