Mossberg 500 combos shipping with Maverick style 1-piece forend.

[manbearpig]

read this on a US forum just now while looking for pics of the forend nut for 'Naterness' -- are the ones in Canada like this?
has anyone bought one of the ~$300 Mossberg 500 2-barrel combos recently and can confirm either way whether it has a 1-piece Maverick style forend assembly or the proper Mossberg one that can be disassembled?

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=77736&page=2

i was about to pick one of these up as a gift for a new shooter just getting into hunting - getting a new Mossberg 500, 28" vent rib hunting barrel and 18" HD barrel for $299 seemed like a great deal and a good start as a first all-round shotgun.
but now that i consider that:

-the 28" vent rib barrel has a fixed modified choke
-it has a 1-piece Maverick 88 forend despite being stamped as a 500A​

it doesnt seem like such a good deal after all. in fact if its true, then youd be better off getting the $300 Maverick combo, which would essentially be the same thing except its 28" barrel comes with a set of removable chokes.
also, the Mossberg 500 Field for the same price, with wood stock, ported 28" vent rib barrel tapped for chokes (comes with F, M, IC) and proper Mossberg 500 parts seems like a much better deal now.

any thoughts?

 

[josh82]

I have one and you are right, it has the one peice forend/action assembly. I bought a 7 and 3/8 action and nut for it and swapped out the stock and forend for a set of houge's.

Kind of stupid but didn't know at the time. Thinking one of the Pistol grip Mossy's would be a good deal if you wanted to swap out the stock.

Josh

 

[manbearpig]

thanks,
seeing as thats the only practical difference between the Maverick 88 and Mossberg 500, i think its a pretty underhanded cost-cutting move by Mossberg.
ive seen the Maverick 88 combo sells for a bit less, and it has 3 removable chokes - and apparently it only differs in that it has Maverick stamped on the receiver instead of Mossberg.

ugh. i guess ill look into the Mossberg 500 Field.

 

[Woody-to]

thanks,

and apparently it only differs in that it has Maverick stamped on the receiver instead of Mossberg.

I think the safety on the two are different as well. The Maverick does not have the tang safety from what I have heard.
.

 

[jjbkozack]

yes
i was alot cheezed off getting a shorter and one piece front end

 

[manbearpig]

I think the safety on the two are different as well. The Maverick does not have the tang safety from what I have heard.
.

doh, forgot about that

 

[Woody-to]

I have the 3 barrel combo. All in all I am happy with it.
Like yourself, I almost didn't buy it when I found out about the one piece forearm.

I figured it was such a good deal that I would take a chance with it. I also naively like to think that the 10 year warranty would cover it should it break. I have had good luck with Mossberg support so far. I sent an email stating that my combo was advertised with sling studs but did not come with them, they simply said "no problem, should be ther in 10 days" and they were.

 

[rancidjo]

please explain about the one piece forearm. I was going to get one of these combos, and was wondering what the problem is with having the one piece, thanks

 

[manbearpig]

theres not really a functional problem.

on a typical Remington 870 or Mossberg 500, there is a metal action slide tube to which the action bars are soldered. the wood/synthetic forend slides overtop of this tube and is secured by a nut (nut is not in the first pic):

on the Maverick 88, this entire assembly is just one solid block of plastic, with two action bars just pinned into it with a plastic pin (never disassembled one myself - this is what ive been told).

the main disadvantage of this is that you will not be able to install any aftermarket forends. to do so, you will have to buy a Mossberg 500 forend tube/tube nut. if you never intend to swap forends then this is not such a big disadvantage.
one other possible disadvantage: ive read of people breaking the pin that holds the action bars into the plastic forend, which would suck. ive yet to hear of anyone breaking a metal 870/500 forend.

what were you planning on using the shotgun combo for?

 

[EggMcMuffown]

The Mossberg forend is a little slicker to work too.

 

[rancidjo]

thanks for the detailed reply

i plan on using it as a "truck/camp" gun. And as a back up clay gun and maybe take out on an (very) occasional duck or upland hunt. Basically a gun that if i scratch it, drop it in a puddle I won't cry about it. And as I just found out, I need a gun that can cycle target loads and go bang when I pull the trigger. As even a realible over under can have problems and makes for a long day when you don't have a back-up. I think this combo will serve me just fine

 

[manbearpig]

another option:

buy the Remington 870 3-barrel combo from LeBaron for $569
sell the 23" fully rifled cantilever mount barrel on the EE for $200
keep the 28" vent rib barrel for clays, duck, upland
use the 23" rifle sighted turkey barrel for your 'truck' and all-purpose gun.

 

[RUPZUK]

Yea, I just got one and kinda expected it to be the same as my last 500.
NOT
The whole thing just feels cheaper, more plastic.
The forend is actually hollow with several ribs that act as a bearing surface and a spring clip holds the bars in place, the stock is really light (as is the whole Gun) and hollow as well but has a nice shape and fits me well. The barrel doesn't screw on as nice as my older one either...
But that said, so far I'm happy with it, I needed a cheap gun that worked and that I wouldn't have to give a sh!t about when it gets all beat up.
Popped it out of the box, went to the trap range and so far put 125 rounds through it with out a hiccup and it shattered the clays just fine. Considering I bought it for the other barrel that was a nice plus.

 

[davemccarthy707]

theres not really a functional problem.

on a typical Remington 870 or Mossberg 500, there is a metal action slide tube to which the action bars are soldered. the wood/synthetic forend slides overtop of this tube and is secured by a nut (nut is not in the first pic):

on the Maverick 88, this entire assembly is just one solid block of plastic, with two action bars just pinned into it with a plastic pin (never disassembled one myself - this is what ive been told).

the main disadvantage of this is that you will not be able to install any aftermarket forends. to do so, you will have to buy a Mossberg 500 forend tube/tube nut. if you never intend to swap forends then this is not such a big disadvantage.
one other possible disadvantage: ive read of people breaking the pin that holds the action bars into the plastic forend, which would suck. ive yet to hear of anyone breaking a metal 870/500 forend.

what were you planning on using the shotgun combo for?

My buddy had the older 88 with the single action bar. It broke the fore end next to the pin after a few years use (we fixed it with a welding machine and some stainlees 308-16 rods and a butter knife ). I think this may be why they eventually went to the dual slide bars. I haven't seen one of these break.

-Dave

 

[rancidjo]

I bought the combo. Put 2 cases of target ammo through it so far. I knew what I was buying, knew what I wanted it for, and am very happy with it.

 

[Beer_drinker]

I just checked, my 500 two bbl combo came with the 88 foregrip, no metal tube inside.


Egg is probably right, the 500 foregrip must be slicker, the plastic seems to add a bit of unwanted friction. I'm still pleased with my purchase and would get another 500 combo if I had to do it again. Screw "femington"