Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting mossberg 835

Stopped at a fun store and was holding a mossberg 835 camo'd version and the gun is cool with the recessed optics mount. The safety was hard to run so I put it down.

Cool gun anyways.

Don't these have a reputation for brutal recoil? or is that a 3.5 inch thing?

I would shoot 3 inch max.

Or is this gun a set it down and run away deal?

Fairly light??

Bet it's rough even with 3" ammo.

After I shot my BPS 10 I realized just how bad an 870 with 3" shells kicked.

Any pump 12 gauge with a 3.5" is brutal.

The 835 has a tremendously overbore barrel at .775". Essentially that is 10 gauge size. They can be a little finicky getting good patterns. It is certainly doable and lots of guys do so. Mossberg used to warn that certain wads and load types, some slug loads, etc. would not shoot well from the oversized bore because the wad wouldn't obturate enough to seal the bore and would allow gasses to bypass the shot. I don't know how much of a problem that is but it kinda makes sense when shooting a 12-gauge load down a 10-gauge barrel. It is a gun that never had appeal to me. There are plenty of 12 gauge guns designed to be 12 gauges.

Any 3.5" 12 gauge is rough to shoot



Every 835 I have shot or seen shot patterns excellent with 3" or 3.5" shells. I moved mine along when I went to a 20 gauge if not for that I would still have mine but would shoot lighter payloads.

I had a 835 and it killed on one end and crippled on the other with 3.5” turkey loads. 3” were tolerable but you did not wanna shoot more than 2 or 3 rounds at a time while patterning. With the increasing popularity and availability of TSS, a good 20 gauge will smoke birds well past 40 yards, and won’t loosen your teeth.
You decide to pick up the 835, hit me up, I’ve still got a bunch of different turkey chokes I’d sell.
peak98

Maybe designed to be 12 gauges but with heavy payloads of large shot the standard bore will rarely pattern as well. My buddy has an 835 that will pattern 2 1/4 oz of #4 or 5 as well or better than my 10 would.

An 835 with 99% of the 2 1/4 oz turkey loads is hard to beat on the pattern board.

I have no use for one and gave my 10 to my buds oldest boy. He is 23 and thinks he wants to put up with 10# of shotgun and deal with the recoil.

I am liking lighter guns and just a heavy field style load for my turkey hunting these days.

With TSS, no need to shoot anything in a 12 gauge more than 2.75" shell in the 3.5 chamberings.

Exclusively shooting Foxtrot Ammo's load of 1 5/8th oz of straight TSS #8s in my 12 gauge 3.5" chamber and an Indian Creek .660. Way, way easier on the shoulder than 3.5" or even the 2 oz. lead loads in a 3" shell.

2 1/4 ounce loads are 10 gauge loads, and the 835 barrel is a 10-bore size. The 3.5" 12 gauge is an abomination and a poor attempt to make a 12 gauge into a 10 gauge. All for waterfowl hunters cursed with steel shot. 12 gauges should stop at 3" and 2 ounces of shot. No different than the efforts with 20 and 16 gauges to throw larger loads of shot. A 3.5" 20 gauge is just ridiculous. They simply aren't going to pattern as well as the more square-balanced loads.

Great guns, one of the first specialized turkey guns back in the 90s. I used one for years before I started looking for a lighter option. Only thing I never cared for was a rattle from the forearm ( ever one I pick up has it ) . See them ever now and then for $300-400 in the shops here.

Yep. Rattling forearm.

Only ever owned one. But patterned several. This was early 90's and the patterns were TOTALLY unimpressive shooting 3.5" shells. 30 years of choke tube and shotshell technology later, we can make .410's into 40 yard guns. So, I'm sure you can get an 835 to shoot. I didn't find the recoil to be all that hateful.

But, the clunkiest P.O.S. that I believe I ever held. Felt like a deck post in my hands. And that FREAKIN' clattering forearm .........!!!!

