[Brother Cracker]

The Mossberg 500 is a mil-spec manufactured shotgun, meaning that it is not your collector's "finely tuned" gun. It means that it is produced to military specifications which emphasize generous tolerance, durability and dependability. The 500 pump shotgun is one of the most versatile shotguns on the market with interchangeable barrels that allow the owner to change from sporting clay, to turkey, to waterfowl to deer without having to buy a half dozen guns. Important to the average hunter and shooter that is not wealthy. And the gun will keep on shooting due to the attention to the manufacturing particulars that matter.

My Mossberg 500 shotgun is the all purpose field model and sports a 28 inch ribbed and factory ported barrel. Stocks are wood. My gun is chambered for 12 gauge shells up to 3". I don't hunt at this point, with my use of the gun being sporting clays, that I love to shoot. And the light, fast pumping gun with front bead sight comes up and around quickly making even my average skills look more impressive than they are when busting lots of clays. The gun sports a convenient safety on the top of the gun where it can be quickly accessed with your strong hand thumb while your hand is in the shooting position.

The Mossberg 500 pump shotgun has a capacity of 5 in the magazine and one in the chamber for a total of 6 rounds ready to shoot. Recoil with this shotgun is average for a 12 gauge which means that shooting a hundred or so rounds gives you a satisfyingly sore shoulder. As far as speed goes, the gun is as fast as any pump, and utterly dependable. It comes in the box with 3 chokes and a wooden dowel plug for states that restrict the capacity of a shotgun when bird hunting. The wooden plug is a nice piece to throw away. After market metal plugs are available and are desirable if you have the misfortune to live in a state that requires it.

[njslim]

Have a Mossberg too - looking for other barrel for it
has 28” modified now. Looking into getting 20” barrel
for better handling....

[Bean Counter]

And nothing else sounds like the action being cycled on a Mossberg. If you hear that sound outside my house in the middle of the night, you won’t mistake it for anything other than what it really is, and I recommend that you stand very still once you do...

[OldMissileer]

I got mine for $80 in 1970 when I turned 12 years old.

Bought at Montgomery Ward, 12 Ga. with a 24 inch barrel and a poly choke.

It is still my favorite shotgun even though all my others are much more expensive.

[HotLead61]

I couldn’t agree more about value vs. price. While I don’t own a Mossberg, I have a Remington 870 Express Magnum—and at ~$300, I consider it a real bargain. Anyway, the varmint you shoot with it doesn’t know how much you spent for the gun. It’ll do the same damage that one of those “Collectors Items” will do.

If I’m gonna spend hefty change, it’ll be for something I can’t find for a cheaper price somewhere else. That just seems like wisdom to me.

[calex59]

I love Mossberg products. My first rifle was a .22 cal Mosberg auto. I forget the model number but it originally had a fold down hand grip as part of the forearm. My step-father cut off the hand grip and it was a great .22.

[CodeToad]

FYI, Mossy makes the 590, which comes in both civilian and military grade versions. The military grade doesn’t have the plastic trigger assembly/guard and has a thicker barrel for strength plus a ghost sight.

[5Madman2]

The only thing I will say about the Mossberg is that if you plan to disassemble it-get the book first and understand what you are doing.

I had experience with Winchesters and Remingtons. Figured the Mossberg was the same or similar in disassembly. The thing just fell apart in my hands as I was removing the bolt.

Had a hell of a time replacing the retention bars. One of the most frustrating weapons I ever had to put back together. (Yea, I shoulda read the instructions somewehere in there)

That said-they are functional and reliable. Even after they have had multiple strings of profanity thrown their way :)

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Here comes the inevitable tiresome 500 vs 870 debate and it’s all your fault. :o)

I own a Mossberg 500 because I liked the safety placement better than the Remmington. Then I discovered that the cheap plastic safety was not durable enough for my needs and spent good money to replace it with an after market aluminum one that has never given me any problems.

My 500 has been rock solid reliable.

One note though, good luck finding one for anywhere near $200 around where I live. Maybe if your Wallmart carries firearms...

Then again, if you want a cheap, serviceable pump gun maybe consider a Maverick. Assembled in Texas from mostly Mexican parts it’s usually about $30 less for essentially the same gun with the safety on the trigger guard.

[american_ranger]

Many years ago, I read an article about 28 gauge shotguns. I went out and bought one. It was a single shot break open action and cost $128.

I grabbed my 8 year old son and headed for the gun range. We asked the range owner if he would throw some clays for us. He told us to be patient becuse he had just sold a $2,000 over/under Ruger to a trap shooter who wanted to test it out. The ranger owner said when the guy took a break, the owner would throw some for us.

The new gun looked beautiful but I could tell the guy was having problems getting used to it. He missed several and just peppered a few. He said he wanted to take a break and think about what he was doing. He motioned us up to shoot. My son yelled pull and powdered the first one. He reloaded and yelled pull. He powdered the second one. He then gave me the gun. I powdered the next three and decided it was time to quit.

I still remember the guy with the $2,000 shotgun was giving my son and I the dirtiest look. He was pissed.

[Venturer]

My first gun was a J.C. Higgins pump I bought55 years ago from the Sears catalog. It still works just fine after all types of hunting. I have several others, but I still like my J.C. Higgins.

[Last Dakotan]

The only thing I found worth paying extra for is the 835 model - it shoots a 3-1/2 round for the armor-plated geese that fly here.

[real saxophonist]

I have three. One is a 16 Gauge.

[AFreeBird]

500 bump

[ExpatGator]

The Mossberg is a fine pump shotgun. Second only to the Remington 870.

[Lancey Howard]

I still love my old Sears double-barrel (two trigger) shotgun.

[Malsua]

I have owned a Mossberg 9200 semi-auto since around 1992 but I wanted something that handles light loads without an issue so I found a guy selling a Mossberg 835 for $200 with an extra slug barrel.

I’ve since run at least 300 rounds though it(100 today) shooting clays and it’s been fantastic. The only thing I’ve done is add a limbsaver recoil pad.

The Rem 870s are great guns and had I not found this 835 so cheap, I may have bought one. I am quite happy with my pump Mossy though. It’s great gun.

[Chode]

i'll keep slugging it out with this...

[SVTCobra03]

I have a Mossberg 500 and recently upgraded to a Mossberg 930 SPX. The 930 SPX is state-of-the-art and performs flawlessly.

[Manly Warrior]

Why bother comparing?

I love a good utilitarian shotgun, but I truly admire a top flight sporting gun. I cannot compare them as they are completely different.

Why bother comparing?

[ctdonath2]

The 500 is great for general purpose, with lots of swappable parts available.

I prefer the 590 version, optimizing the HD application. Ghost rings are faster & more accurate, 8+1 magazine maximizes practical capacity, 20” barrel best for performance vs. size, “marinecote” improves resistance to harsh conditions, and overall optimized for the ultimate application.

A nice companion to it is the 590 AOW version, a pistol-grip-only 14” barrel 5+1 capacity form. Great fun! Just needs an integral laser, given that normal aiming could be dentally problemmatic.