Mossberg 590a1 (12 gauge)
I shot a three gun match, and though I did enjoy it, it was
quite obvious that my shotgun (Mossberg 500) was not good for that sort of
thing (mostly it only held 5+1). I knew I loved the Mossberg 500 and I was
quite proficient with it so the obvious thing to do was to get the same gun
again with a bigger mag tube, and better sights. Enter the 590a1 ($350 used).
This was to be my end all be all shot gun. It had ghost ring sights; it held
8+1 I added a speed feed stock that held 4 more shells and a side saddle that
held 8. It rocked, right up to the point that I shot it. There was something
wrong with the trigger and safety (the safety would lock on while shooting,
locking the trigger, witch explained the price. It was the first time I got
burned on a gun buy, but as it was so cheap I opted to fix it. ) I replaced the
safety with new parts (thanks brownells) and it seemed to work, so I went to another
three gun match. It would lock up every stage with in three shots (not caused
by the safety issue, which went away with the new parts). It turned out that
under stress my muscle memory kicked in. The Mossberg 500m which has a much longer
and farther back pump grip. I was too used to the m500 grip, so when the adrenalin
flared I would short stroke the gun. It was great on a range, but in a life or
death situation it would have gotten me killed. This was a huge problem that
took me several months to figure out. I tried to buy the grip I was used to,
but couldn’t find it, I tried to adjust but the 500 was too ingrained, in the
end I do what I always seem to do, I sold it.
THE GOOD:
The 590 is a great gun.
the speed feed stock
is really cool, I wish they made it for semi auto’s, it has a two round mag
tube on both sides and makes holding extra ammo easy plus it helps balance the
gun by adding weight to the rear of the gun. I couldn’t recommend it enough.
The ghost ring sights were ok, but I am not convinced you
need them on a shotgun.
THE BAD:
I am sure this is not a common problem, but the safety on
this gun would engage it’s self
The gun didn’t fit me at all; the fore grip is too small and
too far forward if you ask me.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I still love Mossberg, and even prefer the 500 action to the
benelli nova and the Remington 870, the Mossberg just feels robust and
trustworthy to me, and I love how easy they are to field strip.
I love how easy it is to accessorize it
