Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

A friend of mine recently went to GA to do some hog hunting. Before heading to the woods, he and his brother were doing a little target shooting with slugs. Right after his brother had shot, my friend was handed the gun and he loaded a slug and took a shot from the hip.

It's a good thing he chose to do that this time because the entire left side of the barrel blew out. His left thumb was nearly blown off and had to be re-attached at the hospital. The gun is ruined and his thumb's future is uncertain at this point.

I've never owned a Mossberg 500 (I have an 835), but I have been very impressed with another friend's 500 and how it patterns with turkey loads.

Anyone ever hear of this happening with Mossberg 500's? Any idea what could have caused it?

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Ouch!

Never heard of that happening b4, but in general, not fond of Mossbergs.

Hope everything works out as far as his thumb is concerned.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Well on my Mossberg 835 it says on the side of the barrel "NOT FOR USE WITH SLUGS". So before he gets to hiring lawyers he might want to look at the remains of his barrel and see if it says the same thing!

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Can't use Slugs?

I'm honestly scratching my head over here. Im not familiar with that model(835) but what could the reasoning be?

Does Mossberg offer a specific slug gun? I was under the assumption that it was your average shotgun and could handle anything its chambered for.

I know for a fact my Uncle used to shoot slugs out of his 500 b4 he sold it, I wish he still had it so I could call him up and he could check it.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Ya, 835's are not for slugs unless you buy a slug barrel. 500's are probably the same way. i dont know why but I assume because the barrels blow up. LOL!

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Maybe it's because they are overbored and ported. Must have some adverse reaction to slogs.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Wow, learn something new every day huh?

I'll have to tell my Uncle he was lucky :)

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

500s are usually good guns, you don't suppose maybe the previous slug didn't exit or maybe the wading didn't clear, I know its a long shot, just wondering out loud

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

500s need slug barrels...

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

A 500 doesn't need a slug barrel to fire foster type slugs any more than any other shotgun out there. You can fire a slug out of any modern smooth bore barrel and not do any harm what so ever. You can fire sabot slugs as well but you will not get any kind of accuracy.

The 835's must have a dedicated slug barrel installed because the bore of the 835 smooth barel is .775" inside diameter vs. a standard 12 ga barrel being .729" inside diameter which is also the diameter of the 12 ga slug. If you fired a slug in the .775" barrel it would rattle down the barrel and probably damage the barrel, gun, or you.

Now on to the original post. For a shotgun barrel to split down the side like that it......... 1) was previously damaged in the area of the split. 2) had an obstruction in the barrel such as the previous slug not exiting due to an under charged load. 3) your friend fired a double charged load. 4) The shell was improperly assembled when loaded.

Any of the last three can send the pressures inside the barrel high enough to split the barrel. A shotgun barrel is only designed to hold in about 10,000 - 15,000 psi.

It is an incredibly remote chance that the barrel had a manufacture defect but that possibility is extremely remote.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

i own a mossberg 500 ... it has the factory 28 inch barrel on it...i've shot all kinds of slug through it with no problem... of course i've always had an improved cylinder in it... its not very accurate (they reccomend a modified choke tube)...so i would definately recommend a slug barrel... but the incedent you described doesnt seem quite right ...what kind of barrel was it??

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

I have that same special issue hunting tag on my truck:D

I havent used my mossburg 500 using slugs in 15 + yrs but when i did shoot foster type slugs deer hunting etci never had a problem with it.(think it had the long trap vent rib/factory type barrel on it backthen.

yep They seem to have a variety of aftermarket barrels at good prices- slug barrels etc& a blackpowder barrel.

Id agree/go with the obstructed barrelpossibilitys

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Several of us who use guns have been wondering what could have happened. It sounds like bigbulls has as good an answer as any we've theorized.

It's a good thing he wasn't aiming normally this time or he would be in "heap big trouble" (Indian lingo :D).

I'll ask him some more questions about this and post them if I find out anything pertinent.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

My buddy shot at a 6pt last year at 10yds. The deer was standing still He was using an 835, too. He pulled the trigger, and the buck just looked at him. He looked through the scope to shoot again...and couldn't see the deer very well.

It seems the end of the barrel had "banana-ed"....(peeled like a banana) and was split 3 ways.

Obstruction most likely wasn't the problem in his case...as he was in a stand and didn't walk far to get there.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Pro-Line, was your friend using a dedicated slug barrel for his 835.

If not the slug could easily get cocked sideways inside the bore and when it got to the choke peeled the barrel.

Remember we are dealing with 46 thousandths of an inch or 3/32nds" of extra diameter in the barrel of an 835. That is huge inside a barrel.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Years ago LOT'S of police departments bought Mossberg 500's. I saw the officers many times at the range, filling them with slugs and buckshot and shooting the he!! out of them!

Never heard of one blowing up though.

