Mossberg 500 for Home Defense

[Lowjiber]

I have an 870 Express, but it was a toss-up between it and the Mossberg. Both are excellent home defense shotguns in my opinion.

As others above have suggested, don't be in a hurry to add all of the mods to it. Wait a bit until you become "one" with the gun. I suggest the recoil reducing stock for the first mod that you'll likely want.

[Deserteagle]

Mossberg 500 with an 18.5in barrel is great. Plenty of accessories you can buy and it is a reliable gun.

[JSDinTexas]

I have a Moss 500 Persuader (18.5" 5-shot) and a Moss 590 (20" 8-shot).
I have three comments:
1) I agree with G50AE, don't put a lot of junk on it. My Persuader came with adj stock and sidesaddle; I put a picatinny rail, truglo front sight, tactical light with thumb switch on the forearm, and lastly a single point sling. Real mean/nasty looking and I was happy with it until I figured out all that crap would only get in the way in the middle of the night. So I bought the stock 590 with ghost sights and stock that holds 4 more rounds (total 13 w/ reload) to serve everyone that comes to the party. It is very sleak-sided and won't hang or catch on anything.
2) I think the recoil thing is over-blown. I shot 20 rounds in about 5 minutes (Federal 127 00-buck) the other day with the 500 and my shoulder wasn't sore or bothered - only tingled a bit for a few minutes. I also shot a couple of rounds of 3" magnum 00-buck that day (the 500 will take 3"); now that was a round I don't recommend for plinking around the house.
3) Pattern is not too important in the house where the range is 15 ft or so. With the Fed 127, which is my choice for this purpose, it will hold a 1 foot pattern out to about 30 feet easily with the 18" barrel. If you want a tighter pattern, look at Federal Flite-Control. (Yes, I consider Federal the best brand of 12ga shotgun ammo today)

Finally, the biggest mistake people make is to believe you don't have to aim a shotgun - you do.

If you want some good hands-on info about the Mossberg go to MossbergOwners.com • Index page

[trophyhunter]

I own several Mossbergs,
500,835,935 all of which are excellent shotguns. You can't beat the price, reliability,dependability. Never has any of my Mossbergs ever failed me. You made a great choice.

[B2Tall]

I suggest low-recoil ammo, especially for home defense. There's plenty of it available at your local outdoor retailer (Outdoor World, Gander Mountain, etc.) or on the net.

I have a Mossy 500. I put a very small rail on the tube and attached a tac light on it. The one I got only came with a pistol grip (for masochists only) so I installed a recoil-reducing folding stock. It works well. Great home defence gun. It's 1 of 2 firearms in my home that stays fully loaded and chambered 24/7.

[Tucker's Mom]

I suggest low-recoil ammo, especially for home defense. There's plenty of it available at your local outdoor retailer (Outdoor World, Gander Mountain, etc.) or on the net.

I have a Mossy 500. I put a very small rail on the tube and attached a tac light on it. The one I got only came with a pistol grip (for masochists only) so I installed a recoil-reducing folding stock. It works well. Great home defence gun. It's 1 of 2 firearms in my home that stays fully loaded and chambered 24/7.

a pistol grip (for masochists only)??? did you just call me a masocheat? LOL I have a pistol grip on mine too...

[kelcarry]

Have a plan for its use. Personally it is the weapon of choice in my locked bedroom, as I stand to a side of a locked door behind a dresser and about 10 ft from the opening of the door. If that door is breached 00 buckshot will complete my defense. Stuff in other rooms is insured and not worth my life to go hunting against perps who may be better at this than me; in addition, a shotgun, IMO, is not exactly the easiest firearm to be wielding around as you traverse around your home looking for perps. Just sayin.

[B2Tall]

a pistol grip (for masochists only)??? did you just call me a masocheat? LOL I have a pistol grip on mine too...

I didn't know you were into pain

Firing a pistol-grip-only shotgun isn't fun. Try it with 3" slugs! At least with the low recoil ammo my forearm doesn't go numb after one shot.