Which model 835 or 535?

[Lucky Strike]

Looking to get my first shotgun and think i've decided on going with a Mossberg.

Uses for it will primarily be home defense and shooting at clay pigeons....may eventually get into some bird hunting so I thought it might be a good idea to get something that could handle 3.5" shells. Not too sure on what type of shells are needed to kill what birds since i'm new to all of this

My buddy has an 835 and it's pretty nice....i think it's a turkey model because he said it came with front and rear fiber optic sights.

Went on Mossbergs website to take a look at the 835 and came across the 535....couldn't really tell what the difference was between the two.

My buddy said that his 835 kicks really hard using the 3.5 shells...is this true of any shotgun using magnum loads or is the 835 more prone to others with recoil?

So I guess which would be better to get....835 or 535 (or perhaps something else)....also which model would work best given my intended applications? Turkey, field, waterfowl, etc?

 

[Lightsped]

I too have been looking at the 535 and 835 and am unable to tell the difference in these two models....

 

[Fumbler]

The 835 barrel is overbored while the 535 is standard 12ga.
This means the 835 will most likely pattern better.

I have a couple friends with 835s and they typically use the next more open choke compared to other 12ga guns.
You cannot shoot slugs in a smoothbore 835 barrel due to the overbored barrel (you have to get a rifled 835 barrel for slugs).

The 535 weighs a tiny bit less and the balance will be a tiny bit different.
A 3.5" shell is going to kick the snot out of you regardless of the gun, but the 835 may have a very slight advantage due to weight.

If I knew I was going to shoot a lot of 3.5" then I'd get the 835, expecially with waterfoul when shots can be farther out or with turkey where you want to put a ton of shot in one small spot.
For a general purpose shotgun I'd go with the 535.

Pick both up, see if you can shoot them too, then just pick the one you think "feels" better.

 

[EHCRain10]

from my understanding, the 535 is simply the 500 action lengthened to handle the 3.5 inch shells while the 835 is a completely new action that was built for the 3.5inch shells.

that said along with what others have mentioned, i would go with the 835 unless you plan to shoot alot of slugs because of the over bored barrel

 

[Lucky Strike]

cool thanks.......think you could give me a recommendation on what length of barrel i should get? Mostly clay pigeons and home defense.....may in the future bird hunt but i'm betting that 95+% of the time the gun will be aimed at a clay pigeon or some sorta plinking object.

 

[EHCRain10]

mossberg does alot of combos that include two barrels,
id would suggest any comb that has an 18-20in barrel with cylinder bore choke and a second that has 26-30in with screw-in choke tubes

from what you said youd be shooting it sounds like a 3in is all that you really need but thats just what i think

 

[Fumbler]

I agree with EHCRain, one barrel won't be really good for close work and shooting flying objects.

Get the combo if you can, otherwise get the 26" barrel, shoot it a lot, then add a short barrel later.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

cool thanks.......think you could give me a recommendation on what length of barrel i should get? Mostly clay pigeons and home defense.....may in the future bird hunt but i'm betting that 95+% of the time the gun will be aimed at a clay pigeon or some sorta plinking object.

LS,
From what you said you really don't need to spend the extra money on a 3.5" Magnum shotgun.

You can buy a Mossberg 500 Field/Security Combo for under $250. That will come with a 28" ported barrel, a 18.5" barrel, wooden stocks, a plastic pistol grip and several chokes with the wrench. At that price you will have plenty of money left over for clays and shells. (I bought this Combo last year for $239, great stuff)

 

[Lucky Strike]

Thanks for all the info....yeah based on what you guys are saying and on what i've read elsewhere it sounds like I don't need 3.5"

However there's a new wrinkle in that I was discussing the subject with my dad and he said he would buy me a shotgun for christmas but he's a very big Remington fan so it looks like I'll likely be getting an 870.

Since it's a gift i'm not going to complain especially since the 870 is a great shotgun too.

How hard is it to swap out barrels? Just unscrew one and screw in the other? hopefully the 870 has combo packages too.

 

[Dave McCracken]

870 barresl swap easily. The sole caveats are the mag caps and barrels have to match up and Special Field models do not interchange.

 

[bensdad]

I have a couple of 870's and one Mossberg 500. They're all awsome. See if he'll pop for the Wingmaster. It's alot nicer than the Express.