Mossberg 500A

[throdgrain]

Well, this is my review of the Mossberg 500a pump action shotgun. Ive owned it from new for about 8 or 9 months, and have put maybe 1200 - 1500 cartridges through it.
When I first turned up to shoot clay pigeons with it, I have to admit a huge amount of raised eyebrows from the tweed / skeet vest set, understandably a bit I suppose, as well as being pump action its also matt black (see my signature for a picture.)
Its quite easy to operate once you get the nack, although it does jam a bit with cheaper cartridges. The answer to that problem , clearly, is dont use cheaper cartridges, and everything will be ok, as I have learned.
For me it points and shoots superbly. When I bough the gun I also had a nice old Winchester 101 o/u, and as soon as I started using the Mossberg my scores in clays doubled, thats despite the obvious shortcomings in having to waste valuble seconds pumping in the next shot. It becomes second nature quite quickly, I can even hit a few pairs on skeet too!
The third shot available Ive found very useful for rabbits, and have cleaned up quite a few of them.
After 6 months of shooting with the Mossberg my clay shooting pals kept telling me how much better I could do if I didnt have to manually load the second cartridge, and eventually I gaved in and traded the Winchester in for a Benelli M2 semi auto -also in matt black, see a pattern? - which I thought would give me the best of both worlds. Unfortunately my scores in clays dipped rapidly. After a few visits they had halved! I perservered for a bit , until last week when I got the Mossy out for a change.
Suprise suprise, my scores were immediately back to where they were before! Tomorrow Im going shooting, guess what gun Im taking? :)
In summary I know they arnt everyones cup of tea, but to me the gun does the main thing I ask of it, ie I hit stuff with it! I personally think it looks as mean as anything, and despite what some people might say I think the quality of the gun is fine too, its certainly given me no cause for complaint.
I wouldnt part with it for anything!

[farrow]

is this the same gun they put the hushpower barrel onto? i'm thinking of getting it in .410. only prob is its about 20ft long with the hushpower!!:o

[throdgrain]

I think so yes. As you say, the hushpower thing does make it pretty ugly though :)

[Tommo]

I also have a Mossberg 500 and I too have changed the wood for Hogue replacements.
I bought mine secondhand at Minsterley and it came with a spare barrel.. and a takedown case - very handy indeed.

I was quite surprised that, in its original form, it didn't recoil as much as I was expecting. Having been used to o/u's and the extra weight they carry I was expecting more of a bite from the Mossberg. However even this was reduced even more when I fitted the Hogue buttstock and forend.. I really could shoot it all day.

As for its construction.. wel I'd have to put it along side Baikal. They are both rugged, no nonsense shotguns which, with a bit of TLC, will last a hell of a long time. The Mossberg is simplicity itself to strip down.

It took me a little while to get to grips with the slide, it really does react better to a good stiff handling rather than trying to gentle it along. I found that when shooting clays I often wouldn't bother with a second shot as it spoiled my sight line.. Now, with some practice, I can get a second shot off with reasonable ease and without dismounting the shotgun from my shoulder.

If you are not put off by a little inclement weather then the Hogue stock really comes into play. There's no way you'll ever loose your grip and the self-same grip will be solid - regardless of how much rain is coming down.

Would I get rid of my Mossberg 500? Never.. like it says in my sig "Now this IS fun.."

[throdgrain]

Agreed, mine is a keeper as long as I have a licence. Incidentally, mine stock is original Mossberg black, something of a rareity Im told.
I know they can be quite hard to get hold of, so in case anyone's looking, I saw a realtree 500a in East Grinstead Guns the other day :)

[Haje]

I also have a Mossberg 500 and I too have changed the wood for Hogue replacements.
I bought mine secondhand at Minsterley and it came with a spare barrel.. and a takedown case - very handy indeed.

I was quite surprised that, in its original form, it didn't recoil as much as I was expecting. Having been used to o/u's and the extra weight they carry I was expecting more of a bite from the Mossberg. However even this was reduced even more when I fitted the Hogue buttstock and forend.. I really could shoot it all day.

