mossberg 500 v. 590a1 for HD? is there meaningful difference?

E

ezmiraldo

New member
Hey guys and gals!

From everything I've seen and read, the main differences are:
1. thicker barrel on 590
2. metal trigger group on 590
3. removable mag tube cap

Otherwise, are the two shotguns identical? Do you think one is substantially better (durability, reliability, shootability, customizability, ease of maintenance, etc., etc.) than the other for home defense? Or, are they pretty much like sig p226 v. p226 navy (both excellent, with the navy model having some slight advantages that might be appreciated only by people subjecting their pistols to extreme and unusual stress, such as salt water)?

Would love to hear ye thoughts.
 
First of all, a Mossberg 590 is different than a Mossberg M590A1.

The M590A1 has a heavy barrel, is parkerized, and has a metal triggerguard and safety button. The 590 has a normal barrel, comes in a few different finishes, and have plastic safety buttons and trigger guards.

The Mossberg 500, 590, and M590A1 are all perfectly suitable for the purpose of home defense... or even front line military duty. In fact, ALL those models HAVE been used and issued by the military. The M590A1 is just sort of a "mil-spec" version designed specifically for the armed forces.

They are ALL great shotguns, and are basically very similair. The M590A1 would be my personal pick, but only because I would buy it for the cool factor. Reallistically speaking, it would offer no benefit to the other models for home defense work.

OP, what I recommend you do is go to Mossberg's website and look at all the 500 series (which includes hte 590 and M590A1) shotguns and pick whichever model has the feautures you like. There are a myriad of different finishes, barrel lengths, magazine tubes length, furniture, and I would pick whichever one fits what you're looking for... doesn't matter if it's a 500, 590, or M590A1. The features are the most important thing. Build quality, reliability, and longevity will be identical between the models for YOUR purposes.
 
I agree.

I had the same dilemma and ended up buying a 500. I didn't need any kind of cred for buying a mil-spec gun... I'm no wannabe military operator here, just a guy who wanted a shotgun for range fun and HD. The 500 will do the same job for much less money. My opinion only.
 
As long as you're not in a place walking through fire fending off bad guys the plastic trigger group will do fine. The 500 is a great gun for the money. And for the money saved over the 590 you could buy another used 500 to play with.

Grew up with a 500 20 gauge that my dad has. It's at least 35 year old and doing just fine.

I have a 500 12 gauge I bought in 1997 and it's doing fine. So much that I bought a 500 in 20 gauge last September. Believe me none of them were babied.
 
I own a mossberg 590 and it's been a wonderful firearm. The only downside is it can't be easily modified for skeet and hunting purposes. I also own a 500 and 835. Both have also been great and are more convenient if you intend to use them for skeet and hunting. Out of the 3 the 500 is lighter and all 3 have pros and cons. If you want a "tactical" shotgun go with the 590, you want a defensive shotgun that can be used for hunting/skeet go with the 500, if you just want a hunting gun go with the the 835. My preference goes with the mossberg line over remington due to the location of the slide release and safety. I also own a Auto5 light 12 but that's a completely different animal.
 
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