[ShotgunPro]

I sold my service 9 and now am on the hunt for my shotgun fix. I have narrowed my choices to the Remmy 870 or Mossy 500. Buds has the best prices and tons of setups. I am probably going to order from there and have it sent to my local shop. Oct 1,2 and 3 is the Nations gun show also... Might have to wait until then to see what comes through.

Until then I'll be watching videos and scouring the webs for all the info and pics I can find. Oh the agony.... lol

 

[ShotgunPro]

I love my 870 and the 500 is a great gun but always seemed very difficult to reassemble.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Big 5 is running their special on the 500 right now. It is a 500 with a 26" & an 18.5" barrel for $260. I picked one up in July and love it.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Big 5 is running their special on the 500 right now. It is a 500 with a 26" & an 18.5" barrel for $260. I picked one up in July and love it.

Damn I wish one of those was here in VA. Great deal.

 

[ShotgunPro]

I love my 870 and the 500 is a great gun but always seemed very difficult to reassemble.

The 500 was harder to get back together? That's good to know while I make my final decision.. Thanks.

 

[ShotgunPro]

How often do you take one apart?

 

[ShotgunPro]

Not sure but I would think after each use like a pistol.. Am I wrong here?

 

[ShotgunPro]

When I was shopping, I found that I didn't like the top mounted Safety of the Moss (especially if I were to add a pistol Grip stock). The Rems have Cross-Bolt safeties, which are easier to activae/de-activate with a pistol grip stock.
I then found that the Maverick is a Subsidiary of Mossberg, runs about $220 NEW and utilizes the Rem Style Cross-Bolt safety.
THEN I found that the H&R Pardner Pump is a Rem Clone (just as solidly built), going for under $200.

Surprisingly though, I found a Member selling his Winchester Defender 1300. There's not as MANY Mods for the Win, but they have everything I'll want, or need for it... AND... the 1300 is one of the few 12 gauges that can run the 1.75" and 2" "Specialty" Self Defense shells, enabling you to put 10+ rounds into a 7rd mag. (oh yeah... The 1300 18" is stock with a 7rd mag... Others require a mag extension).

Just some alternatives to consider if you don't NEED the Moss/Rem Name etched into your barrel.

There's a LOT of good info in the Shotgun Forum... C'Mon DOWN!!

 

[ShotgunPro]

Surprisingly though, I found a Member selling his Winchester Defender 1300. There's not as MANY Mods for the Win, but they have everything I'll want, or need for it... AND... the 1300 is one of the few 12 gauges that can run the 1.75" and 2" "Specialty" Self Defense shells, enabling you to put 10+ rounds into a 7rd mag. (oh yeah... The 1300 18" is stock with a 7rd mag... Others require a mag extension).

i love my Winchester Defender 1300. It was the first gun that was my dad bought for me (he had plenty we all shot). He bought 4 at the time. one for me, one for him, one for my brother, and one for my sis.

back on topic. i don't have one buck the 870 is proven and i have a couple friends with mossy's and they are good too.

 

[ShotgunPro]

I gotta go with the Remington 870... there is a LOT you can do with them.

 

[ShotgunPro]

I have a Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip stock and hate the setup with the safety. If you're going to stick with the sporter stock go with the 500. But if you want to go pistol grip or pistol grip stock I would recommend the 870. I want to get the 870 to mod with the extending pistol grip stock. I still do love the 500 tho, its great and reliable.

 

[ShotgunPro]

You don't need to clean a shotty like a pistol... I shoot about 200 rounds through mine a year and clean it once a year! I could probably go 2 years but I anal..

 

[ShotgunPro]

Well thanks for all the info guys. Big Help in making my choice. I really thought this post was going to fall flat like some of my others so it was a pleasant surprise to see you guys sounding off.

I have been down in the Shotgun forum and it's GREAT! I love the show your Zombie Gun thread. I want them all!!!

I like the 870's bolt style safety too. I hear the 500's is a little fragile
(thats Italian) and can break off which is hard to extract once broken. Dont get me wrong, the Mossy is bad ass and I believe I will be leaving the full syn. stock on whatever I get and will be slapping a black hawk stock bag on.(the one with room for shells inside and out)

The Maverick is something I was looking at too. Anyone that has one spiffed up a little please share. I don't really like the pump that comes on some of them stock so that would require an upgrade which puts me in the 870/500 range again. I can live with those guys stock for the time being.

As far as optics go, how do some of you mount them on these models? Doesn't look like you can other than the front bead. I see that some HD shotty's have all types of things on rains up top but I don't see how they attach. Thanks again guys.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Big 5 is running their special on the 500 right now. It is a 500 with a 26" & an 18.5" barrel for $260. I picked one up in July and love it.

That is a heck of a price. I bought a Maverick from Walmart for $170 and then an 18.5" barrel from the LGS for $90 and I thought I had a good deal. I find nothing wrong with the Maverick and would buy another one.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Sorry in terms of the 500 disassembly, I would help my friend put his back together after shooting so it wasn't mine, but it just never seemed as easy as my 870. For some reason, he always forgot how to reassemble so it was left up to me to figure out, haha.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Can you put another barrel on the 870 so that you could go from HD to hunting/skeet mode? I see Cabela's has a bunch of different ones and some look like they except or have scopes.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Not sure but I would think after each use like a pistol.. Am I wrong here?