As for its construction.. wel I'd have to put it along side Baikal. They are both rugged, no nonsense shotguns which, with a bit of TLC, will last a hell of a long time. The Mossberg is simplicity itself to strip down.

It took me a little while to get to grips with the slide, it really does react better to a good stiff handling rather than trying to gentle it along. I found that when shooting clays I often wouldn't bother with a second shot as it spoiled my sight line.. Now, with some practice, I can get a second shot off with reasonable ease and without dismounting the shotgun from my shoulder.

If you are not put off by a little inclement weather then the Hogue stock really comes into play. There's no way you'll ever loose your grip and the self-same grip will be solid - regardless of how much rain is coming down.

Would I get rid of my Mossberg 500? Never.. like it says in my sig "Now this IS fun.."

When are we going to see some pictures?

[Boom-stick]

anyone know how these compare to the 870's

[Mr. Gain]

You might find some of this (http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157837) current thread interesting.

[Trakker]

had the 500 mossy for approx 2/3 month great fun gun.......great reliability

give me another in fac 'please'.........;)

[robgal]

i'm thinking of getting it in .410.

Thats one gun i wouldnt recommend,bought a mossberg .410 p/a bout six months ago an got rid quite quickly! It wouldnt cycle properly so brought it to the local gunsmith( not the one i bought it from) to see wat cud b done. He knew wat was wrong before looking at the gun. Supposedly the .410s are made to american .410 sizing which according to him is different, so the cycle would never work. Brought it back to the dealer i got it from who denied all knowledge of this but was more than happy to take it off myhands. God help the next person that gets their hands on that piece of s**t!:eek:

[R0B]

I had a .410 and it was perfect. Cycled all size carts perfectly

Rob

[throdgrain]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=185095

You will find the above post on an american forum will sort feed problems on any Mossberg 500.
I know, becuase I had these problems, and this fixed it. Its the cartridge stop and interupter. Just change em, an easy job, and all is well. :)

[Gnhouse]

One other here to extol the virtues of the Mossberg.

The other Sunday I was clay shooting and had a go of URX's Mossberg. Now I do like practical kinda guns but never thought that I could ever really justify a pump action. Most of this I figure is due to the prejudice against them. Well I'm a convert, I managed 3 rapid clays with 3 shots and never thought much about it, and continued to hit most of the clays I shot at, and all this with a cylinder chocked slug/rifle sighted pump. The stock came up very short as most pumps seem to but as previously stated recoil was negligible. So will I get one, eventually yes. Why? Because I can, but mainly as it was so much FUN.

Garrick

[shepp]

anyone know how these compare to the 870's

Personally I don't think that there is any comparision but that's my opinion, but whatever happens shoot the gun that you can shoot well not what other people think you should be able to shoot. I've personally seen people be able to shoot a remington 1100 better than they can shoot a 15000 dollar Perazzi on the skeet range.

[wecker]

mossbergs are a nice guns i had one, but they are like swinging a tree trunk around,i now have a remmy 870.

[Boom-stick]

Oh well, I wound up with a Mossy 500 anyway:rolleyes:

picked it up used, It's great for slug but there seem to be a problem with the adjustable choke as no matter how you adjust it, it won't pattern with shot??

Took it clay shooting and couldn't hit a thing with it, swapped over to a beretta U/O and cleaned up?, so I know it's not me. Then we had a pass-a-round and no-one could hit anything with it either.

Thoughts anyone?

[throdgrain]

Oh well, I wound up with a Mossy 500 anyway:rolleyes:

picked it up used, It's great for slug but there seem to be a problem with the adjustable choke as no matter how you adjust it, it won't pattern with shot??

Took it clay shooting and couldn't hit a thing with it, swapped over to a beretta U/O and cleaned up?, so I know it's not me. Then we had a pass-a-round and no-one could hit anything with it either.

Thoughts anyone?


It's whether the gun fits you isnt it. Pattern the gun and see where its shooting , all guns are different. Mossberg sell shims to adjust the height and point of aim, find out where the gun is shooting the give me a shout, I may be able to help!

[Tommo]

When are we going to see some pictures?



