Msberg 500 Question

I have a Mossberg 500 that my daughter would like to use to learn how to shoot trap. Unfortunately it is set up for home defense. Short barrell and 8 round mag.

My question is what would be a good barrell to buy to use it for trap? I would like to know a model number if you know it.

I don't think you can get a trap or hunting barrel that will fit with the high capacity magazine.

I'd look for a another shotgun that fits your needs before trying to modify the Mossy 500.

Sasquatch-1
for you to put a longer barrel on your 500 you will need to change out the 8rd. mag for a 6rd. mag and spring as the barrel lug on the longer barrel or a trap barrel uses the 6rd. mag configiration. i just recently up-graded my 6 shooter to a 8 shooter. i have barrel's in 18.5 20.0 and a 28 incher with the accu-choke and is ported. here is a pic. just go to the mossberg site. they have everything you need there. the mag tube and the mag spring are cheap. you can shop around for a barrel. but for trap a 28 inch full choke is about right. if you need more info, just PM me.
Rick

Honestly for what you would spend to convert the 500 that you have, I'd check at Wally world first. I bought my Mossy 500 20ga. there for around $240 bucks and it comes with all the chokes Imp. Mod. Full, they also have youth models for the younger people. Great shooting shotgun and I love mine so much that it's all I carry anymore. Killed a pile of turkeys, squirrels, and rabbits with it so far and 3 coyotes. If you decide to use it for stouter game such as turkey and coyote I'd suggest the HS Strut Undertaker choke tube and Kent 3" magnum turkey loads in 1 1/8 oz. #5 shot, that combination has performed like a dream in my 500 20ga. Actually holds a tighter pattern than my Winchester 1300 12ga. does.
Hope that helps any at all.

I carried the Mossturd 500 on combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It did what I needed.

She might be able to start out with someone's shotgun to see if she likes it. I would take your daughter to the nearest gun range or skeet range and ask if your daughter can shoot some of the other shotguns there.

Most skeet folks are nice and will go out of their way to help a new shooter. If your skeet ranges are like here, they are crowded on the weekends with lots of folks shooting everything from Wally World specials to high end Perazzis.

My wife hates pumps shotguns which is why I got her an early Belgian Browning Superposed O/U Lightning and a Featherweight 1100 in 20 ga.

Since my wife is only 5' tall, I thought the 30" barrels on her Superposed would be too long for her but that shotgun is lively and swings like a dream. Before kids in our youth, the wife and I enjoyed informal skeet shooting.

The wife would also occasionally hunt with me if I did not drag her out of bed at an ungodly hour and the weather was nice. She used to be quite a wing shot.

One weekend, I took my wife down to the local skeet club (we were on Corozal US Army post at the time) and we put her on as many different shot guns as we could until we found something that she liked. She hated pumps as her arms are too short to comfortably pump most shotguns at the time.

I have a bird gun that she has used, but the stock is a weeee bit to long for her. I told her there was NO modifing the stock. The Mossberg stock fits her better. She can just used the bird gun til she is ready to buy her own.

I see Mossberg is touting their new FLEX system for cases like this.

http://www.flexyourmossberg.com/

I was really impressed with the Benelli auto-loading shotguns. The Venti and SBE2 are both nice shotguns and do not kick the crap out the shooter. Benelli also makes a really nice 20 ga.

The Jarines use a Benelli shotgun but the Army stuck with the 500s and old Remy 870s. Until the M26 MASS came along, which I carried my last combat tour (#4) in Iraq, I used an old battered 500.

The Army stuck with the pumps because the semis will not reliably cycle non-lethal ammo. The Marines do not do much crowd control and are not concerned too terribly with non-lethal ammo so the Benelli works for them.

I loved the M26 but not something the average Joe can buy and totally useless for bird hunting.

If she really takes to shooting you might consider getting a stock cut for her. You can always switch the stock out for the shooter.

I know the local Wally World has youth sized shotguns. Might try one of those for your daughter.