Remmie vs. Mossie

Saying that a 870 is not a good shotgun because yours couldn't feed that kind of ammo or the shell couldn't be extracted... is just wrong, cheap ammo can mean "out of spec". There is quite big diffrences between 870 models, the basic 870 express can not be as smooth and feed as well as a 870 police (or tactical, which is my case) or a wingmaster, the principle is the same, but the quality differs, I bought a 870 express tactical (new model) last week, when I took it out of the box it was free of "dirty matter", the action was slightly lubed like it's supposed to be to work flawlessly, when I dissassembled it, everything was nice and clean, the bore was bright (it still is, I need to beat it up at the range), the action was smooth, I had some used 2¾ shells lying on the shelf, I loaded them and it loaded and extracted them flawlessly and smoothly (that doesn't mean sh!t but...). It is ready to go, right out of the box. No cleaning no lubing needed.
Hey, that gun cost me just 50$ more than a basic 870 express and the fit and finish is far better.

The action works well for me, it's not hard to get used to the safety and the action bar lock isn't a problem at all, if you have a problem getting used to them, then you are the problem. It's my first 870 and shotgun (I'm not a newbie, I read a lot on shotguns) but everyting was natural to do for me, I guess it's not the case for everyone.
 
Artiz said:
Saying that a 870 is not a good shotgun because yours couldn't feed that kind of ammo or the shell couldn't be extracted... is just wrong, cheap ammo can mean "out of spec". There is quite big diffrences between 870 models, the basic 870 express can not be as smooth and feed as well as a 870 police (or tactical, which is my case) or a wingmaster, the principle is the same, but the quality differs, I bought a 870 express tactical (new model) last week, when I took it out of the box it was free of "dirty matter", the action was slightly lubed like it's supposed to be to work flawlessly, when I dissassembled it, everything was nice and clean, the bore was bright (it still is, I need to beat it up at the range), the action was smooth, I had some used 2¾ shells lying on the shelf, I loaded them and it loaded and extracted them flawlessly and smoothly (that doesn't mean sh!t but...). It is ready to go, right out of the box. No cleaning no lubing needed.
Hey, that gun cost me just 50$ more than a basic 870 express and the fit and finish is far better.

The action works well for me, it's not hard to get used to the safety and the action bar lock isn't a problem at all, if you have a problem getting used to them, then you are the problem. It's my first 870 and shotgun (I'm not a newbie, I read a lot on shotguns) but everyting was natural to do for me, I guess it's not the case for everyone.
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That's like saying "im not a newbie, i read a lot about flying a plane"... :rolleyes:

For some odd reason my (soon to be ex) 500a never had problems feeding cheap "out of spec" shells.
 
Artiz said:
Saying that a 870 is not a good shotgun because yours couldn't feed that kind of ammo or the shell couldn't be extracted... is just wrong, cheap ammo can mean "out of spec". There is quite big diffrences between 870 models, the basic 870 express can not be as smooth and feed as well as a 870 police (or tactical, which is my case) or a wingmaster, the principle is the same, but the quality differs, I bought a 870 express tactical (new model) last week, when I took it out of the box it was free of "dirty matter", the action was slightly lubed like it's supposed to be to work flawlessly, when I dissassembled it, everything was nice and clean, the bore was bright (it still is, I need to beat it up at the range), the action was smooth, I had some used 2¾ shells lying on the shelf, I loaded them and it loaded and extracted them flawlessly and smoothly (that doesn't mean sh!t but...). It is ready to go, right out of the box. No cleaning no lubing needed.
Hey, that gun cost me just 50$ more than a basic 870 express and the fit and finish is far better.

The action works well for me, it's not hard to get used to the safety and the action bar lock isn't a problem at all, if you have a problem getting used to them, then you are the problem. It's my first 870 and shotgun (I'm not a newbie, I read a lot on shotguns) but everyting was natural to do for me, I guess it's not the case for everyone.
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Actually whats wrong is that you are a newbie who has " read alot on shotguns", and only owned one. So really your opinon is useless for this topic.

I have OWNED and shot many, many shotguns. The Remington shotgun that I owned was the only one that had feeding issues and chamber issues.

Until you buy a Mossberg you will never know.......;)
 
Why are we comparing a 500 to an 870? It should be 590 SP to 870P.

