New member, 11 year Mossberg 500A owner

Hello guys! I'm excited to be a member of this forum. I'm also an active member of kahrtalk.com and they're a great group.
I am enlisted, US Army, and a surgical tech.
I own a Marlin 30/30. I want a tactical rifle.
I own and EDC a Kahr PM9.
I am an expert marksman with the Army on M16 and Beretta M9.
I saved up all of my allowances until I was 11 to buy my very own Mossberg 500A.

That brings me to my very first question for you guys. I am tac modding my 12 ga. 500A for home defense for me and my wife. We will familiarize and everything after I modify it from stock, and in both configurations. But as I was looking over this site the past several Weeks, I came across a tid bit that mentioned in passing that an 18.5" barrel will not fit on my 500A without also changing the magazine tube.

Can anyone confirm or deny this, and or give me advice on what I should do?

Mods include an ATI Talon pistol grip stock and an 18.5" blued barrel with bead sight. I also bought an inexpensive light mount to mount one of my flashlights on it. My goal with this project was to achieve an effective home defense shotgun with minimal investment and I did it for $160. I will upload links to what I bought and a picture before and after within the week, in addition to a range report on my experience and the old lady's.

Help me out here guys.

~Austin

Heyt Austin, welcome to the house! I own the 930 so I'm sure there will be others chiming in with the 500 answers soon. But I know when I'm just doing research, I look at ebay first to see exactly what is available and from that I can usually tell what is possible. I saw one that is 14.5" long. Taking a measurement on yours to see if it is the same, and then measuring 18.5" from the receiver will probably tell you if it is going to extend out beyond the barrel or not. Like I said though, I'm sure others will stop in with a better answer than what I can give you. Have a great day.

Paul

Thanks for your input Paul. I did something similar. As I was shopping around, no barrels said they only fit certain 500's or required additional add ons, so I didn't think twice about it. It wad only after I ordered the barrel that I saw something negative about it somewhere on this forum.

How do you like that 930? That's one I want some day!

After I got some QA issues worked out it has became that 2009 NRA Shotgun of the Year that I imagined when I bought it. It's a blast. Versatal too. I have the 18.5" barrel, the 24" Slug Barrel and the 28" General Purpose barrel making it one of those weapons that so few can compare to. I have only taken Deer with it so far. But I have a new electronic call coming this week so I can start doing some Coyote hunting to sharpen my skills for Deer season later this year. I love it. I have the GG&G single point sling point on the way this week too. A single point sling that I got off of Amazon for less than $2.00 plus S&H. It was well worth it. Plus, I have a small rail attachment under the forearm that I mount a Bipod to making it rock steady for that 200 yard slug shot. Can you tell I like it?

Paul

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM1OIMPCCD0[/youtube]

Welcome to Mossberg Owners Forum!

Welcome aboard!

Thank you for your service Sir! We've got a great group of folks here on Mossberg Owners and the atmosphere is very laid back. The only thing we like better than discussing each other's guns is lookin at 'em, so be sure to post pics of your 500 and any other firearms you own in the various sub-forums. You'll find that we're into a lot more than just Mossberg around here.

A model number or photo of your 500 will help us determine how complicated your barrel swap will be. Some 500s now use 590 tube set-ups so we need to know which configuration you have before we can offer up any possible solutions. There's plenty of info in the 500 sub-forum as well if you haven't taken a look through already. We'll be looking for your pics and will be glad to help. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Enjoy the site!

Welcome from MI!!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!
I tried to attach a picture of my stock shotgun, but it said that the .jpg and .png is invalid.
Maybe the server is just acting up or something.
I looked for a separate model number but could only find what looked like the serial number.
But maybe some fine details will help. I bought the gun new in 2001. It has a 24" barrel with accu-choke. Chambered for 2 3/4" and 3" magnum. It has a camo pattern and I've always known it to be a 500A. It's a turkey hunting shotgun. Does that help you guys?
The attachment to the magazine tube is just 8.5" away from the end of the barrel(With no extended length choke in like my XX-Full turkey choke.)

Oh, and with the Dow rod removed, it holds 5+1 with the stock magazine tube. That would be important to know lol.

Evenin, thank you for serving!!! I'm always amazed and impressed with our entirely volunteer armed forces!

The length of the magazine tube and style (500 or 590/835 style) will determine what barrels will work. For example, I have a 20" 500A Persuader with full length magazine tube. I cant swap barrels at all. However, if it were a 500 with 18 1/2" barrel and standard 500 configuration magazine (5 + 1) then nearly any 500 barrel set up with that 5 + 1 magazine lug will swap out and fit, provided theyre the same guage.

If you wanna email me a pic, I'll post it, or check out the tips for uploading pics in the photo and video section!

Thank you Ross.

And thanks for the great information too! That has calmed my nerves substantially. I'll be getting the stock and barrel tomorrow, the gist of my mods, and will know for sure. I cant wait! Even though it will be a biy of an ugly duckling. Maybe I could get it recoated some day.
What is your email?

youre welcome!

brad@mossbergowners.com

Welcome from MO!

Welcome to the Mossberg Owners Forum !!

Thanks for your service...

What part of Mo Mingaa?