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.