Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Praxis: The remarkable Mossberg 500


Mossberg Persuader Riot Gun. I keep one of these handy about the house, loaded with flechette rounds and buckshot.

Early in my life, I had the unexpected occasion to entrust my continued ability to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide on a 12 gauge pump shotgun. As it happened, that shotgun had a single slide bar action. On the evening of the excitement, when I recognized that someone was shooting 9mm in my direction, I racked the slide and twisted the inadequate single slide bar out of alignment in my feverish haste, putting the shotgun out of action. It was the last time in my life I did so. Fortunately I also carried an M1911 .45, so my oxygen-CO2 exchange was able to continue.

Shortly thereafter, talking to Red, the venerable owner of The Long Rifle gun store in Columbus, Ohio, I was introduced to the double slide bars of the Mossberg 500. I've never used another shotgun for serious social work.

One of the things about the Mossberg 500 which attracted my attention was the ease with which barrels could be swapped out according to the task at hand. With Matt coming back home in a few months, I wanted to gift him a shotgun which could multi-task.

Thus, at the gun show last Saturday, I picked up a used Mossberg 500AG 12 GA ribbed turkey gun in excellent condition fitted with the old C-Lect choke system. C-lect chokes are adjusted by turning a knob on the end to make it a full, modified, or improved choke. It looks something like this one below (without the rat dog).



I traded about $135 worth of stuff for it.

My thought was to refinish the stock to a bit more subdued scheme and refinish the action and barrel in a more rust-resistant finish. Then, I will pick up a deer slug barrel and a cylinder bore riot barrel, as below and redo them in the same style.



I even thought I would get the riot barrel fitted with a door breacher attachment.



Fortunately I have a good friend who is, among other things, a top-notch gunsmith (I can hear him groan as he reads this) who can install it without running afoul of the ridiculous ATF regulations.

Thus, with one firearm, Matthew can have a weapon that is capable of taking turkeys, birds on the wing, rabbits, deer, two-legged pack wolves and doors. It will take me a while to find some good used barrels of the proper type chambered for both 2.75" and 3", but hey, that's why God made gun shows.

Mike
III

24 comments:

RJIII said...

New cylinder bore 18.5" from Mossberg is $65 and shipping isn't bad.

Anonymous said...

One of my favorites!

Pickdog
III

Anonymous said...

That is a nice rig. Man I miss my ole Ithaca. Hee hee. No weapon is ever truly obsolete just ask the guy that got hit with a rock. Sorry my browser is on noid mode it won't let me use a nickname.

Anonymous said...

A great article sir.

Full Spectrum Shotgun Employment


http://www.pro-patria.us/full_spectrum_shotgun


mike/III
Texas

CowboyDan said...

Nice piece, Mike. I've got my eye on one locally.

diggler said...

Not a better shotgun for the money. The biggest mistake I ever made with regards to firearms was selling my old 590. Seven 3" magnum rounds staggered 000/slug was about the pinnacle of boogie home defense.

Anonymous said...

I don't live right. I always have to pay retail! Like the "rat" dog.

Anonymous said...

just don't put a pistol grip on it or wou will have a bona fide WMD or some such thing.

MamaLiberty said...

I love my 500 Mossberg 20 gauge. The 12s knock me down. LOL

Dennis308 said...

Excelent choice of giffs Mike a Shootgun is a VERY vesital piece of equipment. I just gave my son a Mosant-Nagant and a few round to go with it. $190. late for Christmas cause I was away at work but what the hay.

Dennis
III
Texas

MadDawg308 said...

I used to be a Remington 870 guy, I didn't think much of the Moss 500, until the military adopted the M590. Then I took another look at the old 500 series.

I highly recommend the M590A1, it has a 8+1 capacity, matte black finish, heat shield and bayonet lug, plus there are options for Speedfeed stock, ghost ring sights, and breacher muzzle device. It's quite a shotgun, love to have another one....

SiGraybeard said...

Good deal. I thought my mid-90s Mossy 500 for $200 was a good deal.

