I've got some money burnin' a hole in my pocket and I'm itchin' to get a new gun.

So at Academy today I saw the Mossberg 500® Pump Action Persuader®...the model they had was a 12-gauge blued/synthetic combo with 20" barrel, eight-round capacity, and included a pistol grip (interchangeable for shoulder stock) and a variety of chokes. I was pretty taken with it, especially since it was only $230.

I'm wondering:

- Is it a good gun?
- Is it a good buy?
- How will the recoil compare to my .300 Wby. Mag?


At this point I'd only be using it for some recreational shooting and as a home defense weapon--not that I've needed one, but hey, you never know when it might come in handy and my rifles aren't gonna do me much good in that department. I've never handled a shotgun before (or a handgun for that matter) so I don't quite know what to expect but I'm pretty eager to branch out into new territory.

What advice do y'all have?

My advice is not to shoot any 3" mag slugs out of it with the pistol grip installed. I did once, I'll not do it again. :)

#50579 12 ga. 500® Pump 8-shot, w/20" barrel, includes Pistol Grip kit for replacing full length stock. MSRP $357


I've got a M590A1 and it's been reliable, for the amount I use it. My brother in law shot skeet, to the tune of about 8K rounds a year, for a few years with a 500 and the only trouble I recall was that the extractor needed to be replaced. Not the most attractive shotguns, but I do believe they are reliable.

My brother in law shot skeet, to the tune of about 8K rounds a year, for a few years with a 500 and the only trouble I recall was that the extractor needed to be replaced. Not the most attractive shotguns, but I do believe they are reliable.

Yeah, the website made a big deal about Mossbergs passing the "torturous 3,000-round MilSpec tests".....but then websites say a lot of things. :) It's much better to have heard from someone who knows that the gun's reliable, so thanks for the tip!

And as for being unattractive, well, that does present some strategic considerations.

I suppose that a really beautiful gun might make an intruder pause in admiration, giving me valuable time to take control of the situation...and perhaps if the gun was a true work of art the intruder, deeply moved, might throw down his weapons, denounce his life of crime, and dedicate himself thenceforth to serving his fellow man.

Then again, an ugly gun could also provide certain advantages. The intruder may experience greater fear of the gun--for purely aesthetic reasons as well as the realization that it must have been designed purely with utility in mind. Or perhaps he'll be distracted by a sudden wave of disgust at my poor choice in firearms, once again giving me time to quickly gain the upper hand.

I'll have to give this further thought. :D

well if its a pump shot gun there isnt much that could go wrong with it. there are just a couple of moving parts. and the kick of a shotgun is greater than your .300 so i would just shoot 2 3/4" shells to start out, 3" and 3 1/2" (dont know if yours takes the latter) shells can really hurt especially after a days worth of shooting, they can leave bruises all along your shoulder and damage nervs(the weak num feeling you get in your arm and hand) so it will prolly take a few boxes to get used to.

and most importantly 2 3/4 are really cheap you can get a box for as little as 2.50

Everybody needs a good scattergun. It's just a good basic tool that can be used for a large variety of applications. I don't see how you can possibly go wrong with a Mossberg 12 ga. pump. My personal preference is for a Rem870 because I think they have smoother action, better looking and are easier to disassemble for cleaning. But, the Mossberg is a little cheaper and there's nothing wrong with that either. One draw back to the gun you described. I think it has a long mag tube so you may not be able to interchange barrels. A standard sporting model might be more versatile for you if you later decide you want to add a rifled slug barrel or a longer barrel with screw in choke tubes. With a short barrel and a long barel with screw in choke tubes, that same gun can be your home defense gun, your bird gun, your deer gun, your bear gun, your duck gun, your rabbit gun, whatever. You just can't beat it for versatility. So, if it were me, I'd get a basic sporting model with screw in choke tubes first. Then you can always get a short barrel later to use with slugs and for home defense. Anyway, I highly doubt you'll ever need more than five rounds at a time for any purpose.

the 12ga. can do it all. There are light target/skeet loads that hardly have any recoil at all - shoot `em all day long and never even feel it. Or there are 3" mag heavy loads that pack a pretty good recoil. You probably wouldn't want to shoot those one right after the other but they can be tolerated for hunting use. Heck I'm only about 160 lbs. so if I can take it, anybody can.

A short stock, short barrel shotgun makes an excellent home defense weapon. Load it with light loads of buck shot - the lighter the better.

Yes, every man NEEDS a good shotgun. The Mossberg is decent quality, reliable, and versatile. GET IT!

When I bought mine 20 years ago it was called a "riot gun". Only came with the pistol grip. Had to change it for a shoulder stock from Gun Parts Corp. (Numrich). Painted it flat black to match the fore end. Now it can be aimed and shot with (almost) no pain.

