Tube magazine plug length

[geologist]

I have a 20" Mossberg 590S. I may hunt with it so I want to make a magazine plug for it from a 0.25" dowel.

It is chambered for 3" shells so I assume that if I install a dowel that restricts it to two 3" shells I am GTGO.

If I can fit three 2.75" shells in that mag with the plug in place, am I still good to go?

This will be for hunting upland game in BC.

 

[Butcherbill]

If you make your plug long enough to load 2 3” shells with a little bit of extra room you shouldn’t be able to fit more than 2 2.75” shells, that’s how my 3” chambered 870 is set up. I can insert 2 3” 12g shells, it will take 2 2.75” shells but only allow half or 3/4’s of a third 2.75” shell into the tube. I won’t allow the third shell to fully insert into the tube mag.

Hunting regs don’t follow the 2 of whatever the longest length it’s chambered for rule, it can’t hold more than two shells.

 

[geologist]

Thanks!

 

[Butcherbill]

Here’s what I always use instead of the wooden dowel or newer plastic factory plug, fibreglass tent pole or arrow shaft, fishing pole with a washer/coin screwed to one end. You either need an older style of mag spring retainer with the hole in the centre or you have to drill a hole in the newer plastic style, the fibreglass shaft slides into the hole and is sandwiched between the mag spring retainer and mag tube nut. It keeps the shaft centered inside the tube and spring and it doesn’t rattle around like the free floating dowel or plug.

Not sure how the mossberg spring retainer is set up, I don’t own any mossbergs, it’s real easy to remove when you don’t need to limit the amount of shells. Remove the mag tube nut and slid the plug out. No need to remove the spring retainer and spring. You can see the length difference between the green Rem plug and my diy plug, keeps me legal on the 2 shell capacity for either 2.75” or 3” loads. The extra long one is for a extended factory mag tube that holds 7 3” shells, have the same in a 870 with a +2 extension I like to hunt with.

 

[geologist]

1/4" dowel cut to 15" works.

It cost less than $2.