I bought my Mossberg 500 back in the 80s at a police auction for $20. It was pretty worn, had a long barrel with an adjustable poly choke on it and wood stocks.
I then bought a 18" rifle sighted used barrel off of ebay which was cheap back when gun parts were cheap on ebay. Use it as my HD gun and even hunted with it a few times. I saw my son shoot a running doe at 110 yards. Hit her in the back of the head. I was impressed.
Eventually the worn receiver and old style wood furniture got to me so I painted the metal with hi-temp engine paint and baked it on. I them replaced the wood with the cheapest Maverick 88 plastic stock and forearm. It turned out pretty good. It became my truck gun. The stock pouch holds about 15 shells inside and out.
I also have 24" replaceable choke barrel I use for birds, turkey, rabbits etc. and a muzzle loading barrel for it to use during ML deer season.
A couple years ago I ran across an Escort Slugger 5 shot 12 ga shotgun on sale for $130. It is pretty much just a HD/SD 12 ga shotgun. I thought it might replace my 500 as my HD/SD/truck gun. That way I could leave my 500 up at the cabin at my hunting property and not have to switch barrels back and forth.
I set it up the same way as my 500. It came with sling swivel studs
Eventually I used the Slugger in a HD class. It was simple, relatively light compared to all the decked out SGs people brought to the class. It has become my truck gun. The only thing I noticed was that the grip and forearm were pretty slick with sweaty hands. So before the class I stippled the grip and forearm. It worked really well, though it may look like crap, it was my first attempt at stippling.
I also added shell cards to the receiver and stock. As I did with my 500.
I ran 100 rounds through it (all slug) during the class and have subsequently run another 500 shells or so through it. Mostly birdshot but maybe 75 buck and another 25 slugs and 10 magnum turkey loads. I regularly run it through drills on my range. I'm actually quite impressed with it.
I then bought a 18" rifle sighted used barrel off of ebay which was cheap back when gun parts were cheap on ebay. Use it as my HD gun and even hunted with it a few times. I saw my son shoot a running doe at 110 yards. Hit her in the back of the head. I was impressed.
Eventually the worn receiver and old style wood furniture got to me so I painted the metal with hi-temp engine paint and baked it on. I them replaced the wood with the cheapest Maverick 88 plastic stock and forearm. It turned out pretty good. It became my truck gun. The stock pouch holds about 15 shells inside and out.
I also have 24" replaceable choke barrel I use for birds, turkey, rabbits etc. and a muzzle loading barrel for it to use during ML deer season.
A couple years ago I ran across an Escort Slugger 5 shot 12 ga shotgun on sale for $130. It is pretty much just a HD/SD 12 ga shotgun. I thought it might replace my 500 as my HD/SD/truck gun. That way I could leave my 500 up at the cabin at my hunting property and not have to switch barrels back and forth.
I set it up the same way as my 500. It came with sling swivel studs
Eventually I used the Slugger in a HD class. It was simple, relatively light compared to all the decked out SGs people brought to the class. It has become my truck gun. The only thing I noticed was that the grip and forearm were pretty slick with sweaty hands. So before the class I stippled the grip and forearm. It worked really well, though it may look like crap, it was my first attempt at stippling.
I also added shell cards to the receiver and stock. As I did with my 500.
I ran 100 rounds through it (all slug) during the class and have subsequently run another 500 shells or so through it. Mostly birdshot but maybe 75 buck and another 25 slugs and 10 magnum turkey loads. I regularly run it through drills on my range. I'm actually quite impressed with it.
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