I bought the gun WAY cheap. I sold it for $25 more and was elated to be rid of it.

Safety operation can be cleaned up, Mossberg isn't too picky about cleaning up after their machining. They're completely a utilitarian shotgun, just need to decide how picky you want to be about what you use. I've had a couple, and they definitely work, but, IMO, there are better options. Again, it's all in what you want. And typically, at their price point, they'll get you in the woods for not a lot of money.

I tried one or two that buddies had, the recoil was unreal but they patterned great. I bought a 935 (semi auto) due to the fact that the 835 patterned so well. The 835 and the 935 both used the same choke system and my 935 shot great without all the recoil.
Matter of fact, I was digging thru a drawer yesterday and found some choke tubes for that 935 that I didn't know I had. I guess I need to dig them out and see what they are and list them for sale as my 935 has been long gone.

Had a buddy buy an 835 back in there early years. He bought some super X turkey loads and a turkey head patterning target. I had heard about the recoil from these so I told him to sit down and squeeze 1 off. Geo was only about 5'6" or so had a 50"+ chest weighed about 250 1 stout guy. At the shot it rolled him over on his back, he got up rubbed his shoulder and walked down to the target. Well perforated, he still had a hard time accepting the recoil as that bad and maybe he just didn't prepare for it right. So he shoots again and over he goes. He quit shooting turkey loads after that lol..mb

The forearm of a Mossberg pump is easily tightened up to eliminate slop/rattle. Same for the Ithaca 37, which in factory form is the loosest, rattliest pump going. It's a 10 minute job. Neither of my 500's have loose, rattly forearms and neither did my Ithaca 37's. It doesn't take a genius or any special tools, just a hammer and punch or screwdriver applied with a bit of care and manual dexterity. I've explained how to do it on this and other forums multiple times.

They are looking for you, Always Outdoors has a BOLO out.

If "they" ain't careful, they'll find me.

Thanks guys. I think you're talking me out of it...

But its hard when you got the itch for a new gun and a camo'd out special turkey gun isnt in the collection yet.

Mossbergs......thick wristed and crude.

Dont care for em.

IMHO save up and buy something better

Got any suggestions?

I see winchster sxp online and want to handle one.
I liked holding the new rem 870s fieldmasters and they are drilled and tapped in the standard version.

Hard to beat a good 870. A lot of aftermarket support if one wants to make small upgrades, plus like you said, drilled for an optic.

One buddy has the new Fieldmaster, nice shotgun.

His BIL has a newer SXP in 20 Guage camo. I wouldn't be scared of the Winchester. I like them even better now since they have gone to a backbored barrel and use the Invector + choke system.

Mossberg 500 is a better/more durable gun than the Winchester 1200/1300/SXP ever was. The Winchester suffers several weak points in it's design. The most common cause of breakdown being the plastic collar securing the magazine tube to the receiver. Replace the plastic safety button with an aftermarket steel or aluminum button and a Mossberg will rarely have problems. I do it to all of mine as a matter of course and have never had a failure/malfunction in many 10's of thousands of rounds.

Maverick 88 worth looking at? (I have not held one...)

Different safety. Not tang mounted but down on the trigger guard.

Have they started using choke tubes in the 88?? Used to be a fixed modified choke.

The 88 is essentially the same design with two exceptions. Those being the safety and the attachment of the action bars to the forearm. The 500 action bars attach to a steel tube that passes through the length of the forearm and is secured by a nut. The 88's action bars are pinned directly to the plastic forearm. For that reason I personally would avoid the 88.

Yes the 88's come with a tubed barrel, one modified tube included. 500's come with three choke tubes IC/MOD/FULL. There are also two upgraded models of 500's now with genuine walnut stock and forend. Those being the 500 Classic hunter and the 500 Retrograde field. A lot of people might not realize it now but early 500's were stocked in genuine walnut and had various game scenes roll engraved on the sides of the receiver. I have an early deluxe grade with AAA fancy walnut, engraved game scenes, white line spacers between the recoill pad and grip cap and basket weave impressed checkering.

humdinger, IMO, wouldn't be the end of the world to have an 835. Are there better, yes. Are there worse, yes. Gun store I go to has an as new camo 835 for under $300. As I said before, just depends how picky you want to be...

