Remington 870/887 Or Mossberg 500/590

Which is Better?

  • Remington 870

    Votes: 44 53.7%

  • Remington 887

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Mossberg 590/500

    Votes: 38 46.3%
  • Total voters
    82
  • Poll closed .
G

Gunnut17

Moderator
Both great shotguns, which is better? Keep in mind I am a civilian, so I'm looking at which civilian version of these guns is better, no 9-shot guns here. I'd also like to know which version of your gun of choice you prefer, I.E. 887 or 870.

Pictures are welcome and recommended.
 
Gotta say, while I have a 870 and a preference for Big Green, I'm not going to say one design is preferable to the other.

For regular defensive purposes, I'd probably go 870 over 887, but that or the Mossberg guns will work great. Get a shorter barrel variant (or just a shorter barrel for the thing), an extended magazine tube, the stock of your choice, and start putting ammo through it to make sure the thing works.

Hard to make a bad choice on that.
 
870.

Proven,over and over and over.

No other shotgun has gone so long,done so much, or made so many folks happy.

10 million and counting.

Ike was president when I got my first one. The finish on that is getting thin, but it's never glitched. Nor have the others I've owned.

Lifetime round count has to be over 50K, maybe twice that. I put 30K plus through one, a TB, in a few years and all that happened was it needed a new firing pin spring. Twice.

Frankenstein, my parts gun with a 1973 reciever, has maybe 20K through it and that's after a 10 year career at the MD Pen. Glitchless, slick as owl snot.

Cosmetically challenged, mechanically perfect. Frankenstein's taught a lot of folks to shoot.

There's no flies on the 500 either. Lots of happy owners.

The 887 is too new to have a track record.

I'd choose between the 500 and the 870....
 
I agree with Lee. I have 870s since I grew up shooting with a cross bolt safety and I'm used to it but both the 870 and 590 are proven designs that I'd feel comfortable staking my life on.
 
500 over the 870 because...

(1) The physical position and operation of the safety for either right or left handed shooter....forward off, back on.
(2) The physical position of the slide release is easier to operate.
(3) 1 more round in the factory magazine.
(4) Shell elevator does not get in the way when loading, especially with gloves on.
(5) Duel shell ejectors.
(6) The 500 is usually less expensive and the quality is just as good as the 870.
 
I'd have to go 870 as well. Got mine for my 16th birthday, passed down from my dad. He had it "custom" made in the early 70's as he worked at Remington for many years. He picked out all the pieces and followed it thru the plant, having all the best guys work on it. It's a working man's gun, not all engraved up, but put together to his idea of what a shotgun should be. Ready for Southern Tier deer season, Spring turkey, and the occasional ruffed grouse or rabbit outing. He did tell me, however, that he searched through about 20 boxes of Model 3200 select wood blanks to have his stock and forend made out of, and it is super fancy. Oh well, I suppose I'm biased, but there's nothing like the feel of an 870, and that action is smooth as glass. My grandfather worked there also, and the only thing he and my dad ever agreed upon was that the 870 was the best gun they ever worked on at Remington.
 
I have owned all three. The Remington 870 is the one I kept. The Mossberg was a solid second place. I could not get rid of the 887 fast enough.
 
870 or 500. My step dad taught me to shoot on both of these. As a little kid I liked the 870 better because of the way the safety was. Shortly after I turned 18 I found a used 1996 500A1 with a 24" smoothbore slugster barrel and a davis speedfeed stock dirt cheap at a local shop and snatched it up. 'Ive been in love with the gun since. 0 hiccups, it eats any 2.75" or 3" shell that you feed it, and for the barrel length has minimal recoil. That is now my HD gun and occasional clay gun. I have since acquired a Benelli Nova and a newer Mossberg 835. I now primarily take either of those guns to the range as the shoot much tighter patterns so they're just more of a challenge to hit clays with.

I can't sway my vote to either a 500 or 870 so I gotta say BOTH!!!


Tapatalked via my highly abused iPhone
 
I own a battery of 870s... I also have a 500 that I bought for $100... It goes bang every time.. Can't say that about the Remington 870s I've bought in the last five years.. A couple of them are hit and miss... I can't trust them enough to take them to the range without a backup... Really tragic when I have older 870s that have never given me any trouble at all..

887 is crap... Not worth your time..
 
I've had 870s and Mossberg 500s. I prefer the safety on the Mossberg, so I got rid of the 870s. I think it's purely a matter of preference, they're both excellent shotguns that will last if maintained well.
 
My vote is for the Remington 870. They have always worked well, and its rare to have an issue with them. We have some that are around 25 years old at work and they do good. The 870's that I and my brother own also do well, but just arent quite as old and used.

The Mossberg shotguns I have shot owned by friends seem to hold up well without any issues. We still have some 500a shotguns at work, but they are not issued anymore. They seem to function well, but I guess after all the years of being in the trunk has taken its toll. The butstocks on them just will not stay tight. If you tighten them up and loctite them, after 5-10 shots they start to get loose. The new ones may be better though.
 
Both are indeniably very good guns, but I bought the mossberg 500 and here's why:

-tang safety is easier to use and see during operation
-slide release is much easier to access, with less finger manuvering/movement needed

For me, these two reasons are enough, but I certainly have nothing against the 870 or anyone who swears by them, cause they have more than proven themselves, but so has the mossberg 500, just not for quite as many years but more than enough to say that it has "stood the test of time"
 
Im a mossberg guy. Mostly cause of the safety location and at this point in my life, its what i know and am used to. My cousin I go hunting with all the time is a die hard remington guy and uses an 870. He hasnt had a single issue with his 870 and I havent had one either with my 500. Both are solid. I think the action is smoother and faster on the mossberg. But the mossy has that "forend wiggle" that the remington doesnt have. This wiggle bothers some but not me. I prefer the mossbergs action and safety/action release location over the 870. Didnt like the 887 at all.


So, the tally for me is....

Mossberg
Chevy
Coke
PC
 
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