Hope I am not violating any board standards by peeling this post out of the long thread it was in. If so, I'm a n00b; be kind. (A real n00b in fact--I'm set to take my non-restricted course next week.)
Hello. I'm a researcher who will be doing work for the next few years in the mountains of northern BC and in the high arctic, where we will spend weeks at a time in the field. I am ensuring my students and I are as well prepared as possible, doing wilderness first responder training, etc, and intensive training on large, hairy, carnivorous mammals. (note how I didn't say "bear" this time--after reading the archives back an entire year I now know better!). The first thing my "large, hairy, carnivorous mammal" consultant asked me was whether we had firearms training, which brings me to where I am today.
Although I am about 2 months from going gun shopping, I am doing some virtual window shopping. Given the conditions I will encounter in the field, I have narrowed the choice to two: the Mossberg 500 Mariner and the Remington 870 Marine Magnum. The Remington looks tighter in fit and finish, but the Mossberg has a lot of support on the boards out there (including here). Informed folks seem to think that both are serviceable and dependable. The detailed comments seem to suggest the action on the Remington is somewhat smoother, and you are less likely to half draw and jam with it, and that the Mossberg can wear out quicker when you run a lot of hot loads through it since its anodized aluminum instead of nickel plated steel. But since I expect to run very few shots through it (training loads to get ready for the field, perhaps the odd potshot at small game when in the far north), I wonder how much this last point matters, although some of the practice loads and all the field slugs will be Brennekes, which are about as hot as you can get. I also wonder how much the $200-300 in savings I would get from the Mossberg over the Remington matters. Large, hairy, carnivorous mammal guy, as I said above, dislikes the Mossbergs (the cheaper ones that is) because of the looseness of the action.
Have any of you out there tried both? Anyone in Calgary have a Mossberg and would be willing to let me run a few rounds through it? (The Shooting Edge sells the Remington so I hope to be able to try it there).
Thanks all!
Hello. I'm a researcher who will be doing work for the next few years in the mountains of northern BC and in the high arctic, where we will spend weeks at a time in the field. I am ensuring my students and I are as well prepared as possible, doing wilderness first responder training, etc, and intensive training on large, hairy, carnivorous mammals. (note how I didn't say "bear" this time--after reading the archives back an entire year I now know better!). The first thing my "large, hairy, carnivorous mammal" consultant asked me was whether we had firearms training, which brings me to where I am today.
Although I am about 2 months from going gun shopping, I am doing some virtual window shopping. Given the conditions I will encounter in the field, I have narrowed the choice to two: the Mossberg 500 Mariner and the Remington 870 Marine Magnum. The Remington looks tighter in fit and finish, but the Mossberg has a lot of support on the boards out there (including here). Informed folks seem to think that both are serviceable and dependable. The detailed comments seem to suggest the action on the Remington is somewhat smoother, and you are less likely to half draw and jam with it, and that the Mossberg can wear out quicker when you run a lot of hot loads through it since its anodized aluminum instead of nickel plated steel. But since I expect to run very few shots through it (training loads to get ready for the field, perhaps the odd potshot at small game when in the far north), I wonder how much this last point matters, although some of the practice loads and all the field slugs will be Brennekes, which are about as hot as you can get. I also wonder how much the $200-300 in savings I would get from the Mossberg over the Remington matters. Large, hairy, carnivorous mammal guy, as I said above, dislikes the Mossbergs (the cheaper ones that is) because of the looseness of the action.
Have any of you out there tried both? Anyone in Calgary have a Mossberg and would be willing to let me run a few rounds through it? (The Shooting Edge sells the Remington so I hope to be able to try it there).
Thanks all!