My FIL has a nice old 500 in 20 guage and fixed IC barrel that I'd love to inherit. Definitley no cheap plastic parts in those days and the wood is great.

Wow... cheap.

Its the tempation to get a cheaper pump for turkey and free up my auto for other purposes...

Plus I think I just want to buy a cool dedicated turkey gun.

If you just want a "cool dedicated turkey gun" on the cheap........... Start eyeballing the used racks for an H&R or NEF single.

The clunky fore end on an 835 MAY be an easy fix. I'll never know as I tend to shed guns that obviously lack quality rather quickly. My question would be this: "If it's such an easy fix.....why don't they just do it at the factory from new ??" Is it to save a couple bucks ?? Where else were corners cut ?? The 835s have a known firing pin problem, a known extractor problem and a known magazine problem. Beyond the fact that they just feel clubby in the hands.

The H&R or NEF single has very few moving parts. It's slim and handles well. It's inexpensive. And it WORKS. It's also an easy candidate to thread for chokes and D&T for an optic mount.

NEF singles are junk. Don't know how many we had come in for repair but broken trigger guards, forearm studs broken loose from barrels and broken transfer bars come to mind when I think NEF/H&R single. They were designed to be the absolute cheapest gun on the gun store shelf and anyone who "sheds guns that lack quality" shouldn't have one in their collection for long. Mossberg and Ithaca 37 forearms are loose and rattly because of too much clearance between the action bar tube and magazine tube. { I guess Ithacas lack quality too}. Both Mossberg and Ithaca use indents spaced around the circumference of the action tube front and rear which are the only thing that actually contact/ride the magazine tube. To eliminate the excess space between the forearm tube and magzine tube and hence eliminate the rattle, one only needs to deepen those dents. I don't know why they don't adjust their specs and do it at the factory. Certainly it wouldn't cost any more. Having left the gun repair business in 1992 soon after it's introduction and never having one come into the shop, I'm not familiar with the 835 or any shortcomings in it's design/construction. I assume it's based on the 500/590 design enlarged to handle the 3.5" shell. The 500/590 while not finely fitted/finished examples of the gun makers art are solid, durable, dependable.

He'll of alot of mossy 500 riot guns in squad cars in this country .mb

Step brother had what I think was a Western Field 12 gauge. It was a 500 for sure, just can't remember which house brand.

30" full choke and walnut furniture.

Buddy of mine is in the Cook County Sheriff's Dept. He uses a Mossberg 500 for everything, and I mean everything! I sure don't envy him the places he takes the 500 into with him! He truly trusts his life to it!

Life is too short to own crappy guns. I shot a 835 on two hunts and sold it as soon as I could. Maybe 1995?

I guess you love your junk and I'll love mine.

Out of 7 or 8 dedicated turkey guns laying around here...... I still grab my NEF every time.

I only sell a gun if I absolutely hate it. In over 40 years, I've only ever sold TWO........ A Remington 700 ADL Synthetic ......... and a Mossberg 835.

YMMV. Carry on.

I gave a Benelli Nova 12ga 3-1/2" shotgun to someone I didn't like! Does that count?

I had a nova that I really liked. I shot turkeys and pheasants with it a bunch. The kid needed a shotgun and I didn't need that one so I sold it cheap because I got it cheap. I really liked mine. Did you not like yours?

Good news! I can settle this discussion. You are both correct, the Mossbergs and the H&R single shots are both pieces of crap and should be lost in an actual boat accident, or thrown down an outhouse or sold cheap.

