500 vs 870

IAMAWILDPARTY

IAMAWILDPARTY

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My buddy (who has never fired a gun) is bent on buying a shotgun soon. He has settled on 12ga, which I think is fine, he isnt a small guy and will have no trouble handling it.

He wants to go with a pump and is looking at the 500 and 870 primarily.

Now, he is currently favouring the 500 because he prefers the feel of it, he thought the 870 felt just a bit clunky. I tend to agree with him, I thought the 870 felt a bit more awkward in my hands(the pump/fore end was a bit thicker and something about how the grip fit in my hand felt worse.) .

Its primary use will be hunting, and it's the standard 26 or 28 inch barrel he's looking at - he isnt interested in a rifled barrel combo.

I don't know anyone with these guns, everyone I know has either break action singles or autoloaders, and I have a SxS.

Are there any reasons to go for one over the other?

Any opinions from people who have used one or both?
Sidenote - how do you convince someone that wood is far more attractive than black plastic?
 
I researched on this and basically it comes to what feels right and what are your options you want. Here are some deciding factors

-safety: 870 is by the trigger, 500 is on the top (its cheap plastic so get it replaced like I did to metal tang)

-Receiver: 870 is steel, Mossberg is alloy, sometimes a deciding factor.

I actually bought a 535 instead which would compare to a 870 super mag. From what I was told the 870 is more of a hunting based gun and the 500 is more of a tactical gun, both do well if swapped either way its just a couple factors that give people the final decision. I feel the forearm slides tighter on the 870 and the 500 was clunky. Like I said I ended up getting a 535 3 barrel combo which covers deer, waterfowl and turkey for $539 in Mossy Oak camo. I wanted 3.5" so I can load up on heavy turkey loads and just to have the option on 3.5 for other areas. Hope this helps.
 
The mossberg is a far better built gun then the NEW 870s. Find one that feels right buy it and use it. I have 2 mossbergs and enuf parts to build 4-5 more if I had the receivers I've sold off my 870s even my wingmaster deluxe
 
I was looking at shotguns @ 2 different stores this week. Three shotties were what I was interested in particularly.

Mossberg 590A1, Remington 870, FabArms Martial (all are within $100 of each other)

My overall impressions:

Remington is heavy, had mediocre fit-n-finish, and I hate the battery release in front of the trigger guard.

Fabarms has a spring-loaded battery-return assist, but has less available add-ons than either of the other 2, and a tad chunky.

Mossberg... Well, just felt... Right... Light but well built, behind the trigger battery-release, plenty of tacti-cool available...

:)
 
I have a Remington Express with the laminated stock, a wingmaster 12 gauge upland special, a 1970's Mossberg 500 and I will include the Browning BPS though not asked about. In my experience, I would take the wingmaster special field over any of them if I had to pick one. It is built very well and fit/finish is very nice. It fits me very well and points and swings very smoothly. And as mentioned, how a gun fits is important. Next I would pick the Browning BPS. It is built just as reliable as the Wingmaster but is heavier. Heavier though makes it better for waterfowl shooting with heavy loads. For me, this gun does not quite feel as comfortable as the Wingmaster. Now for the last 2 guns, the Express or 500. I admit my 500 is an older model and the Express is about 3-4 years old. At this point I would give the edge to the Express. Again it feels a little better in my hands and I have had a number of little things that have happened more than once to the 500. The safety at times wouldn't come off even though pushed ahead. It has been replaced about 3 times because of breaking/cheap construction. I had a problem where the gun would eject one spent shell, pump the second out the bottom and put the third in the chamber. Was kind of expensive waterfowl hunting until I discovered what was happening. And there has been a couple of times where the screws that hold the parts into the receiver came lose and all the internals fell out on the ground upon pumping. I suppose some locktite would cure that though. I also prefer wood as opposed to synthetic and the finish on this 500 was a very poor layer of varnish that wore off and looked like crap in no time. Again, this is an older model so I can't really say how well made the new ones are. And this is only my opinion. If the Mossberg feels better for your buddy, then chances are he will be happy with it.
 
Personally I favor a 870 from the 50's to early 70's.
Look for a used one from this era in good shape and the price will be right to.
Quality Metal, wood, and workmanship.
Doc.
 
Your pal can't go too far wrong with either gun, both are well designed and well made, but if he prefers the Mossberg, thats the right one for him. I would urge him to choose an 835 or a 590 with a magazine cap rather than with the barrel bolt that screws into the end of the magazine, as it can be a bit of a pain to clean the 500's magazine tube.
 
Owned them both. Sold the 870. The 870 didnt want to pump nice when i used cheaper bird shot for skeet. So i had to use more expensive ammo for throwing lead in the air and that always kinda anoyed me. I agree with your buddy that the mossberg had always felt better, like it always shouldered just right everytime i shot. I hear the 870's were better built some time ago. A new one fresh out the box doesnt function and feel as sweet as the classic counter part.

I prefer my shotguns all camo'd up. I use it for upland and waterfowl, and the waterfowlers are all about the camo. I say keep your options open, go with camo. But wood stocks in my opinion look so much better then black. I'd be careful tho, sometimes the wood stocks are heavier, and lighter gun makes for a much more enjoyable hunt.
 
brybenn said:
The mossberg is a far better built gun then the NEW 870s. Find one that feels right buy it and use it. I have 2 mossbergs and enuf parts to build 4-5 more if I had the receivers I've sold off my 870s even my wingmaster deluxe
Click to expand...

I would agree with that if your talking 590 or 590A1, the 500 is not as well made.
 
I have owned both, the Mossbergs work better period imo. I have yet to have a hangup of any kind even with a cheap JIC 500. I have a 590 now and have owned a 590A1 both worked flawlessly. I stayed away from mossbergs for years cause i thought they were junk, i didnt know any better. I finally tryed one, it was a good decision.
 
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