I just picked up a Mossberg 500A 8 shot persuader for $275 bucks, After spending countless hours researching which is better the 870 or 500 I figured the 500 was a better gun. For two main reasons, 1. no shell gate to catch your figners on, The 500 allows you to load fast and easy without any fumbles or pinched gloves or fingers and 2. it has TWO extractors not just one, The only drawback of the mossberg is that you CAN NOT change the magazine without buying a whole new barrel. Just keep that in mind if you want a larger magazine size.
All in all I am very happy with mine.