Mossberg or Remington...what's your preference?

[arnisandyz]

If the weapon works, its the operator that needs training more than its the weapon that needs improving. IMO.

Good point. Thats why I think most people with 590s leave them as is. When you start tinkering with mag extensions, etc reliablity could go down.

That being said, I don't look at it so much this gun is better than that gun, but which gun fits me better and will serve my needs better. Its a decision to make as an informed buyer. In this case you can't go wrong with either an 870 or a 590. But what if I wanted to use it for a specific task...say 3 gun competition? What would be better for me needs? The 590 with the 8+1 capacity (class max capacity) WILL give me an advantage over using an 18" barrel with 7+1 capacity. You can say its the operator...if he learns to load faster will negate the advantage, but given the choice most competitors will maximize the weapon to thier needs and load to 8+1. If your need is home defense you might want a shorter barrel and give up capacity for manueverability.

But I get where your coming from. We get alot of new shooters with pimped out tactical rail ARs with stuff hanging all over it getting beat easily by guys with KISS guns.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

As far as being able to use the tool it definately comes down to the person. Experience and training count alot in that matter.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[Cruentus]

As for me...I'm trying to decide which one to buy, so I am asking questions that will help me better figure out which fits my needs.

So, now that we've compared barrel length, let me ask about mag capacity.

Basically, if you want 18.5" barrel for home defense, you will be restricted to a 7+1 rather then an 8+1. Am I correct?

Next question:

Is there any difference in Mag construction between the 590 and 500 that matter, other then cleaning?

Also...thanks for the discussion everyone, btw...

 

[arnisandyz]

In general, if you want the mag tube to line up close to the barrel an 18.5" will hold 6 or 7, a 20-22" will hold 8 or 9. Theoretically...you COULD get an 18.5" 590 and if a company made an extension add a couple rounds to it. the extension would simply replace the locking cap and extend beyond the barrel. I wouldn't suggest doing it on a defensive gun because you would then have a weak link...that long extension hanging off is just begging to get wacked into a door frame and dump all your rounds.

You could get a Knoxx Sidewinder Drum conversion and have 10 rounds on an 18.5" barrel (or 6 rounds in a box magazine) but its expensive.

I believe the magazine tube construction is the same (just guessing) but parkerized instead of blued.

What are your "needs"? Is this strickly a home defense gun or is it something you might take out occasionally in the field? I made my decision of the HK/Fabarm FP6 based on a couple things. I needed a pump shotgun for 3-gun competition that could do double duty has a home defense gun. The FP6 has as 20" chokable tri-bore barrel. This allowed me to add an extension bringing capacity up to 8+1 rounds (class limit) without fear of the extension being knocked off. With my external choke it lines up perfectly to the barrel. The choke is REAL important because it lets me pattern the gun according to the stage design. We have alot of new guys using home defense shotties with no chokes and they have a terrible time on the steels, it patterns too wide not putting enough shot on target. Barrel length has some effect on patterning, but the right choke could make all the difference. As a home defense gun it sits in the safe ready to go if I need it, but my primary is my 1911. Its just easier with a handgun to go into and out of doors and taking angles inside the house then with a shoulder weapon. The shotgun will stay in the closet with my wife and daughter as they sit and wait for the all clear, length doesn't really matter.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

Good point. Thats why I think most people with 590s leave them as is. When you start tinkering with mag extensions, etc reliablity could go down.

That being said, I don't look at it so much this gun is better than that gun, but which gun fits me better and will serve my needs better. Its a decision to make as an informed buyer. In this case you can't go wrong with either an 870 or a 590. But what if I wanted to use it for a specific task...say 3 gun competition? What would be better for me needs? The 590 with the 8+1 capacity (class max capacity) WILL give me an advantage over using an 18" barrel with 7+1 capacity. You can say its the operator...if he learns to load faster will negate the advantage, but given the choice most competitors will maximize the weapon to thier needs and load to 8+1. If your need is home defense you might want a shorter barrel and give up capacity for manueverability.

But I get where your coming from. We get alot of new shooters with pimped out tactical rail ARs with stuff hanging all over it getting beat easily by guys with KISS guns.

I agree with yall 100%. My little tangent was just a train of thought passing the station.

Your comment about the operator just learning to load faster reminded me of a recent shotgun competition I saw on ESPN2. A sporting clays competition was won by an Army shooting team member with an over/under. What made an inpression on me was that his opponent had an auto-loader. After every shot, the Army guy just cracked the action open-reloaded-and was ready to go, he was smooth, practiced and scary fast. The guy with the auto-loader, after he missed with two shots, was just not as fast and smooth with his reloads and wound up missing more targets.

Not that this directly compares to combat/3 gun competitions, but the difference in operator skill vs. weapon selection impressed me in this case. Im a firm believer in "form follows function" add stuff because its function is someting you can use, not just because some spec-ops soldiers use it. Most of you all aint spec-ops, and almost all of us arent going to be pulling down spec-ops missions from our easy chairs.

 

[arnisandyz]

Your comment about the operator just learning to load faster reminded me of a recent shotgun competition I saw on ESPN2. A sporting clays competition was won by an Army shooting team member with an over/under. What made an inpression on me was that his opponent had an auto-loader. After every shot, the Army guy just cracked the action open-reloaded-and was ready to go, he was smooth, practiced and scary fast. )

Funny you mention that, I was at one match where one guy brought a side-by-side! He was deciding on if he wanted to really get into 3gunning so he just grabbed what he had. Going against guys with autoloaders and 9 rounds he got beat badly, but it was the neatest thing to see him shoot and I learn alot from watching him. Because he was way down on capacity he would study the course and shoot from strategic angles so he could hit mutliple targets with one shot. He would get down prone so he could take a clay (on a holder) in the forground and a popper in the distance, etc. This is what got me started shooting the edges of steel to take multiple targets.