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ShootDontTalk wrote:The 590A1 will serve you extremely well. I don't know how you are with the NBA size LOPs, but check out the Hogue 12" LOP stock kit. I handle shotguns better when swinging from left to right with the short LOP stock. You might find it useful. Best $50 I ever spent on a defensive shotgun. In fact all my shotguns have them. Also makes it super for Mrs. SDT to handle and reduces the overall length about 2".

I'm not much for AR stocks on shotguns. As others pointed out, the Mossberg safety placement advantage becomes a liability with a pistol grip of any flavor.

I have to agree with Andy in spades about the Hawk 982. That particular gun runs much better than all but the most expensive tactical 870s. Every part from an 870 fits, except the barrel. It is the value of the century. Mine has been simply perfect for many years now. I would recommend the Mossberg 930SPX for an autoloader. Hard to argue with being able to empty the magazine in less than 2 seconds - every time!

Thanks for the stock suggestion. I'll keep that under advisement. I haven't handled the 590A1 yet, so I don't know how well the OEM stock fits me, but it does strike me that being able to be more squared up on the gun rather than bladed to it is better in a tactical long gun.

I bought my Stevens 350 right after Andy bought his Hawk 982, reasoning that bottom ejection would be better for me as a lefty. (But after years of shooting ARs and other semiautos, including my Benelli SBE II, I've concluded that direction of ejetion is irrelevant for me.) Also, Cabelas was completely sold out on the 982, which helped me to opt for the 350. This was during the last major market upset, when $700 ARs were selling for twice that. At the $249 I paid for the Stevens, it seemed like a heck of a deal. But when Andy and I were able to compare shotguns side by side, it was apparent to me that he got the better gun, even though mine was adequate for the price.

I hadn't considered the 930SPX at all, but then, I didn't even know it existed. My SBE II is my first foray into semiauto shotguns. But even if there were an aftermarket magazine of higher capacity for it, the barrel is either 24" or 27.5" long - depending on whether or not the 3.5" chamber is included in the measurement.....I don't know how shotgun barrels are measured. Benelli does not offer an aftermarket 18" or 20" barrel for it, so it remains pretty exclusively a hunting weapon - too long to be handy inside the home. But I will say that I had generally considered semiautos, but had kind of settled on a pump action for the reasons of reliability and parts availability. While this would be primarily a home-defense weapon, it is also a TEOTWAWKI gun ....which is one reason why I'm more interested in a 20" barrel and higher capacity magazine tube. Mossberg 500s and 590s are pretty much as ubiquitous as 870s, so scavenging parts is made easier. So I guess my question is: "do you think that your 930SPX is AS reliable as a 590A1?"

Yes I do. In one aspect it (and all auto loaders) are more reliable. In the heat of a self defense moment, not working the pump with utmost authority can cause a hangup. The semi suffers no such potential problem.

My 930 took a breaking in, like a pistol, but feeding it cheap birdshot (100 rounds) I never had any problems. Period. And none since. I have gladly trusted my life to it, even as much as the 590, the Hawk, or my Winchester 1300 Defender.

One other advantage of the semi. I don't keep a round chambered because shotguns are not as fail-safe when it comes to dropping them. The semi just makes a little "snick" when chambering, unlike the pump and the "clack, clack." Doesn't give you away so much.

Well, I bought a 590A1 today at Cabelas...... $629.00. This is the model I bought:



(I guess I'll have to pick up my own bayonet separately. )

Now I've got to sell my Stevens 350.

The Annoyed Man wrote:Well, I bought a 590A1 today at Cabelas...... $629.00. This is the model I bought:



(I guess I'll have to pick up my own bayonet separately. )

Now I've got to sell my Stevens 350.

Great! Now you need to replace that thin plastic safety button with something stronger and easier to find in the dark. I use this one.



I did this mod to my 930 SPX and liked it so much that I ordered one for my hunting 500 before it even arrived.

Thanks for the tip Pawpaw! I just ordered one.

Good deal. When you go to install it, make sure the gun is cocked and do NOT pull the trigger.

If the trigger is pulled, the safety block inside the receiver will fall when you remove the screw from the safety button. Then you'll have the fun of completely disassembling the shotgun and wrestling with getting the block back in there, properly oriented.

If the hammer stays cocked, it will hold the block up and keep it from falling.

Pawpaw wrote:Good deal. When you go to install it, make sure the gun is cocked and do NOT pull the trigger.

If the trigger is pulled, the safety block inside the receiver will fall when you remove the screw from the safety button. Then you'll have the fun of completely disassembling the shotgun and wrestling with getting the block back in there, properly oriented.