Years ago, a sporting goods store named Gallyans (something like that) was blowing them out for just under $200. Figured it would be a good back-up gun. I fired 1-12ga 3-1/2" 2-1/4oz turkey load out of it and that was enough. Whether I just held it wrong, whatever, felt like I loosened every tooth in my head! And I'm not recoil sensitive! I'm 6'-4" 230ish and shoot some really big stuff without any problems. But that Nova!!! Lol! Plus, from the factory, it didn't have an ejector in it, shell just slid back and forth in the extractor. So literally, gave it to someone I didn't much care about at a hunt club I belonged to at the time. And that was enough of that...

Lotta people spout a lotta shyt about things they know little about. Most aren't qualified to judge. Particularly about the quality/performance of just about anything, from vehicles to tires to boots to guns, which is why consumer product ratings are next to worthless.

If I had fired 3 1/2" lead in my Nova, I would have the same opinion you did. I used pheasant loads and 2 3/4" turkey loads and loved mine. Plus it functioned perfectly, so that helps.


I had both Mossbergs and H&R single shots, I consider myself a knowledgeable victim of both companies.

I've owned about every pump shotgun made over the years. I like pumps and still have several in the safe to choose from. 95% of the time if I'm hunting something that requires a shotgun, I'm walking out the door with one of my 500's.

Somebody loves the plastic fantastic rattle box Nova sticking his nose in the air at any other shotgun is pretty funny. Did you ever notice where the "made by Mattel" label was located ?

LMAO !!!!!!

My kid has a Super Nova.

Thing patterns like a mo-fo (like every Nova and Super Nova I ever shot did) !!! But, I call it his "Italian Mossberg". Loose, rattling, plastic P.O.S.

I shouldn't make fun. I have a CZ 612 in the safe. I knew they were Turkish junk but my wife liked the looks of it so I bought it for her.

Lol. My favorite shotgun is a $136 Pardner Pump 20ga. Mossbergs aren't even cheap, check the prices on them. I haven't touched one in years because my hinder is still scarred from the ones years ago. My H&R single shot was just as bad. All a shotgun needs to do is function and fire when asked. The 5 shotguns I'm experienced with could not deliver on that. The Benelli Nova could. Idk what else to say.

I have two Super Novas. I like them. My version with a 26" vent rib barrel shoots a little bit higher than some of my others. For that reason, I don't hunt with it a lot anymore. But if it was my only gun, I might never notice where it hits and just get used to it. But it patterns very well. And it's very reliable. Never had a malfunction no matter the shell or brand, even Hornadys that have been a problem in other guns. For the price, it's outstanding.




I have a Super Nova Tactical as a house defense gun. I've hunted deer with it, too. I've never had a slug gun that shoots foster and Brenneke slugs as accurately as this gun. It will cloverleaf Remington Sluggers and Brennekes at 50 yards. It's, likewise, been perfectly reliable. My biggest gripe is the safety placement. I don't like it in front of the trigger. I like a tang saftey best, and a safety behind the trigger next. But the gun functions. Never had a malfunction of any kind no matter how fast I shuck it.

I have a model 500 crown grade that I bought on sale for 229.00 with both a 28" vent ribbed and rifled slug barrel at Dicks in 1997. That gun has been my most used shotgun for everything since. I've killed more grouse, pheasants, rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, fox, coyote, ducks and geese with that gun than you could fit in a boxcar and there are 21 bucks on my walls taken with the slug barrel. Not one malfunction or breakdown in all these years despite some rough treatment, including being left out in the yard under 6" of snow for two days when it was forgotten after taking pics of a buck I killed with it, being dropped 18' out of a tree stand one evening and much use in inclement weather. The woodwork has been refinished twice, the barrel and mag tube reblued twice and much of the anodizing is worn off the receiver but she just keeps on suckin em up and spittin em out with never a hitch.

My mileage exactly. Bought a 700 ADL synthetic new and it was gone within the year. Lousy handling gun.

On the 835 - watched my brother pull the trigger on it once with 3.5" shells. "Here," he said, "you try," handing it to me with his left arm as his right arm and shoulder still tingling and hurting. I laughed and walked away, no thanks.