Here is the way I see it;
If your going to leave your speed feed stock on your 590, the controls blow 870's out of the water, period.
If you are going to mod your shotguns stock out into something like a telescopic, or pistol grip 870 wins hands down.
Why would someone put on a pistol grip on a shotgun? Looks? Home defence? If it's for home defence, you should be more concerned about your front site then the controls.

My 870 express has been to the Remington service center 3 times, I still havn't even gotten through the box of shells it came with.
Whereas my 590 SP had 8,000 shellls through it in 1 year. That was 4 years ago, I obvously havn't stoped shooting it.

That's not to say all 870's are like that, mine was probly made 5 mins before beer time on a friday - and buddy probly wanted to pound his wife.

Sights - Well it depends what you want your shotgun for. Skeet shooting, home defence, blowing s**t up, slug shooting, looks?

I love my ghost ring sights, but I personally can't hit a skeet to save my life with them. I pick up an 870 with a bead site, I can blast them all day out of the sky, same can be said with a maverick 88.

life gate - I personally like the Mossbergs over the Remingtons because I always get my finger pinched by the 870's.

After market parts - Last time I checked Mossberg has just as much as the 870's.

Looks - Who cares.

Chokes - 870 wins hands down. 590 SP's arn't for hunting.

Replacement parts - I have never had to get anything replaced with my 590. As for the 870, I have had to take it in to get it serviced 3 times. The market for replacement parts are great.

Bottom line, pick what suits your needs the best.

PS
Mossberg 590 is the only shotgun to ever pass the mill spec testing. Why didn't Remington win? Remington has nothing to gain by submiting to the tests, everything to loose.
 
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sparrow said:
Without delving into the fray too badly. I worked for a gun store for almost 4 years, in that time we send over a dozen Mossberg 590s including the much revered 590a1 with heavy Navy barrels back for warranty, both 14" and 20" guns. I personally have had issues with a heavy use 590 (light barrel plastic trigger group) as did the owner Brock. In my time at the shop we never sent any 870s back for warranty...on the contrary we refit a number of old 870 Wingmasters with fresh springs, (some even refit for 3" loads), bead blasted and parked and they went out to be further beat up. I think hands down the ergonomics of the 590 series is far superior to the 870 in every way but in my experience the triggers and receivers just don't hold up that well to very high round counts in the same way an 870 does.
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God, their is a name I havn't heard in a long time. He always used to bug me about my 590, then bug me for not owning a Glock.
He won the Glock thing, I finally bought one of him. I wasn't about to give up my 590 though.
I have personally seen Brock take 870's back from pissed off customers, because they wouldn't eat trap loads, or the cheap ####.
This isn't by chance uncle Jimbo is it? :D
 
justins1877 said:
Why are we comparing a 500 to an 870? It should be 590 SP to 870P.

Here is the way I see it;
If your going to leave your speed feed stock on your 590, the controls blow 870's out of the water, period.
If you are going to mod your shotguns stock out into something like a telescopic, or pistol grip 870 wins hands down.
Why would someone put on a pistol grip on a shotgun? Looks? Home defence? If it's for home defence, you should be more concerned about your front site then the controls.

My 870 express has been to the Remington service center 3 times, I still havn't even gotten through the box of shells it came with.
Whereas my 590 SP had 8,000 shellls through it in 1 year. That was 4 years ago, I obvously havn't stoped shooting it.

That's not to say all 870's are like that, mine was probly made 5 mins before beer time on a friday - and buddy probly wanted to pound his wife.

Sights - Well it depends what you want your shotgun for. Skeet shooting, home defence, blowing s**t up, slug shooting, looks?

I love my ghost ring sights, but I personally can't hit a skeet to save my life with them. I pick up an 870 with a bead site, I can blast them all day out of the sky, same can be said with a maverick 88.

life gate - I personally like the Mossbergs over the Remingtons because I always get my finger pinched by the 870's.

After market parts - Last time I checked Mossberg has just as much as the 870's.

Looks - Who cares.

Chokes - 870 wins hands down. 590 SP's arn't for hunting.

Replacement parts - I have never had to get anything replaced with my 590. As for the 870, I have had to take it in to get it serviced 3 times. The market for replacement parts are great.

Bottom line, pick what suits your needs the best.

