Mossberg 500 Restoration

smantel · October 11, 2013, 07:58 PM

The long and short of it is I bought an old, used Moss 500 for $250. Not the greatest bargain, but it had wood furniture when a new one with synthetic furnishings was $350. (I live in NJ.) It was a while before I got it to the range, after spending nearly a 4 hours cleaning it from tip to tip (the previous owner clearly was not as anal about maintenance as I am.) I get it to the range, start to thumb in some rounds, and find that its been capped.

I get home, and after some reading I realize its just the wooden dowel in the mag tube. (Didn't even think of that at first.) The dowel was broken, so getting it out of the tube was a project, during which I dented the tube. After four days, a lot of solvent, and a lot of doubting my own physical strength, I get the magazine tube off.

This is where it starts to really get interesting. This Mossy has a "G" prefix on the serial. According to this article, that means that I'm going to have to replace the entire action assembly. Except when I measure, its the 7.75" length of a more modern action. This has turned into a project gun, simply to make it look and feel brand new. I'm already replacing the magazine tube/spring/follower. I come here to ask if I need to replace my entire action tube/fore-end too, or if the 7.75" will work on a new manufacture 5-shot tube.

Sorry for the "long" more than "short". I like providing detail for this stuff.

natman · October 12, 2013, 03:19 AM

The "action slide tube assembly" referred to in the article is the forend tube. The "G" models used a special mag tube and forend tube unique to that model. If you replace the mag tube with a current design, you will have to replace the forend tube as well. Your alternatives would be to look for another "G" mag tube, repair your old mag tube or replace both the mag tube and forend hardware with current parts.

smantel · October 12, 2013, 08:37 AM

That much I had figured out. The thing is, from what I can tell the fore end tube is not original. The "G" tubes had rings to keep them from wobbling, which mine lacks.

October 11, 2013, 07:58 PM	#1
smantel Junior Member Join Date: August 30, 2012 Location: Woodbridge, NJ Posts: 9	Mossberg 500 Restoration The long and short of it is I bought an old, used Moss 500 for $250. Not the greatest bargain, but it had wood furniture when a new one with synthetic furnishings was $350. (I live in NJ.) It was a while before I got it to the range, after spending nearly a 4 hours cleaning it from tip to tip (the previous owner clearly was not as anal about maintenance as I am.) I get it to the range, start to thumb in some rounds, and find that its been capped. I get home, and after some reading I realize its just the wooden dowel in the mag tube. (Didn't even think of that at first.) The dowel was broken, so getting it out of the tube was a project, during which I dented the tube. After four days, a lot of solvent, and a lot of doubting my own physical strength, I get the magazine tube off. This is where it starts to really get interesting. This Mossy has a "G" prefix on the serial. According to this article, that means that I'm going to have to replace the entire action assembly. Except when I measure, its the 7.75" length of a more modern action. This has turned into a project gun, simply to make it look and feel brand new. I'm already replacing the magazine tube/spring/follower. I come here to ask if I need to replace my entire action tube/fore-end too, or if the 7.75" will work on a new manufacture 5-shot tube. Sorry for the "long" more than "short". I like providing detail for this stuff. __________________ Ruger Mark III 22/45 4" Blued Ruger 10/22 Black Synthetic/Blued with Simmons 22 Mag 4x32 Remington 1991R1S Mossberg 500AT 12ga 30" Barrel

October 12, 2013, 03:19 AM	#2
natman Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2008 Posts: 2,607	The "action slide tube assembly" referred to in the article is the forend tube. The "G" models used a special mag tube and forend tube unique to that model. If you replace the mag tube with a current design, you will have to replace the forend tube as well. Your alternatives would be to look for another "G" mag tube, repair your old mag tube or replace both the mag tube and forend hardware with current parts. Last edited by natman; October 12, 2013 at 03:28 AM.

October 12, 2013, 08:37 AM	#3
smantel Junior Member Join Date: August 30, 2012 Location: Woodbridge, NJ Posts: 9	That much I had figured out. The thing is, from what I can tell the fore end tube is not original. The "G" tubes had rings to keep them from wobbling, which mine lacks. __________________ Ruger Mark III 22/45 4" Blued Ruger 10/22 Black Synthetic/Blued with Simmons 22 Mag 4x32 Remington 1991R1S Mossberg 500AT 12ga 30" Barrel