mossberg 500 vs Rem. 870

[tightline_69]

The first shotgun I ever owned was a Mossberg 500. Killed my first deer with it as well. Bought it used from my landlords son. The 870 wingmaster(as they called it) to me was over rated and over priced. I have since (like 13 years ago) bought a Mossberg 835 Ultimag. Mossberg has always made a superior product at a reasonable price. I voted Mossberg 500. Just bought a Browning BPS for my son used from a friend today.

[jawbreaker]

I have owned both for many years and both are reliable . but when i choose one for hunting its always the 870 , its not as rickety and it points way nicer

[Andy52]

As I own both 870 s and 500 plus several other pumps , does that mean I can only ware my plaid pants when I carry one of the 870s? What should i ware carrying a browning or benelli?
Either one will serve one will as they have passed the test of time.

Well dale you may wear whatever you wish........but I normally wear camo when I carry my Benelli Supernova.....lol

[xringer3]

As a firearms trainer and competitor, I've had a lot of experience with both of them. They're both great shotguns, and pretty much equal in quality. The only difference I've seen in the 500/590 and 870 is in two areas. Fit and speed. Some people find the 500 fits them better, and for others, the 870 fits better. The 500/590 seems to pattern the buckshot better as an average where you have to search for the brand that particular 870 barrel patterns the best. They seem to both shoot slugs about evenly.

The other area where there is a noticeable difference is in speed drills. For average shooting, the 500/590 is ok. When you start shooting speed drills really fast, like dosier drills where you're shooting 5 plates in under 3 seconds, then the 500/590 will hang up. I've tried it with several of them, and they all seem to do it. The action bars seem to bind up. The 870 seems to be smoother. Fastest time with the 500 has been 3.5 seconds. fastest time with the 870 for me was 1.8 seconds.

I'd pick the one that fits you the best. If you're really in to speed shooting, go with the 870.

[WarHorse]

I went through police academy in Tennessee and used an Rem 870 Express Magnum. Later on I was introduced to the Mossberg and have to admit that I like it a lot. The Marines currently field the Mossberg's which have seen duty in Middle East. They are well pleased with them according to accounts I have heard, and have helped spread the joys of buckshot to the Middle East! Plus, off the shelf they quit a bit less than a Remington. Overall you get a heck of a scattergun for the money when chosing a Mossberg. When I went through a police firearms instructor's course after the war, I used a Model 500 Mossy' to run the course. Never failed to fire, and printed excellent with reduced recoil tactical loads. Slugs, not so well due to the strictly smooth bore. But a shotgun is at its best in my humble opinion with buck.

[Gobob]

Remington all the way in my book, I have 2 870's, 1187, sp10, Ithica mag 10, I have shot the 500's don't like them , My favorite is my 1969 wingmaster , as far as wieght doesn't much matter after you are use to packing the 10 ga's around turkey hunting or goose hunting,, Though my son shot his 1st turkey this spring with his little mossberg youth 20 ga and dumped that bird at 40 yds So I'm rethinking packing the 10 ga for timber chickens but I just love to hear it bark..lol I've just seen alot of 870's being abused duck hunting, dropped in the mud or water, cleaned and right back in the hunt..

[poisonpits]

never owned a 500 but i did have an 870.i bought it off a guy for 80 dollars.he was having a party and needed some smoke.i used it for a year and seemed to be a nice reliable gun.ended up trading it for 3 vintage abu 7000s made in sweeden best trade i ever made.i have a winshester model 1400 mk2 i got from my aunt after my unkel diedbut my fav.is a stevens single shot i inherited from a great aunt.best squeiral gun i ever had.

[Catfishboy1995]

I went with remington 870 express...Simply becasue it will last a lifetime and it was a little cheaper than the mossberg.....Now the thing I like about the remington is the reciever is made from solid steel and the mossberg is aluminum. So the mossberg will be lighter....If your looking to put a cantilever barrel on your gun go with the mossberg...the replacement barrels are less than half the price of remingtons.....and mossberg 835 is a good light weight gun..But when are you honestally gonna NEED a 3 and a half inch shell unless your a duck or goose hunter??and another thing I like the position of the saftey on the mossberg I like how it is ontop of the reciever

[CaptLeo]

I love my old 870 Wingmaster Pump, 28" Vent Rib, Modified Choke and my 1100 Semi 28" Vent Rib, Modified Choke. The 870 being mine since new in the late 60's, I have been extremely happy with it. The 1100 being in my family since new in the late 60's, I have been extremely happy with that one, too.

I also have had and sold hundreds of Mossberg 500's back in my days when I owned a gun shop. The 500 is a great shotgun for the money and because of the money, they made for fast sales, but there is no comparison in quality between the Mossberg 500 and the Remington 870 Wingmaster. When you look at gun values, the Wingmasters hold their value much better than the Mossberg 500s.

Yes, the person posting the fact that Mossberg became a choice for military over Remington due to price is correct. It was a great marketing tactic by Mossberg, which was a similar marketing strategy as was used by Ruger, Taurus and Rossi when it came to getting their names out by selling decent revolvers at a cheap price to law enforcement and security agencies in order to get recognition in those areas. Some of these companies even gave a batch of their revolvers away to large police departments in order to influence them away from the higher-priced Colt and S&W, which were the standards in law enforcement for years.

It's usually not about what is actually better quality, but rather who has the best marketing strategy. Perhaps this is also why Budweiser is the best selling beer worldwide, Corona is the best selling Mexican beer in the US, and Kabar knives are now made in China but still considered as one of the better mass-produced hunting knives out there.

I still stick with my Remington Wingmaster, my Buck knives, and my Harley.

[JERMSQUIRM]

voted remington. i dont have the 870 but i own an older 100 percent excelent condition 1100 with all the engraving on reciever. love it.