Hey there. I just got done researching this same issue. I owned a Mossberg 500 for a while that I keep around the house and I wanted another shotgun solely for hunting. I was open to anything at first, then I narrowed it down to the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 mainly for budgetary reasons.

I was steered heavily toward the Remington 870, both here and elsewhere. The 870 has a very loyal following and a great reputation. It' s a great shotgun, hands down. Remington parts (chokes, barrels, whatnot) are a little more pricey than Mossberg.

The Mossberg has a great reputation out there as well, but not as much of a following as the Remington (from what I' ve seen, this could be inaccurate on a larger scale). Mossberg parts are a bit lower in price too.

Side by side, I noticed the action release and safety location on the Remington were really odd for me. I already owned a Mossberg 500 for a while and got used to it. So in the end I got another 500.

Please note I am a tad biased since I owned a Mossberg prior to making the choice. I' m sure once you get used to one (either one), you would tend prefer it more than the other.

But the main piece of advice I found out there is: you can' t go wrong with either one.

So yeah, I' d say buy the Mossberg.

Good luck.