Mossberg 500 Variants vs. Remington 870 variants

[Dragon Talon TSi AWD]

I have been asking myself this question for a long time now. I have shot both series/models of shotguns, and both have great qualities I like, but then the drawbacks occur.

He sums it up, but anyone else have any info or advice? I want the sleek styles of the pistol gripped mossys, but the reliability of the Rems. I have seen the extra accessories for both models, so the abundance of aftermarket parts isn't absent.

Here's my cut & paste standard reply to the 500 vs 870 questions:

I posted this the other day in another thread about Home Defense shotguns where someone was asking about the differences between Mossberg 500s & Remington 870s.

These are just my personal quips about why I prefer Mossberg's over the Remingtons.

First off the location of the safety.

On the Mossberg's the tang safety can be actuated on or off without taking your finger off the trigger or your cheek off the stock.

On the Remington you have to break both your grip & your cheek weld to actuate the trigger guard safety.

Secondly the position of the loading gates.

On the Remington the loading gate is always down, which means your thumb gets pinched every time you slank a shell into the magazine tube.

On the Mossberg the loading gate is always up, which means it's up out of the way of your thumb when your slanking shells into the magazine tube.

Thirdly the position of the slide release.

On the Mossberg the slide release is behind the trigger guard & can be quickly actuated simply by moving your trigger finger down upon it, while pulling back on the slide.

On the Remington the slide release is in front of the trigger guard & you have to break your grip in order to reach up and actuate it.

Fourthly from the factory the Mossberg 500's magazine tube holds one more shell than the Remington 870.

With all of that said, the Remington 870's are well made shotguns, the action definately feels awhole lot smoother than the Mossbergs, in fact I love how smooth my Rem 870 is, however they do not have very well laid out controls when compared to the Mossberg's.

Anyway that's my .02

 

[Dragon Talon TSi AWD]

I want a shotgun with the pistol grip rather than the butt stock. I want the magazine tube, regardless of shot number. And I would like to add the pistol grip pump action tube, those always looked and functioned great. I am having trouble with what barrels as well. 20, 18, etc... This is going to be for home defense, and no laser grips, only light attachments, maybe ghost ring sights, etc.

 

[shooter521]

Mossy vs. Remington is just as tired and counterproductive an argument as 1911 vs. Glock, 9mm vs. .45, etc. etc. Both are solid, time-tested designs with a large and loyal following. Try 'em both, pick your favorite and drive on.

That said, I've owned both a Mossberg 500 and a Remington 870 Express, and greatly prefer the 870. My current answer to the Mossberg vs. Remington question, however, is neither; I'm a Saiga-12 guy and lovin' it.

 

[Richard]

Dragon,

Remington makes fine shotguns, I've owned a couple of 870's & still do, I just happen to like the Mossbergs better for the reasons I previously stated.

Either one would protect your home & put meat on the table just as good as the other, so just toss a coin if you can't decide between the two.

 

[sporter]

Remington is just a better all around shotgun. Quality.

 

[Richard]

Remington is just a better all around shotgun. Quality.

Could you please be more specific Sporter? the word "quality" is really sort of vague.

Just for arguements sake I am going to assume that you are refering to the out of box slickness of the 870's action, which admittedly does lend itself to a more "refined quality feel" to the 870 design but is it an actual one or is it just a perceptual one?

I personally believe it to be more of a perceptual one than an actual one & it is also one that fades with use, considering the stiffer, clunkier out-of-box *feeling* Mossberg action does slicken up with use.

Anyway that said, anyone who is interested in buying a shotgun but is confused as to which one they'd like best, you are more than welcomed to come out to FCVCC & shuck a few shells through one of my Mossbergs or Remingtons on any Tuesday night between the hours of 6-10pm.

 

[DIRTY HARRY]

Other than preference, know one ever answered the gentlemans question. I would, but I own Two Mossbergs and my opinion would be tainted......

 

[Apokalypsi]

The best advice anyone can give on that is like shooter521 said. Try them both and pick whichever one you like more.

 

[SWAT-DOC]

I have heard that the Mossy will double feed if you short stroke it. The only way to clear it is to take the thing apart. 870 all the way.

 

[Coach]

I have heard that the Mossy will double feed if you short stroke it. The only way to clear it is to take the thing apart. 870 all the way.

I have a Mossberg 590. I have never had a problem with function. Not once. I have a 500 that has plenty of rounds through it. Sometimes on a short stroke it drops a live round on the ground, but I have never had to take it a part to clear it.

