Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 870 v. Mossber 500

Certainly the era some shotguns were made has something to do with reliability.

My oldest 870 is a 12-gauge 3" magnum model I bought new in 1979. It was my main shotgun throughout the 1980's, though did have a Stevens 511 20-gauge that I wore out during that period, with far less shooting than the 870.

In the 1990's I still used the 870 quite a bit, including on several trips to other countries where a lot of shooting went on. One was to Argentina for a week-long shoot, where the very first morning of dove shooting I put a 250-round case through it--then shot it for another day and a half. That was after three days of duck shooting in a big swamp where the limits were, ah, generous. Unlike some far more expensive semi-autos and doubles my companions used the 870 never bobbled, even when shot so hot I had to wear a glove on my forend hand.

Have also shot waterfowl with the same gun in North America in every kind of weather from rainy Canadian goosefields to late-season snowstorms in Montana to Arkansas flooded timber. Have also shot shells of every description on every kind of target range from Sporting Clays to trap. Have put untold thousands of shells through it and killed several dozen species of wild birds, and can count the times it's bobbled on my fingers. Oh, and I've owned some Model 12 Winchesters as well. They've all gone down the road but the 870 is still here.

Maybe I got real lucky 33 years ago, but have had some other 870's since then (including a 28 made maybe 7-8 years ago) that have worked very well too. Do have a number of pretty nice doubles these days, but haven't given up the 870 yet.

Oh, and I almost forgot. It's also killed some deer, along with my biggest black bear, and my wife shot a moose with it a couple of years ago, on the wildlife management area next to our little town where centerfire rifles are illegal.

870 for me though I have had a couple of 500's over the years. My first shotgun was a 16ga 870 from the 60's that I traded a saddle for when I was about 14 . I foolishly traded it away years later and have regretted that move for years since. My current 12 express was purchased soon after they came out so it must be close to 20 years old now. Served on everything from doves to geese and never skipped a beat. If I was limited to one gun that would the one even though I have several " nicer" guns to choose from.

my first love in shotguns was the model 12 in a 16 ga... But when my father gave me a new 870 wingmaster on my 14th birthday, I soon learned of the simplicity, ruggedness, and sure pointing characteristics of the greatest repeating shotgun ever built...

that first 870 served me well until it was stolen from my car, in 1976...
i've had my financial ups and downs, and when newly married in my 20s, i found myself with no shotgun, and hunting season looming...
i made a deal at a local gun shop for an $80 dollar mossberg 500, and killed ducks and pheasant with it as well as i might have with the 870 i really wanted...

the stock dimensions of the 870s are a bit trimmer, and i believe that most guys would find the 870 to be smoother working than the mossberg...
but they both get the job done, and if it fell to me to hunt once more with a model 500 as my principal gun, id not sweat over it....

I've had both Mossberg and Remington shotguns for years. Lots of things to like about each. Put many shells through each and never had a single malfunction. I like the fit and feel of the Remington best. I love the tang safety of the Mossberg much better than the safety on the Remington. Can quickly and easily check the status and it operates easily and quietly. That is especially handy to me for turkeys, but may not be that important to others.

Don't think anybody will be disappointed by either.

My own 3" M870 was purchased in the early fall of 1980 a 30" full choke and VR.Used it on everything I hunted here in SD .Later on I picked up a used Sportsman 12 which was the proto type Express model it had a 28" VR Rem Choke barrel for $175. Pulled the barrel off it and used it on the Wingmaster where it is today. Took the 30" full and put it in the vault where it still sits ,sold the rest of the Sportsman 12 at a gunshow for $130 to a guy with a slug barrel.Never made any repairs to it and I figure for the 235 I have in it I don't need to look at 500 Mossbergs. Couple of years a go I picked up a mid 70's 2 3/4" vr Imp cyl 12 870 for $190. Pump wise I am good to go for whatever years I have left. Magnum Man

Model 12 man myself, but probably own a half dozen 870's and have never had a complaint with any of them. Never owned a Mossberg so can't comment.

