Mossberg 500- Anyone Knowledgeable

Decided I would like to have a small inexpensive shotgun by the camp door at the lake. Felt we needed to keep something close by for the dangerous snakes and other things and the wife needed to be comfortable with it too.

Man !! .410's are pricey !!!! What happened to the $100 shotgun ???

The Mossberg 500 is sort of like the Chevrolet of shotguns in my mind, reliable and simple.

Looked all over for a trade name model, Revelation, Western Field etc, and never found one.

Anyway, I ran across a Mossberg 410 pump for a good price. Cute little pop gun. Looks to be made in the late 1980's. Mint condition. anyone real familiar with this line ? Were there good years or time frames for this line, (desirability, quality, etc) as there have been in other old name gun makers ?

The current manufacture, although of reasonable mechanical quality, appears to me to be "cheaply" made. The wood is absolutely terrible looking. And the metal finish just lacking.

On the other hand mine looks pretty nice with a very nicely shaped and finished stock and the metal finish just a bit more appealing to the eye though still of a durable look

What say you ???

Steve

My experience with Mossberg is they are bullet proof.
I have a 500 for many years and shot countless partridge with.
I do not think you can go wrong for the money. JMO as usual! ps

Only thing customers ever brought to me to have repaired on their 500 was the cheap plastic safety button.

Break down and but a case of Win. AA 410's when they have the rebate. You will get 20.00 back then save the empty HS hulls and sell them for .12 - .14 each. That gets the cost down to about 50.00/10 boxes

My first pump shotgun was a Mossberg 500,, way back in the late 70's. I shot the snot out of that gun,, and had the extractor wear out. I replaced that piece & kept on going. I sold it for some reason or another,,, I forget.

I've had my 500 for quite a few years. No problems so far. For a little cheaper, but still just as functional shotgun, look at the Mossberg Maverick 88. I just bought my wife a 20 ga., yesterday for $188.00 (Pump, 26" vent rib bbl, chambered for 2 3/4", screw in accuchoke, synthetic stock) 500 barrels will fit it if you want different ones. (3" chamber for turkey :wink All in all, it's a Mossberg 500 with a matte finish. A few differences in some parts, (cross bolt safety on the trigger guard, action bars made to the forearm) but nothing that affects performance. Nice little gun. I can't wait to get her out on her first real bird hunt. ;

edit: I stand corrected. Her 20ga. barrel is, indeed, chambered for both 2 3/4" and 3" shells

I have a 500 and a Maverick 88(both in 12 gauge), I've shot the poo poo out of both of them and they still go bang every time. The 88 is definitely an "entry level" gun but it works just fine and I absolutely trust it as my house gun. You can but a combo when you get a 500 that comes with two barrels so you can have a home protection gun and a hunting or sporting clays gun with one purchase.

The combo is the one I bought, in 12ga. It was a bargain at $199.00, about 18 years ago. (everybody needed a new shotgun for Y2K, right?) I don't think you can go wrong with either of the guns mentioned above. Good luck.

I would get a 20 gauge instead of a 410, ammo is much cheaper and if you can shoot a 410'you can shoot a 20.

While assigned to Security when in the navy we set up a combat shot gun course for training, over the course of 5 days myself and several others went shot approximately 15,000+ rounds of standard grade 2-3/4" 00 buck through 6 Mossberg 500's and6 Remington 870's, All brand new out of the box, we broke 3 remingtons and never broke a Mossberg, did get the barrels pretty damn hot and they just kept going.

Don't know if Mossberg makes a MarineCoat model in what you're considering, but given your location and expected use, I'd look into it.

XP100 said:

Only thing customers ever brought to me to have repaired on their 500 was the cheap plastic safety button.

Click to expand...

Hi,

We replaced a bunch of 'em in our shop, too. By the early '90s, when I bought a 500 in 20 ga for a dove hunting backup, they'd gone (back?) to a metal button. That's a worthwhile upgrade for anyone who gets a hold of one of the plastic button guns.

That gun's been shot a lot, and actually gets more use than my 20 ga 870 which is far nicer looking but doesn't hit 'em any harder.

Rick C

I prefer the 500 over the 870 for many reasons. My 500 has been shooting for years and never a problem. Great shotgun for a reasonable price.

I have a 500 12 ga and my son has a "Ted Williams" Sears band 12 ga that is a 500 with Sears brand name and markings on it. I don't even remember when or where I got mine but have had it for at least 35 years. I bought my son's "Ted Williams" one at a pawn shop about 18 years ago. I don't know how old either one is since I bought both used. The only problem mine has ever had is the ring that holds the fore end on worked loose, just had to tighten it back up. His needed some type of repair right after we bought it (probably why someone pawned it) but I don't remember what it was. Both have been chugging along with no other problems since.

Older .410 Mossy's are build darned good. My first shotgun, and one I still use regularly now that it is "The Perfect Jeep Gun" is a .410 Mossy.

They did, at some point, change from a single action bar to a double. I guess folks had a hard time learning to pull the fore end straight back and would cause it to bind and not feed properly. Funny, as a skinny 12 yo kid I had no problems following dad's instructions.

Mine has a 2 1/2" chamber. I think the current ones have 3". But, I've never felt the need for the 3" variety.

Another vote for the Mosseys. I have two 590A1's, one in Marine coat, the other Parkerized, never a problem with either. My son has one, I have the other for home defense go to guns. My first shotgun was a Mossberg 195 bolt action 20ga., got it back about 1972-73, well worn and used but still functions perfectly today.

I have a 500E .410 with a 3" chamber. Wife bought it for me years ago. Runs perfect and eats everything. Will be one of the last guns I have. Already gifted to my Grandson when I go under.... Great shotgun!

Dave

Cannot go wrong with a 500

The Model 500 is to Mossberg as GP100 is to Ruger. A high value, indestructible tank. I have killed deer, wild turkey and pheasant with my 12 ga. smoothbore barrel with rifle sights. Shoots up to 3 1/2 " shells, and handles Brenneke slugs well. My only negative is that the slide rattles more than I like, but that's no big deal for your application. You shouldn't have any trouble finding used and new 500s. I was surprised to see that Mossberg still lists DOZENS of varities of the Model 500 on their website. Personally, I'd go for the 20 Ga. also. I read that Hornady has a 20 ga. slug that has similar ballistics to the venerable 45-70, if you ever want to hunt deer. Very versatile choice, the 500!

I am also looking for an extra barrel in 410. Anyone have one or a good place to get one at a
!!! "reasonable"!!! price. Prefer the 18.5 but would do with a smooth bore rifle sight or a plain barrel to cut down to 20"

Steve

Hi,

Looks like both of these sources are out of .410s at the moment, but if you're not in a hurry, and check back often, their stock changes constantly. Both are used barrel dealers:

http://www.corsonsbarrels.com/ and http://www.barrelexchange.com/index.cfm

And, as much as some wags around here badmouth eBay and won't buy from them, that leaves at least a couple of .410 barrels for the rest of us: one plain 18 1/2" and one with rifle sights were listed just a few minutes ago. Both new and at "competitive" prices ($150 range)--I wouldn't expect to steal one for a .410!

Mossberg has a raft of 12 and 20 ga barrels on their website's store, but no .410s. A call to Mossberg directly might turn something up that's been collecting dust in the corner, too.

Good luck!

Rick C