Mossberg 500 tactical or 590?

[IshootThings]

Hello. I bought my first firearm earlier this year and I'm working on my third one. I don't know much about shotguns and as my first shotgun, I am interested in the 500 tactical which I can get for $400 or the 590 (with heat shield) for $380. This shotgun will be use for home defense and range "practice." I like the idea of tactical but the 590 seems to be a better built gun. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I'm not sure if there is a difference but guess I should note that the 500 tactical comes with an adjustable stock and pistol grip.

[KChen986]

I would wait and look around for a 590A1 (with the ghost ring sights). I have a 500 tactical, but would much rather have a 590A1.

[IshootThings]

One vote for the 590. I did like the way they 590 felt when I held it. In the last 10 years, the only shotgun I've fired is a base model 500 and I assume the 590 or 500 tactical would shoot similarly. Thanks for the response.

[FrosSsT]

I have both. The 590A1 is my favorite. It is used heavily in LE and the military.

[natman]

Mossbergs do not work well with any sort of pistol grip. Hold one and try to move the safety to the fire position while maintaining your grip.

If I were going to get an HD Mossberg and money were no object, I'd get this:



It's a 590A1 with GRS & speedfeed. I'd get the light barrel version because it's not going to be subjected to military abuse and the heavy barrel is heavy.

In the real world, I bought one of these on sale at Big 5 and added GRS to it:



because even after adding the sights, it cost hundreds less than the 590A1.

[IshootThings]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Nat, Big 5 has the base model 500 for $300, the 500 tactical for $400 and the 590 for $380. I'll have to hold the 500 tactical and see how that grip/safety issue is. Didn't try it when I looked at it before and I'm glad you said something about it because I'd be mad if I bought it and had trouble with the safety! Thanks!

[catnphx]

I also went with a 590A1, GRS and 18.5" barrel ... excellent HD gun.

[Gehrhard]

There is a 590 -- it is a suped-up 500. I'd go with that. Then I'd go with the 500 8-shot. Then I'd go with the 590-A1 18-1/2" -- this is a fairly super-suped-up 500-type gun. THEN I'd go with the 590-A1 20". Been there, done that with them all.

[Gehrhard]

The 590 is a very different gun than the 590-A1. The former is a suped up 500 which is a great gun to begin with. The 590-A1 is a very hefty military gun designed not to dent the barrel on ships' ladders.
In order of my preference...

• 590
• 500 - 8 shot
• 590-A1 6-shot with a Vang Comp Mag Extn.
• 590-A1 9-shot

Been there, done that with all of them. And BEAD SIGHTS -- no silly "GRS." Ghost Ring Sights are for rifle/slug shooting, not a shotgun if you know how to use them IMO.

[Willie Lowman]

My 590 collection. Two of them are 590A1 SBS.

590 is a rock solid shotgun. Accept no substitute.

[Usertag]

I'm glad you got to this thread before me. I couldn't make a choice at first. But I'm definitly buying the 590. It has better perks to it. Besides (certain) attachments.

[IshootThings]

Great responses! I really appreciate the help. I think I'm going with the 590!

[drew332]

+1 for Mossberg 590A1

My personal favorite is my 14 inch barreled 12 gauge Mossberg 590A1 shotgun with ghost ring sights, a Hogue Youth stock, a Surefire 621FGA Forend Weaponlight, Blackhawk front sling adapter, Specter Gear 3-point tactical sling, and 3GunGear.com 7-Shell Side Saddle, which has a nylon side saddle with elasticized shell holders backed with velcro that affixes to a base on the shotgun receiver. This side saddle carrier allows single-hand removal and attachment so that additional side saddle carriers can be carried on tactical vests or plate carriers and your ammo source can be easily replenished. This shotgun has an overall length (OAL) of 35 inches, which is a nice compact size for manuevering inside a house or building.




I'm a big fan of the Mossberg 590A1 for tactical use and/or HD, if you choose a shotgun for HD. My PD carries 14" Mossberg 590A1's for duty use in our cruisers. We used to carry the Remington 870's for duty, but we switched to the Mossbergs more than 10 years ago and I'm not sure why we did so.

However, I prefer the Mossberg to the Remington...to me the Mossberg seems more sturdy and solid and I like the placement of the safety better with a rifle stock. If you're dead set on using a pistol grip, then the Remington 870 may be better due to its safety location, but I'm not a big fan of pistol grips on a shotgun.

I do prefer pump shotguns over semis, largely due to reliablity in feeding ammo over the semi in most instantces. I know from personal use that my Mossberg eats everything I've ever fed her! She's a nasty beast!

I'd also like to add that I strongly believe that a light source should be MANDATORY for any tactical or HD weapon, so as to positively identify your potential target! Lest it be a family member, such as a teen son/daughter sneaking back into the house...that could be extremely tragic.

