Mossberg 590A1 question

[Slater]

I've heard on a couple occasions that the M590A1's heavy-walled barrel was the result of some Navy requirement, possibly for increased durability when getting smacked against passageways or some such. Any credibility to this story?

[Roy]

Id believe it.. I know it was subjected to a whole bunch of stress during the military tests.

[seb5]

That's correct. The ships crews are hard on long guns runninng through the Pways. I believe our battalion has 24 or so of them as part of our TOA. I remember seeing them in the COC's in Iraq. I like the weight and prefer Mossbergs as I find the safety easier for lefties than Remingtons or Winchesters.

[jaydoc1]

That's correct. The ships crews are hard on long guns runninng through the Pways. I believe our battalion has 24 or so of them as part of our TOA. I remember seeing them in the COC's in Iraq. I like the weight and prefer Mossbergs as I find the safety easier for lefties than Remingtons or Winchesters.

Being a lefty-shooter myself, and being in the market for a shotgun, I appreciate that info.

[Diezel]

Just for some added direction in regards to the last poster, I am an owner of a Mossberg 590a1 SPX and as a left handed shooter, I can confirm that they are excellent for the southpaw. Another feature that makes them great is the placement of the pump release lever. I find it far more convenient over an 870 and it seems just as natural to access no matter what your strong hand is as a result of being positioned right behind the trigger guard.

[austinN4]

Having owned and used all 3 - 18" Remington 870 # 25077, 18" Winchester 1300 Defender and Mossberg 20" M590A1 #51663, I can say I prefer the controls on the 590A1 the best and I am right-handed.

I also prefer the shell elevator on the M590A1 as it is not in the way while topping off the tube.

The only drawbacks for me on the 20" M590A1 heavy barrel is that it was not very well balanced fully loaded with buck and is very front-end heavy. And the 20" barrel was too long for a house gun. My 14.5" carbine serves that function now.

Were I to do it again for a house gun, I would go the SBS route and get the 14" M590A1 #52689: http://www.impactguns.com/mossberg-590-a1-short-barrel-shotgun-14in-ghost-ring-night-sights-speedfeed-stock-52689-0.aspx

[IZinterrogator]

I will second (or maybe third?) the motion that the control placement on the Mossberg is superior. Nothing requires a reach, whether you are left or right handed. They are right where anyone can reach. I can't imagine the motions a lefty has to go through to work the controls on my Benelli.

[RWK]

You can get an 870 trigger group in a left-handed version: safety on the left, right-hand eject. Also, the safety and forend release on a 590 doesn't play very well with a pistol-grip stock, if that's a consideration.

[Bulletdog]

I did not know the reason why it is heavier barreled, but I did know it was heavier barreled.

I prefer the Mossbergs primarily for the safety location. I shoot "wrong handed" and do not care for the location of the safety on the 870, whether I'm shooting right or left handed. It's in a bad spot either way.

[c3006]

Weight helps with recoil on the 590 also.

[domestique]

I have a Mossberg 590A1 (20 inch), 930 SPX, 500, Remington 1100, and 870.

I perfer Mossberg for the ability like others stated for the slide release and safety location. Except, I added a KNOXX recoil stock to my 590A1 and the pistol grip negates the Mossberg advantage.

A 14" 590A1 would be really nice for HD, but the lower magazine capacity when I have Ars laying around would be a waste of a tax stamp IMHO.

[Dave Berryhill]

You don't have to buy a new trigger group to reverse the safety on an 870/1100/11-87 for left handed use. It requires a a little machine work but it isn't difficult if you know what you are doing. There are blueprints in the Remington armorer's manuals and also in Kuhnhausen's book on the Remington shotguns.

The Mossy's thumb safety works great.......until you put a pistol grip on it. Then you have to use your tongue or chin to move it because you can no longer reach it with your grip hand! :D

[c3006]

This is the only pistol grip in my opinion,stops the wrist shock you get from horizontal grip and still allows access to tang safety
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v501/c3006/bff8ddd8176f06048a4d25254a8ae780.jpg

[Bulletdog]

You don't have to buy a new trigger group to reverse the safety on an 870/1100/11-87 for left handed use. It requires a a little machine work but it isn't difficult if you know what you are doing. There are blueprints in the Remington armorer's manuals and also in Kuhnhausen's book on the Remington shotguns.

The Mossy's thumb safety works great.......until you put a pistol grip on it. Then you have to use your tongue or chin to move it because you can no longer reach it with your grip hand! :D

This makes me think of another point of discussion: Over use, or inappropriate use of the safety. My reason for dis-liking the 870's safety location is that it could very easily be on-safed at a very "inconvenient" time. I've used Mossbergs with pistol grips and it was really no big deal to let loose a little with the strong hand and reach up to on-safe it, while still keeping the shot gun supported and shouldered with the support hand. If I'm in a potential fight, or on the square range about to shoot, the gun is off-safety and my finger is not on the trigger. If the fight is over, and/or I'm stepping off of the range or slinging, loosing the shooting hand to hit the safety is no big deal anyway. In other words if a threat is imminent, I wouldn't be messing with the safety anyway. My trigger finger becomes my safety in that instance. If the situation is calm enough to want to put the safety on, then my hand position in relation to a pistol grip really shouldn't matter much.

This is my way of looking at it anyhow...