General Tso
New member
Well, I just picked up a Mossberg 590A1. After futzing over what to buy I decided to kill two birds with one stone and satisfy my curiosity about the 590's and Ghost Ring sights all in one shot.
It's a 20" parkerized model with the GR sights and synthetic stocks. Right out of the box it was immediately apparent that this was no regular 500 or even a earlier commercial 590. This thing is heavy! The barrel is indeed beefed up over previous version and seems to be very solidly built. The safety and trigger guard on the 590A1 are metal, thus eliminating one of the gripes about the regular 500's and 590's.
After cleaning the cosmoline off the park'ed parts I did some shouldering drills to get used to the sights and balance. What was immediately apparent was that the stock was too long for me. Now I consider myself a pretty average size guy sitting at 5'11" and couldn't help wonder who the heck Mossberg is making these things for, 6'4" state troopers and Marines? Luckily, my dad had the same problem with his Mossy 500 and had shortened the stock by about 1" before deciding to put a side folder on his gun. As it happened I had his old reduced length stock handy and swapped out my factory stock for it. The fit is much better now with the shorter stock. At first it appeared almost too short but after practicing with it a but I think it's going to work out well, especially if I do any shooting with a jacket on.
Overall, aside from the stock issue, I'm favorably impressed with my initial inspection. The gun is very solidly built, much more so than a stock 500 and I like the Ghost Ring set up a lot. I'm curious to see too what effect the heavy barrel has on recoil and follow up shots. Next step is range testing! I'll probably stock up on some Rem #6 game loads for my break in period although I may try some slugs and buck just to see what they do for now. Assuming the weather cooperates I'll hit the range with it Sunday.
It's a 20" parkerized model with the GR sights and synthetic stocks. Right out of the box it was immediately apparent that this was no regular 500 or even a earlier commercial 590. This thing is heavy! The barrel is indeed beefed up over previous version and seems to be very solidly built. The safety and trigger guard on the 590A1 are metal, thus eliminating one of the gripes about the regular 500's and 590's.
After cleaning the cosmoline off the park'ed parts I did some shouldering drills to get used to the sights and balance. What was immediately apparent was that the stock was too long for me. Now I consider myself a pretty average size guy sitting at 5'11" and couldn't help wonder who the heck Mossberg is making these things for, 6'4" state troopers and Marines? Luckily, my dad had the same problem with his Mossy 500 and had shortened the stock by about 1" before deciding to put a side folder on his gun. As it happened I had his old reduced length stock handy and swapped out my factory stock for it. The fit is much better now with the shorter stock. At first it appeared almost too short but after practicing with it a but I think it's going to work out well, especially if I do any shooting with a jacket on.
Overall, aside from the stock issue, I'm favorably impressed with my initial inspection. The gun is very solidly built, much more so than a stock 500 and I like the Ghost Ring set up a lot. I'm curious to see too what effect the heavy barrel has on recoil and follow up shots. Next step is range testing! I'll probably stock up on some Rem #6 game loads for my break in period although I may try some slugs and buck just to see what they do for now. Assuming the weather cooperates I'll hit the range with it Sunday.