[tAKticool]

The 590A1 is just so awesome it's hard to pick anything else but, there are plenty of 590'a and even 500's I would love to have - Mossberg has so many shotguns I could fill a safe with Mossberg 12ga. HD/Combat shotguns.

[IshootThings]

takticool, I have their catalog. It's ridiculous.

Thanks Drew for all the info.

[Skadoosh]

I have a 590A1 with the 20" barrel. It is rather long and its heavy...but is far faster to get back on target and far easier to shoot than my 870 especially when using reduced recoil ammo.

[fadetoblack172]

870

[Boats]

Why use a tarted up bird gun like the 870 as a combat shotgun?

[Dave McC]

Boats, an 870 in trained hands IS a darn good combat shotgun.

Now back to Mossbergs, also darn good.....

[nonothing]

Mossbergs are awesome. I personally own a 590A1 20", and carried a 500 16" for a couple years on patrol boats stateside and overseas. I bought my personal cause we just couldnt make those duty guns quit; and the manual of arms is simple and intuitive to get down with a little practice. In kuwaiti sandstorms, salt air , shooting every kind of ammo from old dirty garbage to crazy high power stuff and everything in between all it ever took was some CLP to keep them running. I've seen em stuck shut so tight that it took a couple raps from a dead-blow on the pump to open the action (NOT advisable, our armorers were..."special") and they ran just fine after that (no, I did not personally handle said un-stuck weapons) Overall, they're a tough as nails, quick handling , powerful personal artillery piece I would and have bet my life on.

[daliff89]

i have a 500 that i assembled for less than $200

$100 for the gun, $80 for the 18.5" barrel, $15 for the pistol grip and forend respectively

the safety IS kind of hard to get to without changing my grip, but it doesn't pose a problem in my opinion, if you're only using it for HD that is

i feel like the safety should be turned off the instant you anticipate using your weapon, meaning as soon as i hear the noise in my house the safety is turned off

i've never shot a 590A1, but it seems to me that all of the 'pluses' it has don't really apply to me, especially if they're twice the price

[fadetoblack172]

I've never had an 870 jam on me while "bird hunting" but i have had 500's jam using the same shells, plus i hate the cheap sloppy action of mossbergs

[FrosSsT]

Your 870 may have a smoother action, but the 590A1 is in my opinion a much better shotgun.

[tAKticool]

The 590A1 is the only think keeping me from a BENELLI SUPERNOVA TACTICAL - let the rdcord reflect i didnt mean to capitalize it, it happened to be cap lock and i dint want to retype cause of laziness lol.

Anyway I bought a Benelli Supernova 'tactical turkey' on St Patrick's Day 2010, it was all black, 24" , red fiber optic sight, SteadyGrip pistol grip. I bought it and figured I would Make it into the Tactical I wanted, I got the $600+ gun for like $329- such a great deal.

then I found out online AND from Benelli direct, a barrel 18.5" was gonna be like $500-$550... plus then I'd need to mount a rail on the receiver and get the rear aperature. LOL.. $500- $550 for the BARREL, and it was like $479 for the NEW WHOLE BEN SNT *GUN*! I just couldn't do the 24" turkey gun, way to big for me for HD/combat, i'm 5'8" and right now 147lbs from way too much sweets, I'm like 138lbs-140lbs trim. The gun was TOO BIG and I'm not a hunter... but let me say, the Benelli Supernova is an amazing AWESOME platform- so sexay so sweet so smoove. So I've REALLY wanted a Supernova Tactical, Ghost Ring Sights (Get the tritium inserts for Ghost Ring Night Sights,) a Nordic +2 extension, and a nice sling mount under that mag extension for a nice real nice combat sling- just make that SNT into a great combat shotgun that ideally, I could carry while carrying my AR. I am thinking wistfully about SHTF, and carrying the AR into the SHTF world in my neighborhood on hood protection 'ops' lol, and bhaving my shotgun backup. Like the point man has on Tears of the Sun, he carried an M4 and an 870? Tactical I believe. perfect combination IMHO.

ANYWAY lol, I LOVE The 590A1 but i MIGHT love the Benelli Supernova more, I can only afford one more $500-$600 combat shotgun- but I do believe in having a pump shotgun to back up the autoloading/semi. Even tho Ii'm lucky in that, my M930SPX has been ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY 100% reliable- even with a new extension for the magazine and new follower and new recoil pad on the stock. Perfec.t

[okiewita40]

Any Mossberg is a great shotgun. Even the budget Maverick line.
For fadetoblack: I have seen more 870's over the years with stuck shells than I ever have Mossbergs. And I have to qualify with all my service weapons every three months. So that's adds up to a bunch of range time over the last 12 years. Not to mention the hunting I have done over the last 30 years.