I started out shotgunning when a Remington Model 11 20 gauge was passed down from my Dad to my older brother, and then me. That long recoil operated shotgun hit my 14 year old frame like a 12 ga. Magnum, and the adjustable Poly choke on it seemed to pattern the same no matter where it was set.
I soon got a Mossberg 500 and took one to Alaska with me when I enlisted. I can't remember when or why I sold the M500, but for the next 40 years I had Remingtons, both 870 and 1100.
I like the looks and the feel of the 870, but had forgotten how much more ergonomic the Mossberg controls are, especially for me being a lefty.
(The Fortmann LH safety for Remingtons helped).
About 6 years ago I got a 500c 20ga. I knew all along that a tang mounted safety was as good as it gets for us lefties, but I had forgotten how nice the slide release location was on the Mossberg.
I can just barely rotate my left wrist and the side of my trigger finger can depress the release.
And having no lifter/carrier in the way when loading ? Awesome !
I was not really seeking out a Mariner when I was searching a few weeks ago, although I had fond memories of a Winchester pump with Marine Coat finish that my brother had 30 years ago. He lived on a big spread near the Perdernales River in Texas, hundreds of whitetail were a nuisance to the local farmers, and my brother had a very ample supply of Brenneke slugs. Good times.
This new-to-me 590 had the Marinecoat finish inside and out, a 20 inch cylinder bore barrel with brass bead and full length 8 shot tube (no extension).
I had some PMC Buck and Winchester Super-X slugs (1 oz. @ 1600 fps) on hand when I brought the Mariner home, so I stopped to try it on the way home.
Dang thing had some recoil, especially with the slugs. I thought I had got wimpy in my old age, and my last shotgun being a M1100 didn't help. The 1100 didn't even have a recoil pad, just a plastic buttplate.
Turns out the bulk of the recoil issue was my factory stock. I assumed that this gun was only maybe 4-5 years old as it is in good condition, only a small rub mark on the barrel's finish, with the usual rub marks from where the pump assembly rubs the tube, which happens with any finish.
After I got it home and looked up the serial number , I saw that it was made in 2004. So I happen to check the recoil pad, and it is hard as a rock, no give whatsoever.
Maybe it was decent when new, but time is not kind to rubber.
I was thinking about adding a Limbsaver pad, but ordered a Hogue stock and fore-end instead.
The Hogue pad is pretty good, lots of give to it.
Additionally the Hogue has a better LOP for me, 13 5/8" vs. 14 1/4" for the factory stock.
And while the factory stock has a hard plastic feel that is almost slick, the Hogue has the rubber grip just where you need it.
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The factory plastic safety was O.K. but I wanted something wider. I like the spread out area of the Cobra type more than the "enhanced" ones like the Vang Comp that are still narrow but stick up more.
The NDZ safety I got keeps the low profile theme going, while still having a lot of surface area for your whole thumb.
Out of all the colors they offer, I chose O.D. green as it gives contrast with the silver receiver, and matches the Hogue stock.
The black trigger guard stands out now as the only black on the gun, so I might order a vial of O.D. Green Cerakote, and re-do the trigger guard, safety and also coat the future purchase of a clamp for sling/light mounting.
![Image]()
I found a GG&G sling attachment part I had that gets clamped under your magazine cap. It sticks rigidly out to the side which I don't like, plus it puts the front of the sling way out by the muzzle, as I have a full length tube.
I was looking at GG&G's clamp which takes an M-Lock sling attachment and a short piece of M-Lock rail on the other side.
Then I saw that Nordic Components also sells a streamlined clamp that uses a Q.D. mount and rail section that screws onto the clamp. It seems to be even more streamlined an low profile than the GG&G one.(They also sell a thin liner to protect your tube and barrel's finish that is cut to fit their clamp). It looks like a thin red rubber material.
I am pretty happy with the stock, sight and safety as it sits, but have not yet purchased the light/sling clamp, so any recommendations on that will be appreciated.
The GG&G sling plate I am now using is easy to take off when removing the barrel but that is about all I like about it.
The barrel/tube clamps have their drawbacks, they have to be removed or greatly loosened to get the barrel off for cleaning. But I'd rather deal with that than have the front sling mount right at the muzzle.
