I own both the remington 870 and the mossberg 500. I take the mossberg out more but they' re about the same.

The remington feels more solid, the mossberg has a better trigger and smoother action. The remington has a smaller bead that I can get on a squirrels head easier, the mossberg has a double beaded barrel that I can line up better.

It' s all personal preference. Just for shooting small game I' d go with the cheapest gun I could get.

One thing I noticed is that mossberg 500s seems to be more accurate out of the box with rifled slugs then remingtons. But the mossbergs seem to be more funny about what brand of shot they like. Either way, it' s all in which one you like.