HD shotgun Maverick 88 vs Mossberg shockwave

Better

Anything you can do with a shockwave or pistol gripped gun, you can do better with the full stocked version.

Buy the Mav88, spend the difference on ammo, light loads for initiation and training, some heavy buck for familiarzation and ready use.

The shockwave and PG look cool and stow well, but have a very,very small niche in application and use.
 
I know it takes some time and paperwork.....

When I was working at Dam Neck the gate guards had 14" full stocked Mossbergs that looked just about perfect.

Tony, after you run a few hundred rounds for reliability it may not hurt to get a few different brands of buckshot and see which ones pattern the way you want at indoor ranges. Some (Hornady, Federal Flight control) will be within the size of a fist at any distance you might shoot inside of your house (even at 25 yards in a few of my guns the Federal stays amazingly tight).

Also consider your current living situation. I live in an apartment so I have #4 Buck at the ready, LESS chance (not no chance) of over penetration being an issue.
 
Like some others have opined, I have no use for a "shockwave" style stock nor what's now termed a "pistol grip" configuration. My brother likes his Model 88 but he hasn't shot it much. I think the "Fin" and/or the Sportsman's Den in Shelby still carry the Benelli Nova; a reasonably priced pump shotgun that I've got along well with.

To edit: Oops-I didn't notice that you've already decided on the Model 590, which I'm sure you'll be happy with.
 
The 590 is a great shotgun, and I think you'll be happy with it.

However, the Shockwave, when forced into use inside a home, will be a devastating weapon. That's why I own one.

With that being said, I outfitted mine with a Crimson Trace Laser Saddle and Streamlight TL-Racker forend light. With that combination, I can be relatively sure that an intruder won't grab the (extremely short) barrel while I'm searching my house. And the laser and light assures me that I won't need to shoulder the weapon to insure decent accuracy.

Most people dismiss the Shockwave as a novelty/niche weapon. It definitely is. But the niche is close-quarters, self-defense usage. It fits the bill just fine.

In a few years, I plan to retire. My wife and I are planning to tour the country in an RV. I'm sure that I'll sell off a number of my guns, but the Shockwave won't be one of them. I suspect that it'll be the perfect self-defense weapon in the RV.
 
The Mossberg 18.5” 590 is the way to go. Add a 4.25” tube extension and it brings the barrel flush with the magazine tube increasing capacity to 7+1, same as a 20” Maverick/500.

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I bought a Maverick 88 because I specifically wanted a cheap shotgun to use around the property for shooting any venomous reptiles that turned up. I think I paid $230 for it a little over a year ago.

Since I have owned it, I have drug it through the mud, thrown it behind the seat of my truck and generally treated it like a red-headed stepchild. It has never failed to go bang when I pull the trigger.

Now I have heard all the stories about the plastic trigger group housing failing, but mine never has. I even bought an extra housing assembly just in case. So far it has resided in the glove box of my truck unused and I suspect that it always will. The only practical difference I see between the M88 and a Mossberg 500 series is the safety and I am plenty used to the crossbolt safety on other guns I own like the 10-22 and numerous Remington 870's.

I think that when many post up about the whatever particular shotgun they recommend, they are mostly trying to justify in their mind what they have already bought, much like I am doing. I have to admit that when the Maverick 88 shotguns first appeared, I kind of looked down on them as I was a dyed in the wool 870 fan (and still am BTW). But over the years my opinion has changed on the Maverick's and they are by all accounts, and based on my own experience, a solid, inexpensive, working shotgun.

Here is a gratuitous pic of my Maverick 88 taken right after I got it and before it entered service.
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