Mossberg 835...should I trade?

[Stuttz]

Hi,

I have a chance to trade a LNIB Ruger 10/22 for a used Mossberg 835. The Mossberg is in great condition. It's the older variety, around 2006, with a camo finish. The little Ruger is a great rifle but I have no use for it. My only other shotguns are a Remington 870 XCS for HD and a Mossberg .410 for pest control...I'd really like a shotgun for hunting. Is the 835 a good candidate for deer? How about waterfowl? Everything I've read seems positive but I'd like some user feedback.

By the way, I'm not a Mossy fanboy but I do respect the durability and ruggedness for the cheap price. No brand name bashing please

 

[jaguarxk120]

Only if the Mossberg owner throw's in some cash$$$$$$$$.

 

[Stuttz]

Any particular reason for that?

 

[BADUNAME30]

They are both great guns Stuttz.
Used 10/22's go for right around $100 round here. Couldn't touch an 835 for that.
I've done a lot o' turkey huntin with my 835 and i can attest they are great 'long' range turkey guns.
I'm sure it'd be a good slug gun too with or without a cantalever Bbl.
3 1/2" slugs are a seious handfull tho.
Which reminds me. You'll have the option of 2", 3/4, 3" and 3 1/2" with the 835.
Not really a matter of "worth" as much as what do you want/need/like.

 

[Stuttz]

Well, I hardly ever shoot slugs. I use rifles for deer pretty reliably. I've never gone turkey hunting but I wouldn't mind trying...basically, this would be a bird and duck gun. I know there are awesome dedicated fowl guns but I'm trading here, not dishing out for a new gun. Beggars can't be choosers.

Like I said, this is one of the older models, probably mid-2000's. Any big differences I should be aware of between this and the current models? How easy is it to find chokes? The one I might get would probably only come with an extra full choke.

 

[bogon48]

+1 on Jim West's post.

I have an 835 I got back in the early 90's. Cost me $389.00 way back then. It was a National Wild Turkey Federation model (in camo with a small NWTF medallion on the stock). Shoots 3.5" magnums and will reach out there. Comes with screw-in chokes. Of course, there aren't as many customized parts for it as for something like the Model 500.

 

[bubbacrabb]

I think its a good trade on your end. You can always get another 22 cheaper and the 835 is a good shotgun. I use it for Turkey, ducks, and deer.

 

[Kp321]

If the 835 has a back-bored barrel, Mosberg says not to use slugs.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

If you aren't using the Ruger---get something you'll use.

 

[BADUNAME30]

Well, I hardly ever shoot slugs. I use rifles for deer pretty reliably. I've never gone turkey hunting but I wouldn't mind trying...basically, this would be a bird and duck gun. I know there are awesome dedicated fowl guns but I'm trading here, not dishing out for a new gun. Beggars can't be choosers.

Like I said, this is one of the older models, probably mid-2000's. Any big differences I should be aware of between this and the current models? How easy is it to find chokes? The one I might get would probably only come with an extra full choke.

This 835 will make very good water fowl gun Stuttz.Nothin 'beggerish' about it.
It WILL reach out.
As for the chokes. If he bot it new he shoud have 3 tubes to give you with the gun. If not, they are readily available.
If you are gonna use it for water fowl you will need a steel shot choke tube.
Again, readily available.

As for the older models vs newer models ? Can't help ya there.

You couldn't sell your 10/22 and get enough to buy an 835.
And, used 10/22's are inexpensive and you could easily get another in the future if you want.
Get the 825..shoot ducks..have fun.
Go turkey huntin too, you'll never regret it.
Even if you don't git one.
It's that exhilerating !!!

By the way, I'm not a Mossy fanboy but I do respect the durability and ruggedness for the cheap price.

Forgot to tell ya Stuttz.
I used to be a gunsmith.
In all my years o' smithin and repairin'.i've only seen two issues with the Mossbergs pump guns.
When Mossberg changed the thumb saftey from an aluminum piece to a plastic piece, the plastic piece would sometimes 'curl' or lift, and the detent ball would fall out from under it.
I had a sack o' aluminum safeties on hand so i'd just replace the plastic one with an aluminum one, replace the detent ball and never see that gun again.
The only other issue was, well, some folks jist don't clean thier guns,EVER, and no matter what kind they just need a good internal bath sooner or later.

 

[Uniquedot]

Everything I've read seems positive but I'd like some user feedback.

When Mossberg first introduced the 835 i got in line and ordered one with nice walnut wood. My experience with that shotgun pretty much ended any desire to ever own another Mossberg. It was the worst functioning contraption i had ever attempted to use as far as smoothness goes (even worse than the 500). It was also the noisiest action i had ever encountered on a pump gun and when using 2.75" shells it was just absolutely horrible in function...it worked, but not at all smoothly.

The gun did throw the prettiest patterns imaginable though. You also need a separate barrel for slugs with the 835. Several years after i purchased that 835 Mossberg ran ads in the outdoor publications saying that they had tightened up tolerances and they could actually be carried through the woods without sounding like you were beating a drum!

Go ahead and trade the 10/22 since the 835 is worth more, but if you are used to using pumps like the R 31, I 37, W 12, R 870 WM, i think you will probably be disappointed with the 835 clunker. In all fairness though i have never handled a single Mossberg since they supposedly made them quieter and smoother, but i do plan on trying a newer 500 or 590 in the future.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I think the Mossberg out values the Ruger....When the camo turkey 835 came out, I just had to have one. It is a great gun.

 

[SHR970]

I've had my 835 Viking for over 18 years and it has accounted for its fair share of ducks and geese. It has been fed a diet of steel 3 & 3 1/2" shells, buckshot, and most every flavor of 2 3/4" lead out there.

A base 10/22 for an 835??? You're coming out ahead in the deal. If you end up not liking it, you can always sell it and get something else; you'll most likely get a fair bit more for it than you paid for your 10/22 NIB.

Edit: They were MADE for water fowling. Since you don't usually use slugs, find which flavor of Buck it likes for deer. If you want the abuse, you can go up to 18 pellet 3 1/2" 00 Buck. Due to the extra weight of the gun, they absorb recoil a bit better than comparable 3" chambered pumps with the standard loads of Buckshot. There are lots of choices in choke tubes available for it. They don't take standard Moss / Browning / Win. chokes; they use Moss AccuMag or aftermarket designated for the 835. Almost all AccuMag chokes (ex. Ex. XX, & Ult. Full) are made for steel....same goes for aftermarket.

 

[Ash]

When I rise up on a flight of geese or ducks, the noise of the action is easily drowned out by the boom boom of the shotgun itself.