Jul 23 2005
Mossberg 500
If I had to rate my preference for firearms it would be rifles, pistols then shotguns in that order. Having said that I do own one shotgun, a Mossberg 500, which was my first “pimp my firearm” experience years back.
I never really set out to buy a shotgun. A friend and I were in a local Vancouver gunstore looking for magazines for his 9mm 1911 Norinco knock-off days before our IPSC black badge course, naturally they didn’t have the mags he needed, and he decided he would buy a Walther P99 instead. This involved the usual delays associated with the Firearms center, and while I was standing around twiddling my thumbs I kept browsing the display cases.
Sure enough they had Mossberg 500’s on sale, and after a few hours standing around I caved (let me tell you, buying a shotgun worth a few hundred doesn’t make you stand out next to your buddy who just dropped $1200 on a pistol and mags as far as the sales staff are concerned…)
The Mossberg 500 came with both a standard full stock, and a pistol grip (this is the pistol grip now residing on my Anti-zombie rifle). As this friend had purchased the same shotgun earlier we went on a range trip (mine wearing the full stock, his with just the pistol grip). I admit neither impressed me significantly. I decided right there I wanted a pistol grip full stock for this shotgun, for ergonomics more than asthetics.
Of course instant gratification is difficult with firearms projects sometimes, and a short time later I came across a Butler Creek side folding stock which seemed to offer the best of both worlds. I caught the bug at that point, and grabbed all sorts of accessories for the shotgun (practical or not) including a side saddle shell holder, heat shield/handguard, magazine/barrel clamp with forward sling swivel and the fibreoptic front sight (in place of that irritating bead sight).
I played with the idea of replacing the barrel with something shorter, but in the end decided the magazine capacity was more important than overall length.
I am not, of course, 100% satisfied with this shotgun. It is comfortable to me, but I can’t help thinking that I would have been better going with the Mossberg 590 or a Remington 870. Still, the shotgun is sufficient (especially as it rarely leaves the gun cabinet these days). I s’pose it was my first real “anti-zombie” firearm, although any ergonomic benefits were luck more than planning.
The one lesson I did walk away from this having learned was, when it comes to modifying your firearms make the modifications you find you NEED and not the ones that look cool. It’ll save money and headaches in the long run.
13 Responses to “Mossberg 500”
Man, that is one UGLY piece of equipment
Yep, I find it fugly in a rather appealing way….
-GRIN-
I still need to pick up a “crowd pleaser”. I’ll never forget Elaine nearly going ass over tea kettle firing that puppy. Sadly, I’m focusing all of my toy aquitsition efforts on non-boom stick things right now. I get to play with the boom sticks every six months or so, but the “terror on two wheels” is a daily part of life.
I thought you got the Mossberg BEFORE Connie and I picked up the Walther P99?!?
One good point about having a shotgun though.
There are so many varieties of ammunition made for the 12 gauge that you got your choice of either setting zombies on fire, taking their heads off with a Bolo round, peppering them with flechettes or just plain blowing their heads off with buckshot. This is, of course, only if you live in a place like Texas. *GRIN*
You’ve also got long range as well as short range shells but really…it’s best kept handy for those “close encounters.”
With the exception of a Bayonet lug and the capacity for one extra round in the mag, your 500 is practically a 590.
Nice touch with the front sights though. I’ve got the same type on my .45 now after having a few modifications done to it through Dlask Arms.
Greg: (Tempted to edit the name…tempted)
Ah theres no rush, I think the rule of thumb is one expensive hobby at a time, and lord knows the two wheeled hobby you have is bound to eat some disposable income rather quickly, no?
Patrick:
I might have bought it moments before you and Connie plunked down cash for the P99, but as I recall it was the same day.
I clearly remember the salesguy looking at me as if to say “and?” when I bought the shotty, hard to come off like a big spender with you guys dropping roughly 4x what I was spending, no?
My preference is the opposite of yours (SG, P, R) but I’m trying to change that since my current physical condition doesn’t allow for much running and diving for cover that a gun battle involving shotguns requires.
Rifles hopefully keep them far away where I don’t have to move too much.
Along with Darth Vader (my customized 1187) I’ve got a half dozen 870’s of just about every variety.
Eat disposable income? You betcha. I’ve decided that when I’m king, the street signs will all be reactive metal targets, just for fun. If you want the lights to change, no more little treadle pads to roll onto, just a “spinner” hung above the intersection that when hit, changes the lights until it’s hit again. If you practice enough, you could ride along, plinking the spinners just in advance of the lights. I figure that if you were really confident, you could use your clutch hand since you wouldn’t be gearing down. On the other hand(Literally), you could shoot with your right hand and only use the back brakes if you missed. The other problem would be doing mag changes, unless you had the mags on some kind of bungee cord type system that would allow you to dump them without losing them.
I really can’t wait to be king.
Ya know shotguns just never grabbed me the way rifles do, probably should have gotten into skeet or IPSC 3 gun stuff.
I think I’ll hold judgement until I eventually pick up either an 870 or the Norinco HP9 clone.
There’s always hope I’ll turn around…
-GRIN-
Greg, we’re all looking forward to your being king.
It certainly looks evil and would make an awesome movie prop. We still need to get a photo-op in with your Mossberg and my Remington.
Hey, whadda know, there is a limit in terms of how long of a name you can type in. I had a nice long rant in there that got cut off:
Greg, Greg, All Hail Greg, Greg’s our hero, Greg’s our friend, Greg, Greg, he’s our man if Greg can’t do it no one can! Greg, Greg, magicial Greg, so wise and intelligent, it’s Greg! Accept no substitutes, Greg, Greg, my name is Greg, fountain of all things good, Jesus’s pal Greg, defender of the faithless, Greg, Greg, sometimes called 44, Fish, Boydfish but most often Greg, G-R-E-G, short for Gregory, but you can just call me Greg, I sometimes drink too much caffiene and lots of sugar, but I’m still Greg when I do that, Greg, which if you add up the numbers of where the letters in my name fall in the alphabet you get the number 37, but if you add in the last three letters of my full name totals 93, which is the age I’d like to live to, but it would suck if it worked like that, since everybody named Ian would die at 24 and all of the Dan’s at 19, but that would be OK too, since I’m named Greg, Greg, Greg, did you know my name is Greg?
Oh yeah, I’m not stupid: You’re only looking forward to my coronation so that you can lead the revolt. I suspect that you have an entire detailed plan, complete with swinging across a giant chasm with the princess and escaping from a giant garbage disposal unit, that ends with me being deposed from power. I know this for two reasons: First, the prophecy has forseen this and disclosed it to me and second, I have similar plans for when you are king…
To date I have still been unable to find my copy of the footage we took where we weren’t supposed to use each others name aloud.
You’ve still got the color stills don’t you? I’ve only got the Black and Whites.
I’ve got a few black and whites, and a couple of color snaps from the “event”, damned if I can remember where I filed the video copy I dubbed (undoubtedly lost in one of the many moves since then).
I’ll scan the ones I have and email them over, in the meantime keep looking for that video, the rooftop stuff was entertaining!