If the hammer stays cocked, it will hold the block up and keep it from falling.

Thanks again for the heads up.

As I fiddled around with the gun last night a little bit to begin familiarizing myself with the controls and trigger, I'm not absolutely convinced I like the length of pull on the Speed Feed stock, but that is easily replaced. Also, if you google the phrase "problems with Mossberg speed feed stock", you'll see that they have a record of breaking. For those who don't know, this stock has a tube inset on either side of the stock which a spring-loaded plunger, with an inlet in the stock forward of the tube. Each side accepts 2 spare shot shells, with one round pushed down into the tube, and the other sort of "clipped into" the inlet in the stock, and you feed them in rim-first. When you remove the top round, the bottom one pushes forward into the "clipped" position. Here's a picture I captured off the web:



The problem is that there have been cases concerning storing the gun even for a few hours with spare rounds loaded into the speed feed tubes. Even just overnight, the spring pressure inside the tubes can overcome the screws that hold the buttpad onto the stock and pop the buttpads right off of the stock..... in some cases actually breaking the boss that the screws thread into. That makes it a clever idea that may have been poorly executed.

So at some point, I'll probably add a side-saddle shell holder and a Magpul buttstock. On the other hand, this gun holds 8+1 rounds, so a shell holder might not really be needed.

The other change I'm contemplating is a different front sight blade. The OEM sight is ramp that has been painted dayglo orange/red, and it is dovetailed into its mount. I would like to see if there is such a thing as a tritium replacement sight for it.

And then I have a distant thought of perhaps seeing what it would cost to replace the existing ghost-ring rear sight — which is screwed directly into the receiver and seems to be made out of stamped sheet metal — with a rail and a different rear sight of better quality (perhaps with tritium on either side of the ghost ring), and some kind of RDS on the rail. But that is going to take some research and ducats........IF I even decide I want to do it.

AndyC wrote:Yes, it will - you need a place to hold some spare buckshot and, more importantly, a few slugs.

You replied faster than I expected! I figured that would be your advice. In my searches, I even found one that was designed for 3-gun, but that acts like a replaceable magazine......but on the side of the gun........made by Aridus Industries. It has a base which mounts to the side of the gun, and the shell carriers clip into the base. When you empty a shell carrier, you grab another full one off of your belt and use the end of the full one to pop the empty one off the base, and clip the full one in, all in one motion: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015 ... de-saddle/. The only drawback (besides cost) is that the base mount to the gun with double-sided 3M tape, and that doesn't seem like the best solution for an actual combat shotgun. What might be a great idea in competition isn't necessarily best for when something arises.

Andy, these are the OEM sights. As you can see, the front sight blade is dovetailed, so in theory it should be possible to change out:

The Annoyed Man wrote: But even if there were an aftermarket magazine of higher capacity for it, the barrel is either 24" or 27.5" long - depending on whether or not the 3.5" chamber is included in the measurement.....I don't know how shotgun barrels are measured.

Just for future good to know stuff, a shotgun barrel is measured by inserting a wooden dowel down the barrel until it comes to rest on the face of a closed bolt. Mark the dowel where the barrel ends, pull it out, and measure from the end that was inserted in the barrel to the mark and you will have your length.

If just checking to make sure you are legal, cut a dowel rod down to 18", insert into barrel until it comes to rest on the face of the closed bolt. If any of this dowel is protruding from the muzzle, the barrel is too short.

Enjoy your new shotgun!

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Deltaboy wrote:When you get an 870 just get a Wingmaster. There are police trade ins below the price point you stated.

But then I have pay for the upgrades I want. For instance, I want the ghost ring rear sight and matching front sight. I want the extended magazine with 9 round capacity. I'd want the left-handed safety conversion kit. Etc., etc., etc.

The Mossberg has ambi safety, and already comes with the other upgrades.

Choat machine and Tool company in Bald Knob Ark. Can fix your 870 up.

I know TAM has already picked up another shotgun, but for the benefit of other readers, there is another issue with the 887 that I've read about/heard about.

The plastic casing that envelops the metal which is normally exposed, does not entirely seal the metal. As a result, you can often find rust developing below this plastic sheath. IIRC it is not something you can easily remove and clean under, either way that is more headache that I want to deal with. I'd rather just CLP a metal shotgun regularly and go about my business as usual.

I didn't know that XS Sight Systems is located right in Fort Worth, so I drove down there to day and picked up the following sight set for my Mossberg:

http://www.xssights.com/Detail.aspx?PRO ... 7&CAT=8267



It comes with a dovetailed Big Dot front sight with tritium insert.

Front sight looks like this one, except that it is dovetailed into the factory-installed ramp.