Thread: Mossberg Maverick 88 - any good?

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

Originally Posted by gsp follower

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

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 them

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…

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!)

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.

Originally Posted by tommygun

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.

lets not confuse the maverick 88 with the latter better put together 500.s of the last few years.
i dont want to belay the point but ive never hads a 870 forend go twisty