It also had a 24" ribbed barrel, and I got a brand new 18" barrel from Cabelas on sale. Very easy to swap barrels, so you can go turkey hunting or shooting clays by day, and rig for social work in under a minute.

Michael Gilson said...

There is a poly choke type device out there that is designed to screw in like a choke tube. Likewise Browning at one time made a screw in rifled choke where the rifled section was 6 inches long, unlike the 4 inches of the Briley rifled choke, and tests showed that it would stabilize conventional and sabot slugs. Might be able to use them to achieve your goal with a single barrel instead of a pair.

Anonymous said...

I have 2 shotguns, both identical in looks. A Rem.870 and a Mossberg 930, 18.5" bbl,Lee-Enfield sling, Tru-glo turkey sights on rib, and Duracoat finish in coyote tan & dark earth. I spend lots of time in the woods hiking here in Wyoming and carry the gun loaded with Rem. 3" magnum slugs. The perfect grizzly medicine. Both will print a 1.5" group @ 25 yds.

0321

Defender said...

Awesome weapon. I love and trust my Mossberg 500 basic model. It's as sturdy as a sledgehammer and more accurate than I can shoot with rifled slugs. It's ergonomic, right down to the safety on top for the thumb to reach easily.
I want one with the extended magazine and bayonet lug and ghost ring sights and a laser. Dear Santa...

Jay Stang said...

Number one reason I love my 590:

Thumb mounted safety. Ergonomically divine.

Allen said...

I have a similar gun with the speedfeed "chopped look" grip. I like it better than the other pistol grips, because I can access the safety in the same manner as if it still had a full stock.

it also has a lower profile and I fire it like a "2-handed pistol"

a good sling between the butt of the grip and the mag cap with slug-buckshot-copper sabot slug arranged in the loops on the sling. they're very easy to tell apart by feel.

Dick's Dad said...

I grew up with 500s.

Apart from some early difficulty extracting European made cases (which was quickly and permanently cured) they were absolutely reliable.

I was looking at one a few days back, went to check the mag spring for rust, and the mag tube wouldn't unscrew.

I'm guessing it was loctited in for the Euro market, but I'd be interested to here from anyone who knows for sure.

Anonymous said...

And it will also shoot garage made FRAG-12 rounds.

Don't think that people aren't working on duplicating the FRAG-12 focusing on ease of manufacture and use in tubular magazines and have had some successes already.

A bandolier full of these turns the humble Mossberg 500 into an impact-fuzed antipersonnel grenade launcher with a 1m kill radius or a shaped charge round that can go through 1/4" plate.

Carl said...

when the good sheriff lost the last election and the political idiot got back in office, he declared the department would get rid of our 590's and go back to the 870. I've owned an 870 for 40 years and I like it, but the 500 series is a better choice when you have to lay it all on the line.

Carl
III

Plug Nickel Outfit said...

I'd be interested in seeing any recommendations for front sling mounts for the Mossberg 500. Seems that most are configured for attachment between the magazine tube and cap, or take the place of the standard tube cap. Any pros or cons based on experience and preferences? Links to examples?

Anonymous said...

I keep one just like it loaded with 4 Buck - 41, .25 caliber pellets per shotshell. 8 rounds in weapon (includes one chambered) and 5 extra shells on stock for easy access.

Am planning on ordering a Sling Bandoleer for it too. Once I add that I've got 38 rounds to work with until I have to worry about ammo resupply.

That ought to give a riot mob some hesitation and give me a good chance to get to my battle rifle.

(Since we're talking about shotguns, I didn't mention the Kimber .45ACP which resides on my hip during all waking hours or the other pistols stashed strategically throughout the house.)

But ya'll get the idea, I'm sure.

Diamondback

Jay Stang said...

I roll with my 590, a 10 round bandoleer sling, and 2 55 round bandoleers. Full loadout is 128 rounds of 12 gauge that I can grab and run in 2-3 seconds.

Vann said...

Careful with the pistol grip. Recoil almost broke my thumb the first time I fired it this way.