Why does Mossberg get no respect?

Just bought 2 new Patriots from Sportsmanguide....one is a 7mm Mag and the other a 300 win Mag....no elk or bear where i'm from but bought them as I always wanted those two calibers....in the process of installing Witt muzzle-breaks on them...I know I'll need the breaks...

I think it's just a matter of brand preference. When you think Mossberg, you don't immediately think rifle like you do when you think of Savage or T/C.
I think, if Mossberg sticks with the Patriot, as they should, this thing is awesome, they can build it up to stand toe to toe with any other sub $500 rifle on the market in the consumers eye.

Its not only in the US....

On a UK forum someone asked for suggestions for a mid range .223 rifles for target shooting and I suggested a MVP LR

One of the responses was:
"If it's anything like the quality of the Mossberg sporting rifles that I've seen save your money and buy something better. It certainly won't be hard to find something better than the Mossberg."

A couple of people did defend them as "agricultural... but does shoot surprisingly well.."

I have a Patriot in 22-250. I also have an old 42M (b) and a 46M (b).
When I bought my Patriot I figured it would be the same quality as my pair of old .22's. I was a little disappointed. Mainly in the fitment of the bolt. There is a lot of play when the bolt is opened and slid back. On my old 42 and 46, this isn't the case. Those actions are tight, no play at all. And those two rifles were built in the 1940s.
Now having said that, I am completely satisfied with my Patriot. She has to be the best Coyote rifle I have ever owned. I have a friend who has a model 700 that he let me shoot, and I wanted one. However, I wasn't going to pay a thousand dollars to shoot coyotes. And the only wooden stock available was a laminate. No thanks.
So now, when we hunt he brings his 700 and I bring my Patriot. And I get just as many as he does.

I'm way late to this party but I feel compelled to add my 2 cents. I'm ordering a patriot .308 solely based on the experiences I've had with the shotgun line, but I have to be bluntly honest, I debated long and hard because of the experience I had with a 715T/Plinkster I owned. To say that I was stunned and appalled by the 715's qc is an understatement, as I almost shipped it back to Mossberg in pieces. Given that I don't have money to burn, I took it down to my local gun store and sold it for about 60% less than what I paid for it. Between the magazine problems, the shoddy design, horrific qc and flat out rip off on the cost of OEM accessories, I almost passed up on the patriot. I sincerely hope this rifle restores my faith in Mossberg, because this is the last time I'm going to take a chance.

I have the Patriot in 308 and feel that it was worth every cent I paid for it. I opted for the a stick stock to keep weight down and for durability, it's already been dropped and acquired some large scratches on the butt stock walking through the woods last season. As for function, I have zero complaints thus far.

I'm a lucky guy because I retired with enough money that I can afford to buy whatever gun I like as long as it's not some historical English fowling-piece worth a Fortune.

In my experience (which is admittedly not so extensive as many of the members here) Mossberg is far from the only culprit in this game. Nearly every gun that I bought or looked at to buy in the past two years has something that I don't like about it. There was rust inside the action, the stock was weak, the feed ramp wasn't smooth, a crooked feed ramp, a rusty mag tube, a Cheapo sticky plastic follower, inaccurate sights, dry actions. loose bedding, molding flash on the plastic which interferes with the magazine release, improperly machined main pin, and more that I probably can't remember right now.

But only a couple of those guns were Mossberg's. There are three Savages, an Uberti, a Ruger, an AR-15, two Henry's, an American Tactical, a Kahr, a Winchester, a Stoeger and a Remington. I did not buy the Stoeger Winchester or Remington. But all the rest I own and each one had some defect from the factory.

As a retired manufacturing engineer I am reasonably qualified to fix most of that stuff myself, and I have.

But of all the ones that I have purchased recently the only ones that appeared and function flawlessly were a used Ruger Mark 3 .22, a new Springfield XDS 9, and a used M&P Shield .380.

So my feeling is that almost no matter what brand of gun you picked you are going to take a chance, because the quality of manufacturing has gone in the toilet all across the nation, as a result of depression and dissatisfaction among the working classes, and a huge amount of pressure from the "financial" classes above to produce.

I can't believe that even the mighty Kimber has been putting out some faulty Firearms lately. I've always wanted to own one and revered them as practically the epitome of accessible weapons. But no more.

Unless I find something that I absolutely can't live without, my intention is to quit buying new modern guns and to concentrate on buying used high-quality guns for my collection.