what size forearmd for mossy 500

[kalikool]

im trying to buy a wooden butstock and forearm for my big 5 mossberg 500A model... ive read that there are older and newer forearms that arent interchangeable. how can i tell which size i need? i saw one on ebay being sold but says its for the 6.5" long action tube... what exaclty am i supposed to measure when i check the size?

my shotgun is approx 3-5 years old.

[JJ1911]

Good evening,

I have a mossberg and this website helped me when I was changing my forends.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/cpg1410/displayimage.php?pid=4017&fullsize=1

As you can see the tube itself is whats measured, and should be pretty to figure out which is which. Hope this helped!

[kalikool]

Thanks JJ, it helped a lot. It seems I have the 6-1/2" action tube. I guess that is the older one?

[DaveFJ80]

ive read that there are older and newer forearms that arent interchangeable. how can i tell which size i need?

I just went through the research on this last week for my newly aquired Mav88 (same forend setup as the Big 5 Mossberg combo). Most of the action slide tubes used on a Mossberg forend these days are the 6 3/4" tubes. They're usually around $25 - $28 (I found one locally for $20 brand new, it was a private sale). You're also going to need the forend adapter nut to screw into the action slide tube to hold the forend in place (around $10 - $15... mine came with the tube sale). The older setups use the longer 7 5/8" tube, but I've yet to come across a forend or shotgun to use one of those.

If you're still unsure, buy the forend first and then measure it & compare it to the forend on your shotgun now.

[kalikool]

so is it not as simple as buying the wood forearm and then removing the original plastic one and sliding on the wood one? will i have to get a new action tube and adapter nut? i assumed i could just buy the wood forearm and swap it out.

[ChrisTKHarris]

To run a Hogue grip on my 500A Combo I had to use the longer 7 3/4" action slide assembly.

[DaveFJ80]

To run a Hogue grip on my 500A Combo I had to use the longer 7 3/4" action slide assembly.

I'm using a Hogue Tamer forend on my Maverick 88 (pretty much exactly the same as the 500A combo from Big 5, both uses the 1-piece forend so an action slide tube and slide nut is needed to put on any aftermarket forend). I'm running the 6 3/4" action slide tube and you can see the slide nut on the end. If I had an extra inch longer tube (the 7 5/8" tube), then it would've been too long and the slide nut would be sticking out really far from the forend. The next time I break my gun down to clean it, I'll take apart the forend and take some pics of everything laying next to each other for better reference. But here's a quick pic of the 6 1/2" action slide tube and Hogue Tamer forend on my shotgun.

[kalikool]

i'm just gonna go ahead and get the wood forearm and then see what i need from there. its a mossberg forearm with dual height comb inserts. i've been looking around but cant find an answer.... has anyone seen these dual height stocks from mossberg? i'm wondering if the inserts are a soft rubber like hogue uses or if they are a hard plastic like the kind used for the synthetic stocks.

http://www.mossberg.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=95059&reference=/cgi-bin/commerce.exe%3Fsearch%3Daction%26keywords%3D%26searchstart%3D0%26template%3DPDGCommTemplates\MossPdgNav\SearchResult.html%26category%3DSTOC

[DHart]

If you buy a forearm that is not the size of the action tube you already have on your 500, can you just buy a new action tube and nut to match the forearm and install them on the gun that formerly had the other size action tube?

What I'm trying to say is, can you put either size action tube and forearm on a 500A, depending on which you have or prefer to use regardless of which size was on the gun t begin with?

[ChrisTKHarris]

If you buy a forearm that is not the size of the action tube you already have on your 500, can you just buy a new action tube and nut to match the forearm and install them on the gun that formerly had the other size action tube?

What I'm trying to say is, can you put either size action tube and forearm on a 500A, depending on which you have or prefer to use regardless of which size was on the gun t begin with?

I'm not sure. I know that with the Mako forend I would have had to CUT into the forend in order to get the nut to attach because of the shorter slide assembly. It wasn't worth it to me to destroy a perfectly good part and instead I just bought the right one.

If you need the shorter 6 3/4" slide assembly I have one you can buy off me.

[DHart]

I'm not sure. I know that with the Mako forend I would have had to CUT into the forend in order to get the nut to attach because of the shorter slide assembly. It wasn't worth it to me to destroy a perfectly good part and instead I just bought the right one.

If you need the shorter 6 3/4" slide assembly I have one you can buy off me.

Ok... so your gun originally had the shorter 6 3/4 action tube, but you switched it to the longer 7 1/8" tube so you could use the longer forearm? Sounds to me, then, that you can put either on a Mossberg 500, depending on what size you prefer.

My 500A Persuader looks to have the 7 1/8" action tube... and I was wondering if I could install the shorter one on it if I wanted a shorter forearm.

[DHart]

I just spoke with the guy at Havlin... you can put either the short or the long action tube on the 500 as long as the forearm is the appropriate size to fit the action tube. My 500A Persuader with 18.5" barrel and my 590 with 20" barrel both have the long action tube. These are the three shotgun models I shoot the most.

[ChrisTKHarris]

Ok... so your gun originally had the shorter 6 3/4 action tube, but you switched it to the longer 7 1/8" tube so you could use the longer forearm? Sounds to me, then, that you can put either on a Mossberg 500, depending on what size you prefer.

My 500A Persuader looks to have the 7 1/8" action tube... and I was wondering if I could install the shorter one on it if I wanted a shorter forearm.

I purchased the short forend so I could put a Mako forend, but it was too short. I ended up purchasing the longer assembly and it fits perfectly for BOTH a Mako picatinny forend and the Hogue Overmold.

[DHart]

I purchased the short forend so I could put a Mako forend, but it was too short. I ended up purchasing the longer assembly and it fits perfectly for BOTH a Mako picatinny forend and the Hogue Overmold.

Ah... I understand. Thank you for the info.

[ChrisTKHarris]

Ah... I understand. Thank you for the info.

No problemo