First Shotgun! Mossberg 590A1 18.5" GRS

Mambo

Mambo

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Location
Vancouver, BC
Hi all, I just took delivery of my first shotgun! Can't wait to learn how to shoot her...never fired a shotty before but am planning to take a Shotgun Level 1 course with Silvercore in December, woohoo!

Big props go out to Gord and the team at Milarm! Gord was fantastic at answering my gozillion questions and shipping was extremely fast! My original shipment came with the wrong barrel (3 dot) somehow, but they sent out my correct barrel (Ghost Ring) immediately. Excellent customer service the whole way =)

My initial impressions, and seeing as I'm a newb and can only go by look and feel at this point, I can say that she's got quite a heft to her! I'm curious to see how heavy she is with a full mag tube and possibly a Mesa 6-shot carrier. I was originally planning to put a MAX100 +2 extension on her as well. I think with all that she may weigh a ton! I need to do some push-ups. =P

I was, however, disappointed with the overall finish. Parkerized yes, but just seems like quality control is less than stellar. There's a large area on one side of the receiver that look as if oil or grease has 'stained' the parkerized finish if that makes sense? I can see that it dripped down from under the rear ghost ring sight. I've given the whole firearm a good spray of G96 and let it sit for a bit but after wiping down the 'stained' area is still there. Imagine seeing a shinier black area amongst the parkerized area...that's what it looks like. Maybe it won't bug me when the shell carrier is on and covering it? There are also numerous scratches etc on the receiver and barrel...maybe I'm nit-picking and yes I know metal gets scratched and yes I'm gonna shoot the tar out of her but still, I like to think that any damage done to something I buy with my hard earned money should be by my own doing!?

Another small quibble is the front sight, looks like the plastic mold used wasn't that great (or fully filled) as there are tiny 'chips' in one corner. The front post with it's red/orange strip however is fully viewable through the rear ghost ring so yes I understand that function is not suffering...again, just a quality concern.

As for the action....SWEEEEEET! Gad I love that sound. Seems nice and smooth. I couldn't resist and dry fired her a dozen times without a dummy round or snap cap - is this bad? I'll have to pick some up to practice loading. I do find the LOP a bit long and have a Hogue Short Shot set with the 12" LOP stock on order.

So, I will be keeping the additions to a minimum but here's what I've got planned:

- MAX100 +2 tube extension
- Streamlight TLR-1 light and mount
- Mesa Sureshot 6 shell carrier
- Hogue 12" LOP stock and fore-end
- 2 point sling of some sort
- TONS of ammo and practice!

In terms of practice, where can I take her to shoot around the lower mainland (Vancouver, BC)? PoCo only allows slugs from what I've heard, correct? I'd love to try a variety of loads, of course...start 'small', ya know? Hehe.

Anyhow, as you can tell I'm excited so thanks for listening! Any info and advice greatly appreciated!
 
congrats on the new shotgun! They are a blast to shoot.

If you want some fun targets for shooting out in a pit, as long as you clean up the garbage along with the hulls, try filling up empty 2L bottles with water. After you get used to it, get a hand thrower and a box of clays.
 
TheManInBlack said:
:needPics:
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Doh! Crap phone camera for now. Will take better pics of questionable finished areas with a real camera soon.

Daisy.jpg
 
Invalid Zero said:
If you're putting on a mag extension, why didn't you just get the 20" 8+1 instead?
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Good question, the 20" even though only 1.5" longer seemed a bit too long and slightly heavier. I liked how the 18.5" felt and pointed. The +2 mag extension will then sit flush with my 18.5" barrel so at least I can hold a couple more rounds. I like the look of the mag tube sitting flush with muzzle but 20" just felt 'bigger'.
 
Mambo said:
I was, however, disappointed with the overall finish. Parkerized yes, but just seems like quality control is less than stellar. There's a large area on one side of the receiver that look as if oil or grease has 'stained' the parkerized finish if that makes sense? I can see that it dripped down from under the rear ghost ring sight. I've given the whole firearm a good spray of G96 and let it sit for a bit but after wiping down the 'stained' area is still there. Imagine seeing a shinier black area amongst the parkerized area...that's what it looks like. Maybe it won't bug me when the shell carrier is on and covering it? There are also numerous scratches etc on the receiver and barrel...maybe I'm nit-picking and yes I know metal gets scratched and yes I'm gonna shoot the tar out of her but still, I like to think that any damage done to something I buy with my hard earned money should be by my own doing!?
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You WANT the parkerized finish to be thoroughly stained with oil or grease, that's what gives it most of its corrosion resisting ability and also makes it quite a bit more scratch resistant than it otherwise would be.

I actually go ahead and smear every inch of exterior finish of a new parkerized gun in grease and let it sit for a bit in a hot place so that the pores of the finish are able to open up and absorb as much grease as possible, and then I wipe off the excess.

The last thing you ever want with a parkerized gun is to let it stay "dry", as the porous finish will load up with moisture in the absence of lube, which as you can guess is not a good thing. Parkerizing also looks a lot darker and more badass when its properly lubed.
 
870P said:
The last thing you ever want with a parkerized gun is to let it stay "dry", as the porous finish will load up with moisture in the absence of lube, which as you can guess is not a good thing. Parkerizing also looks a lot darker and more badass when its properly lubed.
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Hey thanks so much for the tip! I oiled her all up and let her sit for a bit and wiped her down.....OOOOOOOHHHH.....AAAAAHHHHH! She looks awesome now! Definitely darker and more 'badass' as you say...haha! That original darker shinier area is still there though but Gord over at Milarm suggested I use Brake Cleaner to completely strip all oil from the metal then reapply oil to make sure things are even. Makes sense.

Thanks again. Now I just need to shoot this ###y gal and have her throw me on my ass, haha.
 
Nah it shouldn't do that at all. I put a Mesatactical pistol grip and collapsible stock on mine, and can shoot it from the hip.... (no accuracy but it doesn't knock me down or anything).
 
Grease is a LOT more persistant and protective than oil is on a parked finish, you don't need expen$ive gun grease either, any old automotive grease will do.

Grease also seems to make the finish run darker too, which is probably why you can still see that "stain" on your gun. My parked guns went from a dark grey to about Darth Vader black when I switched from oil to grease and got serious about applying it.

Just to be sure to seriously degrease and clean the inside of your gun before you shoot it, the packing grease that they're shipped with is an absolute bear to get out if it's been baked in and grunged up by shooting, inside the barrel and chamber especially.

Oh and don't worry about the parkerizing turning a light chalky grey when you get degreaser on it, just lube it back up and its back to black.
 
I'm picking up my Mesa Tactical 6 shot carrier tomorrow and I noticed in the installation instructions it says "Factory standard forends will have to be modified, but the SureShell carrier can be used with any tactical forend..." Huh? So I would have to trim down my stock forend? I don't recall my stock forend overlapping the receiver much at all?
 
870P said:
Grease is a LOT more persistant and protective than oil is on a parked finish, you don't need expen$ive gun grease either, any old automotive grease will do.
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So when you fully clean your gun, do you remove all the grease from the exterior as well and then reapply?
 
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