Mossberg 500
 

Need some expert help. I live in Delaware. Flat land, no rifle hunting allowed or I would be taking that route. I have someone trying to sell me a 12 gauge mossberg 500 with a rifled barrel and the other barrel set up for various chokes with a scope (unsure of what power or brand) for $200. I plan to hunt deer, ducks, geese maybe doves as well. Is this a good deal on the gun? I am really looking for something that I can use for everything and that seems to be it. It would really be a starter gun for now. I will definitely upgrade later. Thank you guys ahead of time!

I would say yes, that's a good deal. Does the rifled barrel have rifle sights or a cantilever mount?

Hey....lived in DE since 1993...hunted there since same time...my first gun was a 500...$200.00 is good deal if you are getting all you say and it’s in excellent condition...that 500 will serve you well for ANYTHING you want to hunt from doves to geese and deer to rabbits....get it...but be forewarned...the 500 is the HARDEST recoiling slug thrower I have ever attached to my shoulder....Lightfields shoot very well from it...but try what you want for ammo. As for the attached scope...I have a fixed power 4x32 and it has suited me fine for slug hunting...so if scope is around that power or even variable...you will be fine too as long as its not messed up.
Good luck--
PS PM me for some spots I know on state if you will be going that route--I hunt on leased land now so I will share my secrets.

Assuming it is a cantilever scope mount (mount fixed to barrel and running back over receiver) it is a good deal alright.

I have a 20 gauge mossberg 500, first shotgun got it when I was 12. I would of burned it and ran it over by now if it were not for that. Save the money you would waste on the mossberg and get a 870 combo for around 340 dollars, you will be much happier and it will serve you well. It isn't the fact that the mossberg won't kill deer, ducks, or pheasent, mine has served me well when it works. I have had a lot of trouble with mine cycleing shells, and getting jammed. I wouldn't trust it hunting, I only keep it around because it was my first.

A fair deal on a JUNK gun. We even own 3 Moss. 500's that the kids have used and we all agree that they are cheap, clunky and have THE worst trigger you'll find. A horrible gun to try and shoot slugs through. I personally believe you should find a higher quality firearm for just a bit more. The Moss 500 is better suited for small game shooting like squirrel hunting..... NOT as a serious deer or turkey firearm.

500
 

Ever tried cleaning it?

I live in DE too...

Its a good deal, but I have to be honest: Mossturd sucks. If you want a slug gun, get a slug gun. I bought a Mossturd 695 bolt action slug gun for $250 and while it can be an pain to load, it hardly kicks and is very accurate. My brother has a 500 pump and its the biggest POS I've ever shouldered.

If you need an all around gun, buy an 870. Tough as nails, hunted waterfowl with it for 13 years in saltwater and everything with hardly a problem before switching to a Beretta. I cleaned it once maybe twice a year whether it needed it or not and when I did, I ran it through a parts washer. It got so bad with rusting that I eventually had to break down and paint it.

Before:



After:





Believe it or not, it patterns 3" Brenneke slugs very well with just a bead and an IC choke. You'd be able to pick up a slug barrel on craigslist or gunbroker for pretty cheap if you felt you needed it.



There's a reason Mossbergs don't hold their value, they're absolute junk.

Wow I have owned Mossbergs for over 25 years and see no reason to ever trade them for a 870 . Remington makes a good gun I'm not arguing that I just like my Mossberg better So yes $200 is a good deal if the gun is in good shape

I have a 500. It functions flawlessly. Mine has a smoothbore slug barrel with rifle sights, and I can shoot 2" groups at 50 yds all day with Win Super X 2.75" rifled slugs. It is what it is, and that's not a bad thing.

You can spend more, but you don't need to. I'd try the gun, and assuming it is not beat up, you are getting an OK deal for the cantilevered mount slug barrel/bird barrel combo. I would pay less for the rifled sight barrel/bird barrel combo.

I had one for years and while certainly not the best it's a pretty good gun for the money.I now have an 835 and it's a step up.My father has an 870 and I see little if any advantage in it over the 500.If the condition is good I think it's a pretty good deal.

My hunting buddy bought a Mossberg 500 quite a few years back because it was fully camoed and all. It has jammed up on him many times and I kept telling him to get rid of it. Last year a beautiful ten pointer jumped right out in front of him and the gun jammed again!! Needless to say he finally got rid of that gun. Now I am not saying that all Mossbergs are junk because I have not had much experience with them other than this one incident. I have owned several Remington 870 Express's and never had a single problem with any of them. Just something to add to the general discussion. Best of luck to you.......

My first 12ga was a Moss 500. It is now over 20 years old and a few years back I put a rifled barrel and scope on it. I can DRIVE NAILS with it at 75 yards and under.

As far as clunky and trigger not being great, go change your freaking tampoon!!! Don't over analyze it. If you pull the trigger and it hits the mark, then it works.

When I am hunting the swamps I use it because if I drop it in the mud I can wash it off in the river and it works just fine, and I didn't mess up a nice gun. The damn thing is indestructible!! I have even used it as a paddle before while duck hunting.

