deputy125

did a little testing today with a shotgun i traded into a short while back.

The weapon is an old mossberg 500 with wood furniture.........gotta love that. Don't know how old this one is but she ain't drilled and tapped for optics like the current production ones are. Just a plain Jane 5-shot model which i happen to prefer over the extended tube models as they tend to get rather heavy and out of balance for me. Nothing really tactical about her.......no black stock, not rifled, no sights, no pistol grip or add-on stuff........just a simple plain bead and a slick clutter-free profile which is how i like them. No choke, as she is marked "cylinder bore" on the barrel of this old gun.




Anyways, the rounds tested today are what I carry on duty. The "OO" buck rounds are just vanilla Winchester with 9 pellets per shell while the slug load is again vanilla Remington slugster rounds. There is nothing fancy or scientific about these selections. The winchester buck loads are full power and economical as are the remington slugs. In a nutshell, the color codeing is the reason for two different brands of ammo.........red shells for buck and green shells for slug so a quick look will tell you what you are handling.

Shooting was an exercise in patience today as it was sure windy with gusts around 30 mph going from left to right. Testing on buck was done at 25, 15, and 7 yards while slug testing was at 25 yards. All shooting was standing and unsupported. Target was a standard B27. The photos were croped and enlarged to see the poi...........

first target, buck at 25 yards....


i had the bead sighted on the bottom of the 10 ring as i am accustomed to buck sailing a tad high at this distance........purty wide pattern as you can see but they are all at least in the black with 9 pellet hits.....now some folks will claim 25 yards is too far for buckshot..........personally i think it depends on the shooter, the load, and the weapon myself....... 25 yards is definately the limit for this gun with this load as you can see by the spread.

now comes the 15 yard buck test...........


looking real good here in my opinion........very pleased........

about this time, fighting wind and all, i remembered the slugs.....so i left the 15 yard buck target up and moved back to 25 yards and loaded up 3 slugs using the same poa which was the bottom of the 10 ring.....

i am really starting to love this ole' gun about now..... 3 rounds with a bead sight at 25 yards......i'll blame the drift to the right on the wind as it was pushing me on the line....

final shot of the day was at 7 yards with buck.........

all pellets at this distance stayed in the "9" ring........now those two nicely cut 12 ga diameter holes pictured........i know one is the wad.....i'm guesing the 2nd is a card over powder buffer.......i guess.......or is it a shot card?????......don't know as i have not disected a shell to find out.

over-all, i am quite pleased with this old mossberg. Wish the groups were a tad tighter at 25 yards with buck but what the heck, i'll work with what i got.

I actually like this shotgun better than my issue 870. The mossberg is slick as snot, and i like that ambi safety being a lefty and not having to push thru the elevator to load like the 870. Despite the lighter weight of the mossberg, she actually had less felt recoil compared to the 870......i think the mossberg just fits me better in stock length.

this test may not mean a hill of beans for anyone else......no two guns are alike or will pattern the same.........and a change in loads could likely create very different results.......

still, it is a good thing to know what your shotgun will do with a specific defensive load......i'll definately stick with the cheap slugsters but might play around with some different buck loads.....maybe.......she just might do as it.

A huge round of thanks to JW for some parts to get her running!!!!!!

XLCH

I like it

sheepdog

...one modification that I bet you'd like is the snap-on bead in orange or green that you get at Academy Sports...I forget the brand...it's on a plastic clamp-type that flexes enough to snap on the barrel and a notch centers it against your bead...makes aiming 3x faster and I think they cost 5 or 6 bucks...fit 12 thru 20 ga...especially neat in poor light...I like the green ones best...

Bustah_c

Good lookin older model. I love the wood stock. Enjoy !

tx gun runner

This sight , you remove ft bead , and they give you the screw to go in place of it of bead . Some beads are pressed in and some are screw in . I had to tap the hole in my 1100 which took 5 mins . Here some to look at http://www.midwayusa.com/Search/#shotgun front sight____-_1-2-4_8-16-32_1_16_Demand desc

44s Rock

+1

deputy125

i have never warmed up to fiber optic sights.........they seem more of a distraction to me looking at the sight instead of the target......and i have seem many, many broken examples on used guns at shops.......they just either break or the tiny brackets break and the fiber optic tube gets lost........

of course around here guns get thrown behind the seats of pickups or in gun racks and floorboards and get banged around.........

JOHNNY WACKO

gLAD TO SEE IT UP AND RUNNING AGAIN. Damb cap lock.

Taurus_9mm

Nice shooting Deputy. I noticed all pellets happened to stay on target with the buckshot and you had the slugs grouping nicely. Looks like she'd fit the niche of home-defense shotgun or truck gun well if pressed into either role.

gunman42782

The Mossberg 500 or the Remington 870 are two of the best weapons ever made, IMHO. They would be high on my list of guns to have, if I could only have one gun. Very versatile, reliable guns, you can do just about anything with them except concealed carry. And I guess you could even do that with a trench coat! I have always preferred the Mossberg to the Remington simply because I like where the safety is on the Mossberg better than the crossbolt safety of the Remington.

sheepdog

...I have only one caveat on the Mossy 500...replace the plastic safety with a metal one...I've had the plastic ones break in half...have read that others have, too...simple...one screw...

deputy125

i really am enjoying this old mossberg..........just glad to have one with a wood stock. If i had my druthers, it would be an ithaca, but i ain't gonna pay the price they want for them nowadays and have my wood furniture too.

yep, i know, plastic is better for stocks, can take more abuse, tougher, etc, etc, etc.............sometimes however, common-sense does not prevail.......i like wood.

call it the Bones vs Spock syndrome...............sometimes logic can take a flying leap.......

Machinist

44s Rock

Looks like a fun day at the range despite the wind!