Mossberg or Remington

#1
I'm looking to purchase a 12 gauge for home defense and I'm in a tossup between the Mossberg 590 or a version the Remington 870. Just wondering if anyone had any experience or opinions of either of these or had other suggestions. I kinda like the looks of the Mossberg 590 and the locations of the safety/action release. On the other hand, it looks like I could get other barrels/chokes for the Remington that would allow me to use it for other activities in addition to home defense. I dunno. Thanks for any input.

--Justin
 
#2
I had a remington 870 express, and the finish on it was terrible. It would constantly begin to form surface rust on the sight rail and all over the barrel, and very lightly on the receiver. I could never get it off, and it would always form no matter how many times I cleaned it and oiled it down. Other than that, it was a fine shotgun, but I eventually sold it cause I never used it, and the finish was terrible. I was going to get an HD remmy when it was on sale for $330 at sportsmans, but my dad was too worried about what my neighbors would have thought :blah::roll: The finish on it was of better quality because the express line is the more affordable line. If you get a remmy, don't get an express, spend a little extra to get an old police model or a wingmaster.
 

LBarr2002

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#4
The 870 is a more versatile gun and there's more aftermarked support for it, but it is more expensive. I bought a Mossberg 500 persuader (8 round tube) because it was cheap and reliable. I've added a Knoxx recoil reducing stock.

IMG00073-20110201-1829.jpg
 
#5
The 870 is a more versitile gun and there's more aftermarked support for it, but it is more expensive. I bought a Mossberg 500 persuader (8 round tube) because it was cheap and reliable. I've added a Knoxx recoil reducing stock.

IMG00073-20110201-1829.jpg
I bought the same gun 4 years ago at one of the gunshows. Picked it up for $310. For home defense who ever's on the receiving end won't know the difference. Technically it's a turkey gun blacked out but you'll see it sold as a "tactical" shotgun.
 
#6
Remington. Had a friend with a Mossberg 500 that just always seemed like he was having some sort of issue with it. I've always used an 1100 (brother to the 870) and it has done nothing but work.

DO RESEARCH. The very early ones are great, but then Remington started selling the shotguns at Kmart (or walmart...whatever) and for a number of years, the quality went to crap. Like, SUPER SERIOUS crap. They made the gun cheap to compete and thus, the gun was crappy. I want to say...late 80s and most of the 90s, Remington Shotguns weren't all that great. After that, they started back building quality stuff.

But with the 870, there are so many out there, you can just buy a used one for a decent price.
 
#7
ive had good experience with remmingtons and the 870 is about a smooth a pump as ive ever used, but ive never had issues with mossbergs either. i like remingtons and that would be my choice but as said before the man on the other end wont care which you bought lol
 
#9
I appreciate everyone's input. I figured I'd get some feedback here. I've been doing some more reading and have heard of some issues with Remington's new 'corrosion proof' coating not being rust proof. Also I read that some of the Remingtons were slam firing unintentionally. It seems that I'd have to find one of the older ones to avoid some of these problems. The mossberg does sound sick when you cycle the action though.
 
#10
Guns are like cars as far as oppinions. You will have people that say one is better than the other. It all comes down to what you are wanting it for and what you can afford. I own a mossberg 500 and have never had any issue with it. I have taken it to the range on several occasions and it has always shot true even from a good distance. I have changed out the stock and bought a non rifled barrel for buck/bird shot. It came with a rifled slug barrel. I have it changed out for the shorter non rifled barrel. It makes it easier to hadle in hallways and what not. Im sure there are pros and cons to either, it just boils down to what you can find a deal on and what you plan on using it for. For the money the mossberg is reliable but the aftermarket is not realy there. HTH.
 
#11
I've got a the remmy 770, which is the cut down and more affordable 700 basically, and the rust that forms on it is rare and takes 2 min to rid with a little copper brush and some gun oil. I spent one hour on my 870 scrubbing rust off the sight rail before I brought it to shooters choice, and it still had a deep red hue on it, so I soaked it in gun oil and just hoped for the best. My next shotty purchase will probably be a Saiga or a Mossberg, constant rusting should not be an issue with a company like Remington.
 
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