I too have a mossberg 500. Used it for 14 years in the worst of conditions. Never failed me. I think they are very good guns for the price.

Go for it! I have a 500 and a remington 870. Both are great shotguns, my mossy shoots slugs a little better, but I also have a mossy bolt action slug gun, so thats what I use now.
-Jake

I own, and agree with all the posting here i am happy with my mossys but i take good care of them, have had them to the smith to take the horendoes 6-8 lb trigger down to a crisp 3lb. the rifle barrel i lapped with coumpound and use lightfield slugs with, uh its what you make out of it. some just dont like the looks of them... its a tool for a purpose. its just a different kind of hammer but its still a hammer.:fighting0007:

I'm a Remington guy and think the 870 is a far superior pump gun compared to the 500. That being said if you are looking for a decent all around shotgun the 500 should suit you just fine. One thing I would check out before I bought it is the scope. Slugs are absolutely brutal to scopes. If the package comes with a quality scope (nikon, leupold) I'd say its a real good deal. If the scope is a cheapo Tasco or BSA I'd offer him $150 at the most.

Ive got a Mossberg 500 12 and love it. I put a brand new rifled barell on it a couple years ago and paid 180.00 for the barell alone. Tru-Glo Rifled sights and its also ported. This gun is very very accurate. I use it as my brush gun on drives or when sitting in some thick brush. Ive got mine sighted in at 100 yards and grouping just fine. Youll be getting a great deal!

i've had a 500 for years... i've had it wet, muddy, frozen... it still works as good as the day i got it. its not a really pretty gun, but it does its job, and does it well. 200 bucks is a pretty good deal.

Considering the fact that they have BB guns out that cost more than that, $200 is a great deal for any gun :D

Well, except for a Carcano :D

i got a 500 and i love it it is so easy to dis assemble and clean and it has never failed me

i had a 500 when i was younger i loved the gun, i ended up selling and buy me a 535 for turkey hunting mossbergs never done me wrong..

Just does not make sense??
The deer jumped in front of him and the gun jambed ?
So he was hunting with no round in the chamber?

I deer hunted with a 12ga 500 (rifled -iron sights)
I could keep a 4" group at 100 yards bench rest, killed many many deer, My eyes got old and I mounted a Red Dot on the receiver, used it for a couple more years.
I finally out grew the 8 pound trigger.

Slack

I use a 500 for pheasent and turkey; I used to use it for deer hunting too but i bought a remington 870 for that. Anyway I have shot a countless number of rounds through my 500 and have had no problems at all. The 500 is certainly a work horse for the money.

I normally shoot an 870 and love it but due to scope problems the night before opening day for deer I swtiched to my buddys extra 500. It worked fine and I killed the biggest whitetail of my life with it. If you are just starting out I would jump on it. You are not going to find an 870 combo for anywhere near that price and the 500 for $200 and the gun should be just fine. If it is the stock scope it came with you are going to need to replace it, it is garbage. Other than that, you should be fine.

If you have a problem with it jamming, just give it a good cleaning. I know 3 other guys that have them and they think it is a great gun. It def. is not the best gun in the world but a perfect gun to start your hunting career with.

I have owned and shot the hell out of a Mossburg for 25 years and have had no problems. Passed that one on to bro-inlaw still functioning flawlessly for $200. Thats $50 more than I paid for it new in 1985 and well worth it in todays market. Only reason I passed it on was I bought a new one for 31/2" shells in a collapsible stocked camo turkey gun that cost $497. I have shot Remingtons and Winchesters and others but like none better than Mossberg. If you don't want it tell me where to buy it at that price and see how fast it's gone.

500
Ever tried cleaning it?

Well, the gun wouldn't shoot clean, no chance at getting it dirty enough for that to be a problem. The gun hasn't had over 300 rounds through it. It was made for a gun cabinet. As far as driving nails...If you use the barrel it might work. When something fails to perform in the field it sits on the shelf. If you are looking for cheap buy a new england single shot, if you want a good reasonably priced shotgun, that nobody can argue with, has out-sold any other and fired more rounds when it counts...buy an 870.

I bought it
 

I BOUGHT IT and will post pics when I can!

id say yes especially with a rifled barrel

good choice. imo Mossberg makes the most dependable shotguns in the market

Go with it ! I have a model 500 I bought 22 years ago & I love it. Killed a LOT of deer with that gun and it is reliable . The only time I ever had a feeding problem, the interior of the
action was full of sh** from some goldenrod. Cleaned the crud out & good to go. Mossberg pump guns are VERY simple to dis-assemble. $200 is a good deal for a good gun

i'm a mossberg man myself. given the choice between a remington and a mossberg i'm taking the mossberg all day. i'm not into style so much as i am function. when it comes to shotguns i'm looking for something i can abuse (i actually take care of my guns as much as possible, but they have been dropped before). i have two 500's (12&20Ga.) and they're both amazing for how i use them. things happen stuff drops, falls and gets dirty, so if you want to spend an extra 200-300 and baby your gun go ahead, i can just pick mine up and keep on rolling.

I love my mossberg 500. It has to be a good gun if the military uses it as their shotgun.