Please Recommend Better Product (Help a Newbie make a decision)

[Mark-II]

I have a 590A1, which is in the same family.

It's a bit more fiddly to strip the receiver than an 870 is but, really, how often does that need to be done - between seldom and never, depending how much filth you drag it through.

Out of the box it would not feed from the tube. Google showed me how the shell stop needed to be bent just a touch for the action bar to pass on the correct side of it (only mentioned because google also says this is the most common fault with the guns).

It's quite smooth now, and one thing I really like is the shell lifter stays out of the way, making the tube nicer to load than most other shotguns.

Nothing wrong with the 88 - I've shot a friends. It's very much a budget model, but if you're new to the game it's fine to start with and get an idea of what you want. Maybe it will be all that you want.

The short security barrels are a lot of fun for clays, within the limits of their range. I had my 590 (cylinder bore riot gun) threaded for chokes so that I can shoot it at trap


By the way, if you shop at Cabelas, do their retail survey and save an extra $20. By the trouble that the cashiers always have in applying those coupons I feel like I'm the only one in the city that does this...


One final thing is fit. For a shotgun, ideally, you should be able to close your eyes, mount it, open them, and be looking straight down the receiver at the bead.

For buying your first gun on a budget, close is good enough - you might not find perfect. The point is that if you have to struggle in any way to get your eye lined up on the gun, look at something else.

My dad has had a really hard time with shotgun fit.

For myself, just about any generic field gun works well enough to not be a problem, so long as I line it up.

Other guns to consider, if Mossberg doesn't fit well, is the Remington 870 and Winchester SXP. There are also other myriad imports in the budget range, but I've not laid hands on them