Mossberg shotguns reliable?

[cajun47]

i see a 12 gauge mossberg pump at wal-mart for $160. i thought it would be good to saw off the barrel(18 or 18 1/2??) for home defense and rabbit hunting.

 

[ArmedBear]

They work fine for a long time.

There are better guns, but Mossberg does a pretty good job of making a good gun for cheap.

I have seen one jam. Wierd jam, too. But generally, people really like them, especially for the price.

 

[ugaarguy]

At $160 it's likely the Maverick by Mossberg. Generally well regarded shotguns, and good for the money. I wouldn't cut the bbl though. You can put Mossberg 500 bbls on Mavericks, and an extra 18" bbl isn't that expensive. Alternately you could also buy a Mossberg 500 with both bbls for about a $150 more, or get the Maverick with an 18" bbl only from the factory if you don't care about a longer bbl.

 

[sm]

i thought it would be good to saw off the barrel(18 or 18 1/2??) for home defense and rabbit hunting.

NOT GOOD!

Please check the 101 threads stickied at the top of this forum authored by Dave McC

Hint:
You want to stay legal so you do not end up in jail and lose your gun rights for life.

You want choke.

 

[TCB in TN]

Mossbergs are a very good value for the money, I have an old 500 12ga that has put a lot of shot downrange with nary a problem. They are not as slick as some others but again they always go bang when they are supposed to. Btw buy a factory barrel do not cut the other down.

 

[Taurus44]

I have an old 500 that has been through it all with me for 17 years, including two trips to the bottom of a lake (Luckily, in the shallows). I still hunt with it every year, and it still goes bang every single time I pull the trigger.

It rattles more than my 870, and it looks like hell. But you'd have a very hard time talking me out of it.

 

[Blue .45]

I agree. At that price, it's probably the Maverick. Whether it's a 500 or maverick, they are both available with an 18.5 inch barrel. You can also get them with a 20 inch barrel and seven round magazine, if you prefer.

 

[92GreenYJ]

So far we like ours. My roomate got his Mossy 500 12 gauge combo (Long and short barrels, forget the lengths at the moment, its late and it was a long night at work) and its a great gun. he got the synthetic stock, its nice and light, doesn't kick much at all for a 12 gauge, and seems pretty darn accurate thus far. I liked it so much I bought one too. we got our combos for $250

 

[CZ52GUY]

In a word, YES!!

It would be useful to know which Mossberg. A 5+1 Mossberg is typically designed to readily accept the 18.5" barrel (about $70-$75 depending on where you buy it).

I have a safe full of Mossberg 500/590's. I lean to the Practical Side of shotgunning, and put a fair amount of shells through them every month. I've found that they hold up well and have had very few issues with them...not one that I wouldn't attribute more readily to ammo' than the guns. If broken in correctly, the action can be quite smooth. I've found them to be both reliable and accurate, especially with a decent sighting arrangement.

One upgrade option would be to purchase the 18.5" Barrel with the Ghost Ring kit direct from Mossberg (assuming compatibility with the specific Mossberg you reference). It's not a terribly difficult install, and a vast improvement over the bead for my old eyes. I purchased for $130.

Good luck!!

CZ52'

 

[Geno]

I had a 590 for years, and I never had any issues. It was a fun shotgun. I only sold it due to spinal surgery. When I learned from my doctors that shooting fine, I bought a Remington Wingmaster. Why? It's pretty. When I bought my daughter her first shotgun lastnight, I bought her a Remington 870 Express youth 20 gauge. Why? Name. It doesn't mean Mossbergs aren't good. They are exccllent. Heck, the military uses them. Get a Mossberg, a Remington or a Winchester, but, get whatever fits your shoulder and your budget.

 

[Fred Fuller]

They'll last just fine for most folks. Only thing I really dislike about them is the designed-in difficulties in pulling maintenance on the magazine spring/tube, since the 500 doesn't have an open front like most tubular magazine shotguns these days. That's why it was changed on the 590 BTW, the military contract called for an easy-to-maintain magazine tube.

