Maverick 88 or M500 ?? First Shot Gun
- Thread starter pantz
- Start date
troutseeker
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Prince George, BC
I had Remingtons, Dlask, Mossberg's and a few others. I currently own a Maverick 88, cheap though shotgun. I see no reason to get something different. Spend the money you save on ammo or fuel to head for the bush!
Greenhorse six
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
My vote is for the 500,not that there's anything wrong with the 88,but thought I heard something about the action bars just being bonded to the plastic forend and I'am probably wrong about that, another thing I like about the 500 is the safety location.
maybe just get a 590,or at least a 500 with a magazine cap and not the barrel screw end.
maybe just get a 590,or at least a 500 with a magazine cap and not the barrel screw end.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I consider the 500 an improvement over the 88s. The 500 has a much smoother action out of the box, and the safety location on the tang is superior to the 88s cross bolt. Still, the 88 is good value for the money spent. I believe that the bead mounted down on the barrel rather than on a pedestal is a weak point of all plain barreled Mossbergs and cause most people to shoot high. I've found that all of the synthetic Mossberg stocks are on the long side, so before you make your choice, compare the fit a standard stocked gun and a youth stocked gun, particularly if you intend to use the gun in cold whether when you'll be wearing bulky clothing. Generally speaking, I prefer the 500's action to the 870's, but I intensely dislike the fact that you can't access the inside of the mag tube for cleaning or maintenance. The point of all this is that none of the guns off the shelf are perfect, and all of them have their strengths and weaknesses.
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
The only reason I'd say buy the mossberg is if you plan on doing a lot with the shotgun! I regret buying the 88 not because od quality or function but because for less than 200 dollars I could have gotten the 3 barrel combo 500. the rifled slug barrel will cost you 200 dollars alone if you wanted to buy one for the 88 afterwards.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
my main gripe with the Maverick is that you cannot change forends. if you want to change the stock+forend for any reason, youll have to buy an entire Mossberg forend assembly. personally i would spend the few bucks more and get a Mossberg. or better yet, get an 870 for even more flexibility.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
you can clean it much easier than the 870s! you just need to unscrew it from the action. i lost the little barrel screw retaining clip on my Mossberg magazine tube, and it was actually an improvement: i could completely remove the barrel screw and be left with a plain tube, which i could wash out by just running soap + hot water through it and then laying it on a radiator or out in the sun to dry. then just lightly oil with a cleaning rod+12ga puff.
IMHO the stamped metal Mossberg follower should be replaced because it is a design flaw. its 'lip' can wedge in the tiny gap between the action and mag tube and result in you not being able to load shells. it happens very rarely but if it just happens to do it right when you need to load a shell in a hurry you are $%@&ed. it also happens when you tighten the mag tube without pushing the follower slightly into the mag tube with a finger.
an aftermarket hi-vis follower is only $5-10 and completely eliminates this problem.
Some of the 88s have the same fore end as the 500 but they are few and far between
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Once the magazine tube is unscrewed from the receiver, that doesn't help you much because the front end is accessible only through the threaded hole for the barrel retaining bolt and the rear of the tube is formed to prevent the follower from popping out. Thus there is not way to properly clean the inside of the tube, the garden hose thing works, but compared to an open tube such as the 870 or 590, it leaves something to be desired. After pouring water into the magazine tube, the magazine spring and the inside of the tube are prone to rust because there is not enough air movement to encourage fast drying. You can spray the inside of the tube with a water displacing aerosol, but now your have your ammo in a magazine tube wet with oil. Yes, you can chase the follower with a jag and patch, but that doesn't soak up the oil or water between the follower and the end of the magazine. I prefer to blow out the tube with compressed air, which although not a perfect solution, at least keeps oil out of places you don't want it. In the winter, a gun brought indoors will sweat, and again rust can form inside the magazine tube. There is no easy way to change the follower, and as you point out, attempting to do so can lead to reliability problems.
When I clean a 500/88 that has ridden on the back of a quad all summer, I can't believe how much dust can accumulate in that magazine tube. Sometimes I wonder how the gun cycles at all, but they seem to if under protest. That speaks well for the 500/88's reliability, but what is a good gun could have been an excellent gun, if only it had an open tube magazine.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
when i bought my first Mossberg 500 (used), i stripped it and cleaned it -- took out a handful of pine needles (soaked in gun oil) from the action and mag tube. how they got in the mag tube i have no idea. the gun still functioned fine.
i always put a very light coat of gun oil inside my mag tubes, then run a clean paper towel through a few times with a jag. i know gun oil and ammo dont mix, but if i dont and just leave the metal bare it will rust eventually. i just assumed that a trace of oil was the lesser evil. are you saying i should stop doing this?
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I think it depends on your personal circumstances. Many of the guns up here are kept loaded for extended periods of time, so those guns should probably not have oil in the mag tube. If the gun is to be used on an occasional basis, where the shells are cycled through shortly after being loaded, it probably won't hurt, although an oily surface is a dirt magnet.
I went with the 88 !!!! 18.5 inch... was pretty interesting to take apart and re-assemble. The manual was pretty good as far as the instructions go and is cycles pretty awsome now after all the parts got a dose of CLP.
Can a 500 barrell drop in to my 88 and if so how much to they run ?
Can a 500 barrell drop in to my 88 and if so how much to they run ?
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
Now your gonna kick yourself!!!
You are better off buying another shorgun, instead of the new barrel!
I tried to warn you!!!!!!
Barrels are $150 plus depending on what you are looking for. The slug barrel is about $190 - $220, and I havent looked for anything else. I said f ck it and am going to buy a dedicated slug gun.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
for $299 you could have bought the Mossberg 500 2-barrel combo, or the Maverick 88 2-barrel combo.
if you by a barrel separately itll be around $150. not worth it, better to just buy a second shotgun like mlehtovaara said.
if you by a barrel separately itll be around $150. not worth it, better to just buy a second shotgun like mlehtovaara said.
- Location
- South of your border
I've had a 500A and an 88 and I recommend the 500 as it has 2 rails while the 88 only has 1.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
the 88 has been built with dual action bars for several years now - only the old ones had a single action bar.
but on the 88 the action bars/forend are attached, so you cant swap forends like you can on a Mossberg 500.
but on the 88 the action bars/forend are attached, so you cant swap forends like you can on a Mossberg 500.
