Mossberg 500 Field/Deer Combo Shotgun

Comments about Mossberg 500 Field/Deer Combo Shotgun:

This is a great 12 gauge pump, especially for the price-tag. I would give it 4 & 1/2 stars, but that isn't an option.

Shortly after I bought it, I took it out for some recreational clay-shooting, and had a great time! I figured it would be heavier when I first saw it, but the synthetic stock and forend really makes a difference, and cuts off a lot of weight. I have carried my 500 around for hours, and even jogged out to my blind with it a few times, and almost forgot it was on my shoulder!

The barrels swap out quick and easy, too. With the 24" rifled slug barrel, and a good sabot slug, you can reach out a LOT farther than with an old-fashioned Foster through the field-barrel. For those of us who hunt big game in the Midwest, you know how nice it is to be able to triple the effective range of your shotgun!

As deer season got closer, I looked into mounting a scope on it. The receiver is drilled and tapped, but I wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to completely re-sight the gun if I decided to use the field-barrel before deer season opened up. It's pretty hard to hit clays or do any wing-shooting with a big scope in the way, so I found that using a saddle-mount is the way to go. I found a good saddle for my 500, slapped on a nice 3-9x40 scope, dialed it in, and I was set! The saddle attaches to the receiver via 2 screws; one through the action, and the other screw replaces the firing-assembly pin. The whole mount comes off very easily, and the point of impact was dead-on even after removing the scope and putting it back on several times before taking it out for whitetail (I re-boresighted it to be sure, but didn't have to make any adjustments).

My only gripe with the gun is how the field-barrel fits into the receiver. The barrels and receivers are mass-produced, not individually made for the receiver. As a result, the field-barrel in my combo doesn't fit all the way into the receiver, leaving a millimeter or so between where the barrel-nut meets the mag tube. It doesn't affect the functionality of the gun by any means, and a gunsmith could probably fix it without a fuss, but it was a little disappointing to discover this AFTER purchasing it. Be sure to check how BOTH barrels fit when seated in the receiver before purchasing!

In summary, an all-around powerhouse, built rock-solid, and just downright NASTY lookin! I plan on keeping this in my collection for a LONG time!