REALLY noob question

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Hugegoat

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Hey again everybody.

Okay, right to the point. Remington 870 (any model) vs Mossberg 500 (maybe also 590) for lets say..... a zombie invasion (just throwing out a random situation). This topic has probably been beat to death already but i'd appreciate if you help a noob-cake along.

Every thing i've read shows that its a good choice either way. But most people on CGN have (or just talk more about) Remington's 870's and seem to "dig" them more. Is it because its what they were raised on, so they love it so much; or is their some reason i'm missing? The mossberg is supposed to be reliable (heck, the USA military torture tested it) but people have complained about the plastic trigger guards and plastic safety.

I dont plan on purchasing it in the near future as im 14, but probably will buy it once im 18+ and have my PAL (probably something in synthetic too because I will abuse my weapons like HECK and I like them tank). And no, I am not considering a grizzly arm over either.

Thanks!
 
I'd have to say quality wise, the 870 is the way to go. A good friend of mine has the 870 Marine and it's great. The factory keyed safety lock is a cool feature. Really though, it's like picking the "best" 600cc sportbike, they're all quite close in features and specs, get the one you like better.
 
My old 500 has seen lots of action as both a bird hunter and a truck gun. I have three barrels for it and a couple of stock options to choose from. It has never let me down yet.
 
The Mossberg 500 is one of our great guns. Without it, plus many others, a lot of people would never have shot or hunted. I've worked on many 500's and the repeated problem is the plastic safety breaking, for the most part. The 870 is built to better tolerances and is a far nicer looking gun. From a performance standpoint, you won't go wrong with either choice.
 
Both the 500's and the 870 are Remington designs. The fact that both are usually reliable should not be surprise, nor should it be a surprise, given the number of guns produced, that now and then a poor one sneaks in under the radar.

When I needed a bear gun quick after the fire of 2000 I made my choice between the 870 Marine and the 590, and after careful consideration the 590 won out. I don't care for the solid magazine tube of the 500s so I eliminated those right out of the gate. The deciding factor for the 590 was the fact that the ejector can be changed out with a screw where the 870s is riveted in. Down south that maybe doesn't make a huge difference, but up here a little thing like a broken ejector has you out of business. The ejector screw on the 590 also makes a great anchor for a side saddle. Acquiring a junker 500 has given me a spare trigger group should I have a failure, and a spare ejector. Nothing has failed and this gun has seen much use. It was my primary carry gun for several years while my .375 was being built. I have the parkerized ghost ring model which came without the hand-guard, but I ordered the hand-guard separately. Aside from giving the gun a more finished look (IMHO), it has protected the barrel from damage when I've had bad falls, so it was worth the extra expense. The rocks along the coast get covered with a hard to see black algae in the fall, and that stuff is deadly slippery.

Some things I did not take into consideration, but that worked out in my favor are as follows. The 590s elevator stays in the up position that makes adding additional rounds to the magazine easier. The 870s must be pushed up and could cause fumbling under stress. The 590s forend is short enough that it does not interfere with the mounting of a side saddle. The 590s tang safety is more user friendly than the Remington's cross bolt.

The down side of the 590s relate mostly to the stock which tends to be a bit to long for many people. I wouldn't mind if it was a half inch shorter, but it hasn't bothered me enough to change it. The springs on the speed feed stock tend to eat the back side of the recoil pad, so I put a thin stainless spacer behind the recoil pad. This did nothing to help the long LOP. The springs on the speed feed are quite strong and shot cartridges, even 23/4" tend to open the crimp, on cartridges with a folded crimp rather than a welded crimp. Loaded with 3" shells the removal of the shells from the speed feed is slow. I lock-tited (red) the front swivel in so that it would not unscrew and twist the sling. The front sight should have wings to protect it, as they protected the rear sight. Somewhere along the line mine took a hit and is slightly askew, requiring that I adjust the windage a touch.

