Mossberg 500
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mossberg 500 is a shotgun manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons [1]. Rather than a single model, the 500 is really a series of widely varying hammerless, pump action, repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver and action, but differ in bore size, barrel length, choke options, as well as stock and forearm materials.
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[edit] Basic features
All modern Mossberg Model 500 models are based on the same basic design, using a dual action bar pump, which is less likely to bind than a single bar design, and a single large locking lug to secure the breech. The magazine tube is located below the barrel, and is screwed into the receiver. The slide release is located to the left rear of the trigger guard, and the safety is located on the upper rear of the receiver (often called a "tang safety", even though the Model 500 does not have a tang). Sights vary from model to model, from simple bead sight to a receiver mounted ghost ring or an integrated base for a telescopic sight. Most models come with the receiver drilled and tapped for the installation of a rear sight or a scope base. The factory scope base is attached to the barrel via a cantilever-type mount, which places the scope over the receiver but keeps it with the barrel if the barrel is removed.
Intended for use in harsh and dirty conditions such as waterfowl hunting and military use, the Model 500 series is designed to be easy to clean and maintain. All Model 500 shotguns feature interchangeable barrels which may be removed without the use of tools, by loosening a screw on the end of the forend, which allows the barrel to be removed. The bolt locks into a locking lug located on the top of the barrel, ensuring a solid bolt-to-barrel connection and not relying on the receiver for any locking strength. The trigger guards can be removed by pushing out two retaining pins, and pulling downwards. The elevator can be removed by squeezing the sides together, freeing the pivot pins from the receiver. The pump can then be moved to the rear, allowing the bolt and bolt carrier to drop out, and then the pump can be removed by moving it forward. The cartridge stop and interrupter will then fall free, leaving just the ejector and the safety in the receiver, held in by screws. The magazine spring and follower may be removed by pulling out the pressed in plug at the end of the barrel. This level of field stripping is sufficient to allow all the shotgun components to be cleaned.
[edit] Model 500 options
The name "Model 500" covers an entire family of pump shotguns designed to chamber 3" shells. The "standard" model holds five 2 3/4" shells in the magazine (four 3" shells) and one in the chamber. The Model 500 is available in 12 gauge, 20 gauge, and .410 bore, with the 12 gauge being the most popular.
[edit] Finishes
The standard finish for the Model 500 is an anodized aluminum alloy receiver, and a polished and blued barrel. Some models come with a matte black painted receiver, and a matte blued barrel. Steel receiver models are parkerized, with parkerized barrels. Mossberg also offers camouflage painted models, in a number of different patterns. Stocks are either wood or composite, with the composite stocks being matte black or camouflage to match the rest of the gun. A special model called the Mariner is available with the Marinecote finish, a silver colored finish that is highly corrosion resistant. Mariner models use the black composite stocks.
[edit] Model 500 vs. Model 590 vs. Model 590A1
The primary difference between the Model 500 and Model 590 is that the Model 590 uses a different magazine tube design. The Model 500 magazines are closed at the muzzle end, and the barrel is held in place by bolting into a threaded hole at the end of the magazine tube. Model 590 magazines are open at the end, and the barrels fit around the magazine tube and are held on by a nut at the end. The Model 500 magazine facilitates easy barrel changes, as the barrel bolt serves no function other than holding the barrel in place. The Model 590 magazine facilitates easy cleaning, as removing the nut allows removal of the magazine spring and follower.
The Model 590A1 is a Model 590 with an aluminum trigger guard and safety, and a heavier barrel, intended for military use under the most extreme conditions. The 590A1 is generally sold through military and law enforcement channels, though in most jurisdictions the non-short barrelled versions (see sawn-off shotgun) may be legally purchased by civilians.
The riot shotgun versions of the Model 500 (Persuader and Mariner) are available with an 18.5" or 20" barrel depending on magazine capacity. The 590 is only available with a 20" barrel and the long magazine tube. The 590A1 is available with a 14", 18.5", or 20" barrel. One model sold as Model 590 (catalog item 51663) is technically a 590A1 model, as it uses the heavy walled barrel and military trigger group, but unlike models designated 590A1 it is sold on the civilian market.
