Advice on a first time shotgun purchase

[Tangentabacus]

Hey everyone. Picking up a Mossberg 590A1 9 shot this weekend used for $450. I won't be able to see it before I buy it but the guy I'm buying it from is the second owner. It is the rifle stock variant with ghost ring sights.

I have been eagerly wanting this shotgun as I feel it is hands down the best pump shot gun on the market for me.

From what I can tell the gun is very lightly used and not really been abused. What are some things I might expect need fixing or replaced? And is this a decent value for the shotgun?

Thanks for the advice! I don't know very much at all about shotguns and besides my Sears and Roebuck .410 break action (that my great grandpa bought when he was 9 years old he's 90 now) this is the first shotgun I've ever owned. So any interesting stuff to tell would be great.

[Tangentabacus]

Also... I forgot to mention that I'm concerned if it's a 590A1, a 590, or a tricked out 500. How could I tell from pictures what it is besides roll marks?

Can you get the bayo lug on the 500? Anatomically what's the difference between a 590 and an A1?

For $450 I think it's an excellent deal but a bit weary as it seems -really- cheap.

Also here's a picture attached of the gun itself.

[PetahW]

Originally Posted by Tangentabacus

What are some things I might expect need fixing or replaced? And is this a decent value for the shotgun?

While I can't help you with the value, I can tell you that I wouldn't expect to repair or replace a single thing on it, excepting to change it to one's druthers.

I would expect it to be stone-relaible, just like most other Mossy pumpguns.


.

[Spats McGee]

I'd bet that the only thing that you'll need to replace is ammo.

BAUUR.

Congratulations!

[shortwave]

For $450 I think it's an excellent deal but a bit weary as it seems -really- cheap.

Not wanting to Pee on your parade but depending on the model of the 590A1, that may be the going price for the 8+1rounder...

http://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.htm?T=590a1

of course there is shipping fees on top of the price.

Too, as you can see, the 6 shots are around $400.

[Tangentabacus]

Hmmm... That is -THE- cheapest I've ever seen a 590A1. Here in Anchorage they are usually $600ish give or take.

[shortwave]

Here's a new SP (SPECIAL Purpose) mod. for a little over $500 from Buds.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/images/46999.jpg

You may want to get the exact model # and do some pricing. Not saying what your looking at is not a good deal but if there was a possibility I could get the same gun NIB for $50-$75 more, I would go new.

More from Big Sky Guns LLC

http://www.bigskyguns.com/Mossberg-M..._Shotguns.html

check out the Mariner mod. below for $470 they have listed. It's a nice shotgun

MOSS-51660
Mossberg Model 590A1 Mariner, Parkerized #51660

[Tangentabacus]

The gun from buds will get to my door for $550+ due to shipping and transfer fees. That's where I'm stuck I didn't even think about looking online too much... Is this gun enough of a buy brand new to pay $100 more? I don't know enough about this gun to answer that. My other problem is I'm selling my EOTech right now for $450 and I got the EOTech for $400. I'm essentially paying $400 for the gun now. So the actual difference here is $150 not just $100. I'm not trying to say you're wrong so don't take it that way I just simply don't know enough about these guns to say if I'm making the right choice.

[Jay24bal]

As to needing to fix/replace anything, I agree with the others that you should not have to replace anything on the gun for quite some time (unless it is missing parts or not functioning at the moment).

For the value, a lot of it depends on your location, and being in AK, your local market is different than the rest of us. I can tell you that around where I am at, $450 is a fair price. If I hunted, I could land one for $400-$425 or I could go out tomorrow and get one for $475-$500, so your $450 seems about average to me for a used 590.

[Tangentabacus]

I settled on it for $450. You can tell it's been used although not much. I did some serious looking around town and the 590A1's with the exact same set up were coming in $650~$575 brand new with the ones without ghost ring sights were about $600~$550. Out of the 7 gun stores I went to only 3 had that exact gun while 4 had a 590A1 though most of them said that $450 was a very fair price for a somewhat used 590A1. One guy said he could get a 590A1 to the store for that price and when I asked him if he could do that for me he back peddled and explained that shipping and fees would make it what it was on his shelf.

It was obvious that this guy hadn't really used this gun as it has some carbon build up that looked old and undisturbed. Plus there was a decent amount of dust in the barrel.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[shortwave]

Glad you scored and you're happy. That's what counts.

Now take that thing out and have fun.

[Spats McGee]

I suspected that living in Alaska might raise the local prices for you, not to mention what shipping on all sorts of items must be like.

I look forward to a range report, Tangentabacus.