A 835 with 3.5s will hurt ya

op Here again..

If I bought a 835, id only shoot 3 inch.
I went to my fy=unstore to try things...

Held the winchester sxp turket specuial.. felt solid, liked the sights and inflex recoil pad.
They have 835s on clearance. Just didnt feel real solid
Held the 500 turkey version.. much lighter.
Nothing spoke to me, but...
Didnt look at Nova's. my duck hunting buddy's son had one and its had durability issues and it was a throwaway gun. Although I like the ghost ring version...


Handled a remington 870 fieldmaster compact 20 gauge.. what a solid feeling little gun. 18.75 inch barrel and drilled and tapped. I should compare it to a camo mossberg 20, but it realy felt solid.

I know it is a personal thing, but I like the 870's best of most all the pumps on the market. A Browning BPS could get my attention as well as an Ithaca 37, but all would be measured against the 870.

Having run many 1200 and 1300 shotguns hard along with several Mossbergs I disagree. The 1200's handle better, smoother actions and are better looking. Had one problem ever, bought a used one and the ejector was missing. Put one in and still have it. Never had a magazine issue other than a spring that went weak another easy fix. Leave em loaded long enough and the springs will get weak on any of them.

I have three of them, an old Wingmaster which is a slick nice shotgun with pretty wood. Use it for dove hunting. Next is a Express slug gun with a rifled barrel which after some fooling with it became a reliable and finally pretty slick operating shotgun that shoots Hornady SST sabots really well. Last is an old 870 Express in 20 gauge that has been through hell and done all asked of it. That one never actually smoothed up much. My favorite pump is the old 1300 I bought new back in 92. I shoot it best, guess thats why. The 870's are my second favorite and Mossbergs are ok if the weather really sucks.

Hardest I ever been hit under the eye was an early model 835 with 3.5" Winchester High Velocity shells.

I didn't shoulder it correctly and the comb smacked me right underneath my right eye. I put it back in the case and was done for the day, lol.

Have had the BPS in 12 and 10, 870 in 12 only I think, 1300s in 12, Nova 20 gauge and a 20 gauge Mossberg 500.

Of all of them the BPS is my favorite. Heavier than a Remington but they feel like they operate tighter if that makes sense.

The only real drawback to the BPS is assembly and disassembly. They are a Browning so nothing is easy. Drop the trigger group and you better be ready for a fun time reassembling.

That ain't no lie.

Closest I've come to crying in the last 45 years....... Dropped the trigger group outta my BPS 10 so I could clean it inside.

😬😬😬

NEVER AGAIN.

My first shotgun of my own was a 1200. Been running without a hiccup since 1978.

Also have a 1300 (and gave another to my brother) that's never had a single issue.

The 1200/1300 platform is just SO much nicer (IMO) than any of the Mossberg pumps. If the Winchesters had tang safeties they'd be absolute perfection.

Never any pox on the 870 platform, either. Built like tanks.

I’m gonna fill my butt stock with bbs one of these days

So whats the thoughts on 1985 Browing bps 20 gauge with the upland stock and 22 inch barrel?

(its currently serving bedroom shotgun duty and I have a meadow creek mount that may work...)

I have 2 other 3”rated 12ga a Winchester 1300 and a savage 24 223/12 the 835 still kicks more with 3” loads than the other 2

I know how many of each we had come in to the shop for repair and what needed fixing and the 1200 has more issues/weak points than the Mossy no doubt about it. Of course the car owner/driver always knows more than the mechanic. Had both over the years and prefer the Mossberg for several reasons. The most important being I simply shoot it better than any other pump and I've owned about all of them. The only two that remain in my safe today are the BPS and 500. I sold my last Wingmaster {had three 12's and three 20's} and Ithaca 37 a couple years ago. I simply didn't use them anymore and hadn't in years.