Unlike Model 500 and 590 shotguns, Model 590A1 shotguns cannot be fitted with the factory heat shield, due to the heavy barrel. A heat shield and bayonet lug are required for military 3443G Type I riot shotguns, and some 590A1 models are so equipped, but it is not clear if the 590A1 heat shields have ever been offered for sale outside of the military market.
[edit] Bantam and Super Bantam models
The standard Model 500 uses a 14 inch length of pull (LOP) for the stock, which is suitable for adult shooters of average or greater size. The Bantam models use a 13 inch LOP stock, and a forend that sits further back than the standard model. The Super Bantam stock includes two recoil pads and a stock spacer. By using the short pad, the LOP can be reduced to 12 inches, and by using the spacer and longer pad, the LOP is increased to 13 inches. A number of different models are offered with Bantam and Super Bantam stocks, or they can be ordered as accessories and fitted to any Model 500.
[edit] Model 505
The new model 505 Youth shotgun, introduced in 2005, is similar to the Bantam but scaled down further. The 505 has a 12 inch pull buttstock (compared to a standard model's 14 inches, or a Bantam's 13 inches), a 20 inch barrel, and a four shot magazine tube. The 505 is available in 20 gauge and .410 bore. Parts are not interchangeable with other model 500 variants.
[edit] Model 535
The Model 535, new for 2005, is similar to the Model 500, but with a lengthened receiver that can fire 3-1/2" length shotshells, in addition to 2-3/4" and 3" length shotshells. The 535 is a less expensive alternative to the Mossberg 835 Ulti-Mag, but the 535 lacks the 835's overbored barrel. The non overbored barrel of the 535 does, however, allow the use of slugs, which cannot be used in the overbored barrel of the 835. Model 535 barrels are not interchangeable with model 500 or model 835 barrels, but 535 barrels are available in smoothbore and rifled in a variety of vent ribbed, barrel lengths and different sights. The 535 is, at present, offered only in sporting models, no riot or combat models are available.
[edit] Magazine capacity
The Model 500 comes in a variety of different receiver configurations, whose main difference is the magazine configuration. The basic Model 500 comes with a magazine tube capable of holding five 2 3/4 shells, which is called a six shot model (a full magazine plus a round in the chamber). The Model 500 is also available with an extended magazine tube that holds seven rounds, making an eight shot model. The Model 590 is available with five and eight shot magazines, sold as six and nine shot models respectively.
The variants with the extended magazine tubes use different barrels, as the barrel is held in place by attaching at the end of the magazine tube. The shortest barrel length available for the eight and nine shot models is 20 inches, which fits flush with the long magazine tube. A ribbed 28 inch modified choke field barrel was also manufactured for the 8 shot model 500. The shortest barrel for civilian models of the six shot models is 18.5 inches, while military and police users can also get a 14 inch barrel (the 590 Compact), which is flush with the six shot model's magazine.
[edit] Model 500 variants
The Model 500 is available in many variants, for a wide variety of applications. The ease of changing barrels on the Model 500 means that a single shotgun may be equipped by the owner with a number of different barrels, each for a different purpose. As sold, the Model 500 is generally classed into two broad categories: field models and special purpose models.
[edit] Field models
Field models are the basic sporting models. They are available with a variety of barrel lengths and finishes, and may be set up for waterfowl hunting, upland game hunting, turkey hunting, or shooting slugs. Most smoothbore models come with interchangeable choke tubes and vent rib barrels, while the slug models come with rifle sights or scope bases, and may have smooth cylinder bore or rifled barrels.
[edit] Special purpose models
Special purpose models are intended for use for self defense, police, or military use. The Model 590 and the eight shot Model 500s are only sold as special purpose models. Special purpose models have short barrels, either 18.5 inches for the six shot models, or 20 inches for the eight and nine shot models. The Model 590 Compact, which is only available to law enforcement and military buyers, is also available with a 14 inch barrel, which is flush with the end of the six shot Model 590 magazine tube.
Special purpose models may be equipped with a standard shoulder stock, a "Speedfeed" stock that holds 4 additional rounds of ammunition, or a pistol grip stock. Special purpose models come with plain barrels (no vent rib) with bead sights or ghost ring sights.
