Talking my girlfriend out of a Mossberg and into an 870 . . .

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My better half has finally decided to take the plunge and submitted her NR and Restricted license application to the feds last month. (yaaay)

She's still waiting (of course) but has been doing plenty of window shopping (of course)

Shopping with ladies is hard! Or at least, mine is: she doesn't care about history, pedigree, or reliability. Upgrades and accessories aren't currently on her radar either. All the assessment she's done on various rifles and shotguns seems to boil down to:

1. Is it pretty?

2. How heavy is it?

3. The great intangible: Do I like it?

She saw a Marine magnum on the EE, which scored high on numbers 1 and 3. That prompted a drive down to WSS for a "test pump" where the surprisingly accommodating salesperson showed her the Mossberg 500 Marine as well.

For her: they're both nice looking, nice feeling, shotguns. But one is approx. $550 and one is approx $700

For me: the 870 is the platinum standard of pump guns, with lots of easy upgrades, replacement parts, and universal flexibility. While the mossberg feels like a rattly, loose, unoriginal knock off.

The question is:

How do I convince her that the 870 is a better buy? Or am I just being a shotgun snob? I've never owned a Mossberg of any kind, so maybe its not my place to judge.

The Mossberg:
DSCN0014.jpg


The (glorious) 870:
MarineMagnum12.JPG
 
I think the bottom line is she tried the mossburg and she liked it. Ratty feeling guns are irrelevant if they fire every time and are accurate. They have a certain charm to them.

Did she try an 870 and compare them side by side?
 
Yup! She held one, then the other, liked both, and is now trolling the EE for either that might come up.

Everyone I have ever talked shotguns with has been an 870 owner. And maybe thats made me biased.
 
I think both shotguns are nice, but I personally prefer my 590A1. I am a lefty, so I appreciate the tang safety on the Mossy and like the fact that it has an aluminium receiver and dual extractors.
Not sure what you mean by "loose rattly knock-off", especially considering it meets military standards.

I mention the 590A1, since it falls in the price range you mentioned above. You can get a 500 for cheaper, depends on budget. It will still work great.

It comes down to which feels the best really. You can't go wrong with either one.
 
See, and I have heard all kinds of good stuff about the 590A1!

But to the best of my knowledge you can't get it with the "marine" coating straight from the factory.

So that makes it less appealing. Same goes for the Grizzly: I keep suggesting 12" shorty's for $300.
 
To me the Mossberg is every bit as good as the 870, neither one has much of an edge over the other, it's the little things that set them apart.

If i know anything about women (which admittedly isn't a vast amount) it's that if they make up their mind on something, you just go with it. You will be much happier if you don't make her get the one you like rather than the one she likes.
 
dand883 said:
To me the Mossberg is every bit as good as the 870, neither one has much of an edge over the other, it's the little things that set them apart.

If i know anything about women (which admittedly isn't a vast amount) it's that if they make up their mind on something, you just go with it. You will be much happier if you don't make her get the one you like rather than the one she likes.
Click to expand...

^
Makes sense.
 
Love my 590A1. The thing is a beast but like you say, it doesn't come in stainless or hard chrome finish. Let the lady pick what she wants is what I say since at the end of the day, it's her shotty. The 870 is the "cheaper" buy... :)
 
This is a good problem to have, imagine having to shop with her for curtains or something like that...

Just get what she wants, or she'll use your decision against you later! :D
 
"...870 is a better buy..." It's not.
"...and she liked it..." And that's the only thing that matters. Her shotgun, not yours.
"...know anything about women..." Doesn't help and they'll just change the rules anyway. The answer is, 'Yes, dear." and stiffle yourself.
 
At the risk of being lynched I believed that modern 870's have as much rattle as any other budget shotgun out there. Put together with weak action bars and sloppy triggers and the 870's appeal kinda vanishes. The older ones are better quality, and the parts/accessories side of the house is second to none.

"Let the wookiee win R2"
 
TV-PressPass said:
For me: the 870 is the platinum standard of pump guns, with lots of easy upgrades, replacement parts, and universal flexibility. While the mossberg feels like a rattly, loose, unoriginal knock off.

The question is:

How do I convince her that the 870 is a better buy? Or am I just being a shotgun snob? I've never owned a Mossberg of any kind, so maybe its not my place to judge.
Click to expand...

are you serious? a knock off?

yes your are a shotgun snob!

Let her get what she want...it's not for you it's for her.
Just to start with a shotgun for a woman is not always the best choice for a first gun...or at least buy her reduce recoil slug.
 
Unless you're talking about the Wingmaster, the 870 is not the "platinum standard of pump shotguns". I'd probably take the 590 or 500 before the 870.

Either way, if she's getting her PAL, you're already a winner. Congratulations.
 
i have a 500 hunt white tail grouse pheasant cotton tail turkey waterfowl all with a 500 never let me down and it always goes bang no jams since i own it
 
make sure she operates the safety's and see which one is easier to manipulate. tell her if a pistol grip stock is used, the mossberg safety is super awkward

the 870 just felt better to me. the mossberg was super rattly and cheap feeling when I held it in the store, but I hear it is reliable and a good gun, just not for me
 
TV-PressPass said:
See, and I have heard all kinds of good stuff about the 590A1!

But to the best of my knowledge you can't get it with the "marine" coating straight from the factory.

So that makes it less appealing. Same goes for the Grizzly: I keep suggesting 12" shorty's for $300.
Click to expand...

I don't know about from the factory, but I did pick up a used 590A1 a couple weeks ago in the Mariner finish. Loving it!
 
I have 'guidelines' for when my GF is shopping for things that I know something about.

If she's buying, don't let her buy garbage, but she generally gets what she wants. "Is it pretty" is usually first on her list as well.

If I'm buying for her, I advocate STRONGLY for my pick. She generally gets what she wants anyway.

I'm trying to figure out how to get her interested in a revolver that's not a 44Mag, and then understand that it's a bad idea to have it made pink so it's pretty.

I suspect there will be a pink Arma-coated 44Mag in my safe soon.
 
i like the feel of the mossberg action better than the 870...i have both and they both function flawlessly....buy the 870 sounds like change rubbing together when u rack it, the mossberg action sounds more 'solid'

in terms of the mariner though, i like the finish of the 870 better (dont own either of the mariner models but have 'test-pumped' them both)
 
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