Advice on Mossberg pump wood furniture

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Albertahightest

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Hey everybody. I picked up a Mossberg shockwave and I'm looking to switch to a full wooden stock and forearm.

I have found a brand new set from a Mossberg supplier for $240. It looks good but I have read that the wood quality is not what it used to be.

The 70's / 80's / 90's wood looks quite nice and I like the checkering they used. But I can't seem to find sets anywhere. I also wonder how well 50 year old wood would stand up to hard use.

My question is, if you were looking for wood mossberg furniture, would you purchase new or search for vintage? Any leads, ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Wouldn’t hurt to put a WTB add in the shotgun section of the Equipment Exchange, might find an older set someone has stashed away. If you don’t get a response then I’d consider a new set
 
Depends, the design of the modern wood sets seems to match the synthetic in shape/form and function. The older 500 wood stock sets looked different but would no-doubt serve the purpose just as well.

Unlike old Remington stock sets (for example) that used to be walnut and mostly look pretty good-very good, none of the old Mossberg stock sets I've seen look like very plain-Jane wood. The one I have does.

Back to the new-I've handled a few of the "retrograde" Mossbergs and I think I'd pick one of the new sets if I were the OP. Not sure what species the wood is, but it would be hardwood and will last. For sure, they stain to achieve the uniform/dark color then clear coat it but that's nothing new in commercial wood finishing. Remington did/does the same thing, though old Remington's had an orangy-brown stain that was used to make dissimilar wood colors jive with each other. I once refinished an 870 Wingmaster stock set, and laughed when I had it stripped down. Buttstock was dark, and beautifully figured/forend the lightest walnut I'd ever seen. Looked like a black and white stock set. lol

Anyhow, I wouldn't decline a new-production set based on the quality of the wood. I think they look better, probably function very well.
 
Thanks fellas. I handled a new wood stocked 500 in a shop today. The wood they are using is quite nice in person. Indeed nicer to look at than the vintage sets I've seen.
 
Be aware that Mossberg changed things with their foreends about 10 years ago. It used to be that the foreend mounted to a tube, and the action bars mounted to that tube as well. Now they have done away with the tube as a separate part and the action bars mount straight to the foreend.

Just be aware, it would suck to drop $$ on an old set only to realize after the fact that you can't put them on your gun without buying more stuff.

Here is the tube I speak of:
11603bl.jpg
 
Suther said:
Be aware that Mossberg changed things with their foreends about 10 years ago. It used to be that the foreend mounted to a tube, and the action bars mounted to that tube as well. Now they have done away with the tube as a separate part and the action bars mount straight to the foreend.

Just be aware, it would suck to drop $$ on an old set only to realize after the fact that you can't put them on your gun without buying more stuff.

Here is the tube I speak of:
11603bl.jpg
Click to expand...
Hey thanks a lot man! I didn't realize this. It's looking more and more like I will buy the new furniture.
 
Suther said:
Be aware that Mossberg changed things with their foreends about 10 years ago. It used to be that the foreend mounted to a tube, and the action bars mounted to that tube as well. Now they have done away with the tube as a separate part and the action bars mount straight to the foreend.

Just be aware, it would suck to drop $$ on an old set only to realize after the fact that you can't put them on your gun without buying more stuff.

Here is the tube I speak of:
11603bl.jpg
Click to expand...
When it comes to the Shockwave, it's not a pinned on pump, but a shorter pump sleeve (6 ¾" instead of 7 ⅝"). So OP will just have to make sure the wood fits the shorter pump or modify it to do so.
 
Suther said:
Be aware that Mossberg changed things with their foreends about 10 years ago. It used to be that the foreend mounted to a tube, and the action bars mounted to that tube as well. Now they have done away with the tube as a separate part and the action bars mount straight to the foreend.

Just be aware, it would suck to drop $$ on an old set only to realize after the fact that you can't put them on your gun without buying more stuff.
Click to expand...
Good info but I don’t think that applies to all models, certainly something to be aware of.

My understanding of the retro furniture is that it is actually walnut but a lot of the photos I’ve seen make the stain almost look like paint that hides the grain of the wood. Some members have posted pictures though and the wood can be quite nice.

I think most old Mossberg wood furniture is likely to be birch. I have an old 500 with the same ribbed forend as the retro and it’s definitely not walnut.

Just be aware that the Shockwave has a shorter forend so you’ll have to modify the forend to fit, unless you score one from a Nightstick.
 
Leg said:
Good info but I don’t think that applies to all models, certainly something to be aware of.

My understanding of the retro furniture is that it is actually walnut but a lot of the photos I’ve seen make the stain almost look like paint that hides the grain of the wood. Some members have posted pictures though and the wood can be quite nice.

I think most old Mossberg wood furniture is likely to be birch. I have an old 500 with the same ribbed forend as the retro and it’s definitely not walnut.

Just be aware that the Shockwave has a shorter forend so you’ll have to modify the forend to fit, unless you score one from a Nightstick.
Click to expand...
Good point about the forend. I did write and confirm part numbers with Mossberg. The 6 3/4" forend is the one needed for a shockwave.
 
Thanks to everyone who helped. I ended up making a deal on a factory walnut set off a retrograde. The slide is the longer one, but I'm hoping to use a Dremel and get it to fit. Fingers crossed.
 
A final update for anyone who may be interested:

I bought a factory 500 hardwood set from an outfit called "Western Gun Parts" in Edmonton. They are listed as a parts source on Mossbergs website. This had the shorter forend and bolted up to the shockwave perfectly.

They replied almost immediately to a couple of questions and shipped very fast. The furniture is great and I'd deal with them again any day.
 
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