I find the 1200's overly muzzle heavy, flimsily built and I hate the safety location.. I kicked mine down the road years ago and good riddance. If your primary criteria for judging the quality of a pump shotgun is a tight forearm they're a gem.

Disassembly of the BPS is a breeze compared to a Model 37. Hardest part about a BPS is holding the cartridge stops in when putting the trigger group back in. It helps to have 3 hands. Otherwise, it's pretty easy.

I agree with Yoder about the Winchester 1200/1300. My dad gave me his 1300 slug gun years ago back when USRAC was making them. I let it go. But it was super accurate and very reliable. It was my first experience with a pump that opened the action upon firing. I swear, that was an accident in the design but Winchester called it a speed feature. The Benelli Novs/Super Novas do it, too. It works well and lets you shuck em fast.

Nice. Don't sell it, you won't likely get another.

If your buddy had durability issues with a Nova or Super Nova, then he did something to it. The receiver is actually steel inside that plastic. That's the reason the receiver is sto thick. There's steel inside. It's an ultra-robust shotgun. If the SHTF, it would be on my short list of guns to have.

Any shotgun used hard can have parts break. The Nova/Super Nova are no exception. The upside is they are easy and inexpensive to fix and there is very little you can't do yourself if you have some various size punches. It's like a Glock in shotgun form.

37's are dead simple so long as you aren't a dunce and don't mind removing a few screws. They aren't as bulletproof/durable as many seem to think. Contrary to pupular belief, they all end up coming in for repair sooner or later when they see enough use, including 37's and 870's.

The universal problem with the Mossberg 500 with a wood forearm is that the wood cracks. The forearm used to be tubular. And they cracked along the top, lengthwise, completely from one end to the others. Mine did it. Others I've seen, including wood "retro" models - all cracked, even new in the store. Not always in the same spots. But Mossberg 500 wooden forends are crackers. I have no idea why, but its hard not to notice. If you have a Mossberg 500 with a wood forend without a crack on it somewhere, you have a rare gun.

When you have to remove a butt stock to disassemble a receiver, it immediately becomes a PITA.

And no, they are far from bullet proof. They tend to develope timing issues, with cycling a shell out of the magazine onto the ground, or feeding a new round before the spent shell has been ejected causing quite a jam. Have had it happen on two of my guns and had to send them to Ithaca for work.

And swapping barrels isn't as easy as just swapping barrels on a 870, 500 or BPS. To do it right, you have to loosen the yoke, swap the barrel, tighten the mag cap against the stud, then snug the yoke back up against the barrel. Failure to do this will result in having a hard time getting the barrel off and on it the yoke is tight, or having a newly installed barrel twisting left or right after its mounted. They yoke has to be snug. Not overly tight. When you switch a M37 barrel, it does require a bit of "fitting."

The M37 is an old design and is not without its issues. But it is supremely well made and the new ones from Upper Sandusky, IMO, are better than any that were produced in the past.

You guys talking about removing the trigger group from a BPS brings back funny memories of trying to put one back in. Lol, I was pretty exasperated, just like everyone else, I'm sure.

I've had several 500's over the last 45 years in 12, 16 and 20 gauge. I've shot the living piss out of them and nary a crack in any. It isn't something I've seen with any regularity unless you're talking the paper thin section on the barrel side/top of the forearm tube on the old style {pre 96} forearms and a crack there is of no consequence/concern to integrity. Cracks elsewhere are most likely caused by shooting/pumping with a loose retention nut or gross over tightening of the retention nut. There is absolutely no reason for it to happen any more often than on an 870 as they use the same type of retention design. I have a 12 gauge from the 60's in the safe and no cracks. No cracks in my 1997 crown grade either and it has endured much use and abuse. A 500 will generally hold up to more use with fewer problems/breakdowns than a 37 or 1200.

I did it once. Took a lot of beer.

After that it was a flush with brake cleaner. Hold the gun ass end up and let all of the junk flow out. Spray with Remi gron Dri-Lube and go on.

