Newbie Seeking Help with First Gun purchase

[Blackdog93458]

[BigDogatPlay]

There is nothing wrong with Mossberg shotguns. My 500 is going on 30 years old and shoots just fine. Nice and smooth and goes bang every single time.

The Big 5 Combo 500 is, IIRC, a fixed modified choke on the longer barrel and a fixed cylinder or improved cylinder on the short barrel. Neither of those are going to be any good for turkey, which needs a full or (even better) extra full. You'd need to buy another barrel if you went with that combo gun if you wanted to do well at turkey. The 28 inch barrel on the combo gun would be useful for getting started at clays and upland bird hunting.

My favorite all around barrel for my 18 inch tubed 500 is a ported 24 inch with screw in choke tubes. I can and do use it for anything and everything from clays and rabbits, to upland bird and turkey. I picked it up for $129 from Cabelas and it made the gun far more versatile for me.

Rifling in the bore of a shotgun is really only for one thing... shooting sabot type slugs, that is a smaller than bore sized slug sandwiched in a plastic jacket that falls away in flight. More distance and more accuracy at distance are what that combination brings you. Rifled, or Foster type, slugs, which are essentially the same size as the bore, are shot with a smooth bore barrel and are usually adequate on deer and such out to 75 yards or a bit more over a decent set of sights.

3 1/2 inch... my opinion the only thing you give up not having it is a bit more range and a bit more steel in the pattern when pass shooting ducks and geese.

[hcbr]

Keep in mind also that you can purchase chokes on your shotgun , I own a remington 870 and have shot my friends mossy 500, and both are great guns. Buy the Mossy 500, in the long run, you won't regret it, the 535AT is great too, but i seriously don't think unless you really are looking for speed and range, the 3 1/2 rounds aren't necessary. You can do everything with the 2 3/4 and 3" rounds. Invest in some good barrels and chokes, and you'll won't regret the 500 for both hunting and HD.

[Blackdog93458]

Wow! - Thanks guys - that helps a lot!

[eccvets]

hmmm, not sure what a 3.5 inch slug will take down that a 3 inch slug can;t. Either way, mossberg is a great gun.

[BigDogatPlay]

Wow! - Thanks guys - that helps a lot!

And pardon my bad manners... welcome aboard from a fellow 50+ year old. If you are in the SF Bay Area there are a number of places to shoot clays of different kinds. If you are in or near the North Bay, let me know... always happy to meet up with a fellow Calgunner.

[Blackdog93458]

Barrels/Slugs questions...

There is nothing wrong with Mossberg shotguns. Rifling in the bore of a shotgun is really only for one thing... shooting sabot type slugs, that is a smaller than bore sized slug sandwiched in a plastic jacket that falls away in flight. More distance and more accuracy at distance are what that combination brings you. Rifled, or Foster type, slugs, which are essentially the same size as the bore, are shot with a smooth bore barrel and are usually adequate on deer and such out to 75 yards or a bit more over a decent set of sights.

I was re-reading this. A couple of questions:

I didn't know that there were different type of slugs - that is new to me - thanks. I think most of the reading I was doing was mostly on Sabot type. What barrel length would be best to handle either type of slug for deer. Is that what you use the 24" Ported with screw in chokes for?

So, if I am following you...

Rifled barrel = sabot slug.... what barrel length is recommended?
Smooth barrel = Rifled or Foster Slug.... again, what barrel length is recommended?

Also, is there a big difference in pricing of Sabot vs Rifled, or Foster shells?

[Blackdog93458]

Thanks for the welcome!

And pardon my bad manners... welcome aboard from a fellow 50+ year old. If you are in the SF Bay Area there are a number of places to shoot clays of different kinds. If you are in or near the North Bay, let me know... always happy to meet up with a fellow Calgunner.

Thanks for the welcome! I usually do get to your area a few times a year - usually riding one of my motorcycles - so maybe we can have a Calguns get together.

I will be there in SF next week on business but they over booked me already so I'll miss out on personal time. If they hadn't sent me to the city I was thinking about going to that Cow Palace show coming up this weekend. But I just can't afford two trips in a row there so I'll try to catch it when it comes to Ventura about an hour plus south of me later on.

