Mossberg 500 for Home Defense


JohnLM

New member
I just bought a Mossberg 500 Shotgun for Home Defense. Will be going to Outdoor Range next week to check it out. I have never shot a shotgun before. Do anyone have an opinion on the Mossberg 500 for home Defense??
 

Have one myself...only mod was a recoil reducing adjustable stock. Hangs on the side of the bed every night.
 
An Excellent Choice!

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The Mossberg 500 is an excellent shotgun. I have one that served me well when I was an LEO and it is ready to go any time and any where. In some ways, I prefer it over the Remington 870 because of the location of the safety and the operation of the loading gate.

My suggestion while you are at the range is to pattern the shotgun; shoot whatever you decide to use as home defense ammo (00 Buck, #1 Buck, #4 Buck, etc.) at various distances that would simulate distances that it would be fired at home. For example, what is the pattern of 00 Buck or #4 Buck at 7 yards, at 15 yards out of your shotgun. You are looking for the tightest shot pattern possible at combat distances. Most folks use a 7" circle for patterning. How many pellets are there in a 7" circle at combat distance of 7-yards?

For my Mossberg 500 12 bore, #4 Buck could be devastating on someone's body at 7 yards and is my preferred round. I have a laser-equipped Mossberg 500 20 bore that I use for home defense and #2 Buck (when I can find it) patterns well at combat distances but #3 Buck is no slouch either and slugs are the preferred backup rounds.

If your Mossberg 500 came with a full stock and a pistol grip, keep the full stock mounted and, as one commenter noted, add a recoil pad (I use a Pachmyr Decelerator), which lessens the impact of the recoil and adds an inch to the Length-of-pull. With the full stock, you can add a shell holder for spares and you will have better control over the gun.
 
Ummm... wear ear protection inside the building. (Couldn't resist.)

Good choice. Just remember, at close range you can still miss! You don't need tacticool, you need accuracy.
 
Its a good gun. recoil is not too bad in my opinion, the 18.5 inch barrel (home defense) seems to give it a little more kick but not that much more. I have the mossberg 500 with the HD barrel by my bed, nothing fancy but I trust it.
 
that is my very first and only shotgun, bought it 4 years ago and never a single issue. i only added a shell holder (elastic kind- hate it, but does it job for now) and took out the plug (wooden piece inside the shell tube) so now it makes it a 7+1 gun and i have it loaded with winchester ranger 00 buck. recoil isnt bad untill u use full power rounds or slugs.
 
I like my Moss. 500. It came with a 28" barrel so I put an 18" or 18.5", I can't remember exactly, on it. I took a course on hd with it. I agree with everyone else that some sort of recoil pad is nice.
 
Ahhh...a Mossberg...I love mine (ours!) We go out to Kansas for target practice with it along with the AK...beautiful weapons both of them. Get use to it. It won't fail you...the feel of power...unbelievable!
 
I have an 870 Express, but it was a toss-up between it and the Mossberg. Both are excellent home defense shotguns in my opinion.

As others above have suggested, don't be in a hurry to add all of the mods to it. Wait a bit until you become "one" with the gun. I suggest the recoil reducing stock for the first mod that you'll likely want.
 
I have a Moss 500 Persuader (18.5" 5-shot) and a Moss 590 (20" 8-shot).
I have three comments:
1) I agree with G50AE, don't put a lot of junk on it. My Persuader came with adj stock and sidesaddle; I put a picatinny rail, truglo front sight, tactical light with thumb switch on the forearm, and lastly a single point sling. Real mean/nasty looking and I was happy with it until I figured out all that crap would only get in the way in the middle of the night. So I bought the stock 590 with ghost sights and stock that holds 4 more rounds (total 13 w/ reload) to serve everyone that comes to the party. It is very sleak-sided and won't hang or catch on anything.
2) I think the recoil thing is over-blown. I shot 20 rounds in about 5 minutes (Federal 127 00-buck) the other day with the 500 and my shoulder wasn't sore or bothered - only tingled a bit for a few minutes. I also shot a couple of rounds of 3" magnum 00-buck that day (the 500 will take 3"); now that was a round I don't recommend for plinking around the house. :biggrin:
3) Pattern is not too important in the house where the range is 15 ft or so. With the Fed 127, which is my choice for this purpose, it will hold a 1 foot pattern out to about 30 feet easily with the 18" barrel. If you want a tighter pattern, look at Federal Flite-Control. (Yes, I consider Federal the best brand of 12ga shotgun ammo today)

Finally, the biggest mistake people make is to believe you don't have to aim a shotgun - you do.

If you want some good hands-on info about the Mossberg go to MossbergOwners.com • Index page
 
I own several Mossbergs,
500,835,935 all of which are excellent shotguns. You can't beat the price, reliability,dependability. Never has any of my Mossbergs ever failed me. You made a great choice.
 
I suggest low-recoil ammo, especially for home defense. There's plenty of it available at your local outdoor retailer (Outdoor World, Gander Mountain, etc.) or on the net.

I have a Mossy 500. I put a very small rail on the tube and attached a tac light on it. The one I got only came with a pistol grip (for masochists only) so I installed a recoil-reducing folding stock. It works well. Great home defence gun. It's 1 of 2 firearms in my home that stays fully loaded and chambered 24/7.
 
I suggest low-recoil ammo, especially for home defense. There's plenty of it available at your local outdoor retailer (Outdoor World, Gander Mountain, etc.) or on the net.

I have a Mossy 500. I put a very small rail on the tube and attached a tac light on it. The one I got only came with a pistol grip (for masochists only) so I installed a recoil-reducing folding stock. It works well. Great home defence gun. It's 1 of 2 firearms in my home that stays fully loaded and chambered 24/7.

a pistol grip (for masochists only)??? did you just call me a masocheat? LOL I have a pistol grip on mine too...
 
Have a plan for its use. Personally it is the weapon of choice in my locked bedroom, as I stand to a side of a locked door behind a dresser and about 10 ft from the opening of the door. If that door is breached 00 buckshot will complete my defense. Stuff in other rooms is insured and not worth my life to go hunting against perps who may be better at this than me; in addition, a shotgun, IMO, is not exactly the easiest firearm to be wielding around as you traverse around your home looking for perps. Just sayin.
 
a pistol grip (for masochists only)??? did you just call me a masocheat? LOL I have a pistol grip on mine too...

I didn't know you were into pain :biggrin:

Firing a pistol-grip-only shotgun isn't fun. Try it with 3" slugs! At least with the low recoil ammo my forearm doesn't go numb after one shot.
 

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