Which Mossberg 500 Should You Buy?
I get asked—A LOT—about which Mossberg 500 PGO model to buy and use as the basis for building a 26.5″ non-NFA firearm. I took the time recently to sit down and pour through all the different models of 500 that Mossberg sells—both 12-gauge and 20-gauge models of their Cruisers and Persuaders.
In the 12-gauge realm, there are several good candidates. The best in my opinion, however, is the 56340. (Shown at the top of this story.) This is a 20″ model with an 8-shot capacity and a matte finish. Most often, the bolt on these models has received the matte finish as well, which really makes the Raptor-ized firearm simply badass.
The next best 12-gauge candidate is the 51340. This is an 18.5″ model with a 6-shot capacity and also a matte finish. However, the bolts on these are usually chrome plated in my experience.
There are two other 12-gauge models that could also work: the 50580 and the 50440. Both of these models, however, feature a bright blue finish (versus a matte blue finish.) The 50580 is a 20″ model with an 8-shot capacity. The 50440 is an 18.5″ model with 6-shot capacity.
For 20-gauge guns, there’s really only one choice from Mossberg: the 50450 is a 18.5″ model with a 6-shot capacity and a bright blue finish.
I’ll just leave this picture here to tempt you to cross over to the Raptor side. 🙂
Note: All of the Mossberg 500 models discussed in this story ship from the factory with only a pistol grip. In other words, they are PGO firearms—not shotguns.