Mossberg 500 At Idle

V

VA Gent

New member
Does anyone know if a 500 can be "ready" w/one in the chamber yet uncocked? The attempt is to keep resistance off the mechanism since it will sit idle till needed, which may be never, who knows anymore. To cock, the slider only needs to come back 1/4" max just to set the trigger. Much faster than a full cycle to load. The full cycle sound is a deterrent to a intruder but I wouldn't be into entertaining a strangers ears not knowing whats in his hand as he comes around the corner. Anyone know if this is possible? I bought this gun new 12 years ago, shot it once with a Winchester 3" #6 and really liked the 30" tight pattern at 28 feet. Excellent for a hallway or any room in the house if nec. No flash, recoil was nil, sound didn't even make my ears ring but that was in the back yard against a piece of sheetrock.

Thanks in advance everyone,
John
 
I would suspect that the stress on the firing mechanism would be negligible if left in the cocked position.

One other thing that you may want to consider is how realistic it would be to effectively 1/4 cycle the action in a high stress situation. It may be that you would be more likely to short-stroke & jam the weapon, or fully cycle it, ejecting a shell, which might distract you from the task at hand.
 
No its not possible, but even if it was I dont think it would be safe to keep a shell in the chamber with the firing pin resting on the primer.
You can however keep your slide open, and quickly pull back about a half an inch and slam it forward to chamber a shell, while being able to see your empty chamber and carry safely.
Congrats on you choice of weapon, its a good one.
 
It might be cocked for the next 12 years possibly rendering it useless when needed? I wouldn't feel comfortable with a cocked Mossberg anyway. I read one of the cons with their shotguns is it can fire if it takes a good horizontal slap to the ground/floor...possibly from a vaccum cleaner, dog etc. As for stress, I've been there before and got over it. I would have better control as it wouldn't be a 1/4 cycle even, just a 3/16 - 1/4 inch sets the trigger. I do like that! Anything more than that would get into extracting a shell...not good. Besides, if someone enters undrawn, lack of sound might make me the first one at their party. Do you know if it's doable? I haven't had a chance to bond with this gun yet. By the way, this 500 is a 410. I've used 410's for some 47 years.
 
TX Hunter - Good point about the firing pin - thank you.

I have a shortened 12 something or another, first click back allows the hammer to lock backed off the pin about 1/8" It won't cycle till you want it, no matter what you throw at it. Guess I got use to it over the years and thought the 500 might do the same or something similar. Maybe I should replace the 500. It's a nice gun for in house use but another possibly shortened 410 might be also with a similar hammer setup. I'll see whats available out there.

Thanks also to Spammy & ronto - good info!
 
You have to cock it in the process of getting a round in the chamber. There is no safe way to lower the hammer on a 500. Even if there were, having the hammer resting on the firing pin, which would be resting on the primer would not be a good idea.

Being ready is all well and good, but the idea of leaving a shotgun standing around for years with a live round in the chamber doesn't sit well with me. Leave it cocked, on safe, on an EMPTY chamber and it will take no time at all to chamber a round when needed.
 
natman - appears your right. Only choices are replace it with something else or as others mentioned, load the mag & leave it. I am beginning to believe I am just being anal about this...comes with age? So, now I ask if the mag is full, trigger mech relaxed, safety on, that mag spring can be compressed for years if no excitement occurs. Seems in the blink of an eye, that gun has been sitting in its box in the closet already for 12 years. I have a short 12 guage. Just discovered it is a Stevens / Savage Arms 9874 or 9478...forgot that fast but it has a two position hammer. 1st is a hammer lock that stops it just short of contacting the pin...2nd is full cock. I have more faith in that thing than I do this 500. Might get flamed for that but it really is a safer piece. Its been loaded for 11 years, travelled across country twice, resided in 3 states, no mishaps.

desertcanada-what size shot are you looking for? I have .058-.060 stainless steel. Never put it in a shell but it's the real thing and you have me wondering what the result might be. Not cheap either.
 
Hammer down on a live shell doesn't strike me as a safe way to do things.

Are you trying to reduce the noise if you should need to use the shotgun in an emergency at some point in the future?
.... In an emergency do you think you'll have the presence of mind to just softly pull back the fore end just enough to cock and no more, or do you think you'll give the fore end a good, solid pull to make sure it's cocked and the shell is loaded? Which scenario makes more sense in an emergency situation?
... If it's not an emergency, does it really matter then if you can or cannot quietly rack the shotgun?

