Mossberg 535 ats 12 ga pump action

Great guns. I have both the deer/field combo in wood and blue and the camo 3 barrel set. Love both. No issues at all. I've got over 12000 rounds thru my wood stocked 535. The checkering is worn smooth but I'm rough on my pump guns. If you feel you need 3.5" gun its aa greaaat choice. Often people that shoot o/u's say the pump foreend is to far out but for me its no issue
 
I have had mine for about 3 years now. I have the 3 barrel combo (long duck barrel, short turkey barrel with rifle sights and cantilever rifled barrel (scope mount is part of the barrel, so you leave the scope on the barrel and that way the scope maintains zero). It came with IC, Modified, full and turkey chokes too.

It has been excellent. I have now hunted pretty much everything in the province except for moose with it. It fits me very well and the camo finish that mine has has held up better than I thought it would. All 3 barrels are good for 3.5" which I didn't think that I would need when I bought it but it turns out I have used a lot.

The rifled barrel exceeded all expectations that I had for accuracy. I have had shots touching on paper at 100 yards using the remington accutip sabots. Results have been nearly as good with the Hornady loads.

I shoot left and I really like the tang safety. Even if I were right handed I think that the tang safety is faster, easier to switch OFF with gloves and I think it encourages everyone to actually use it. Of course safeties don't make for safe shooting by any means but they are important on field guns IMHO.

Keep in mind that the receivers are aluminum which makes them lighter than a lot of other pumps. That is great for some types of hunting like upland where you might do a lot of walking and carrying the gun around and not much shooting. It may not suit you as well if you are shooting geese out of a blind all day and want to run 3.5" BB for geese; lighter gun makes for more recoil. If you are recoil shy it may not be for you, it does kick noticeably harder than a gun that a little heavier. Personally I like the lighter gun for what I have used mine for. It has taught me to manage recoil. I got some 3.5" number 4 buck (54 pellets) and man do they kick out of the 535! But it is manageable.

The gun is no frills, the pump rattles but it is a good no frills hunting shotgun. Try and find one to shoot before you buy, or at least handle one to see if it fits you.
 
I had two both were the camo barrel combo's and other than real poor resale and a rattly forearm worked without any issues going bang every time I asked it to.
 
I got the 3 barrel combo 535. I use the 28" barrel and rifled barrel, the 22" barrel never did pattern good with anything i tired, the 28" on the other hand works great for waterfowl,turkey,coyotes. I use the rifled barrel for deer hunting, It groups about 4" groups at 150 yards with 2 3\4" Coppersolid sabots.



Anyone ever try shooting 3.5" 2oz turkey loads from this gun? PFFFFT its the hardest kicking gun I've ever shot, The muzzle jump is intense, I ashamed to say I got a bloody nose first time firing it LOL. The gun is very light with aluminum receiver, I'm sure if I was shooting at an animal instead of a target, I wouldn't of even felt it :D
 
DVXDUDE said:
I got the 3 barrel combo 535. I use the 28" barrel and rifled barrel, the 22" barrel never did pattern good with anything i tired, the 28" on the other hand works great for waterfowl,turkey,coyotes. I use the rifled barrel for deer hunting, It groups about 4" groups at 150 yards with 2 3\4" Coppersolid sabots.



Anyone ever try shooting 3.5" 2oz turkey loads from this gun? PFFFFT its the hardest kicking gun I've ever shot, The muzzle jump is intense, I ashamed to say I got a bloody nose first time firing it LOL. The gun is very light with aluminum receiver, I'm sure if I was shooting at an animal instead of a target, I wouldn't of even felt it :D
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The old 835's were the same with the 3 1/2" lead. Beat the crap out of me to the point I would brace myself when pulling the trigger.:eek:
 
DVXDUDE said:
Anyone ever try shooting 3.5" 2oz turkey loads from this gun? PFFFFT its the hardest kicking gun I've ever shot, The muzzle jump is intense, I ashamed to say I got a bloody nose first time firing it LOL. The gun is very light with aluminum receiver, I'm sure if I was shooting at an animal instead of a target, I wouldn't of even felt it :D
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Yes, I use the 3.5" turkey loads but I think that the saboted slugs with the rifled barrel recoil worse. But the stiffest recoil I have yet to experience is the 3.5" number 4 buck load. 54 pellets for a total of about 2.5 OZ. About 96 pounds of recoil out of a 7.5 pound gun, but I think the mossberg weighs about 6.5 or so pounds. Compare that to:

