I have a Remington 870 that was built in 1959 and another from 1986, that are both "runnin strong". I would hardly say that the Remington 870 is a "piece of crapola". That said, I do not care for the finish of the 870 Express, and my son shoots a Mossberg 500 because I preferred the location of the safety for teaching him.

they built them a whole lot better back then, the new remingtons have gone down the crapper.

The new Mossberg 590 A1 is the way to go.

Hey y'all.

I realized my max budget was not as much as I thought and I had to keep costs to a minimum (ammo is expensive).

I went to Fountain Firearms this past weekend, explained my situation, and they were very helpful.

Although they did not have the Mossy 500 Tactical Turkey in stock (nobody else did), they did show me that the Maverick 88 is pretty much an exact copy of the Mossy 500 and the mods & accessories were interchangeable.

So I brought home the 88 and I'm very happy with it.

Thanks again for y'all's help.

Only complaint I have with the 88 is the forearm is rough on the hands. I've had 2 and they never fail to fire or cycle.

Had a Mossberg 500 years ago, would never get another one. I would shoot it, pump to get the empty out, and surprise, the next round from the magazine would eject out with the empty. Had a couple of friends shoot it to make sure it wasn’t just me and they had the same problem. Actually, one of my friends had a 500 that did the same thing.

Sent it back to Mossberg three times to get it fixed, but they never seemed to get it right. Finally sold it, bought an 870 and never looked back.

I have had my 500A since '83. It has never failed to go bang and has always cycled flawlessly. Did have to replace the safety switch after the plastic one fell off one day in '87.

They are great, functional, modular shotguns. They just aren't fancy, just like Glocks. They are even more user serviceable than an 870 and lighter. But still for the life of me I can't explain why I like 870s better these days. Anyway, go get the 500 and it will serve your as long as you can resist the urge to buy something more trendy but no more functional

i had the 88 for about 5 years, what i didnt like was the safety and it kicked like a mule, go a 500 this past dove season and it much more pleasant

Nothing wrong with the Maverick 88. It is a utility gun, no frills, but for HD, the bad guy won't know the difference. As far as accessories, "most" of the ones made for the 500 will work out of the box. The forend will require you to purchase an action slide tube to use the aftermarket forearms, unless they have changed from several years ago.