I'd listen to the experienced guys on here that recommend leaving the chamber empty. Safety on or off depends on your point of view about those things, I usually go with safety off for unloaded weapons just to reduce the number of things to be manipulated.
 
Hammer down on a live shell is never good. That Stevens I mentioned doesnt rest on the shell though, apparently the Mossberg would.
By reducing the noise, are you referring to the Mossberg. If so, theres nothing I can do to quiet that thing. For a 410, that slider makes a lot of noise while chambering a round. I wouldnt want to bring the Stevens out while the report is being written so that ones out. I do have a legal Winchester Defense 12 riot gun but that would really do some damage. I kept those two as we lived out in the desert for years. Occaisionly a band of coyotes would roam by and there was always one that wanted to test you.
As for an emergency situation, my hearing seems to go into 2 channel while the layout of the house and keeping my wife safe is foremost. 2 channel is hearing whats happening in the other room, hall, basement etc and prepping the gun. Been there. After a few incidents in the past, I know when someone is out to do whatever it takes to get what they think they want, going through you is part of it. They really dont care how or how much it takes to disable the homeowner. Kind of like that one coyote.
If its not an emergency, noise is not an issue. If someone thinks your sleeping, you can get into position and surprise the hell out of them. That takes a no noise prep.
Other that short Stevens, I dont leave anything loaded with a hammer resting on a live shell. May as well have a mine ticking in the same room.
Thank you sir, great reply!
 
VAGent, The springs do not collapse from being left loaded. I have had shells in numerous guns and pistols for years with no ill affect.

As for de-cocking... no one pointed out that you would just waste a live round since you must cycle the action to recock it thus shucking the shell to the floor.

Springs fail due to number of times they are cycled, not being left compressed... If this were true cars and trucks would get lower to the ground over their life span since the springs are under load all the time.
As far as I know, most pump and semi auto shotguns are not "drop safe" with the use of the safety... it is just a trigger block measure.

The use of "heavy" mag springs can lead to compressing the shells over long periods of time rendering them difficult or even impossible to chamber.

Brent
 
"Hammer down on a live shell is never good."​
I'm curious, how do you get the hammer down without making a spent round out of alive one? Do M-500's have a de-cocker I'm unaware of?
 
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I don't know about you but if I was wandering around in a strange house in the dark and I heard that round being chambered it would greatly increase the pucker factor. What I would be looking for was the way out of that building. I don't know anyone who doesn't know the universal sound of a pump shotgun chambering a round.
Why do you want to be so quiet? Do you want to walk around a corner and bump into him? I don't. Kind of like a snake if you give him a chance to escape he will.
 
This is just not a good idea....I would just keep my magazine full. However if you are looking to being silent why not look into something more along the lines of a pistol?
 
"Hammer down on a live shell is never good."

I curious, how do you get the hammer down without making a spent round out of alive one? Do M-500's have a de-cocker I'm unaware of?
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No, Zippy, that was the point of the thread... there is no way to de-cock the 500. I was pointing out that if you could figure out how to, such as possibly hold trigger pulled and lightly slide action closed... There would be no way to put it back into fire ready battery without shuckin' a perfectly good round as cycling the action is the only way to re-cock the 5oo and most other pumps and semi's.

I don't know about you but if I was wandering around in a strange house in the dark and I heard that round being chambered it would greatly increase the pucker factor. What I would be looking for was the way out of that building. I don't know anyone who doesn't know the universal sound of a pump shotgun chambering a round.
Why do you want to be so quiet? Do you want to walk around a corner and bump into him? I don't. Kind of like a snake if you give him a chance to escape he will.
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Silence is GOLDEN! I have the advantage of knowing my layout best. The sound of a gun cycling or any sound for that matter gives away my position and betrays my plan of action... STEALTH...

Since not every one is going to defecate in their spiderman under-roos at the sound of the gun cycling, I am not going to risk it...

But I do store 5 rounds with empty pipe. I can cycle my 500 silently.

Brent
 
5 in the tube, empty pipe, hammer down. That's how I play it. No fussing with the action release button to get it combat ready and 5 00-buck shells is an awful lot of firepower. The way that springs work, they loose power through compression and expansion, not staying in a static state.
 
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