I usually just pull the barrel off and swab it down and just clean the bolt face in the receiver.

the 500 really isn't all that bad to put the innards back together. there's a few good videos on youtube if you get lost.

As for choosing between the two, price is always an issue and the 500 has always been cheaper.

Fit and finish between the two, it's a dead heat despite what rabid remington fans wanna believe.

What should really sway you one way or the other is if you want a tang safety or crossbolt and if just a 5 round tube is enough for you or do you want the option to use a magazine extension on the 870.

me personally, I like the 500 as I'm a southpaw and that tang safety is very fast to hit with a thumb when walking a field on the hunt for bird when shouldering the gun.

Reliability, it's a toss up there too.

My gun has seen at least 5000 rounds and the only issue has been a worn out safety (it'll slip down and catch under recoil but you can get a rebuild kit for under 20 bucks anyway and takes all of 10 minutes to fix)

both have a massive aftermarket though the 870 has an edge there.

It's fairly easy to find different barrels for either gun to add versatility. With the exception of the 8 shot 500, there's no other option but the 20" it comes with.

So really, either one is a safe bet.

 

[ShotgunPro]

IMO you want something to carry around maverick 88 foldover stock is as light as you can get.

You want a CQB weapon 870 with a speedfeed or a knox is the best way to handle recoil (steel reciever, heavier barrel/tube makes it tamer to shoot, but obviously heavier to pack, mossber is alumimum only time this matters is weight, and on the mossberg take your time installing a side saddle, over torquing the screws is a concern, but no issues in use)

I have a 870 set up for skeet. custom 3.0 lb adjustable trigger it is awesome, got it for 180, trigger for 75 bucks. still has factory grease on it.

I have a maverick 88 for carrying around Mine has a vent rib barrel its easier for me to aim, I have no idea why. one point sling and its golden. Choate stock, I definitely like it. maverick 88 also has the trigger safety (necessary IMO if you wnat a pistol grip) Oh got the smith for $40 to file down the bolt a bit, it cycles smoother than any other pump I've ever seen. (people call it ridiculous but it can be pumped silently in an emergency situation but can still rack if trying to frighten a mob so you know who to shoot, the only one not running duh!) Oh mossberg shell lifters stay in the up position unless cycling so you don't have to worry about cutting your thumb off loading, couple times dove hunting I got my thumb stuck in a magazine tube of an 870, that wouldn't do me any good in a fight.

If your a speedfeed stock guy, mossberg 500 might be for you.

Pistol grip without a foldover your soo far beyond help I don't know what to say.

So basically what I view as acceptable stocks

Knox with recoil compensation (pistol grip/buttstock combo)
speedfeed (rifle stock or with pistol grip)
foldovers (NO ATI NO ATI, pretty much any of them are good, each have their own advantages andn disadvantages, I chose choate due to length, blackhawk looks good too) only to be used if you want low weight/compact transport reasons, they are simply not as good as a fixed stock.

Barrel set ups: Vent rib cut down (I Like, I'm weird) barrel shroud often done with ghost ring on a 18.6 bead. you can get a picatanny rail on top of a remington reciever, or an attachment through the pins for the mossbers due to aluminum reciever(have seen a red dot on the reciever of a mossber, but I wouldn't do it). You can get a fiber optic turkey style set of sights or a tritium/tritium fiber optic sight

another option is a maverick 88 with the 20" barrel and its 7+1 ammunition, if you don't care about weight, and want more rounds its a very viable option. You can get a tube extension on an 870 but remington doesn't think you deserve it so you can't get manufacturer parts.

All I'm saying is think about what you want. Want a sling? 1 point, or a bandoleer sling (heavy but nice)

Do you want a light? if so figure it out how you wannt to attach it before buying a new forestock, many are intertwined.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Fit and finish between the two, it's a dead heat despite what rabid remington fans wanna believe. Now, due to Remington trying to compete with a tighter design in price with a loose easy productionthat was designed to be cheap and easy to produce. Old remmys are better.

What should really sway you one way or the other is if you want a tang safety or crossbolt and if just a 5 round tube is enough for you or do you want the option to use a magazine extension on the 870.

It's fairly easy to find different barrels for either gun to add versatility. With the exception of the 8 shot 500, there's no other option but the 20" it comes with.not true a 28" Vent rib and a 28" bead exists, which is easy because a smith for 30 or 40 bucks can cut it down easy.
.

comments in red. Other things that matter, mossberg is lighter, and a raised shell lifter. Rem is heavier and tighter.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Can you put another barrel on the 870 so that you could go from HD to hunting/skeet mode? I see Cabela's has a bunch of different ones and some look like they except or have scopes.

I believe all the guns mentioned can interchange their barrels, so you can swap them out for different use.

IIRC... The Moss barrels will work on the Mav and the Rem barrels will work on the H&R.

My "Pre-Owned" Win Defender already had twin pistol grips, heat shield and 6 Shot Side-Saddle, but I may swap out the rear grip for either the knox 6 position stock, or the ATI 6 position Side folding stock... Then possibly a longer barrel for hunting.

Both ATI & Knox stocks are available for ALL the brands mentioned in this thread.

For sights... I've seen a few guns with cantilevered rails for Red dot or regular scopes.