Phil - IMHO the Mossberg 590 is a better gun than the 500, eg. better sights, stronger, better quality, etc. Your brother-in-law has done the tests for you; get him to let you shoot it once with the pistol grip with a couple of loads before you decide whether this "handy" feature is worthy of the "lack of control" you have for "repeat" fire. While I think the standard 500 action is a "bargain", I believe the 590 is the beter gun over the long term. And, yes you definitly need a pump shotgun in your inventory that kicks no worse than your 300 "Maggie". My 2 cents - Riley

Phil,
It is a pretty good deal. Some people like the Mossberg better than the 870, some the other way around. The one real difference I found was if you find them, the 12 ga. Aguila mini shells do not work well with the lifter in the Mossberg. But then again, since it comes with the extended mag tube, you really dont need the shorter shells to carry more do you?

Best of luck.

Everybody needs a good scattergun. It's just a good basic tool that can be used for a large variety of applications. I don't see how you can possibly go wrong with a Mossberg 12 ga. pump. My personal preference is for a Rem870 because I think they have smoother action, better looking and are easier to disassemble for cleaning. But, the Mossberg is a little cheaper and there's nothing wrong with that either. One draw back to the gun you described. I think it has a long mag tube so you may not be able to interchange barrels. A standard sporting model might be more versatile for you if you later decide you want to add a rifled slug barrel or a longer barrel with screw in choke tubes. With a short barrel and a long barel with screw in choke tubes, that same gun can be your home defense gun, your bird gun, your deer gun, your bear gun, your duck gun, your rabbit gun, whatever. You just can't beat it for versatility. So, if it were me, I'd get a basic sporting model with screw in choke tubes first. Then you can always get a short barrel later to use with slugs and for home defense. Anyway, I highly doubt you'll ever need more than five rounds at a time for any purpose.

the 12ga. can do it all. There are light target/skeet loads that hardly have any recoil at all - shoot `em all day long and never even feel it. Or there are 3" mag heavy loads that pack a pretty good recoil. You probably wouldn't want to shoot those one right after the other but they can be tolerated for hunting use. Heck I'm only about 160 lbs. so if I can take it, anybody can.

A short stock, short barrel shotgun makes an excellent home defense weapon. Load it with light loads of buck shot - the lighter the better.

Yes, every man NEEDS a good shotgun. The Mossberg is decent quality, reliable, and versatile. GET IT!

I'll definitely check with the people at the store about whether the barrel can be interchanged. Btw, since I know nothing of shotguns, how does a long magazine affect this aspect of the gun? And when I'm gun-shopping, what do I need to look for to know whether a gun can accept multiple barrels?

3,000 rounds isn't that much, I've shot way more skeet targets than that with my 870 in a year. Still, that'll handle a lot of burglars, and I'm sure that the Mossie will last plenty longer than that.

Loose the pistol grip before you need surgery to fix your wrist tendons. You'll either end up with carpal tunnel syndrom, or be able to scratch the back of your hand with the thumb on the same side :eek:

Hi Ive done alot of bird shootin in the vineyard season ,am talking years of it,I know alot of people who do the same for a job and there are two types of guns that are used-Rem 870 and Moss 500s.
I bought a 870 two years ago second hand from a trap shooter,in those two years I have fired around 16,000 rounds out of that 870 without a problem,My friend has had his 500 for around 15 years and id hate to know how many rounds it has fired,He has replaced 1 sear 1 firing pin 1 extractor in 15 years of hard use.
I have sold my 870 because it is a right hander and Im a southpaw{cursed}
I will be getting another pump gun soon maybe a Mossberg simply because it is about $300 cheaper than a lefthand 870.

500 or 870 you cant go wrong

Regards
Keen1

The only thing that pistol grip is good for is when you need to hide the gun in a small sapce...it is about the wrost possible way to fire a 12ga. (unless someone found a way to hole one it his mouth)....folding stocks are almost as bad.

Unless you have a bruing need to hide the gun in a short sptace, for get the pistol grips and folding stocks...get a full length butt stock. USe to use a Mossberg pistol grip as my Jeep gun...there is only 34" of space under the rear seat, so only a pistol grip or folding stock would fit. Will still put the foldeing stock on to carry it in the Jeep, but it hurts to shoot it that way, can't get your face low enough to use sights, and sluge accuracy is pretty much "point and shoot".

The extended magazine does make a difference on a Mossy...the barrel secures to the END of the mag. tube (other shotguns go AROUND the mag. tube)...so the barrels for short mag. tubed Mossy guns won't fit on the extended mag. tube recievers.

