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Can any one tell me about these? Just for casual hunting, rabbits, ducks etc. The odd clay I suppose. It looks a cheap and cheerful gun.
I imagine they pretty simple, but what reliability like. Seems a better bet than a simpler priced Turkish semi. Thoughts?
They go for ever.
For cheap and cheerfull they are hard to beat, extemely reliable.
If you abuse the shit out of it then it might only last 20 years or so :)
we used to poke 250 rounds a night through one,night after night ...only issue we ever had was the sloped rims on some falcon rounds would slip under ejector and we would need to poke wire of such down barrel to remove spent case....decent rounds and no issues at all.
they are reliable and IF they fit you well..a great gun.
the mossberg was more popular due to tang safety.
Thanks all. @Micky Duck good point about fit, most important thing with a shotty.
Also interesting comment about falcon ammo. I use to shot with a SKB 1300 which hated falcon, couldn't get through a mag full without at least two stoppages. It cycled perfectly with the winchester or Eley which was our other choice back in the day. It was a combo of the weird shaped rim on the falcon and design flaw in the chamber of the gun. This is the twenty years ago of course, and I imagine falcon have solved that issue now....?
yeah about the same era...from momory it was the cases used....guess they were early cheddites???/ had numbers and stars on base. it was only the bulk stuff that cane in plastic bags rather than cardboard boxes that was issue...it you looked at rim the forward section,that ejector gripped was on some 45 degrees it was like the machine didnt push them down hard enough when forming...I could sort by eye quickly and keep the bad ones for my break open guns and the pump would run all night without hitch...it would ,like your semi handle anything else flawlessly.
I found that shotgun too short in stock,a slip on recoil pad wouldve solved issue but boss liked it as it was....so I left him to beat himself up and just used my single break opens....and still out shot him by country mile.
I have run a H&R pump for last ???10 years?? only sold it last season due to inheriting a beretta semi.....that pump was awesome to use and never gave issues,keep the action oiled particularly the action bars and good to go all day.did have one box of 3" shells give me greif early on,but better lube in action sorted it.
cheap andcheerful yes but theyre no rem 870.
the two things i hate on them the piss poor twisty/flimsy action /pump bars and the usyually finger nipping budget shell lifter
They are bloody awesome. Chased a lot of fowl with my one as a teenager. Still going strong ten years later with my brother.
Awesome rifles, quite basic, but real reliable. They feel quite long tho, like the butstock is long, and almost stretching to keep hand on the fore stock, but that’s just me, I’m 6ft 4. But real good guns, and can get interchangeable barrels. I don’t use mine on ducks tho, just culling possums and rabbits rnd the farm, and never fails me.
got the original brother the mossberg 500.
Mine has a sticky chamber that gets a bit grabby when hot. Case gets well stuck in the chamber. I do believe that falcon ammo has a bit to do with that though.
It was always the go to for cheap and relatively effective (for a season at the bunny hunt it wasn't that flash) ammunition.
really need to see if i have a couple of packets of eley handy and go down the river and give it a solid thrashing to see if it still does it.
+1 for the mav88, Mavliable, simple no nonsense, it goes bang and you don’t feel bad getting it dirty…
You're doing well to get a finger pinched by the shell lifter on a mossberg...... Seeing as they fold up out of the way when the bolt is in battery. You might be thinking of the remington 870, plenty of gloves and fingers get pinched by themQuote:
Originally Posted by gsp follower
Attachment 192406
The mossberg/maverick design has a lifter which stays stuck in a recess in the underside of the bolt until you rack it rearward, then it pops down to scoop up a shell. The remington 870 on the other hand has the spring loaded lifter which is always down and always bitey
Also the Mossberg has the pump release located where you can press it with your middle finger without moving your shooting hand, with the 870 you take your finger out out the trigger guard to reach forward to the slide button. Mossberg are lighter, and hold one more shell compared to the same configuration in the remington I.e. 5+1 and 7+1 vs 4+1 and 6+1.
The safety on the maverick and 870 are comparable push button ones, the Mossberg 500 has one on the tang which you can work with your thumb without moving your shooting hand. Mavericks are great, I'd prefer a second hand 500 though if you can find one for similar money.
i disagree whole heartedly like comparing raquel welsh to kim khardasian.Quote:
Originally Posted by GDMP
the 870 extractror will rip a stuck case to pieces if it cant remove it
so you can pop the rest out with a stick or rod.
the mossberg 88,s couldnt remove iceing sugar from a tart.
while the twisty weak forend and action bars maybe great for a contortionist theyre shit for a fast crankin goose hunter.
if i remember rightly getting shells in and out of thier mags without racking them out is a finger nippin /cutting time to.
I’ve a Bentley pump, cheap and cheerful and zero issues despite an exceptionally mixed variety of ammo being fed through it.
Downside? One, it’s shortish barrel limits it’s range at times.
The sights work well with slug loads ( which kill at both ends despite the recoil pad which has hardened with age - unlike an old man’s whatsit!)
