Remington 870 vs. Mossberg 500

[Moose242]

Seems to be at least one of these threads floating across the web at any given time. They always start out the same, somebody looking to get a pump action shotgun and asking the what of the two would be a better choice.

They usually also end the same. More often then not the thread boils down to people arguing various pros and cons of each one.

In an attempt to put this argument to rest, here's an unbiased thread showing the pros, cons and part by part comparison of each one side by side.



First is the 870, arguably the most famous pump action in the world.

-The trigger group is shared in 90% of all Remington pump and self-loading weapons and uses a connector/disconector

-Single Sako style extractor.

-Ribbon Ejector permanently attached to the inside of the receiver.

-Slide release located on front of trigger guard

-Button safety on rear of trigger guard.

-Pivoting shell lift attached to trigger guard.



Next, the 500. It is the flagship pump action shotgun from mossberg. The 590 being a beefed up version of the 500 with a few upgrades.

-Twin claw extractors.

-Ejector attached inside receiver with screw.

-Slide release located rear of trigger guard.

-Tang safety on top of receiver.

-Shell lift attached to receiver and rests under bolt carrier.


The primary flaw of the 870 is the ribbon ejector that is attached to the inside of the chamber. It works very well, but is quite fragile (more so in newer models)

If it breaks (like this one) your only option is drilling out the rivets and through the receiver. Then you have to rivet in a new one, file down the rivets and re-blue the receiver.

About 300$ in total.



Here is the other side of the gun showing the rivets needing to be drilled out.

All 870's have these, they are just very hard to see on some models.



The ejector on the 500 can be replaced in a matter of seconds with only an Allen wrench if broken.

About 15$



Better yet, a screwdriver. Got mixed up with a different part.

Both the 870 and 500 have a tilting locking block in the bolt the attach to the barrel extension. Meaning the entire barrel needs to be replaced if this wears out.




Base of the 870 showing control locations and the pivoting shell lift.

That 'U" cut was added in intermediate models so a knife or screwdriver can be pressed through it to dislodge jammed shells.




500 bottom.

Becuase the shell lift rides under the bolt, it is more easy to load then the 870. The lift system is also much more simple then the 870.




870's offer more choices in terms of barrels and magazine extensions due to the way the magazine tube is designed.

If you want a 18" barrel for HD and 28" for hunting, the 500 and 870 are good choices. However only the 870 can take magazine extensions.

[Moose242]

500's cannot accept extensions because the end of the magazine tube is threaded for the barrel.




Both barrels are removed the same way, with the action half open.

However the 500 has a slot on the inner side of the extension to incorporate the second extractor.





870 bolt can be removed once the barrel is off.

Here it is with the single extractor.

A note about this, people think the 500 extracts better because it has two of them. In truth, they function about the same.

-The 870 extractor works VERY well alone, however in the off chance it breaks you must physically hand fit a new one into the bolt. All 870's need custom fit extractors because they no longer come from the factory with a small "bump" in them that allows the shell to slide under it when cambering.

TL;DR Good extractor, a pain to replace.




The 500 bolt can only be removed with the trigger guard out because of the shell lift. The bolt has two small claw extractors, and they two have pros and cons.

-Because the bolt has twin extractors, it is possible to have a perfectly working gun if one breaks. This makes it very reliable. HOWEVER, they are very thin and can break easily. No fitting needed when replacing.

TL;DR Can function fine with one broken but they are prone to break.




FUN FACT

The 870 bolt carrier doubles as a tool to remove the forend furniture. You don't need that "special tool" sold to do this.

The 500 forend can be taken off by hand.




500 bolt taken apart.




870 bolt.

Both are basically the exact same.

Both have the same interlock that blocks the firing pin from contacting the primer unless the action is fully closed and locked up.

[Moose242]

870 trigger group out of the gun. Held in with two cross pins.

Those two bars do not come out of 870's, they are permanently attached to the inside of the receiver. I tore the ones out of this gun so you can see them.




500 trigger group, held in with one cross pin.

The bars on the 500 can be removed with ease.

If one of these bars break on the 870 or 500, it's pretty obvious what would be more easy to fix.





Yes.

Closer view of the Remington Connector/Disconnector system. They MUST be oriented like this to work!

You won't believe the number of people who get this messed up when putting an 870 together themselves and come in because it wont work anymore.




The 500 trigger group is simple and has the same sized pins making it more easy to put together.

However, putting it back together for the first time can be very hard, there are a lot of springs and parts that need proper orientation.





The 870 trigger group is even more simple and can be taken apart and put back together with no effort at all.

But... The hammer is permanently attached.

So, that makes the hammer, ejector, shell stop, interrupter and extractor all parts that need to be replaced by gunsmiths. All these can be done at home on a 500.





Better look at the part orientation in the 500 group.




500 parts





870 parts

[helosailor]

I've always been a fan of the Mossberg. It seems there is some pretty good justification there. I swear I saw them abused beyond belief in the Navy, but they always worked...every single time.

[Cooter]

good post! thanks!

[Your Name Here]

870 WING MASTER FTW Screw the express or Moss 500

[ceyko]

Both are great in my opinion. I prefer the 870 because it was the first one I owned. Yeah real technical.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Cooter]

I'm an 870 fan... that was my first shotgun. I've got a home defense model now.

but, I don't use mine! LOL it's just bedside art... and as such, I'm 100% certain that it's going to go bang and rack rounds when I want it to

if I was shooting thousands of rounds a month through it, I might look at something else

[FastFord19]

I prefer my moss over my 870.

[YALE]

I suppose if I have to pick one, I'll take an 870. They're just a touch more versatile.

[ffRich54]

Nothing against the Mossberg but I prefer the 870.

[CJ]

This comparison is easy. The mossberg sucks, 870 is better.


On the other hand Alex, I heard you can charge $87 to take apart a shotgun like that nowadays.

[Fatass]

i own both, the 870 is my go to. one broken firing pin in 36 years of killing birds and clays and whatever else happened to be in the field.

[mustang_revival]

I've got my grandfathers old 500. Will be passing it down to one of my kids.

[svauto-erotic855]

I have both and like both. When it comes to speed the Mossberg is easier to load and since I shoot with either hand I like the top mounted safety on the Mossberg.