Nothing wrong with the 500 as a field gun. It was my primary field gun for about 20 years. Off course it might not be too effective with a pistol grip and 18 in cylinder bore barrel.

 

Your 500 will do just fine. It's been in the hunting fields for decades now.
Here is a sample of available barrels:
http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseP ... **11557***
There are many other sellers, so look around. You could probably pick up a used barrel pretty cheap for your experiment. For wingshooting I like a 28" barrel (26" is Ok, too). Improved cylinder and modified choke tubes would do most you would need.

I'm not a slug hunter, so can't help there. I would recommend a cantilever scope mount type barrel so that when you remove the slug barrel from the gun, the scope goes with it, retaining it's zero.

After looking at some barrel prices, you might be money ahead to buy one of their combos with those barrels:
http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg ... /54243.jpg
Item # 54243
http://www.mossberg.com/products/defaul ... play=specs

That way you would still have your dedicated HD gun, and a separate hunting set up.

 

You know 35Rem I looked for that gun you suggested when I first went out to get a shotgun. No one in California had one and I was told they were discontinued and would be hard to find, so I ended up with a range/security combo shotgun. Right now only thing I have on mine is a sling and a shell holder, I would not be opposed to just getting another barrel for it and using it as a hunting gun as well. Just got to find myself a decent barrel now.

 

You can buy a complete gun in excellent condition with a vent rib choke tube (Accu-choke) barrel for less than you are thinking of spending for a barrel alone. Used Moss. 500 shotguns and parts are very inexpensive, and very hard to wear out.

 

I would wait for when the field/deer combo goes on sale. They run $300 around here when the sale is one. I have two of the combos, 12ga and 20ga. If you can live with the aestetics, they will out live you in the field. As for their slug barrels, some shoot better than others, but the Mossberg barrels shoot on par with anyone else's (for guns set up this way). My 12ga shoots 2" at 100 with sst slugs, and my 20ga a 1/4" or so better. More than sufficient. I routinely shoot 22/23 on the skeet fields with them, average 22 on 16 yard trap with the 12ga. The guns work.

 

So they do still make the deer/field combo?

 

http://mossberg.com/products/default.as ... play=specs

This is the link to Mossy's 500 spec page. Click on the item number for the photo. FWIW, I've been using a 500 in the field for 26 years. It came with a fixed choke barrel, which I replaced with a accu-choke barrel quite some time ago. I have taken squirrel, rabbit, grouse, pheasant, duck, and turkey with it.

 

I think they still make the deer/field combo. I have one in 12 ga., came with scope. It actually is pretty accurate at 75 yards, which is where I sight it in. Can't get it away from my son during deer season.

 

You would have a hard time finding a better field gun than the Mossberg 500. They don't cost too much and barrels are cheaper than the competitors. (Remington) They are tough and don't make you cry when you ding one up a bit. If you like a pump in the field you could do much worse than the Moose.

 

A Mossberg 500 was all I used to hunt everything I hunted for over 15 years.

 

I hunted with one for years. Gave it to my son many years ago and still works fine. Taken a lot of pheasants, grouse and partridge and ducks with it.

 

I just got a cantevered rifled barrel with a scope for 180 bucks, search walmt and cheaper than dirt, I saw barrels as low as 90 dollars

 

The first gun my dad bought me was 500 12 gauge, when I was 12 years old. Years later, I sold the gun to my brother and he still has it and it still shoots fine. I'm 59 years old now, so the gun has been around awhile and has shot many a quail, dove, duck, and rabbit. After selling the gun, I missed it so much, I bought another. My "new" one is now 23+ years old and has shot birds, skeet, trap, and many a round of sporting clays. It has only let me down once and it was my fault, not the gun's. I do most of my shooting now with my new Browning 625, but the 500 is not going anywhere.

 

if anyone is looking for a slug barrel scope combo for mossy 20 gauge I got one for sale. I have a 12guage 500 and my wife ordered the wrong barrel from an auction so no returns for me. Either I sell it or igoota buy a 20 gauge.. I'll let it go for 200. It's got a bushnell 3x9x40

 

A perfect justification for buying another shotgun-and a 20 gauge to boot! Buy Buy Buy - don't sell!

 

I just might have to, but bein christmas time and all my hunting budget is gone

 

I've seen used field barrels sell for $75 many times. sometimes the seller will even throw in one or two chokes to go along.
Ya gotta do some lookin to get these deals but they are out there. A lot of guys around my area have two (or more) 500's. One they bought umpteen years ago that they small game hunt with, and then they bought a field/deer combo and set this gun up for deer only. The field barrel just sits in the closet.

I've said many times. The 500 is the best bang for the buck out there. If you want PRETTY, then by all means keep looking. If you want a gun to make noise EVERY time you pull the trigger then the 500 will fill the bill.

 

I use mine for Deer and small game with no problems. Bought it used 10 years ago and have no more than $200 into it. I have a 24" cylinder barrel with rifle sights, but I have them flipped down and added a low profile Simmons scope on a rail I added. I'm told the sabot slug only work on rifled barrels. The plastic tip needs the rifling of the barrel for traction and spin accuracy. If your shooting a smooth bore still with the Winchester rifled slugs. I've also done okay with the lower end Remington rifled slugs as well.

 

If you are going to order a new rifled barrel. You can oder one without porting just ask at Mossberg.

 

I set my 500 up with tru glo turkey sights and a rifled choke, shot rem buckhammers 2 3/4 and 3" rem copper solids. Pie plate groupings at 80 yds w the buckhammers, and with the coppers I had 2 touching in one group and inthe next 3 shot group 2 shots were six inches apart and one was a flyer. Found the plastic sabot 10ft away so that explains the flyer. Testing was out of the box with no adjustments and standing just like I would be when hunting. Not horrible I'm going to use sandbags and a bench tomorrow and I'll post results with buckhammers and rackmasters I shot up the copper solids I had left on my first kill last weekend. Nasty wound cavity with the coppers, one shot kill blew the heart out of the rib cage

 

If you go to advanced search in gunbroker you can easily find what barrel you want and/or set up an alert to email you when a barrel shows up just like you want. Right now there are 77 auctions just for Mossberg 500 barrels. Some of them have extra chokes thrown in.

 

The Mossberg would be a fine hunting gun, a million or more are used that way. Unless you live or hunt in a state that limits big game hunting to shotgun only, don't buy a slug barrel, invest that money in some sort of rifle. For the cost of a slug barrel, you can get one of those Topper type single shot rifles, or for under $300. you can find a couple different bolt action rifles in several calibers. Now for making a waterfowl and or upland gun out of your current Mossy 500, I'd suggest you get a 28" vent rib barrel with choke tubes. I guess you'll also need a different stock. Depending on the cost of a barrel and stock, you may be able to get a whole gun for the same money.