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Opinions wanted: Mossberg 590M 12 Gauge

The vast amount of ( affordable) available shotshells right now are garbage. Brands no one ever heard of before the pandemic.

Reliable is a relative term. I have shot dump truck loads of Sterling buck and slugs. Never had one not fire. It’s not accurate or even consistent in group size, but it does go bang when you pull the trigger.

Lots of other brands have popped up. Rio and a bunch of Turkish crap.

Federal shells are largely back in stock everywhere though the prices are still higher than they should be. Same with Winchester. If you want reliable stick with those. Or roll your own.

If you need advice on specific loads I can give my impressions or experiences.
 
As for the 870 v 500 thing here’s my take. The new Remingtons are not on par with the ones from the old days. While older 870s are fine shotguns I never cared for them. I’ve always favored Mossbergs and with very few exceptions, almost all of which were maintenance related, this is the first time I have heard anyone say Mossberg shotguns were unreliable. And I know and have trained with a lot of military and LEO for a long time. It could be that like Remington, modern Mossbergs suffer from QC issues. Historically speaking there is no significant history of Mossberg failures militarily or otherwise. In the past they have been my preferred pump shotgun for defensive purposes and I’ve never had one that had problems.

The good news is the days of pump guns being the only reliable tactical shotguns are over. That’s not to say there isn’t a slew of :poop:y, mostly Turkish semi auto shotguns out there. Almost all of which are box mag fed. But today if anyone asks me which shotgun I recommend for home defense I am going to suggest these three depending on your budget.

1) Benelli M1014

2) Beretta 1301 T

3) Mossberg 940 P T


Friends don’t let friends buy Turkish shotguns for self defense.
 
Thanks for all the great info @Bassbob, you’re the best!

I’m still searching for good quality reliable ammo that’s in stock locally, my go to local stores seems to stock only low quality shells (fiocchi) so I end up having to order online, most reliable I’ve found for my 870 so far are Winchester shells, I’m going to try out Remington and Hornady Critical Defense this weekend and then order some Federal and test those.
 
Bassbob said:
I have no opinion on that particular model other than to say I have been thoroughly unimpressed by every box mag fed shotgun other than the Saiga. Personally I would recommend buying a regular Mossberg 590 with a 21” barrel and 7 rd. tube. Or better yet get the new Mossberg JM Pro Tactical.
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Do you have any recommendations on using a tube fed Mossberg 12 gauge with mini-shells(after you install the adapter)?

I'm an old guy and prefer to shoot 20 gauge, but I acquired a Mossberg Maverick 12 gauge for a great price. And have thought about the mini-shell adapter and trying mini-shells.

Thanks in advance...:)
 
ECS686 said:
I have seen nothing but issues with box mag Fed shotguns wether Mossberg or Remington.

And a friend attended a Gunsite Shotgun class in Indiana saw 2 regular tube Fed Mossbergs go down in that 3 day class.

So I’d stay away from the box mag guns. And if you’re going to pressure test anything get a Beretta 1301 or REM 870. If your just going to run a box a year through it and use it for a house gun the Mossberg would be fine.
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I’ve never had an 870 that was 100% reliable…and considering the absolute crap that Remington was putting out before they went toes up, I’d be very wary of touching one.
 
Bassbob said:
As for the 870 v 500 thing here’s my take. The new Remingtons are not on par with the ones from the old days. While older 870s are fine shotguns I never cared for them. I’ve always favored Mossbergs and with very few exceptions, almost all of which were maintenance related, this is the first time I have heard anyone say Mossberg shotguns were unreliable. And I know and have trained with a lot of military and LEO for a long time. It could be that like Remington, modern Mossbergs suffer from QC issues. Historically speaking there is no significant history of Mossberg failures militarily or otherwise. In the past they have been my preferred pump shotgun for defensive purposes and I’ve never had one that had problems.

The good news is the days of pump guns being the only reliable tactical shotguns are over. That’s not to say there isn’t a slew of :poop:y, mostly Turkish semi auto shotguns out there. Almost all of which are box mag fed. But today if anyone asks me which shotgun I recommend for home defense I am going to suggest these three depending on your budget.

1) Benelli M1014

2) Beretta 1301 T

3) Mossberg 940 P T


Friends don’t let friends buy Turkish shotguns for self defense.
Click to expand...

I’d add the Benelli M1/M2 to the list.

And while I’m mostly happy with my AKSA M4gery, and I’d use it for SD…I’d say anyone who bought one had best vet it thoroughly.
 
Net Engineer said:
Thanks for all the great info @Bassbob, you’re the best!

I’m still searching for good quality reliable ammo that’s in stock locally, my go to local stores seems to stock only low quality shells (fiocchi) so I end up having to order online, most reliable I’ve found for my 870 so far are Winchester shells, I’m going to try out Remington and Hornady Critical Defense this weekend and then order some Federal and test those.
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Winchester is reliable but Federal has it beat performance wise in most cases. The Federal Flite Control buckshot is the best around. The green military 00B is very good too. The Hornady didn’t impress me and I won’t even buy Fiocci anymore. Never had anything g but bad luck with it.