Thanks again for the welcome - I am down south in the Santa Maria area. Give a holler if you're headed this way.

[Tallship]

Most rifled barrells are 26". Your decision is whether to get one with rifle sights, or get a cantilever that you can mount a scope on. I shot a deer at about 50 yards with a Mossberg 26" canti with a 4x scope, and put the sabot slug within 2" of where I was aiming.

[low94noma]

I used to have a Mossberg 500, pistol grip, side saddle, 18in barrel and I never had any problems with it. The Remington 870 is an excellent, proven shotgun as well. If the combo comes with a smooth AND rifled barrel, I would say go for it. The rifled slugs do not have the same accuracy and range in a smooth barrel as the sabot style slugs in a rifled barrel, but do not perform bad either. With the smooth barrel, you'll be able to hunt waterfowl, upland game, shoot trap, and bad guys in your house. Interchangeability is definitely a plus if it comes with 2 barrels.

Tip for ya: Different brands and loads will shoot differently in the same choke. Buy the choke(s) for the type of shooting you will do and run some pattern tests. I would personally go with the 535, but you can buy an aftermarket scope rail for both the 500 and 535 because the recievers are pre-drilled/tapped. Good to use with the slugster.
Let us know what you end up with. With pics!

[BigDogatPlay]

I was re-reading this. A couple of questions:

I didn't know that there were different type of slugs - that is new to me - thanks. I think most of the reading I was doing was mostly on Sabot type. What barrel length would be best to handle either type of slug for deer. Is that what you use the 24" Ported with screw in chokes for?

I actually use either a rifle or a handgun for deer. Have never used a shotgun for deer. Guys I know on the East Coast who hunt deer with slugs use 20, 22 or 24 inch fully rifled barrels, generally, and sabot slugs. A few I know use smoothbores and rifled slugs (sometimes buckshot), generally 20-22 inches. My nephew in Michigan is a smoothbore user.

My 24 inch barrel I use for upland bird, turkey and rabbit hunting as well as some clays, particularly skeet. I am partial to shorter barrels generally and I find them a lot handier. I have other guns with longer barrels should I ever get the hankering again to hunt waterfowl, which isn't likely.

So, if I am following you...

Rifled barrel = sabot slug.... what barrel length is recommended?
Smooth barrel = Rifled or Foster Slug.... again, what barrel length is recommended?

Correct on both accounts. Barrel lengths as above. The key, if you are going to shoot slugs accurately at distance, is either iron sights on the barrel as opposed to the plain bead, or an optic. Mossberg only catalogs iron sights on rifled barrels in 24 inch length. They may have done onthers in the past, but here is the current lineup.

The Mossberg receiver is going to be drilled and tapped for mounting an optic. Again to my East Coast buddies, many run scopes either fixed or variable power up to about 4x magnification. Some use a barrel with a cantilever to mount an optic to, some just mount to the receiver.

Also, is there a big difference in pricing of Sabot vs Rifled, or Foster shells?

The sabots, generally, are going to cost more as they tend to be more specialized. There are some Hornady rounds that use the flex tip .50 caliber muzzloader bullets inside a sabot, for example, and those get more pricy.

You can get a 15 pack of Winchester (usually) rifled slugs at Wal Mart for < $20, IIRC.

[Blackdog93458]

Well, good news for me !!!

My Step Dad - who never shot as long as I've known him (about 46 years!) - just gave me and my brother his long guns. I had them checked by a local 'smith and they are all in good working order except the child's single shot .22. All need cleaning though. I think they have been sitting on shelves for A LOT of years - found dead spiders in the barrels! LOL

So, I need to find cleaning information and start working on these and get a shootin' !

Winchester 30-30 (from 1916 near as we can tell, the rest are also around the early 1900's1920's - 1940's if I recall)
Winchester .12Ga side eject
Remington .20Ga bottom eject
Mossberg .22LR Bolt

The Mossberg is described as a "Military Target Rifle" It has a neat sighting on it - very old looking. Progressively sized spring front sights and an adjustable "peephole" rear sight.

Thanks for all the above help guys - edumacation is a wonderful thing!! But since I can't beat the price and they have been deemed safe to shoot - I'll save my money for ammo and learn the shooting thing with the old guns first. Then as I learn I can pick up new if I develop a preference.