One more vote for not cutting off the barrel, shop around for a combo deal (the gun comes with two barrels) or buy a separate 18.5" Mossberg barrel for it- they cost less than $100 in lots of places. Keeping the long barrel intact lets you use the gun for clay games/wingshooting too. Changing barrels is easy, and there's no need to butcher a good working barrel just to get a short one when factory short barrels are widely available and not expensive.

lpl/nc

 

[pauli]

a used 500 with an 18.5" barrel already on it'll be a lot cheaper than the one at walmart+barrel. and it won't involve walmart, which is a bonus unto itself

 

[JR870]

they are all purpose.... mainly sums it up i own a 500 both barrels and the vertical foregrip.The problem I had with it was the safety stuck and wouldnt go up causing trigger problems I read the manuel and tried to fix it by unscrewing the safety then i did a test pump and all kinds of parts fell into the thing i zipped it up in the case i still need to call O F mossberg to fix it.To put it bluntly you get what you pay for but I still do respect mossbergs for the safetys position as for being at the tang I do have an 870 express HD and it has flashy looks and i believe a better feel but a 12 gauge is a 12 gauge but if you havent bought a moss yet i would seriously look hard at an 870 xpress or wingmaster.thats my 2 cents

 

[Onmilo]

All Branches of the U.S. Military have been using Mossbergs since about 1981 with no major complaints.
About thirty other countries use Mossberg shotguns with the same record and that is saying something good for a shotgun.

 

[camslam]

I don't think you can beat them for the money. I have a Maverick 88 and a Mossberg 590. They are very similar and I have never had a problem with either one.

I probably have around 1500+ rounds through the 2 of them and they have functioned without skipping a beat.

Like I said, for the money, I don't think you can beat them. In addition I like the ergonomics on these guns better than the Remington 870's. (I have 2 of those as well)

 

[Bondo_Red]

If the US military uses it,especially for that long,you can damn well bet its reliable.

 

[foghornl]

Mossberg shotguns reliable?

One word answer:

YES!

Have a 1990 vintage Maverick 88, and my late father-in-laws OLD Mossy 500. Both go BOOM! on request, every time.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

Just so you know, cutting down a shotgun barrel, even if its still 18" long, is a federal offense. This is a big no-no! Just buy the combo, I got my Mossberg 500 combo with 26" barrel and 18.5" barrel for $210 out the door at Big 5 sporting goods about a year ago. They may have gone up slightly by now, but its still one heckuva bargain.

 

[ready4shtf]

Just so you know, cutting down a shotgun barrel, even if its still 18" long, is a federal offense

I'm sorry, that information is incorrect.

 

[steveracer]

Cutting the barrel not illegal, but...

Not really useful beyond frustrating the person doing the cutting, and causing you to have a real problem relocating the front sight.
Get a mossberg barrel cheap, and be done with it. Any American made pump 12ga for under $300 is a deal, as they all run really well.
Steve

 

[Wedge]

Reliable - YES

 

[deputy tom]

Reliable YES. + 1 on buying a Combo special.That way you can hunt with the longer bbl. and use the short one for HD.YMMV.tom.

 

[[email protected]]

I have a 500 Persuader that I have abused for almost 10 years now. It has the 18 1/2 inch barrel. It used to be black, but it is now more of a steel and black camo pattern. It has been dropped, thrown, kicked, tossed, had several thousand rounds of slugs, 00 buck, and bird shot, shot through it and the bead site is looooong gone. It has NEVER not fired when I pulled the trigger. It does have a little rattle in it, but the action always stays closed even with slugs in it. It cost me $228, 9 years ago. Came with a pistol grip also.

I would say VERY reliable. Supposed to be duplicates of the Milspec Mossbergs. I believe it after what I put mine through.

 

[kid_couteau]

Hi All

I dont understand the problem people are having with cutting down the barrel.

If you understand the following you are good to go:

A:keep it at least 18.25" long for legal reasons

B:You can mount a new bead sight on it

C: you will now have a cylinder choke on the gun which is what most HD shotguns have anyway. Just have to remember it will now be a close range gun but you can still take game with shot out to 20 yards or so.

Take care
Kid

 

[TheBigBulgarian]

I have had a Mossy 500 for a year now seen a lot of 00 Buck so far. Haven't had any probs. I use it for paper punchin since I don't hunt.
You could buy an 18.5 barrel from Cheaperthandirt.com for around $70
This way you would have two different lenght barrels for it.