Optimizing a 12 Guage

[wcd]

So I have been wanting a Mossberg Retro Grade . Being frugal I looked into one of the Turkish Brands I believe it’s a Tolkarev. But it seems reviews are not favorable.

Looks like the particular Retro Grade retails for about $1100.00 to me kind of steep. So I did some research looks like it’s no big deal to retro fit a heat shield. So I am not sure if the receiver’s are drilled for a rear peep sight? Kind of wondering what might be a good base shotgun to tweak to my liking. From what I have read Big Green has been hit or miss quality wise?

 

[Michigan Slim]

I now have two 870 Fieldmasters. A 12 and a 20. Both are excellent guns.

 

[Lost Californian]

Maybe this?

I don't have one, I do have the Tristar Viper G2 Sporting select walnut version. Great gun, I think. Works fine.

 

[Magyars]

Maybe a mossberg 500?

 

[wcd]

Maybe a mossberg 500?

That is what I was kind of thinking . I just do not know how big of a deal it would be to put a rear peep sight on it?

 

[Magyars]

That is what I was kind of thinking . I just do not know how big of a deal it would be to put a rear peep sight on it?

Any competent gunsmith should be able to drill and tap the receiver for a peep. Probable find a peep on brownell site

 

[Lost Californian]

Stevens makes a couple very similar to the 590a1. One has ghost ring but no handguard, the other has handguard with bead sight. Msrp in $300s.

 

[Bassat]

Straight from the factory, optimized.

590 M-Lok

The Mighty 590. With decades of military and law enforcement duty and countless performance and success stories under its belt, it’s no surprise that the 590 chosen for duty around the globe is also the ideal choice for home defense needs.

www.mossberg.com

 

[mike4]

Basset's link shows how grossly overpriced that Mossberg Retro model is. You'd do better (cost-wise) to get that model and an old used Mossberg wood stock set and sand down the usually cheap original finish and apply boiled linseed oil (as with Garand stocks) for a little bit duller military looking finish that blends better with the parkerizing. There are two different fore end lengths to be aware of on Mossbergs over the years, so search up info on that.

It makes no sense to pay a gunsmith to add a feature you can get much less expensively from the factory if you are interested in the ghost ring sights. Although for many years Mossberg receivers have come drilled and tapped, unless they've started trimming cost more recently on some models (as they may have on the cheaper Maverick line). I just recently double-checked a 2017 production 590 after a friend was talking about mounting red dots on shotguns and confirmed it has 4 holes drilled at tapped and closed with set screws.

On average I think Mossberg works a little too hard on keeping cost down at the expense of quality. I've had good luck from a dozen models 500/590/590A1 going back 35 years, but a friend in law enforcement has seen more of them have issues over the years. I still expect their quality, service life, warranty support, and certainly parts availability (factory and aftermarket) to be better than any other low budget Turkish options, or Stevens (whoever is actually making theirs), etc.

Design stability and production volume (Mossberg 500/590) can also contribute to reliability as you are not introducing new issues that were otherwise worked out years ago.

I don't know how quality is going with the bankruptcy resurrected Remington 870. Before the bankruptcy they had been cheaping out on the non-Police models for many years. My experience with the 870 is positive but that's with older Police models and even older Wingmaster law enforcement shotguns, but Mossbergs are much easier to work on and replace parts without needing a gunsmith or specialized tools and greater skills.

One thing I will advise, don't think you are ever going order up a factory Mossberg heat shield unless it comes on a factory shotgun. No one makes a decent aftermarket heat shield and they have been unobtanium for years. One time when I did see some turn up at Brownell's they lacked the fairly specialized mounting hardware, which is just stupid Mossberg would ever release them without the full kit of parts. The heat shields also differ for the heavier 590A1 barrel. (Older hardware was also superior with two metal spacers for each screw rather than a single chuck of plastic in the middle that had to be cut to length for varying models.)

I mentioned this chronic lack of heat shields and the Flex stock mounting retrofit kits shown on their website but out of stock for years to two marketing guys in the Mossberg booth at the Indianapolis NRA Meeting and they clearly didn't care. Being an actual business/engineering consultant, I may write the CEO at some point with my novel idea that effectively giving customer concerns the middle finger may not be the best way to do business.

Preferences vary which is why they offer different models, but after decades of using factory ghost ring and bead sight 590/590A1 20" models, I strongly prefer the handling of the 18.5" models, and despite being above US average size prefer the shorter LOP Hogue stock. Like the M16A2/M16A4 the normal stock length is way too long for shooting, and trimming that little length at both front and back makes for a much handier shotgun moving through a building interior. S&J Hardware has an excellent extended magazine cap, spring and follower kit that buys you back one round of mag capacity.

 

[STEEL CORE]

Yes get a Mossberg 500 or 590.

 

[Mongo59]

And always remember: when in doubt, blast them out...