Anything to please...:D;)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/Remy700/Guns/Mossberg500H.jpg


Behold... Black Beauty:D

[Sonora Rebel]

The only gripe I have about Mossy's (I have a combat 590 12 ga... w/bayonet lug) is pullin' the bolt. Those rail things on the receiver slides are a PAIN! The Remmie 870's are a breeze in comparison. 'Have 2 of those... 'n the short one would get me arrested in the UK. 'Only thing original on that is the receiver 'n mag tube. All of 'em shoot where I point 'em tho... altho I don't do 'clays'... I usually use semi-jacketed hollow-point slugs. The Mossy is a tad on the heavy side... but it's all original... whereas the Remmies are anything but. I confess... the short one at one time had so many bells 'n whistles all it needed was a gun carriage to trundle it around on. 'Got rid of all that bling... well... most of it. The Mossy is stayin' 'stock' tho... no real need to do anything further. It's parkerized with black (plastic?). When I hang a M9 or M7 bayonet on the end... it gets stares. :eek:

[Jim McArthur]

After 6 months of shooting with the Mossberg my clay shooting pals kept telling me how much better I could do if I didnt have to manually load the second cartridge, and eventually I gaved in and traded the Winchester in for a Benelli M2 semi auto -also in matt black, see a pattern? - which I thought would give me the best of both worlds. Unfortunately my scores in clays dipped rapidly. After a few visits they had halved! I perservered for a bit , until last week when I got the Mossy out for a change.
Suprise suprise, my scores were immediately back to where they were before! Tomorrow Im going shooting, guess what gun Im taking? :)
In summary I know they arnt everyones cup of tea, but to me the gun does the main thing I ask of it, ie I hit stuff with it! I personally think it looks as mean as anything, and despite what some people might say I think the quality of the gun is fine too, its certainly given me no cause for complaint.
I wouldnt part with it for anything!

I reckon that's the funny thing about shotguns - or any type of guns: they come with 26 inch barrels and 30 inch barrels, semiauto and single shot, plastic stocks and wooden ones, 12 gauge and 28 gauge; .22 and .38 and .45; they hold 15 rounds or 5; have to be cocked or cocked themselves; they're made in the UK or the USA or Spain or the former USSR; and no matter what or where, one bloke will tell you that a particular one isn't worth the space it takes up in his gun cabinet, another one will say of the same piece that he's never owned a finer. One can bust clays all day long with Gun A but misses most of the time with Gun B, while for his shooting buddy, it's vice versa...

...it really all boils down to, not what's good, but what's good for YOU. :)

Jim

[throdgrain]

Wow Jim thats a two-year old thread brought back to life :)

You are of course completely right, the shotgun has to fit you. When I finally got the stock spacers for the Benelli I set the gun up to fit me, and guess what, I hit stuff with that too now :)

[3doorpete]

Loved my 500A - put 250 shells through it yesterday faultlessly and about 5000 shells over 6 years, with it still looking as fresh as new. I part ex'ed it today for a Mossberg 590 Persuader :eek: as I wanted a more tactical look. Plan to do a review and comparison to 500A as soon as I've put a couple of hundred shell through it.

[throdgrain]

Guess who lives near the Saddlery and Gunroom then :p


I considered swapping my 500 for one, but other than the fact it looks better there wasnt any reason. It has no choke and is very short for clays. Each to thier own though, my mate has one and he loves it :)

[3doorpete]

Yep - live close :D - Hopefully it'll still shoot skeet well enough! They do look the absolute dogs danglies

[Korium]

I part ex'ed it today for a Mossberg 590 Persuader :eek: as I wanted a more tactical look.

Can't say I've seen any 590s with a barrel over 20" inches but it's an uphill struggle finding any Mossberg in Britain. :(

[Vulcanator]

Had a 500A back in the 80's, 12 bore, 7+1 capacity, just the ticket for shooting down the line-if at first you don't succeed try try try try try try and try again!:D Got the same raised eyebrows when I shot some skeet with it from the green welly brigade, fond memories for using an unorthodox weapon for clays.

[throdgrain]

Can't say I've seen any 590s with a barrel over 20" inches but it's an uphill struggle finding any Mossberg in Britain. :(


There you go :) (http://www.saddleryandgunroom.co.uk/mossberg.htm)