My preferred SD loads are Federal FC 00B ( 8 pellet if you can find it, but 9 is fine) and Federal Truball 1600 FPS rifled slugs. Those are the first things I test in a new shotgun and what I zero optics with. Then I buy all kinds of other stuff, Winchester slugs, whatever buckshot is cheap and use that for training and the range. I shoot a lot of #4 and #6 in training sessions. And if I’m really desperate some Federal Top Gun 7 1/2 or 8 shot.
 
kenpomaniac1958 said:
Do you have any recommendations on using a tube fed Mossberg 12 gauge with mini-shells(after you install the adapter)?

I'm an old guy and prefer to shoot 20 gauge, but I acquired a Mossberg Maverick 12 gauge for a great price. And have thought about the mini-shell adapter and trying mini-shells.

Thanks in advance...:)
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I have never tried it but I have read a lot of positive reviews. I’d say try it and see how reliably they cycle.

I have a KelTec that cycles mini shells. I had to try it once just to see what mag(s) dumping 41 rounds was like. :)
That’s about $60 gone in 20 seconds though so. Plus I’m not sure what type of loads are readily available in the 1 3/4” shells. I know they’re not cheap though.
 
Talyn said:
Not all Mossberg shotguns are the same.

Not knowing why the two tube-fed Mossberg shotguns went down is any ones guess, especially since its second-hand info. Operator error? A poorly maintained/abused basic model?

But if Mossberg shotguns weren't reliable then the US military shouldn't have chosen the 590A1 and used that model for decades.

To say that Mossbergs are only good for a running a few rds through them is contrary to the US military's experience of hard-use of an issued shotgun.

My 590A1 has never let me down over a couple decades but it's the mil-spec model so maybe more durable than the standard 500. And it's now a back-up to my Benelli M4.

My .02

PS: I'm not a fan of detachable magazine-fed shotguns.
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Second this. I have 1000 ish rounds through my 590A1 with zero issues. Lots of reload (read iffy quality) rounds, too. I spoke to someone who "said" he used to work at Remington and the 870 quality had gone down. I like the safety placement on the Mossberg, too. You have to decide if you want 18.5" barrel and 7 rounds or 20" barrel and 9 rounds.
 
I started out with a Remington model 31 pump 12 GA. as my first pump action shotgun. I have owned several 870's in 12 GA and even a 870 LT 20 GA. They were all reliable and I never had an issue with them during hunting or clay shooting.

With that said , the last Remington pump I bought and used was back in middle 90's. If I were to buy another shotgun today , on my budget , I would go with a Mossberg.
 
I can't make any recommendations on other brands as I have very little experience with them as defensive guns. I do have a lot of experience with the 870 in policing and found them to be dead nuts reliable with many thousands of rounds down the tube in training courses. Extraction issues are unusual. I am curious about why you are having extraction issues, a gunsmith may clear that up for you with new parts and springs or a detailed strip and clean. If you want to go first class, Vang Comp can make it run like nobody's business, but they are pricey.
 
From what I’ve read, extraction issues are pretty common with newer 870’s. When I got the gun the chamber was very rough and there were visible imperfections in the barrel hood that were interfering with the shell extraction. There’s also the question of the MIM extractor not being able to grab the shell firmly enough.

I *think* I’ve fixed all these issues and now am faced with just finding ammo types/brands that are reliable to run through it (fingers crossed). Been frustrating with this gun since I bought it 6 months ago but hopefully I’ll be able to make it into a useful shotgun.

Still going to get a new higher capacity HD shotgun no matter how it turns out with the 870 though.
 
Net Engineer said:
From what I’ve read, extraction issues are pretty common with newer 870’s. When I got the gun the chamber was very rough and there were visible imperfections in the barrel hood that were interfering with the shell extraction. There’s also the question of the MIM extractor not being able to grab the shell firmly enough.

I *think* I’ve fixed all these issues and now am faced with just finding ammo types/brands that are reliable to run through it (fingers crossed). Been frustrating with this gun since I bought it 6 months ago but hopefully I’ll be able to make it into a useful shotgun.

Still going to get a new higher capacity HD shotgun no matter how it turns out with the 870 though.
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I’ve never really known any pump shotguns to be overly finicky about ammo.
 
HayesGreener said:
I can't make any recommendations on other brands as I have very little experience with them as defensive guns. I do have a lot of experience with the 870 in policing and found them to be dead nuts reliable with many thousands of rounds down the tube in training courses. Extraction issues are unusual. I am curious about why you are having extraction issues, a gunsmith may clear that up for you with new parts and springs or a detailed strip and clean. If you want to go first class, Vang Comp can make it run like nobody's business, but they are pricey.
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Doesn’t the 590A1 have 2 extractors vs one in the 870?
 
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