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Anybody using Mossberg 500 for Home Prot

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Owned one with about 3000 round through it with no problems. They shake, rattle and roll which is what makes them reliable. However, in a typical sized home I found a handgun to be a much better choice for many reasons after taking a few defense courses. It seems that on the internet people just repeat what they read about recommending a shotgun and a lot of people are attracted to them for their power, belief that they will not penetrate walls as much or that they do not require much training or marksmanship to hit your target. All it took for me was to practice in my home once to realize that in certain sections I would hit the wall if I had to spin around 180 degrees to engage a target and that I had to lower the shotgun every time I needed to open a door, flick a light switch or use my cell phone to just name a few things that I needed one hand free for. I also saw many a homeowner bring their home defense shotguns to shotgun matches only to see them forget to rack them after the first shot under the simple stress of time. Very easy to shoot at the range but when under stress you need a lot of practice to be good with one.

 

A shotgun would be good for a safe room in a home and that is how I used mine. I kept it in my safe room but kept a 1911 .45 in my night table. Much easier to negotiate the house, open the sliding glass doors, etc. with one hand free. YMMV

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I recently got Mossberg 500 tactical. Have some reservations, weak rails, sloppy action. Anybody have alot if rounds thru one? Feedback?

 

Welcome to Mossberg. :)

Think of it as a 1911 GI 45. It sounds like a spray paint can when you shake it, but it always works.

For a few hundred more though, you can get a gun that doesn't look like hammered shit, and is equally reliable.

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I would say a large portion of those implementing firearms in the home defense plans use a Mossberg 500 brother.

 

 

As far as weak rails and sloppy action, I believe my esteemed colleague above who noted the 'shake, rattles and rolls' is correct - the Mossberg has really loose tolerances to make it super reliable, so it has some 'give' to it. When I was brand new to buying firearms a kid at Dick's Sporting Goods tried to show me how bad a M500 was with the shaking tolerance... I did my research and found its actually quite desirable (Think of how finely tuned a Ferrari must be, but a loose screw grounds it completely).

 

So I would say unless you are experiencing genuine critical malfunctions or have parts damage, just give it a nice good cleaning and lubrication and put it back together real good and see how she goes.... I would surmise its going to be just fine.

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Yeah i just got one and that shake and rattle kind of freaked me into kinda saying to myself sell it it sucks. But your input makes sense so i just ordered light and shell holder. Guess ill keep till i get bored of it.

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I have one with the 18 1/2 inch barrel. I keep it next to the bed ready to go. Plus its the only thing I have besides a bolt action rifle.

 

I used it to shoot some skeet (28 inch barrel is pretty accurate) and I love it. Only thing I would change on it when at home is a forearm with a flash light. Other than that I have no complaints.

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Yup - that was my complaint with the one I used to hunt with; it rattled when you shook it. BUT - it was:

 

- Cheap to own

- Light to carry (has an aluminum receiver vice the Rem 870's steel)

- Safety on top (VERY important for the lefties - like me)

- Easy to clean; but you don't have to...shoots fine with dirt, twigs, etc. in the action.

- Utterly reliable - pull trigger, gun go 'bang' every time

 

However, I traded it away towards the double I've hunted with for the last 15-20 years..

The double is lighter, more elegant, and I don't have to pump the shells thru the action to unload it.

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I love mine, although i haven't had the chance to put more than a few dozen rounds through yet.

 

Funny day when we were shooting various things at my friend's place (he has his own private range in his yard - gotta love Pennsy). We were attaching paper targets to a plywood mount and then shooting different pistols and rifles for a bit. Then, my friend grabs the 500 and lines up a shot from about 30 feet at the "target on the right". Not only did the "target on the right" vanish, but so did the mount.

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IMO, the best pump gun for the $!!! I own two, my first is about 25+ years old and is actually a Maverick 88 which is made by Mossberg (one rail & a trigger guard mounted safety), this gun has bounced around in duck blinds, the bottom of my canoe, dropped in the Raritan River in January (flipped the canoe), & killed many deer, ducks, geese and a few turkeys and has performed flawlessly! I would pick that over an 870 any day!!!

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