Mossberg 500 light primer strikes

[DC-8]

Hey all,

Recently purchased a nice little brand new Mossberg 500 combi last black Friday. I've been shooting it more recently and I've been encountering a strange phenomenon which persists across all environments and ammunition brands/types. Every one to two shots I'll get a light primer strike. The pin will hit the shell, but not hard enough and nothing happens, the gun goes not go off.

Coming from Mosin Nagants where my ****ty surplus Eastern European ammo would go bad all the time, I'm no stranger to this. But that happened maybe once every 30 - 40 rounds. This happens almost every other time I fire the weapon.

Any advice? I also tried field stripping the firearm and I couldn't even get the trigger group out. I pried and pried and pulled quite hard and still nothing, trigger group didn't budge, didn't want to come out. Nothin'! I then tried to use a punch to pry it out, this worked somewhat I got the whole group maybe 1/10 of an inch farther out but I felt like the damn thing was flexing...

I may take this down to my local gunsmith this weekend and see what he says.

Any ideas?

Thanks for the help!

[maxx03]

I was having the same issue. I disassembled the bolt and cleaned the firing pin and channel. I have not had any problems since. There are two pins on the side of the receiver that hold the trigger group in place. Those need to be punched out in order to remove trigger group.

[DC-8]

I was having the same issue. I disassembled the bolt and cleaned the firing pin and channel. I have not had any problems since. There are two pins on the side of the receiver that hold the trigger group in place. Those need to be punched out in order to remove trigger group.

Are you sure? I thought there was only 1 on the 500?

http://www.mossberg.com/manuals/500_835_590_535_en.pdf

See p. 10.

[Bill Steele]

It is still under warranty, if it were me, I would call MB CS, get a return authorization and send it back for repair.

[bigbearbear]

It is still under warranty, if it were me, I would call MB CS, get a return authorization and send it back for repair.

Yup, don't mess with a faulty shotgun. Since it is new, send it back to Mossberg for servicing.

[aippi]

Look at the firing pin and you will see the firing pin retracting spring. There should be a washer at the rear of the spring. If that washer is not there you would have an issue like that. Below is a drawing of the parts and it is part #7


Note: I have received new guns that had the parts missing off the line so check this before you do anything.

[Rosereader]

Since it's new send it back and they'll sort it.
Speaking as someone who has experience with the 500 series trigger group... Don't, just don't. It can be done, has been done, and is not worth it. Only broken it down a couple of times, once when I bought it (used) and once to show someone else how to do theirs.


Genuinely a pain. If you do it take lots of pictures and don't you dare remove that sear spring. It will never want to go back in once it tastes freedom...

[XenosAce]

Since it's new send it back and they'll sort it.
Speaking as someone who has experience with the 500 series trigger group... Don't, just don't. It can be done, has been done, and is not worth it. Only broken it down a couple of times, once when I bought it (used) and once to show someone else how to do theirs.


Genuinely a pain. If you do it take lots of pictures and don't you dare remove that sear spring. It will never want to go back in once it tastes freedom...

SO DAMN TRUE!

Did mine when I first got it too just to get the feel for my gun like I do with all my guns.

To the OP, either send it in or go to the gunsmith. It sounds like the firing pin may need to get cleaned up.

[bigbossman]

Like others have said - warranty claim FTW.

I had a similar issue with a Mossberg 500 .410 several years ago, only my problem started about 5 years after purchase. I called them, they said "send it here", and 3-4 weeks later it was returned to me with a new trigger group and bolt assembly.

Call Mossberg, send it in. They have great customer service, and they'll make it right.

[Schuetze]

I had the exact same issue, all starting after about a year of regular use. Got to the point that I had 3 light strikes in a row. I called Mossberg, they asked about the serial number and then offered to have me ship it in saying it was probably a firing pin issue. I asked if they could send me a new firing pin instead. They did, for free. Installed the new firing pin, which was a different design than the original. Also gave the bolt and trigger assemblies a solvent bath and toothbrush scrub. Have only taken it out once since, but fired 100 rounds with no light strikes.

[mr2thomas]

I have the same problem from right out of the box. Its occassional. id say 1/80

Somedays I go shooting and i have none whatsoever. Some days i get it every once in a while. It varies with ammo/primers i believe. Still, its a problem with mossberg. I want to send it back in for warranty but i dont know if its worth the time.

[moodz1]

Same thing happened to my 500. I sent it to Mossberg still under warranty and two weeks later it was at my front door. I haven't had a problem since.

[Schuetze]

Does anyone know anything about the different firing pin designs and if that is the cause?

[ElDub1950]

If mine ran great for several hundred rounds I might try to fix it or pay someone locally instead of shipping it back.

BUT if it had problems right out of the box, I'd send it back so they could go through it thoroughly. Maybe the assembly line had problems that day and there are 2 or 3 things they know might be wrong that batch.

[steve parker]

Just saw this thread. My first Mossberg 500 ran perfectly fine no issues. Got a 500 with a 28 inch barrel about a month ago. Shot about 30 target shells fine then had a light primer strike, then another, then another. Tried different ammo, same result. Called Mossberg and sent it back about two weeks ago. I'm sure they will fix it, but a little discouraging to buy a pump due to reliability...then find it unreliable.