I've taken mine apart and put back together many times and never found it terribly difficult.

I use CLP.

Benelli wouldn't support the parts that were required to fix it when he took it to gunsmiths. I can't tell you details, but parts were not replaceable.

Odd. The Super Nova seems to be popular in practical shooting competition and there are websites out there showing you how to replace the parts that sometime fail after many thousands of rounds. Every part save the receiver is available for purchase. https://www.midwestgunworks.com/benelli-nova-supernova/parts.html

They're good guns or they wouldn't be pretty much unchanged since 1961. But they have their fair share of issues like every gun. The triggers universally suck. It's like pulling the hood latch on car. Cracked plastic trigger guards are fairly common. Mil-spec guns, and some commercial 590s have metal trigger assemblies. Cracks in the forend wood are fairly common. I've seen a number of 500s with broken safeties - they can crack across the screw hole. And double feeds, like with the M37, are not terribly uncommon. And that magazine tube is impossible to extend without replacing the entire magazine and barrel. The 590 fixes that.

Nonetheless, it's a good workaday gun. There's enough slop in them to be reliable without much maintenance. The safety is in the right place. It's got dual extractors. So it gets a lot right.

In terms of the Winchester 1200, it might be noted the 1200 was accepted into military service 10 years before the 500, without modifications except for a heat shield and sling swivel studs. The 500 didn't pass reliability testing initially and needed material modifications, ie a metal trigger assembly due to excessive cracking in the plastic assembly, in order to be acceptable. In fact, the 1200 has a significantly longer military service history than the Mossbergs.

We grew up hunting with them in a shotgun only county for deer. As bad as the 3 1/2 federal 00 buck was, it was nothing compared to the 3 1/2in federal 2 1/4oz no6 I shot at turkeys. Sold two to a guy and when he drove off, I just remember thinking "sucker". He got a good deal, i was glad to see them gone. Wonder how his shoulder is doing. Patterning that thing was a hoot, you'd start flinching by the 2nd shot and just start laughing with your buddies. We had the very first 835s that came out 1990ish. Recoil pads have come a long way since then.

I graduated to a xtrema2 for turkeys and a backup duck gun. It's a sweetheart.

Very good friend still uses the 835 he got a very long time ago for turkey, very effectively too I might add. One time, a bird came in uphill from him and over his left shoulder. He twisted around, got the gun up, and killed the turkey. Only thing, butt ended up on his bicep, not in his shoulder, his right arm was the most colorful yellows and purples from his shoulder to his wrist! Lol!

Maybe they have improved the design since the early days knowing a crappy pump could kill future sales of an expensive auto when the guy upgrades..
My friend went to a browning so that marketing model may be proven.

I've owned and hunted 500,835,870,1300s and BPS PUMP GUNS.All get the job done. The only one I didn't sell was an 870 SP which is still my travel out of state shotgun 20 years later.
Bottom line is you have to have confidence in it. With the chokes and ammo today anyone can find a combination that they are happy with. For me I been transitioning to the sub gauges in double barrels and autos trying to reduce the weight as I still hunt a more mountainous terrain and my age is catching up to me.

You telling me what the common problems are when I worked in a busy shop actually repairing everything that came in is hilarious ! I remember exactly two Mossbergs that came in with broken trigger guards. That was a more common issue with 1200's than Mossbergs. As I said before, 95% of the time when a Mossberg came in for repair it was for a broken safety button. Of course you'll find the occasional broken firing pins, ejectors, extractors etc. on virtually every make and model occasionally. What I know for a fact is that we got 1200's in for repairs a lot more frequently than 500's, despite the fact that a lot more 500's have been sold. The Mossberg is an excellent design since it's essentially a Remington 31 modified/adapted to streamlined modern manufacturing methods and materials. I remember years ago people saying the Mossbergs would never hold up to much use because they used that cheap ass aluminum receiver and plastic trigger guard { early ones had steel safety buttons so folks didn't worry about those}. Seems funny as hell looking back now when one considers all the guns that use aluminum receivers and various plastic parts that are not inexpensive and are considered fine, dependable, durable guns.