There has been some criticism of the Mossberg actions being rough. That certainly is not the case with my 590. If I hold the gun muzzle up and press the slide release the slide comes fully to the rear with a little bump if the gun is cocked. A couple of guys at work got a 500 and a Maverick 88, and this gave me the opportunity to make a comparison with my gun. Neither of these guns are as smooth as my 590 was out of the box. I would rate the Maverick as poor for serious work in that you have to put so much effort into working the action that short stroking would always be a concern. Still, the price is right, and other than the cross bolt safety the actions are the same. A little polishing would undoubtedly go a long way to improve the action. The 500 had little to fault, other than the solid magazine, and the regular stock, which like mine and the Maverick's was a bit long. It also came with that stupid pistol grip. Shooting a few Federal 3" slugs one handed should convince most that a pistol grip belongs on a pistol or assault rifle, not on a 12 gauge.
 
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Boomer writes a nice review - well said.

I bought an 870 Express Combo (20" rifle-sighted smooth tube, and 26" vr with removable chokes). It will probably do everything that I will ever need a shotgun to do in my lifetime, and I stuck with the Remington because that is what we get issued at work - to me it made sense to stick with the same controls.

I must say I am unimpressed by Remington's quality of finish on the express line: Don't kid yourself - there's lots of plastic in a budget 870, too! The metal finish is also really thin, and I should have bought the synthetic stocks, as the wood is .... not going to survive long, particularly if I maybe take the shotgun outdoors (like to hunt or shoot with), and maybe it rains (becuase it hardly does THAT in south-western B.C.

I don't expect to have any mechanical problems with my 870.

It really is a Ford / Chev kind of argument for which is better between Mossy and Rem, though.

Have you handled both? That sometimes seals the deal.

Neal
 
I'm very happy with my 590. I had originally hoped to get the 590A1 - if you're concernced with the plastic safety and trigger, go with an A1 - but decided on the 590. Smooth action, easy to disassemble and clean. My biggest complaints so far are that if you take it out in the rain, you need to oil it before hand (my action got all rusty) and on my particular gun, the front post on the Ghost Ring is loose. I'm going to try gluing or lock-titeing it in place.

I've only had it out shooting three times and I've probably put 500 to 600 rounds through it without problems.
 
R1-Dave said:
I'd have to say quality wise, the 870 is the way to go. A good friend of mine has the 870 Marine and it's great. The factory keyed safety lock is a cool feature. Really though, it's like picking the "best" 600cc sportbike, they're all quite close in features and specs, get the one you like better.
Click to expand...

Got the Marine Magnum myself: +1 on the quality. I gotta say that I really didn't like the J-lock safety, though; I upgraded both my 870's to S&J jumbo safeties. Much better, IMHO. I think the J-locks are just a cheap lawyer's dodge to protect Remington from personal injury suits in the US by deflecting liability onto the gun owner, be enabling Remington's lawyers to point out to the jury that had the gun owner J-locked the gun, it could not have been stolen by his kid and used to massacre that busload of nuns, orphans, and kittens.

As to the original post, Ford v. Chevy.
 
Truth is... they're both good guns. Just stay away from pistol grips. they are stupid on shotguns, especially if you're blasting away with magnum loads...and the trigger angle makes you work harder squeezing off shots. however, if i had to choose it would be the 870.
 
The 870s and 500s are both great shotguns. The Mossberg just didn't turn my crank, something about the feel. Many feel exactly the same about the 870.

Here's my advice. Go to a gun shop that has both, lay 'em out side by side, feel 'em up, and pick the one you like. Only you can make that choice, and you can't go wrong with either. This one comes down to personal preference.
 
There are also good 870 clones coming from Dominion (CanadaAmmo) and Norinco, that don't have plastic in them (that I know of) in the same price range as the Rem Express.

*Edit - Just realized you said you didn't want a clone - to each their own, but TacOrd built this for roughly the cost of a stock Marine Mag, minus the light*

I went with the 870, as I have seen more accessories and parts available for the 870's. You can pretty much go to any gun show or the EE anyday and get a new action for a good price.

Mossy's are good too though.
 
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I went 870 MM in case of zombies. The only equivalent would be the Mossberg 590A1 All steel. I love the safety of the 590 (tang) and I love the lack of a loading gate of the mossberg. In the end, for price, availability and quality feel of the action. I own 3 870's and no mossbergs.
 
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