No complaintsa baout the Mossberg 500...they'll works for a long long time and are solid guns....trigger guard is some kind of synthetic, but that's not the kiss of death as good synetictics are pretty strong.

The only thing that pistol grip is good for is when you need to hide the gun in a small sapce...it is about the wrost possible way to fire a 12ga. (unless someone found a way to hole one it his mouth)....folding stocks are almost as bad.

Unless you have a bruing need to hide the gun in a short sptace, for get the pistol grips and folding stocks...get a full length butt stock. USe to use a Mossberg pistol grip as my Jeep gun...there is only 34" of space under the rear seat, so only a pistol grip or folding stock would fit. Will still put the foldeing stock on to carry it in the Jeep, but it hurts to shoot it that way, can't get your face low enough to use sights, and sluge accuracy is pretty much "point and shoot".

The extended magazine does make a difference on a Mossy...the barrel secures to the END of the mag. tube (other shotguns go AROUND the mag. tube)...so the barrels for short mag. tubed Mossy guns won't fit on the extended mag. tube recievers.

No complaintsa baout the Mossberg 500...they'll works for a long long time and are solid guns....trigger guard is some kind of synthetic, but that's not the kiss of death as good synetictics are pretty strong.

Yeah, the pistol grip only sounds good for easier concealability. (If that's a word, hehe.) I certainly don't want to mess up any nerves or tendons....I'm a musician, I need all those to be in top condition for the next fifty years or so! X^) Plus some folks have commented that it would be like my .300 Wby or worse, and I really can't imagine shooting that without a shoulder stock and a pad.

And thanks for the explanation of how mag tubes affect barrel choice! I'll have to keep that in mind as I continue shopping.

P.S. Thanks to whichever mod moved this thread....I couldn't find the Shotgun section when I was posting. :confused:

The thing I don't like about the Persuader is it has an awfully short forearm compared to the regular 500, which leaves me reaching an uncomfortably long distance for it.

Other than that, it's just a normal Mossberg 500 reciver, so ya it accepts the other barrels.

The thing I don't like about the Persuader is it has an awfully short forearm compared to the regular 500, which leaves me reaching an uncomfortably long distance for it.

Other than that, it's just a normal Mossberg 500 reciver, so ya it accepts the other barrels.

Is the "forearm" the grip in the front that you pump?

Yep. Sure is.

Yep. Sure is.

Hehe, glad to know it. ^_^

I just bought myself a m590A1, it was the floor model so I got it on the cheap, I put the Knoxx Copstock folding stock on it so it would fit in the cubby in the back of my Blazer, The manufacturer claims it reduces recoil, but I think whatever it reduces it put back in by the metal wire frame, but it's no worse than any other 12 ga. As for shooting 3in" shells with it folded, thats about like one handing the 500 S&W, I would not recomend it unless the situation deemed it neccesary. Other than that I love the gun, just use it for protection and it serves its purpose well. But like it was stated earlier, I would recomend a sporter model for your first shotgun, I prefer the 870 for pump guns, It is, in my opinion, the most versatil shotgun ever made, heck its what they give us in the military for defence, it's great for duck, deer, rabbit just about whatever you want to hunt. That one gun can be adapted to several diffrent configurations. Assuming you use the right load I can't think of much you can't do with it in the lower 48. Just a few things you'd rather have a 20ga. for.

I agree with others about losing the Pistol Grip that's more for show than practical.

Also, buy the low recoil buckshot and practice frequently.

The one thing that you should know about a mossberg is that unlike an REM 870 or WIN 1200 is that they all need a "little" assistance when you are extracting a round. By this I mean that is you treat it like a women then it won't grab the next round after extraction to feed up and you may not notice this in combat until it's too late without practice. I have a mossberge 550E 16 ga that I simply love and it's now butter smooth after as many years as I am old (many) but it still requires that extra uumph when I pull down the forgrip in order to chamber. Also, all mossberge's that I have ever seen that are old get front end shake. The foreend will shake but not me loose in time and actually I like that alittle because it just seems comfortable when you grab it. I have never had a missfeed or misfire in either hunting or combat shooting but I have had numerous failures to pick up that round if I get gentle with it. I advice you to get rid of the pistol grip all together for home defense. recoil is too harsh and it makes the gun hard to hold onto should someone grab the barrel. If you have a signifigant other who may have to use this gun in defense remember that most times an untrained women will get a handgun out before she'll fire a pistol gripped shotgun after hearing your tales off it "awesome power and recoil".Simply put it's a reliable gun for the price that you can count on to go boom at 2am when you need it to. Plus there are tons of accesories. Just my 2 cents.