The Great Debate As To Which
Pump Action Home Defense
Shotgun Is Best, Is Over

The internet is loaded with comparisons between the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500. I own a gun safe partially filled with pump shotguns.

There are differences between the above mentioned guns. Most, except the Mossbergs, have shell lifters that stay down and must be pushed up to feed in rounds to the magazine. Under range conditions, this is not any issue whatsoever...

However, for a home defense combat shotgun, this is the single greatest issue for me.

Let me state that while so many like to talk about the fact that the Mossberg 500/590 safety is ambidextrous, this is an utterly meaningless factor in a combat shotgun. It is convenient feature for left handed sport shooters, but provides no advantage in a combat shotgun. How so?

Because, if you train with any shotgun, the operation of the safety becomes habit. Be it a tang safety or located at the front or back of the trigger guard, it doesn't much matter. When a fight is imminent, you are going to load a round and move the safety to FIRE. That's the last time you will touch it until the fight is, without doubt, over. Until then, your trigger finger is your safety. Off the trigger unless you have a target. Trigger and muzzle discipline are your safeties in combat. I don't care if the safety is two inches up your rectum, you won't be needing it as long as lead is flying, or at least the threat of it flying, is present.

Thus, to me, the tang safety is meaningless for combat shotguns in combat situations.

How about the dual extractors of the Mossbergs? Again, in combat, who cares. One or two, as long as it extracts. Ditto for the easy to replace ejector. If it breaks, regardless of brand, you have an issue to overcome. How it is replaced later doesn't matter while you fight for your life, does it?

What about the slide release location? Again, who cares? I'm not opening the action unless I have a malfunction. The action will remain closed and shotgun hot until it no longer needs to be. Later, when the time comes to clear the shotgun, I'll unlock the action and empty the chamber. This is another thing expounded upon by those who have never been in combat or run realistic combat drills. Thus, they don't grasp what matters and what doesn't. Slide release location, like safety location, falls into the "doesn't matter" category under combat or simulated combat conditions.

We've run many drills, with snap caps and live fire. In daylight and darkness. Strong and weak handed. Single handed as well. There is one thing that has consistently reared up as an issue, and that is reloading the magazine while keeping the gun trained towards your enemy.

If you need to reload the tube, in addition to dropping a round into the receiver and closing the action, getting rounds into the tube while still instantly ready to shoot can be a real challenge.

Let's face the reality that if it's 2AM and you're in your skivvies, with blood pressure spiking, heart rate at 200, and resisting a spontaneous bowel movement, your fine motor skills will in the shitter. Anything tactile (not tactical, boys; tactile) that makes it easier and simpler to run your gun is a very good thing.

First, you will need a supply of ammo to load. Since it's unlikely that you have a half dozen 00 buckshot rounds stashed in your undershorts, you will be fighting with whatever is in and on your shotgun. That means something between five and nine rounds if you don't have ammo ON the gun. Extra ammo is never a bad thing, and might just save your ass. You can carry it on a side saddle or even an elastic butt stock sleeve. The latter is awkward at best. Whichever type you prefer, you are better served to have additional ammo on the gun.

Should you find yourself having shot all or most of the ammo in your gun, you will need to reload. Grab a round, drop it into the receiver and close the action. The gun is hot and you can shoot if need be. Where it gets troublesome is refilling the magazine. Taking the gun down from the ready position to reload it is usually a bad idea unless someone else can provide overwatch for you. Not usually the case in a home defense fight. So, reloading it means using your weak hand. You will have to pull a round from where it is stored, find the reloading port in the bottom of the receiver and push rounds in by feel alone. It is in this respect where the Mossbergs shine.

I have taken an H&R Pardner Protector, which is an 870 clone, and built it into a first rate combat shotgun. Some gentle stone work has resulted in a butter-smooth action (far slicker than any Mossberg I've used). Slicker than any current Remington being made today. The trigger has about a millimeter of take-up and then breaks exceptionally clean at just over four pounds. It feeds, extracts and ejects anything I feed it, from #8 birdshot to magnum slugs. It has a cast aluminum trigger guard and is fitted with outstanding Hogue furniture. Being drilled and tapped, I have a "sight under" P-rail with a reflex sight installed (which has endured many hundreds of rounds without any issue whatsoever). I've machined and installed a taller brass bead to restore proper sight picture when sighting under the reflex sight. It's fitted with sling swivels and a padded two-point sling, reversed for muzzle down carry. This gun runs like a Rolex. All of that said, it is NOT my primary defensive shotgun. Why not? Because, like any shotgun with a flush-to-the-receiver shell lifter, it is a genuine bitch to reload by feel.

Here's the drill. snatch a round from the side saddle. Feel around for the shell lifter. It's not easy to find the front edge of it. Depress it and shove the round into the tube. Since the shell lifter is nearly flush with the bottom of the receiver, finding the front edge is time consuming and distracting. It is common to drop a round or two. When you have limited ammo, dropping rounds is not good. With any defensive firearm, it's usually a good idea to have additional ammo in some fall-back location that is readily accessible (bedroom drawer, etc).

How about the Mossbergs? With a retracted shell lifter, the loading port is extremely easy to find. Just shove the round forward from the trigger guard and it simply pops into the void. Now, just push. It is rare to drop a round. The Mossbergs load easier and faster because you don't have to search for and concentrate on finding the loading port.

What is the most important weapon factor in a home defense gun fight? Keeping your gun in action with the least effort and distraction that promotes continuity of fire. In that regard, the Mossbergs are superior as pump action combat shotguns, because they can be reloaded by feel far easier.

My primary home defense shotgun is a modified Mossberg Maverick 88. Aside from not having a reflex sight (receiver is not drilled and tapped), it is set-up exactly as is the backup gun. I made this determination after many drills... You may have a differing opinion, but this works for me.

H&R 870 type on left, Mossberg Maverick 88 on right

Side Saddle arrangement I prefer