ricky_bobby
.270 WIN
Guys - we all know Mossberg doesnt sell the furniture direct from the Retrograde models to keep them exclusive -
So I was looking for a set for a long time, there is one used set on Ebay advertised as 'small dings and scratches' and when I asked the seller for close ups of any imperfections he added me to a blocked buyer list and wouldn't answer my message - I can give the seller's name in case anyone wants to avoid them in the future, but probably the weirdest thing on Ebay in my 20 years of using it, he got offended that I asked for pictures of any major dings? (For the $250 he was asking I would imagine most would want to see)
The Maverick - I have an 18" barrel Maverick 88, passed down from my wife's grandfather before he passed away in 2020 - he bought it probably 4 years or so prior to that, put a side folding stock on it, a little project for him in his late 80's, never shot it - he wanted me to have it before we moved, but at that time he was down to a K-Frame model 66-1, and the Maverick, I told him that he'd given me enough of his guns as gifts over the years since my wife and I got married in 2012 (he was downsizing his stable in his later years and appreciated having a grandson-in-law who he could share the love of firearms with, none of his grandkids/my wife's cousins had any interest in guns so I think he was happy she snagged me, LOL)
I received it on transfer (he was from NJ so it was sent down here to us in NC for transfer with the K-Frame, which is an heirloom in itself) and yes its just a basic 18" Maverick 88, but it was his, and I wanted to make it worthy to pass to my son someday (who just turned 4) - my wife enjoys that I am into more revolvers and lever guns and not building AR15's and buying 'more black guns' nowadays so I told her about my plan to make the Maverick into an heirloom - currently it has a Hogue pistol grip and forend on it and although cool, I probably won't ever shoot it with the pistol grip or be proficient enough to have confidence, so if its going to be a safe queen like most of my guns I may as well make it look good.
My buddy across the street has a few guns, and I asked if he was in the market for a pump 12ga - he said sure what do I have going, so I told him of my plan - he buys a Mossberg 500 Retrograde for himself, and if he didn't care if it had wood or black stocks, I'd pay him for the wood furniture and do the swap, give his gun a good detailed cleaning and disassembly and put it back together, and he would get the Hogue kit plus a regular Hogue stock, and the shotgun scabbard bag I've had since I had my Shockwave (sold that one for what I paid for it but kept the bag which was a freebie a few years back with purchase from KyGunCo)
18" Mossberg 500's with black stocks still run in the $400+ dollar range, so he got the Retrograde 500 for $491 out the door from our local FFL, and it comes with Davidsons lifetime warranty. I'm paying him $225 for the wood (going rate on Ebay) And I get the Retrograde furniture to fix onto the Maverick and make it into something warm and worthy of passing to my son someday, and letting him know it started out as his great-grandfather's last firearm purchased of his 92 year life. My son got to meet him in his last few months as we took a trip up north to visit once his body starting shutting down from cancer (thankfully he did not suffer long with the disease), and we have some pics of her grandfather with our son as a 3 month old baby so were thankful to have the memories.
Pics to come once my buddy picks up his gun and we get furniture swapped out - hope everyone enjoyed the story!
So I was looking for a set for a long time, there is one used set on Ebay advertised as 'small dings and scratches' and when I asked the seller for close ups of any imperfections he added me to a blocked buyer list and wouldn't answer my message - I can give the seller's name in case anyone wants to avoid them in the future, but probably the weirdest thing on Ebay in my 20 years of using it, he got offended that I asked for pictures of any major dings? (For the $250 he was asking I would imagine most would want to see)
The Maverick - I have an 18" barrel Maverick 88, passed down from my wife's grandfather before he passed away in 2020 - he bought it probably 4 years or so prior to that, put a side folding stock on it, a little project for him in his late 80's, never shot it - he wanted me to have it before we moved, but at that time he was down to a K-Frame model 66-1, and the Maverick, I told him that he'd given me enough of his guns as gifts over the years since my wife and I got married in 2012 (he was downsizing his stable in his later years and appreciated having a grandson-in-law who he could share the love of firearms with, none of his grandkids/my wife's cousins had any interest in guns so I think he was happy she snagged me, LOL)
I received it on transfer (he was from NJ so it was sent down here to us in NC for transfer with the K-Frame, which is an heirloom in itself) and yes its just a basic 18" Maverick 88, but it was his, and I wanted to make it worthy to pass to my son someday (who just turned 4) - my wife enjoys that I am into more revolvers and lever guns and not building AR15's and buying 'more black guns' nowadays so I told her about my plan to make the Maverick into an heirloom - currently it has a Hogue pistol grip and forend on it and although cool, I probably won't ever shoot it with the pistol grip or be proficient enough to have confidence, so if its going to be a safe queen like most of my guns I may as well make it look good.
My buddy across the street has a few guns, and I asked if he was in the market for a pump 12ga - he said sure what do I have going, so I told him of my plan - he buys a Mossberg 500 Retrograde for himself, and if he didn't care if it had wood or black stocks, I'd pay him for the wood furniture and do the swap, give his gun a good detailed cleaning and disassembly and put it back together, and he would get the Hogue kit plus a regular Hogue stock, and the shotgun scabbard bag I've had since I had my Shockwave (sold that one for what I paid for it but kept the bag which was a freebie a few years back with purchase from KyGunCo)
18" Mossberg 500's with black stocks still run in the $400+ dollar range, so he got the Retrograde 500 for $491 out the door from our local FFL, and it comes with Davidsons lifetime warranty. I'm paying him $225 for the wood (going rate on Ebay) And I get the Retrograde furniture to fix onto the Maverick and make it into something warm and worthy of passing to my son someday, and letting him know it started out as his great-grandfather's last firearm purchased of his 92 year life. My son got to meet him in his last few months as we took a trip up north to visit once his body starting shutting down from cancer (thankfully he did not suffer long with the disease), and we have some pics of her grandfather with our son as a 3 month old baby so were thankful to have the memories.
Pics to come once my buddy picks up his gun and we get furniture swapped out - hope everyone enjoyed the story!
Last time I looked for a wood stock set there I recall it being in the $50 range! Well, wood stock sets are up there in the $150 range now... FJB!!!