[edit] Home Security model
The model 500 HS410, or "Home Security" model, is only availble in .410 bore, and is specifically designed for defensive use. It comes with a youth sized stock, a vertical foregrip with, in some versions, a built in laser sight, and a special muzzle brake and spreader choke on an 18.5 inch (47 cm) bead sight barrel. The .410 bore, while by far the least powerful common shotgun chambering, still generates energy in excess of a .357 Magnum, and the spreader choke produces wider patterns in the short ranges to be expected in a defensive situation. This model is targeted at the novice user, who needs a simple, easy to use yet effective defensive weapon, and is packaged with an introductory video covering use and safety.
[edit] Accessories and combinations
The Mossberg 500 has always been marketed as a multi-purpose firearm. Mossberg sells a wide variety of accessory stocks and barrels, allowing many configurations to be made (including, in the past, a bullpup configured model 500). Mossberg is also the first and only company to ever offer a double action only model. The model 590DA offers a longer, heavier trigger pull to reduce the chance of an unintentional discharge, and was targeted at the police market.
With the appropriate parts, the same Model 500 can be a field gun, a slug gun, defensive weapon for civilian, police, or military use, trap and skeet gun, or .50 caliber rifled muzzleloader.
Mossberg has also sold "combination" sets, with a single receiver and more than one barrel; common examples included a 28 inch field barrel packaged with an 18 1/2 inch cylinder bore barrel for defensive use, or a field barrel and a slug barrel, or a slug barrel and a .50 caliber muzzleloading rifle barrel.
A unique item offered by Mossberg for the Model 500 is a line launcher kit. It uses special blank cartridge to propel a shaft with an optional floating head and a light rope attached to it; a canister hung below the barrel to hold the line spool. A test of the Mossberg 500 with line launcher by the BoatUS Foundation showed an average range of over 330 feet with the floating head. Distances of 700 feet are claimed for the non-floating long distance head.
[edit] Maverick Arms subsidiary
Mossberg also markets a less expensive shotgun under the Maverick Arms name: the Maverick 88, in blued finish, with synthetic stocks. Maverick and Mossberg shotguns share some similar parts, but Maverick shotguns differ in some ways, such as lacking sling swivel studs and having cross-bolt safeties instead of tang safeties. Maverick Arms models are assembled in Texas, rather than in Mossberg's main facility in Connecticut.
[edit] Model numbers
[edit] Military use
Mossberg claims that the Model 500 is the only shotgun to pass the US Army's Mil-Spec 3443E test, "a brutal and unforgiving torture test with 3,000 rounds of full power 12 gauge buckshot". The updated 3443G specification requires a metal trigger guard, so only the Model 590A1 variants, which use metal trigger groups instead of the standard Model 500's plastic trigger groups, will fit the requirements. However, the Remington 870 was not submitted to the military for the 3443E tests. Remington may have refrained from participating because they did not wish to risk their their already-strong reputation--winning a military contract would have had little impact on Remington's strong police and civilian market, but failing the mi-spec test could have had a serious negative impact on sales.
While the Army and Marines officially switched to the semiautomatic M1014 Combat Shotgun in 1999, various branches of the US military are still acquiring pump shotguns. The Navy acquired several thousand Mossberg 590A1 shotguns in 2004, and the US Army placed an order in 2005 for 14,818 units at a price of just over US$316 per unit.
[edit] External links
- Mossberg corporate website.
- Maverick Arms corporate website, a subsidiary of Mossberg.
- BoatUS Foundation review of the Mossberg line launcher kit.
- Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide on Mossberg 590
- Nazarian`s Gun`s Recognition Guide on Mossberg 500
- US Department of Defense specification 3443, D through G, which covers procurement requirements for riot-type pump shotguns.
- US Naval Surface Warfare Center acquisition contract for 2,200 to 7,500 Mossberg model 590A1 shotguns, posted Aug. 31, 2004.
- Department of the Army Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Budget Estimates, see pages 278-9 for 2005 Mossberg shotgun acquisition information
- Mossberg's 410 home defender: a well-targeted shotgun, Scott Farrell, Shooting Industry, March, 1992