Drilling Man

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

my model 500 has handled slugs without fail. the manuel states slugs are alright and i believe even recommends a modified choke to pattern. i would have to think it was a abnormality with ammo or gun or both. unlucky things happen, ive seen super solid actions and barrels rupture, when its thier time its time.

i dont think its a mossberg flaw in general

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Any chance they were using 3" shells in a 2 3/4" barrel?

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Model 500 barrels have 3" chambers.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Mossberg

Can I fire slugs through my 835® vent rib, Accu-Mag® choke tube barrel? No, 835 field barrels (those with a ventilated rib) are "overbored", the extra inside diameter may cause the projectile to "wobble" producing unreliable accuracy. A projectile may wedge inside the barrel causing an obstruction. Obstructions of any kind can cause damage to the firearm resulting in personal injury. Dedicated smoothbore or fully rifled slug barrels are available for the Model 835®. Other 835® Accu-Mag® Choke Tube notes: Buckshot and steel-shot loads are not recommended for use with an Extra Full Turkey tube installed.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

some times people put 20 ga shells in the vests and for get them. when they use it again,and have a 12 ga,they unwittingly load the 20 ga,then the 12ga shells,and they pump it.when they go to shoot it slides farther down the barrell.it doesnt hit the shell they think it dry fired and there isnt a shell in the chamber. now,when your trying to hit a buck, your not going to go"wait didnt i pump it?",theyre going to be thinking"please dont run away,please dont run away, please dont run away..."as theyre pumping the 12 ga shell.boom!make sure you have the corect ammunition for your.firearm before loading, shooting, or even carryingshotshells or cartridges

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Alpha-----It could be an older gun. They only could shoot 2 3/4" shells.Shotgun made back in the 60's & 70's were 2 3/4" only magnums could handle the 3" shell.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Yep my 500 takes only 2 3/4" shells - it was made in the 70,s.

Was hunting with some ppl once where one of them stuck a roll of lifesavers in his 12 gauge along with his reg ammo-

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

This gun was a modern model and was chambered for 3" loads -- which is what they were shooting until the mis-hap.

I also found out that the entire rib vent was ripped off the barrel. He said that they never were able to find any of it. I've seen the pics of the barrel --destroyed the left side almost half way out.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

yes something doesnt sound right. Had a 500 years ago and you could use slugs. I have to agree, the pressure, a slug that didnt clear, dirt, anything cause the pressure to build. Have to agree, could be the barrel but those chances seem awfully remote with quaility control and legal stuff! yet anything is possible!

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

i have a mossberg 500 and have shot plenty of slugs thru it. No problems. i have a slug barrel and a shot barrel. I just switch them for what i am shooting. My mossberg takes 3" magnums as well.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Half the deer hunters (or more!!) in the Southern Tier of NY use Mossberg 500's for shooting slugs, and I have never heard of one blowing up, except one 12 GA. that some dude had loaded with a 20-ga. Brenneke slug load then handed it to a poor slob who loaded it AGAIN withthe CORRECTsize shell. Lo and Behold!! When he fired it, damned if part of the barrel didn't blow off, and the receiver was also ruined. I've seen the same thing with Remington 870's and 1100's. This is the reason why years ago the factories all started making 20-ga. hulls YELLOW! To keep people from putting them in 12-Ga guns! Now some 20-ga slug shells, like the Brennekes for instance, are NOT YELLOW YET!!

Whenever I hear of a gun exploding on the first shot after someone else had handed it to the victim of the "accident", I get real suspicious!!

True, the Mossberg M500's are not the finest shotguns in the world, but they are so safe that they are still current Army issue riot guns!!

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

I know the Topic is Mossberg 500, but I was confirming what Gandilamont stated.

This is from Mossberg


Mossberg

Can I fire slugs through my 835® vent rib, Accu-Mag® choke tube barrel? No, 835 field barrels (those with a ventilated rib) are "overbored", the extra inside diameter may cause the projectile to "wobble" producing unreliable accuracy. A projectile may wedge inside the barrel causing an obstruction. Obstructions of any kind can cause damage to the firearm resulting in personal injury. Dedicated smoothbore or fully rifled slug barrels are available for the Model 835®. Other 835® Accu-Mag® Choke Tube notes: Buckshot and steel-shot loads are not recommended for use with an Extra Full Turkey tube installed.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

I doubt that M500 barrels are made this way-nothing that would cost extra!! They are very basic guns...... the 835's are considerably more costly.

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

guess again my Mossberg 500 did get ripped when I shot a slug with the vent rib barrel ( mod choke tube ) with my slug barrel (smoothbore even ) never a problem and very accurate out to 100-125 yards

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

I own two 500's.
Tough old ugly noisy guns - Will take a Lickin and Keep on Tickin(shootin).
Shot a ton of shot,fosters,sabots,2-3/4 & 3" shells,smooth and rifled barrel.
Never had either gun skip a beat at anything I fed it. Never read or heard of any 500's blowing a barrel around this neck of woods. Very Odd?

RE: Mossberg 500 blows up!
 

Never seen or heard of a 500 blowing up unless it had a plugged up bore. Then any of them will.