Insanely dumb Mossberg 500 Question

M

Mummer

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I would like to keep my 500 ready with a loaded mag tube but no round in the chamber. After loading the magazine tube, I have to press the action lock lever in order to jack a round into the chamber. This would not be easy or fun to have to do in the heat of a dangerous confrontation. Am I missing a step here? Or are choices limited to keeping the gun with a round chambered (safety activated) or having to push that darn lever at the moment I want to chamber a round? All help most appreciated.
 
One word:

Practice.

You are describing a condition for your shotgun known as "cruiser ready". Train yourself to immediately press in the action lock and rack the slide, as soon as you figure that you're about to start the festivities.
 
I hadn't shot any of my 590s for a long time now (and a little too lazy to pull them ot of the safe at this time) but IIRC, if the action is uncocked, all you have to do is pump to load a round.

Before loading the rounds, rack the pump, insure the chamber is empty, close the bolt, dry fire to uncock the hammer, load the rounds. All you should have to do if you need to arm the gun is pump the action, no need to depress the action lock lever.

Unless, of course, Mossberg changed the design of the action. The youngest 590 one I have is about 12 years old.
 
Make sure you follow these steps in order.......
Check for an empty chamber and magazine, and then close the bolt.
Dry fire the shotgun.
Load the magazine.
Store with safety off.

If you only check the chamber without checking the magazine as well, you will fill the chamber before you dry fire the gun. You will get a nasty surprise.

If the weapon is to be stored in a vehicle where it might bounce around, use the cruiser ready method mentioned by Powderman. The latch will keep the forend from shifting.
 
Make sure you follow these steps in order.......
Check for an empty chamber and magazine, and then close the bolt.
Dry fire the shotgun.
Load the magazine.
Store with safety off.
Click to expand...

That's great advice; but I'll add that after you close the bolt; crack it open just a little to make sure nothing popped out of the tube that you didn't see.
 
Or do step one twice in a row (check, close, depress lever, open, check, close), yes?


Thanks guys! I never would have figured that out!
 
Or do step one twice in a row (check, close, depress lever, open, check, close), yes?
Click to expand...
Sometimes this method is taught. I dislike it because a sticky magazine can cause the chamber to be loaded on the second try. I prefer to visually check for the magazine follower. You can purchase blaze orange nylon followers that will never corrode to improve the visual check. These are, in my opinion a more worthwhile investment than a lot of the tacticool plastic attached to shotguns nowadays. If you are cheap like me, paint your followers orange. If you are lazy and cheap, at least look for the follower.

I remember a couple of months back when a forum member recounted her son checking a shotgun by the multiple shucking method without checking the magazine. He shot through the ceiling and the roof of their house when he dry fired the weapon.

One would never check the chamber of a pistol, and then send the slide forward with a full magazine in place and call it unloaded. One always removes the magazine or confirms it is empty. You cannot remove a pump shotgun's magazine, so you must confirm it is empty prior to moving the bolt forward. If you do not see it is empty, you can only suspect it is empty. You cannot know it's empty. Make sense?
 
The method of carefully checking the gun's chamber and magazine to insure they're empty, pulling the trigger on the empty chamber, then loading the magazine, is known as "Cruiser Ready", and is the way police carry their shotguns.

All that's needed to ready the gun for firing is to pump the action.
 
Make sure you follow these steps in order.......
Check for an empty chamber and magazine, and then close the bolt.
Dry fire the shotgun.
Load the magazine.
Store with safety off.
Click to expand...

Yes, I left out the empty mag/carrier before closing and dry firing (figuring the gun would have been empty).
 
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