Someone with opinion that differs from my own, on the Internet?Quote:
Originally Posted by gsp follower
Unacceptable.
:ORLY:
Seriously though, I've had my 500 for about 10 years, it was second hand when I got it and I've put thousands of rounds through it without a single malfunction that I can remember. Never had the a failure to extract. Getting shells out of the tube is usually a matter of pressing one of the interupters, then press the other and a shell pops out, that works most of the time. If I were worried about unloading without a round ever going into the chamber I could pull the pump back so one pops onto the lifter, then tilt the gun to sling said round out of the ejection port. Mine's as loose, rattley, and sloppy as you'll find on a worn-in pump action. I'd wager most starting getting that way after the first 2000 rounds or so. I wouldn't call the action bars weak as they've never failed, and the guys at the pistol club always remark how fast I can fire and cycle mine, but then again it probably comes down to practice............. I've been single for a long time.
as i ve said before the H&R pump I had was an awesome reliable shotgun...as was the winchester I borrowed early on ...MOST pumps are reliable if looked after.
oh you gunna love this.....all puns intended
different strokes for different folks.
True that, as OP suggested: for the same money as a cheap semi, a pump is going to be more reliable. I've seen a lot of bolts and locking blocks shatter on Turkish semis, apparently they use leaded steel for those parts. Nice and easy to machine, you see......Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
I have an 88 maverick. Aluminium receiver makes it lighter to carry.
I have fitted a 500, 18inch turkey barrel with screw in chokes. Great wallaby gun off the quad or out of the truck.
Had it for about 10yrs, bought it second hand and its still going. Kicks a bit if shooting 36s, so I stick with 32 or 34s.
Not as hardy as the 500, which has a steel receiver. Those military ones are parkerised steel receivers and can take a bashing.
The 500s have an aluminium receiver too, not that that's a downside, ARs have aluminium receivers and they run 5.56mm just fine despite 5.56/223 being loaded to about 5 times the pressure at 12 gaugeQuote:
Originally Posted by scottrods
lets not confuse the maverick 88 with the latter better put together 500.s of the last few years.Quote:
Originally Posted by tommygun
i dont want to belay the point but ive never hads a 870 forend go twisty
well no one else has brought it up..so I will...the H&R that I so loved..is an American brand...but the metal reciever,the guts of it,is chinese made by Hawke..... pretty sure the gunshitty 870s will be the same..they are so close to remington the bits are interchangable from all Ive heard/read..... so there is a heap of solid reliable pump shotties on the market...the cheapies have basically the same guts/engine/heart but the finish isnt the same and they are HEAVY which is good for shooting steel loads from maimai or lots of rounds off ute spotlighting but not so good for long walks.
that H&R barrel took winchokes so another interchangable thing.
I still use shotguns that others wouldnt dream of using...single barrel break open...and they still kill well,its all about gun fit.
one of my most memorable days after water fowl...I had our son and his teenage mate along ,the mate had shot first duck night before,a circling parrie,he was using my break open external hammer .12ga, my son a SXS Bakail and I had the pump,we put in great stalk up on mob in a ditch,spread out and jumped them up. i dropped 5 with pump,son doubled...his mate with the single,who had fired less than 5 rounds before in his life, dropped duck RELOADED and got another....
was a really special moment...we sat on bank plucking all our birds and just loving life.
correct the 500"s are alloy receiver , plastic trigger group and plastic safety - the safety being the weak point i n my opinion as they split as mine has done but can be replaced with aftermarket alloy switch which mine is about to be . The plastic trigger group is also rumoured to be able to break the rear section off at the back that pokes into the receiver to locate it but I have not seen that happen personally .Quote:
Originally Posted by tommygun
The 590a1 is the mil spec version with metal trigger group , metal safety switch and heavy walled barrel . Rumoured to be the only shotgun tested by the military to pass all tests with virtual %100 score . Dropped from aircraft etc and still cycled something like 3000 rounds with only a couple of stoppages supposedly .
used them to duck shoot thruout my whole youth
used them for foliage sampling
put zillions of rounds thru them
some times two plus bricks a day
the only thing that aparently wears out on them is the magizine spring
Iv still never had to fix anything on a mossberg 500
cycle them firmly all pump actions hate bieng softly pumped
we have a bently in the family tooQuote:
Originally Posted by Finnwolf
the barrel bulged after a few thousand rounds
the changeable choke seems like it dosent have enough steel there
very low opinion of them after the bulge
the rest of the shot gun works fine, im a real mossy fan tho
$50 more and well the bently is basically worthless now
Mine has some longitudinal scores inside the muzzle area courtesy of previous owner, I suspect they had loaded steel ball bearings into some shells (it was before steel shot was around)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill999
But no choke or bulging.
this happened in the days before steel was a thing
the gun still functions but it gives me the shits to use it
so the brother has it and uses maybe one shot every few years on a possum in his fruit trees
the rest of the gun functions fine sloppy like a rem 870 but works fine