I have no problem with someone else going with the 870, but I have never experienced the problems you speak of here and I have fired a fair amount of rounds through a 590 and a bunch through a 500A. I would be confident recommending the Mossberg to anyone.

 

[jforrest]

If you happen to be a lefty the controls on the 870 suit us better, other than the safety. And unlike what Richard says, I've never been pinched by the loading gate in all the hundreds of rounds I've put through my 870. But we already discussed that and I respect Richard's opinion.

I agree with Shooter521 if you can shoot them both and buy the one you like. They are both quality shotguns for good prices the average person can afford.

 

[Richard]

Ford vs Chevy, they will both get you to your destination, regardless of which ever one you pick.

The only real important part is knowing how to drive, so make sure you get alot of trigger time & training with which ever shotgun brand/model that you choose.

 

[Dragon Talon TSi AWD]

I am glad you guys helped out. Just from talking to a few of my shot gun happy family members and friends, both of my cousins that are LEOs (Lake County, Statey, and Munster) all said the 870 bar none. They said the trigger housings are solid steel pieces, whereas the mossys are polymer ABS, and not to mention double feeds and crap. But, all their depts. use 870's, and they all own 870's. I have shot both A 500 Moss and a tricked out 870, but both were great, and I don't want both, only one. Just like when I bought my XD, it was either a Glock or an XD. Just like my Judge purchase, it was either a S&W or my Taurus. I always look at all options, and all methods before making a decision, well, most all options. You can't plan for everything. But, either way, thanks guys, keep the info coming. I'll make a decision soon, and I'll post up which one I bought.

And all said stick with the 18" 12ga, nothing longer, nother smaller.

 

[tv1217]

Why not a 20" with the mag extender?

 

[Dragon Talon TSi AWD]

Why not a 20" with the mag extender?

The 7 shot only works on 18" and the 10/8 shot works on 20" or larger I believe. Tac Star and ATI make them. I have been looking at TacStar accessories too... Great looking stuff.

 

[tv1217]

Eh, all the ones I've looked at said minimum of 20"

For the 870, I mean.

 

[Apokalypsi]

I have never experienced the problems you speak of here and I have fired a fair amount of rounds through a 590 and a bunch through a 500A.

+1 for my 500A. I put 200rds through it in one day of skeet shooting going as fast as I could (we were seeing who was faster out of us all) and I never had a malfunction. The only problem I have ever had is with the safety locking up, but that was because the stock bolt I had was too long.

 

[Richard]

+1 for my 500A. I put 200rds through it in one day of skeet shooting going as fast as I could (we were seeing who was faster out of us all) and I never had a malfunction. The only problem I have ever had is with the safety locking up, but that was because the stock bolt I had was too long.

I shot trap with a Mossberg 500, so I probably put more shells through my shotgun in one night than most patrol car shotguns see in their entire career and I have never witnessed this mysterious "double feed" malfunction either.

And LOL yea I remember you mentioning that stock bolt problem, I cant recall which brand of aftermarket stock was the problem though.

 

[jeremy]

Most LEA's seem to only see Remington when it comes to pump guns.

If the Mossy's were such POS's then why did the Army contract with them for pump guns? I personally prefer the Mossy over the remington, it to me is a better ergonomic gun. But the rem is a solid peice in it's own right. Now if you want to step up get an Bennelli M4, WOW that is a fine peice!

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

For me it's a "whatever floats your boat" scenario.

Both are tried and true tools. Both have large aftermarket followings. Both have their plusses and minuses.

Plastic parts vs. metal parts? Polymer engineering is an AMAZING field. We're talking about polymer construction that is actually stronger than some metals in some applications. Now, I'm not saying that the trigger guard on a Mossberg 500 is "stronger" than the metal guard of the 870; but I'd almost put money that the forces needed to break the plastic would also cause some damage to the metal.

Aluminum receiver vs. steel? Big deal...the important areas of the mossy are steel, too. Why not use Aluminum to both save weight AND cost?

And, like Glock has secured a boat load of side arm contracts, how much of the 870's popularity with police has been due to marketing and bulk pricing? Before it was the 870, there were loads of Ithaca 37's out there... And before that, it was Winchester 1897s... And who knows what it will be 'next'.

If I could have found a used Mossberg 500/590 in as good condition as the used 870 I found, I'd have bought it. As it was, everything I saw (And I shopped for a while, many different stores), I didn't want to pay XXX for the Mossy, but was willing to pay XXX for the Remington.

-J-