PS
Mossberg 590 is the only shotgun to ever pass the mill spec testing. Why didn't Remington win? Remington has nothing to gain by submiting to the tests, everything to loose.
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Nicely put.:agree:

TDC
 
What about if a guy just want a knockabout pumpgun for wandering around with for grouse, rabbits, ducks, geese, and coyotes and keeping handy for crows, magpies? What if he doesn't feel like playing G.I. Joe or Robo Cop, blowing doors off their hinges and bayonnetting stumps and scarecrows in the back forty? :):)
 
how about... they are both roughly milled peices of steel, in which we set off violent explosions, as a means to set free led.

both my 870 and 590 serve this purpose quite effectivley, and the target in front never critisizes the difference.

It's easier to point out shot guns that are a complete joke...like the Stoger 3.5" magnum piece of #### that may as well be sold as a single shot. Now there is a shot gun that couldnt feed a starving fat kid, in an all you can eat, with a no limit credit card
 
leveractionjunkie said:
What about if a guy just want a knockabout pumpgun for wandering around with for grouse, rabbits, ducks, geese, and coyotes and keeping handy for crows, magpies? What if he doesn't feel like playing G.I. Joe or Robo Cop, blowing doors off their hinges and bayonnetting stumps and scarecrows in the back forty? :):)
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Sounds metro to me..:D
 
i posted earlier, but i now have more of an update. the local shop had an 870 tactical shottie in stock., so i naturally started playing with it.

my first impressions:

-price. way more expensive than my Mossy Maverick
-feel. not so good. the stock seems too narrow. also, with my small hands, it's a bit of a reach for my trigger finger.
-controls. not a fan of where the safety is, or the position of the slide release. i had to totally shift my grip to operate them.
-fit and finish. too heavy, didn't swing nicely and felt wrong on my shoulder.

overall, i'll stick with my Maverick. it often puts 200 - 300 rounds down range in a session. i've got thousands through the tube now. it's never jammed, or malfunctioned. the barrels are stupid easy to swap. and the gun is easy to disassemble and maintain.
 
I used to be a die hard 870 fan but gradually replaced all my 870s with 590a1s. As I am left handed I prefer the ergonomics of the 590.

A couple of other considerations:

In favor of the 870 I suspect there are way more of these in the country than 590s...replacement parts should therefore be easier to come by in hard times.

In favor of the 590 (and another significant contributor to why I switched over) is that the 590 uses a machine screw to hold the ejector in place. On the 870 it is pinned in place with a rivet. If you have to change it out, the mossberg requires only the part and a flat head screwdriver. Brownells sells this part (which I now have a couple of spares). On the other hand the remington requires some finess in drilling out the rivit and then special tools to secure the new ejector. I have had one old wingmaster that had a very weak ejector and required this fix.

I have put thousands upon thousands of rounds through each type of gun and can say that they both seem very reliable IMHO. Newer remingtons I've tries can sometimes have sticky chambers and newer mossbergs I've played with can have somewhat rough actions.

Brobee
 
Pumps are slow. Semi-autos work, fast. Try a Mossberg 930. $530 at Milarm. I don't think Remi's got a semi at that price. My vote is for Mossberg. Strange that this discussion seems to have turned into a a 870 vs 590 debate, when both will be antiquated by next year with all the semi's taking over the show. This is a great video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sljRjkevRYc
 
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Glo7 said:
Pumps are slow. Semi-autos work, fast. Try a Mossberg 930. $530 at Milarm. I don't think Remi's got a semi at that price. My vote is for Mossberg. Strange that this discussion seems to have turned into a a 870 vs 590 debate, when both will be antiquated by next year with all the semi's taking over the show. This is a great video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sljRjkevRYc
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Pumps are only as slow as the operator. Semi's are heavier and do cost more. Their reliability is not on par with a pump gun. Rapid shots are only useful if they're effective.

TDC
 
TDC said:
Pumps are only as slow as the operator. Semi's are heavier and do cost more. Their reliability is not on par with a pump gun. Rapid shots are only useful if they're effective.

TDC
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True pumps are only as slow as the operator.

Semi's are heavier,the mossberg 930 Wt 7 1/2 lbs and the 590 Wt 7 1/4 lbs.

An Auto loader will have less or a softer recoil which helps with follow up shots ,which is useful with multiple targets.


ETA;forgot about the cost thing .I paid $465 for my 930 last year, and $401 for my first 590 15years ago
 
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