.375 H&H 300 gr @ 2500 fps, 9# rifle - 39.1 ft-pounds
.458 WM 500 gr @ 2100 fps, 9# rifle - 63 ft-pounds
.460 Weatherby 500 gr @ 2500 fps, 9# rifle - 103 ft-pounds


Trap load: 12 gauge 2.75" 1 1/8 oz @ 1200 7.5 # gun - 23 ft-pounds
3" heavy game load: 12 gauge 3" 1 5/8 oz @ 1280 7.5# gun - 52 ft-pounds
3.5" #4 buck: 12 gauge 3.5" 2 1/2 @ 1150 7.5# gun - 96.4 ft-pounds

I was expecting some real kick - I had the gun planted really well in to my shoulder pocket, pulling back with my strong hand HARD and pushing forward on the pump with my off hand. Was also leaning in to it real good. The recoil STILL knocked me back and I had to take a step back. I thought that a 300 ultra mag had kick but it is mild compared to that load!

I do have a slip on limbsaver that I use for the rifled barrel and I really should use it for some of the other stiff loads.
 
They kick even more when you screw in a custom 4xfull choke lol. I've never got a bloody nose but I'm sure it didn't help my cracked fillings lol. I get stuck patterning all my buddies guns because they can take the recoil while shooting at paper
 
There great guns for turkey, deer and bear and not great for waterfowl. Converted my to
a dedicated deer and turkey gun with a scope. Not sure the newer ones are as good as the new ones.
 
Oneskilledshooter. Any idea how much recoil is generated from 3" brenneke gold 600gr slugs from a mossberg rifled barreled gun? They were 1225fps over my chrony. They hammer the shoulder. Not so bad with my ati 6position stock but the thumb webbing can only take so much. I've shot them from my stock 535 synthetic as well but not sure of the weight of the gun with the slug barrel on it
 
brybenn said:
Oneskilledshooter. Any idea how much recoil is generated from 3" brenneke gold 600gr slugs from a mossberg rifled barreled gun? They were 1225fps over my chrony. They hammer the shoulder. Not so bad with my ati 6position stock but the thumb webbing can only take so much. I've shot them from my stock 535 synthetic as well but not sure of the weight of the gun with the slug barrel on it
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I used an online calculator and used the following data to try and answer your question -

535 shotgun with rifled barrel weighs 7 pounds, assume 1 pound for scope, bases, rings so lets say 8 pound gun

1225 FPS, 600 grain slug

What we don't know is powder charge, so the range from the smallest that I guess it would be to the max charge gives me recoil of 30 to 40 foot pounds. That is consistent with my perception of the recoil of that load compared to other loads that I have experience with.

I think I mentioned earlier that I put a good slip on recoil pad on my 535 when I am shooting sabot slugs (when I remember it :redface:) and that helps a lot. Also, try and pull the stock in with your strong hand HARD while pushing away from yourself with your off hand. Sounds counterintuitive but it helps to control recoil a lot. Not sure what you can do about the abuse that the webbing of your hand is taking, but it may help to grasp the stock a little lower down the pistol grip.

Funny that the problem that I have with recoil from the heavy loads with the 535 is that the gun hits my cheek. Hasn't bruised, but it does beat me up. Haven't found a way around it yet.

Hope all this recoil talk doesn't discourage the OP from the 535 guns, they are good. Just try one out first if you can if you haven't shot a light shotgun before to give you an idea of what it's like.
 
Been knocking ducks down for 5 years now with mine. I sold the Slug barrel as I have more than enough rifles for that stuff.

I think it was $401 shipped to my door from SIR, and with the $100 I got for the Slug barrel, it turned out to be $301 for a new 3.5in 12ga pump. Sweet sweet deal.
 
I am fortunate enough to own both. My 870s are older wingmasters. I like both. In your case it may come down to how the particular guns feels in your hands. Either will do the job.

My shotguns include:

2 870 wingmasters, older 12 ga. One smoothbore with choke tubes. One rifled.
1 870 express magnum 20 ga. With both smootbore and rifled barrels
Mossberg 535 ATS 12 Ga. With both smootbore and rifled barrels
Mossberg 930 12 Ga. With both smootbore and rifled barrels
H&R 12 ga bolt action with a poly choke.

Still looking for a couple of SXS coach guns in 12 and 20 with exposed hammers. Anyone want to sell one?
 
Hmmm I thought it would be higher then that. I don't have a scope just open irons. I find the recoil much harder with those slugs then 00buck and #4buck both in 3.5". The recoil doesn't bother me altho I have cracked the fillings in my teeth the mossbergs fit me very well I've never been slapped yet. Thanks for the info tho
 
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