LOL. You defend the 500 like it was a special-needs child. Relax. I'm not dogging your one and only. I like the 500, too, or I wouldn't have one. But saying it's without issues, like every other guns, is being disingenuous. It has issues just like any other gun. On top of that, to me, it's unrefined, clunky and sloppy. That's part of it's charm, part of what makes it affordable, and part of what makes it reliable. But it does have issues just like every other gun on the market. That's all I'm saying. So, try and calm down.

I always thought of Mossberg as the Lee reloading of shotguns. They work but are not the highest quality nor the most refined.
That said, they still get the job done.

I agree they all have issues/come in for repairs occasionally. Some more frequently and with less use than others. The pumps I remember seeing for repairs most often were 1200's, 37's and the various Savage Stevens models. Some of that no doubt was dependant on what sold in the biggest numbers locally, some due to age and abuse as people tend to abuse/neglect the crap out of cheap pump guns. I like the 500 because I shoot them well and they've served me faithfully for nearly a half century of hard use. I defend the 500 because that seems to be the one slammed most often for being of low quality. The complaint I hear most often is that they're loose, rattly and clunky and that seems to be why/how people judge them to be low quality. If that's the criteria you're going to use, then Ithaca 37's must also be of low qualty because they're at least as sloppy, loose and rattly as a Mossberg. Like I explained, the rattly issue is no issue at all to me as it's quickly and easily taken care of. Replace the plastic safety with a metal one and a 500 will generally serve long and well with few issues.

No pump gun is really "of the highest quality" nor are they particularly refined. Some are made of better materials and better finished than others but aside from some of the highly engraved/inlaid/commemorative/custom shop editions, at the end of the day they're all just cheap utilty guns. To me the 870 Express is about the most clunky, poorest handling {heavy bitch} roughest finished modern pump gun out there. Mossbergs bluing looks good compared to the Express's "pea gravel blasted" finish that rusts if you stare at it hard.

The forearms on novas are great for rattling big bucks in

I'm not sure anyone can reasonably argue the 500 is anything but high quality. It's soundly designed, reliable, strong, made with appropriate materials. It's virtually unchanged for over 60 years. Maybe the barrels aren't highly polished, maybe the bolts aren't highly polished, maybe it uses a plastic trigger assembly. But the gun flat out works. And at the end of the day, that is really what matters.

As far as the 37 goes, I'd take a 500 or a 870 over a 37 for self defense any day. When a 37 gets out of timing, you're either going to shuck a shell out of the magazine onto the ground, or you are going to double feed one. Picking a double feed out of an 37 receiver is a royal pain in the ass. Not that 500s don't wear to the point of timing issues, but at least you have two ports to work on the jam through.

If I was in Alaska and I had to carry a shotgun for bear defense, it would be a 500 or 590 that I painted with Rustoleum or Krylon. It would have a synthetic stock, short vent rib barrel with a big fiber optic front sight and an extended magazine. The 500 and 590 are loose and reliable, the safety is in the right spot, it has dual extractors, which on a defense gun IMO is a big deal (especially if you shoot Hornady shells through it.).

Yep. Italian Mossbergs. LOL !!!

Bottom line for me is.............. Life's to short to hunt with a butt-ugly, clunky shotgun with the handling characteristics of a treated 4X4 deck post.

My dedicated turkey gun is ugly. But noting rattles, shifts, moves or shakes. And it functions. Kinda ironic.......... I'm counting (in my head) at least 9 dedicated turkey guns to my name, yet I use the absolute cheapest one outta all of them.

Go figger.

Kinda like me with my deer rifles. I have a safe full of very accurate, scoped bolt action centerfire rifles. I kill most of my deer with either my Marlin 336 or one of my Winchester 94's. I just like em, I shoot em well and they fit my hunting style and conditions.