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Mossberg Differences/potential advantages versus Rem.870:
Lighter than 870
1 shell Extra mag capacity (usually)
Always equipped with 3" chamber
Easier to load (don't have to push lifter out of the way)
Ejector is screwed in - not riveted
Dual extractors
Slide release and safety may be more ergonomic

Mossberg Differences/potential disadvantages:
Less astheticaly pleasing
Loosely fitted and can rattle more
Kicks hard
Might have a shorter sevice life than 870
Crappy pastic safety button needs to be changed

I have both but like the 870 better. The 870 has been more reliable and it has been easier to get the afte market parta I wanted.I don't use either very much as I have a 12 and 20 gauge Ithaca. I prefer the Ithaca for field work to either of the two shotguns just mentioned.

From 1977 to 1994 I worked for a couple of busy retail gun stores and performed Warranty repair on both models, as well as Winchester. In my opinion, the Remington 870 is probably the most rugged, trouble-free, pump shotgun ever produced. If I was looking to buy a pump shotgun today, I would look at Remington first. GD

My first "bear gun" when I moved to AK was a mossberg mariner, because everyone knows the 12 ga is the be all end all of gear rounds. That and you shouldn't buy guns at box stores. I put enough rounds through the gun to realize it had a nasty habit of occasionally not feeding a round from the mag. Nothing like cycling the action and instead of the round being released from the mag and making it's way to the chamber the action closes then the round is freed from the mag so it can drop on the ground. It didn't happen every round, but odds are if you fired off a mag full of rounds at least one would be a click vs. a bang.

I doubt I had 100 rounds through the gun when I sold it. Hard to carry a self defense gun confidently when you're not sure whehter it's a repeater or a single shot. Kinda soured me on Mossbergs.

Though I'm a diehard Wingmaster fan, a lot has to do with how WELL they are made, with either model. When I was a kid, my uncle had a Sears shotgun, really a Mossberg 500. It was a quality shotgun, well made and reliable. He had purchased it in the 60s. I bought a Mossber 500 in the 80s.....safety didn't break, but the spot weld holding the slide to the slide rails did.

I love my current Wingmaster, 2006 model. But I've seen some 870 expresses that didn't appear very well made to me. I've heard the Expresses have plastic in their trigger groups where there is metal in the Wingmasters, and that other parts are made more cheaply as well.

Love the old Wingmasters, especially the plain barreled 16's. My oldest was made in December of 1950, newest a Deluxe made in 1952. They are light shotguns that shoot well and have never given me a problem. I also have one of the first Express 870's in 20 gauge that has not given me any fits despite being carried on a four-wheeler for years and not taken care of very well along the way. I won a 500 at Ducks Unlimited several years ago and never liked it. It didn't fit me as well as the 870's and even with the lightest loads seemed to kick harder.

We sold thousands of 870's and a few Mossbergs. I don't remember every getting an 870 back with problems, but we got several Mossy 500s where the forends came loose, and action bars bent. This appears to be somewhat common.

The mossberg 500 slide rails aren't spot welded. They're pinned to a block that is heavily crimped onto the forearm tube.

I'd bet money a slight tweak of the lifter and your 500 would've run perfectly for thousands of rounds.

No more reason for the forend on a 500 to come loose than an 870. They're both held onto the forend tube the same way. I have a hard time believing bent action bars are common on the Mossbergs as the ones I've worked on were all hard as woodpecker lips. Musta been a bad batch with improper/nonexistant heat treat at your store.

We had about 4 of them out of 50 we sold. This was around 1976, I believe.

I'm sure you're right. The foreend came loose, and I took it to a gunsmith who repaired it with a spot weld...that held for a long time, but ultimately broke again.

I still think they're both good designs (though I'm partial to the 870), but quality of materials and workmanship vary with era (as JB said) and specific model.