ZeSpectre
Member
This report is about the Mossberg Maverick 88 Field "all purpose" model.
Specs:
-12 gauge, 3" chamber, 6-shot capacity (5+1)
-Interchangeable 28" non-ported ventilated rib barrel
-Interchangeable Accu-Choke™ tube system with one "Modified" tube included.
-Black synthetic stock and forearm, blued metal finish,
-Front and mid-point sights.
As much as I enjoy shooting my SxS in cowboy action shooting, I felt the need to have a modern shotgun in the home lineup as well. Now I am not, and never will be, a shotgun guy so while I wanted something worth getting there was no point in going all-out on this purchase. Initially I was going for one of the security models but when I found the "all purpose" in unfired condition at the local pawn shop I decided the price was right.
Testing was done at an indoor range at a distance of 25 yards. The rounds used were...
-Aguila "MiniShells" (thanks TinyGnat).
-Winchester AA "Low Recoil, Low Noise" (AA12FL)
-Remington Express long range (#4 shot)
-Winchester "Super X" buckshot (XB1200)
-Remington Magnum Turkey Load
Important note. I'm pretty recoil sensitive so if I say something has little or no recoil I really mean it's a powder-puff load
.
The Aguila shotshells were fun to play with but because the Maverick's "elevator" is two arms and a cross piece (which creates an opening in the center) the short little shells had a tendancy to slide all the way to the back of the elevator, and then spin, often ending up pointing up and down and therefore not feeding properly. When placed into the chamber and then fired they produced an almost comically low report and recoil making the 88 feel more like a .22.
The Winchester AA loads (which I use for Cowboy action shooting) felt extremely mild in this gun, even more so than when I use them in my SxS for SASS matches. I had a great time peppering the target with a bunch of these rounds.
The Remington "Express Long Range" loads really caught my attention. I was surprised at how hard these shells kick. Fortunately the balance of the gun and the very nice recoil pad handled things well although a fast six-round string was pretty brutal.
I expected the Winchester "Super X" Buckshot to have some punch, and it did, but felt recoil was considerably less than the Remington Express loads. All five rounds performed in a nearly identical fashion.
Then came the Remington Magnum Turkey loads. In a word, brutal. Having a good recoil pad was a godsend here and the gun was able to tame things down to a managable level but after four rapid shots I'd had enough of that load for a while!
Using the default "Modified" choke tube all shot patterned similarly by spreading out to between 12"x12" and 14"x14" at 20 yards with a good center bias on the spread. The exception was the "00" buckshot that reliably made a nice 7x7 pattern each time I tried it. Funny side note, the wadding from the "00" buckshot hit nearly POA each time as well .
Mossberg says that slugs may be fired in this gun with any choke excepting the "X" series or "Turkey tubes". However they do recommend using an "improved cyllender" choke for maximum accuracy with slugs. I found and purchased an "improved cyllender" choke but the lack of an available choke wrench kept me from testing with slugs this time out.
Now about that mid-point bead. I'd never seen such a thing on a shotgun and it took me a few minutes to get used to the idea but now that I have I absolutely LOVE it!
The combination of the longer barrel and the aluminium reciever make this gun feel just slightly barrel heavy to me. Still when you throw it up to your shoulder and swing it onto the target it tracks very nicely. The combination of aluminum and synthetics makes the gun lighter than expected and I thought this would increase felt-recoil but that didn't seem to be the case (except with that Magnum Turkey load).
In closing, this gun has a surprisingly well balanced feel, an excellent recoil pad, and the mid-point aiming bead adds a whole new realm to shotgun accuracy for me. Operation was solid, smooth, and reliable through 38 rounds (including two rapid-fire six-round strings). I am extremely pleased with this shotgun.
Specs:
-12 gauge, 3" chamber, 6-shot capacity (5+1)
-Interchangeable 28" non-ported ventilated rib barrel
-Interchangeable Accu-Choke™ tube system with one "Modified" tube included.
-Black synthetic stock and forearm, blued metal finish,
-Front and mid-point sights.
As much as I enjoy shooting my SxS in cowboy action shooting, I felt the need to have a modern shotgun in the home lineup as well. Now I am not, and never will be, a shotgun guy so while I wanted something worth getting there was no point in going all-out on this purchase. Initially I was going for one of the security models but when I found the "all purpose" in unfired condition at the local pawn shop I decided the price was right.
Testing was done at an indoor range at a distance of 25 yards. The rounds used were...
-Aguila "MiniShells" (thanks TinyGnat).
-Winchester AA "Low Recoil, Low Noise" (AA12FL)
-Remington Express long range (#4 shot)
-Winchester "Super X" buckshot (XB1200)
-Remington Magnum Turkey Load
Important note. I'm pretty recoil sensitive so if I say something has little or no recoil I really mean it's a powder-puff load
.The Aguila shotshells were fun to play with but because the Maverick's "elevator" is two arms and a cross piece (which creates an opening in the center) the short little shells had a tendancy to slide all the way to the back of the elevator, and then spin, often ending up pointing up and down and therefore not feeding properly. When placed into the chamber and then fired they produced an almost comically low report and recoil making the 88 feel more like a .22.
The Winchester AA loads (which I use for Cowboy action shooting) felt extremely mild in this gun, even more so than when I use them in my SxS for SASS matches. I had a great time peppering the target with a bunch of these rounds.
The Remington "Express Long Range" loads really caught my attention. I was surprised at how hard these shells kick. Fortunately the balance of the gun and the very nice recoil pad handled things well although a fast six-round string was pretty brutal.
I expected the Winchester "Super X" Buckshot to have some punch, and it did, but felt recoil was considerably less than the Remington Express loads. All five rounds performed in a nearly identical fashion.
Then came the Remington Magnum Turkey loads. In a word, brutal. Having a good recoil pad was a godsend here and the gun was able to tame things down to a managable level but after four rapid shots I'd had enough of that load for a while!
Using the default "Modified" choke tube all shot patterned similarly by spreading out to between 12"x12" and 14"x14" at 20 yards with a good center bias on the spread. The exception was the "00" buckshot that reliably made a nice 7x7 pattern each time I tried it. Funny side note, the wadding from the "00" buckshot hit nearly POA each time as well
.Mossberg says that slugs may be fired in this gun with any choke excepting the "X" series or "Turkey tubes". However they do recommend using an "improved cyllender" choke for maximum accuracy with slugs. I found and purchased an "improved cyllender" choke but the lack of an available choke wrench kept me from testing with slugs this time out.
Now about that mid-point bead. I'd never seen such a thing on a shotgun and it took me a few minutes to get used to the idea but now that I have I absolutely LOVE it!
The combination of the longer barrel and the aluminium reciever make this gun feel just slightly barrel heavy to me. Still when you throw it up to your shoulder and swing it onto the target it tracks very nicely. The combination of aluminum and synthetics makes the gun lighter than expected and I thought this would increase felt-recoil but that didn't seem to be the case (except with that Magnum Turkey load).
In closing, this gun has a surprisingly well balanced feel, an excellent recoil pad, and the mid-point aiming bead adds a whole new realm to shotgun accuracy for me. Operation was solid, smooth, and reliable through 38 rounds (including two rapid-fire six-round strings). I am extremely pleased with this shotgun.
