Maverick 88

[Kala]

I was thinking of purchasing a Maverick 88 12 gauge shotgun. This is going to be my first shotgun, and probably my only shotgun. I've never owned a shotgun before, but Mossberg seems to have a good reputation. Anyone want to school me on this shotgun before I drop a cool two bills on it? Any cons? Any Pros? My build is 5'8" 115 lb by the way.

[ElvenSoul]

20Gauge is as powerful as 12 was 25yrs ago. I suggest you try renting and or go to a Shotgun Tactical Course. See if 12 is right for you.

[Kala]

20Gauge is as powerful as 12 was 25yrs ago. I suggest you try renting and or go to a Shotgun Tactical Course. See if 12 is right for you.

I guess I could try that, this shotgun will be my all purpose shotgun, range shooting for fun, a little skeet shooting, zombie shooting, the works...

I'll probably be running bird and buck mostly.

My first firearm was a Mosin Nagant, the first time hurt like hell (shouldering it wrong), but I can take the recoil of that now. Is 12 gauge comparable recoil? Having no experience, I have no idea..

[daybreak]

love my mav88, and it's an absolute steal at $199

[SA227driver]

Got my Mav 88 from Turner's and absolutely love it! You can buy the stock Mossberg 24" barrel for clays, hunting, and swap it out perfectly with your Mav 88. I believe 95-99% of the parts are interchangeable with Mossberg parts. Great 12 gauge shotty!

[KandyRedCoi]

i have the security 18.5" bbl version...so far flawless, might upgrade to front FO sights tho

with your weight and build, i would also suggest trying out 20ga and compare it to a 12ga

[CZ9]

Just fyi its kind of hard to shoot slugs out of the 18.5" barrel because the front bead is lower than the top of the receiver. Other than that mines been great.

[axhoaxho]

If you can find a good price (under $200), the Maverick 88 will be a good buy. It is essentially a Mossberg 500, with lower price.

Or if you can fan out a few more bucks, wait for the Big 5 sale (July 4 is coming up, usually they will have sales at the Hunting department) and see if they have nice deal on the Mossberg 500 (2-barrels) combo.

Regards,

[Kala]

The reason that I'm attracted to the Maverick 88 12 gauge pump action shotgun is that, I've been hearing some pretty good reviews regarding it. Price point is a major factor here, the lower the better! I've always been attracted to shotguns however, they seem pretty neat. I'm seeing prices that hover just below, at, or just over the 200 dollar mark.

I haven't committed to anything yet, and I am trying to get as much info as I can about it. My next range session is next week, and I'm hoping to rent a 12 gauge to judge the recoil. I'm primarily a recreational shooter, I like to have fun with my guns! Truth be told, I'm not even sure if I'll be getting a shotgun, rimfire, or center for my next long arm, I'm just looking around at some options.

Anyway, currently, I've been leaning towards a pump shotgun of some kind or a .22lr semi, maybe both if I can find them at a cheap enough price. Anyway, thanks everyone for their opinions/suggestions!

By the way, just curious, what's the verdict on dry firing one of these babies, I've been trolling the internet for dry firing shotguns, and there have been mixed responses about the subject. Thanks in advance!

[bigthaiboy]

The main difference between the Mossberg, and the Maverick is the position of the safety, and they are built in different factories. The Maverick is built in TX, and the Mossberg in CT. IIRC, the handguards are not interchangable, but the stocks are.

You won't harm your Maverick by dry firing it. I've dry fired my Mossberg 500, a thousand times, and it's never harmed it.

[Kala]

Okay, so I've rented a Remington 870 12 gauge (they didn't have Mossberg), and shot what I think was 2 3/4 buck through it, and honestly, it wasn't that bad really. How does a Remington 870 compare with a Mossberg Maverick 88, I don't know. It was extremely fun though, and the target was tore up to shreds afterwards!

I think I was using a good technique, the recoil didn't sting or hurt, just a pressure pushing back against me, is this how its supposed to feel? I was leaning forward, stock against the pocket, and a firm grip right hand pulling the stock back and left hand pulling the grip forward.

[FUBAR]

Okay, so I've rented a Remington 870 12 gauge (they didn't have Mossberg), and shot what I think was 2 3/4 buck through it, and honestly, it wasn't that bad really. How does a Remington 870 compare with a Mossberg Maverick 88, I don't know. It was extremely fun though, and the target was tore up to shreds afterwards!

I think I was using a good technique, the recoil didn't sting or hurt, just a pressure pushing back against me, is this how its supposed to feel? I was leaning forward, stock against the pocket, and a firm grip right hand pulling the stock back and left hand pulling the grip forward.

Excellent technique! The 870 is a nice Shotun but about $100-$150 more than the Maverick. I would look into a used Mossberg 500. Got my 20 incher for $225 used. The Big5 combo for $289 is nice as well. That one will cover just about all your shotgun needs.

[redrex]

You can not go wrong with that gun. Period.

Get the Six shot Security model.

Your primary use will be for HD right? So get the 18.5 barrel and with the six shot base. Why 6 and not 8? Fully loaded the 8 is front heavy. Trust me I'm 6'2" and I could tell. And since its compat w/the mossy 500 there are tons of aftermarket add-ons.

Now you want to do skeet? You will need a 28" barrel. Some clubs have a minimum length and you don't want to get hassled. Make sure you can add choke tubes!

Hunting? Same as the skeet barrel, just change your choke.

Some things to consider... Don't add on any permanent HD mods. Lights, side saddle, pistol grips, scopes. Anything that you can't just pop off. Otherwise it will be pain when you go to do skeet or hunting. And the clubs skeet/trap, do not want you bringing in "scary" looking HD guns. It's bad for their image

Survival/prepper: If this is of importance to you, then consider stepping up to the Mossberg 500. The trigger, pump and a few other parts are not interchangeable. So if after the zombies come you need spare parts they may harder to find. But everyone and their brother has a 500.

I just did the skeet clinic up here in Norcal and one of the guys brought his new Mossberg 500 combo that he had just picked up from big 5. He popped the field barrel on along with a skeet choke and kicked but. Me? I have the exact same gun but from 5 years ago. No choke tubes, barrel is modified choke

Again, if it's your first shotty, stay cheap, try it out. If you don't like it you can sell it for practically what you paid for it.

Edit - The guy I shot with who had the Mossy Big 5 Combo said he paid $300 for it. That would be cheaper then your $200 plus an aftermarket barrel.

[KandyRedCoi]

^agreed, and if not having parts readily available is a concern, order up a few and stock it up, it might actually come in handy in the long run...my.02

[MoBait]

I got my Maverick 88 for $100 new from another calgunner. I bought it for HD then I started hunting and bought the 28" barrel for $160. The fit and finish isn't as nice as an 870, but if you can look past that, I think it is a faster gun. There is no loading gate (correct term?) to push each shell past to load up the mag, the safety is on the front of the trigger guard instead of the rear (870) or the tang (500). I have experienced jamming issues when firing 3" duck loads out of the 88 and the 870 (the cheaper model). There is also a big difference in recoil between a 2.75" game load and a 3" 15 pellet 00 buck load.
The maverick has an aluminum receiver which wont rust like the steel receiver of an 870.

If you decide to get an 88 and would like to get a 28" barrel for clays or hunting, I am selling my 28" barrel and will ship it to you for $100.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=442126