• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

Aftermarket Magazine Follower Issues

S

Spanky

.410
Even before I had my 20" 590, I knew I wanted an aftermarket follower and looking around, I settled on the GG&G stainless follower with red aluminum insert. Some time passed after I got my gun and while I was out shooting it and getting familiar with it, I thought it was malfunctioning when the last round wouldn't load. Some investigation revealed that the shell hung up in the receiver because the aftermarket follower didn't push it out enough. There's a little lip under the barrel in the receiver that the shell can catch and it consistently caught on the last round. I lived with it for a while until I made a series of videos about my 590 with information I've learned like this one:


Since then, it's been bugging me that I have a built-in malfunction. More research ensued and I found out Vang Comp has a follower that looks a bit taller. I contacted them and talked about it, they said there's no reported issues so I ordered one. Got it in today, just an hour ago and it fails the same way the GG&G follower fails. It doesn't push the shell into the receiver far enough. I'm disappointed. The factory follower is very tall and I'm surprised I haven't read more about these issues.

Does anyone else have an aftermarket follower and does it cause the same issue?


Here's some pictures on the issue:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-02-29 17.36.15.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-02-04 13.20.14.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-02-04 13.26.12.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-02-29 17.42.09.jpg
 
swsabre said:
Just wondering, do you have the same issue with the factory mag spring & follower?
Click to expand...
Not at all. The factory follower sticks up much taller, you can see in the pictures. I don't know if it's just a 590 thing or what but the Vang Comp & GG&G followers stick in less than half as much into the receiver than the factory unit.
 
Too bad, I was thinking of trying one of the aftermarket followers but don't want to cause functional issues. I figured if your 590 had the same problem with the stock parts it might be an isolated issue with your gun but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 
Take a look at the pictures I posted, the factory follower is black, you can see it sticks in enough and is flush with the rest of the inside of the receiver.
 
I see what you mean with the reach of the followers, there's at least an 1/8" difference in how far the shells will be pushed out.
 
The only after market follower I have used is the one that came with my S&J magazine extension. It is made from Delrin. Seems to feed all the rounds just fine as does the OEM follower.
 
Our follower for the 930/935 is compatible with the 500/590. This is one installed in a 590 we rebuilt for a local 3-gunner shooting Heavy Metal division. We don't actively market the ECF-930 for the 500/590 as we don't produce much else for those models (aside from sights). That said, it works great in one.

Follower-590.jpg


It protrudes as much as the factory follower and is anodized aluminum with a longer skirt section for smoother transition over magazine tube extensions.

(The factory follower, along with its spring, was thoroughly rusted from our coastal climate and was tossed as part of the rebuild.)

William

http://www.OR3GUN.com
 
Blue? Aluminum? You just made a sale William. This should hit all my marks. Factory style but easier identification and it's a softer metal and won't beat up receiver. Thanks!
 
Spanky said:
the shell hung up in the receiver because the aftermarket follower didn't push it out enough. There's a little lip under the barrel in the receiver that the shell can catch

Exactly. Mossbergs don't like aftermarket followers.

Vang Comp... said there's no reported issues so I ordered one.

Issues have been reported, and you found out the hard way.
Click to expand...

We have never seen an aftermarket follower that worked. OR3GUN looks like it will work, the website says "We have designed the end to peek out just a bit more than most followers".
 
blacksmith said:
We have never seen an aftermarket follower that worked. OR3GUN looks like it will work, the website says "We have designed the end to peek out just a bit more than most followers".
Click to expand...
I'll report back on the OR3gun follower when I've had a chance to test it out. Hopefully it will be here soon.
 
blacksmith said:
We have never seen an aftermarket follower that worked. OR3GUN looks like it will work, the website says "We have designed the end to peek out just a bit more than most followers".
Click to expand...
The funny thing is, I've never seen any complaints about an aftermarket follower not working. When my problem initially came around, I didn't think it was a follower issue.
 
Spanky said:
I've never seen any complaints about an aftermarket follower. When my problem came around, I didn't think it was a follower.
Click to expand...

The non-OEM followers usually work. The problem is very obvious when doing fast reloads, i.e. loading a shell thru the ejection port. This is because fast reloads involve placing the shell at the forward end of the carrier, instead of the rear as it would happen when the magazine spits out a shell.

Your issue was very pronounced with that GGG part, it is literally an inverted follower.

To be clear this issue only occurs with the mag empty, in other words the last round or a fast reload.
 
I see what you mean now. I don't think I've done many 'combat reloads' but the ones I have done have been more of an exchange (swapping one round out for another) and I usually drop the new shell right into the barrel since, in those cases, I usually have the gun angled downward.

The times I typically ran into the issuer were when I was rapid-firing rounds and emptying the magazine tube. My sights never came off target, the gun was mostly level, and the last shell would reliably jam.

My OR3GUN follower was delivered today and when I get some time I'll go pick it up and give my thoughts on it.
 
OR3GUN follower is a winner! Wish I would have gotten it first rather than wasting $50 on other followers. The OR3GUN looks better, is MUCH lighter (might help acceleration of the spring flinging the round out?) and feels smooth. I will say though, the round hang issue isn't 100% solved. However, it happens under such a rare occurrence that I don't think it will be a problem. Basically, I had to have the right shell, angle the gun at the ground and very very slowly move the slide forward. A tiny bit of the crimp on the shell will catch between the follower and the nub that's in my receiver. If you work the slide forward at anything other than molasses slow speed, the round won't catch. Holding the gun level and racking the slide and it won't catch. To me, the reliability problem is now solved. If OR3GUN wanted to improve the follower though, I would suggest making the protruding bit of the follower slightly larger in diameter, then it would be 100% perfect as no round could catch under any circumstance.

Here's some pictures:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-03-04 13.07.54.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-03-04 13.08.42.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-03-04 13.14.54.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/464376/guns/Mossberg 590/Pictures/2016-03-04 13.15.05.jpg
 
Nice. Mine should be here tomorrow or Monday. I hope it works with the S&J mag extension. No reason it shouldn't I guess.
 
I've run several tubes of Snappy's 12 ga snap caps through it. Very smooth. Works great at all speeds and orientation.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top