Shotgun vs Shotgun, the age old question.

willis0080

willis0080

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I am currently awaiting the arrival of mossberg shotguns to canada again, preferably in a combo purchase. I haven't had my license for some time and just earned it back. As I'm searching the web and seeing item after item out of stock, I obviously gravitate towards in stock items. I landed on a maverick 88. Great price, comes from mossberg, but I know nothing about them. They are described as being almost identical to the Mossberg 500 with acceptable parts and accessories. Can anyone enlighten me with personal experience? I just want a nice reliable shotgun for sport clays and the occasional hunt with some options for tacticool. The 88 seems to be there, I'm just looking for some expert opinions.

Please share your other experiences with other shotguns, I'm not dead set on the mossbergs, I just don't want a remington ;)

Thanks in advance!
 
Well your ahead of the game not wanting a Remington.
I have both the Maverick 88 Security and the Mossberg 500 which I use for small game hunting - overall I like them both - have not shot the Maverick 88 but they are very similar to one another.
 
The big differences between a Maverick 88 and a New 500 is two things: The trigger mechanism is different (The 88 has a cross bolt safety at the front of the trigger guard, rather than the typical tang safety on a 500), and the 500 comes drilled and tapped from the factory. There USED TO be a noteworthy difference in the forearms, but thats no longer the case (The 500 used to have an action slide tube that the foreend mounted to, on the 88 and newer 500s there is no tube and the action bars are mounted directly to the forearm.) The furniture will likely be different as well, my 500 stock/forearm were a bit different from the ones on my 88. I actually prefer the foreend on the 88, but its a minor thing.

I used to own a Maverick 88, sold it to buy a 500 because I shoot left now, and the 88 has a cross bolt safety which was a pain in my arse. Otherwise, I had zero complaints. Between myself and three friends we've owned 3 (I sold mine to one of them) and none of us have had any real issues with 'em. If you are right handed and have no plans on mounting an optic, I personally see no reason to pay extra for a 500.
 
0faustus0 said:
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He mentions the action being sluggish when its cold. I have noticed that with my friends gun, but not nearly as much with my own. I suspect it is a matter of how much oil you use, in combination with how dirty the gun is allowed to get between cleanings, but I haven't done any testing to try and "prove" that.
 
I had a Maverick 88 for well over 10 years, during which time I used it for shooting clays, birds, targets and as a predator defense shotgun (installed a 18.5" barrel for that). It reliably performed all these tasks. I have had several Mossberg (and Maverick), Remington and Weatherby shotguns and the Maverick 88, in my opinion, is the best bang for buck multi-role shotgun on the market for standard uses.
 
I like the 88. I have used one for about 6 years. The first gen had a single action bar which could bend or bind when cycling the action. That was remedied by going to 2 action bars.
They are very light in hand, and feel much more nimble (to me, my opinion) than an 870.
I never use the safety on any shotgun, so thats a non issue for me.
I have dragged it over hell and high water, used it in -40 , dropped it in a river and in a lake. Rarely clean it. It always feeds and ejects. Probably have 6 or 7 K rounds through it.
They have 2 extractors versus one in an 870, so your gun has to be rotten or the rounds have to be really out of spec before you'll see any ejection issues. I'll starve to death before I ever sell it. Best $$ I ever spent on a gun regarding value, reliability and ruggedness.
 
You know it's 'father' the Mossberg 590 survived 3000 round buckshot test by the US military.
If it's lockup system of bolt to barrel extension is the exact same principal as 500/590, you have to nod your head regards action strength.
Sure it's not so ###y. But it's tough enuf.
 
maxman1 said:
By picking a design stolen from Remington?:p
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well if Remington didn't want to produce a good pump gun - Mossberg / Maverick stole the design and made a better gun (no ejection issues / burrs to remove or needing to upgrade the extractors) I had a few Remington shotguns and I had to put money into it to get it to shoot reliability.
 
Butcherbill said:
Zing!!!

Nothing against the 88 as they seem like well received shotguns but if the op is looking to add on with some aftermarket bits he’d be better off with an 870, or a 590 if he’s set on Mossberg.
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This is a good point. The Remington's certainly have better aftermarket support than any other. Personally I much prefer the slide release being at the back of the trigger guard, thats why I went with a Mossberg.
 
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