The sling I'm using, same as on my carbines, is the Blue Force Gear Vickers quick adjust.
The other thing I upgraded was the brass bead. When I shoot with any degree of precision with a bead, (and there is no middle bead), I try to get the bead right down against the ribs on the receiver, where the scope mounting holes go. That way at least it is consistent.
When I patterned Buck at 25 yards and some W-W slugs at 50 they both shot about a foot above where I aimed.
I thought that a taller bead would help angle the muzzle down and improve POI.
I saw that the XS Big Dot bead sits taller than the factory bead due to it's housing.
I ordered one in Yellow with the Tritium insert, and now my Buck and Slugs aren't hitting high anymore. As a bonus it is unbelievably more visible in daylight than the brass bead, and we don't even need to talk about which one is better in low light or no light.
![Image]()
A few days ago I got some Fiocchi Low recoil #1 Buck to try. I did a review on it here earlier today.
It is nothing special like I had heard but is decent for 50 cents a round Buckshot.
With the new Hogue stock and its good pad, the low recoil stuff seemed almost wimpy, like I was shooting 20 ga. field loads.
My next case of Buck will be the full power stuff.
I soon got a Mossberg 500 and took one to Alaska with me when I enlisted. I can't remember when or why I sold the M500, but for the next 40 years I had Remingtons, both 870 and 1100.
I like the looks and the feel of the 870, but had forgotten how much more ergonomic the Mossberg controls are, especially for me being a lefty.
(The Fortmann LH safety for Remingtons helped).
About 6 years ago I got a 500c 20ga. I knew all along that a tang mounted safety was as good as it gets for us lefties, but I had forgotten how nice the slide release location was on the Mossberg.
I can just barely rotate my left wrist and the side of my trigger finger can depress the release.
And having no lifter/carrier in the way when loading ? Awesome !
I was not really seeking out a Mariner when I was searching a few weeks ago, although I had fond memories of a Winchester pump with Marine Coat finish that my brother had 30 years ago. He lived on a big spread near the Perdernales River in Texas, hundreds of whitetail were a nuisance to the local farmers, and my brother had a very ample supply of Brenneke slugs. Good times.
This new-to-me 590 had the Marinecoat finish inside and out, a 20 inch cylinder bore barrel with brass bead and full length 8 shot tube (no extension).
I had some PMC Buck and Winchester Super-X slugs (1 oz. @ 1600 fps) on hand when I brought the Mariner home, so I stopped to try it on the way home.
Dang thing had some recoil, especially with the slugs. I thought I had got wimpy in my old age, and my last shotgun being a M1100 didn't help. The 1100 didn't even have a recoil pad, just a plastic buttplate.
Turns out the bulk of the recoil issue was my factory stock. I assumed that this gun was only maybe 4-5 years old as it is in good condition, only a small rub mark on the barrel's finish, with the usual rub marks from where the pump assembly rubs the tube, which happens with any finish.
After I got it home and looked up the serial number , I saw that it was made in 2004. So I happen to check the recoil pad, and it is hard as a rock, no give whatsoever.
Maybe it was decent when new, but time is not kind to rubber.
I was thinking about adding a Limbsaver pad, but ordered a Hogue stock and fore-end instead.
The Hogue pad is pretty good, lots of give to it.
Additionally the Hogue has a better LOP for me, 13 5/8" vs. 14 1/4" for the factory stock.
And while the factory stock has a hard plastic feel that is almost slick, the Hogue has the rubber grip just where you need it.
The factory plastic safety was O.K. but I wanted something wider. I like the spread out area of the Cobra type more than the "enhanced" ones like the Vang Comp that are still narrow but stick up more.
The NDZ safety I got keeps the low profile theme going, while still having a lot of surface area for your whole thumb.
Out of all the colors they offer, I chose O.D. green as it gives contrast with the silver receiver, and matches the Hogue stock.
The black trigger guard stands out now as the only black on the gun, so I might order a vial of O.D. Green Cerakote, and re-do the trigger guard, safety and also coat the future purchase of a clamp for sling/light mounting.
I found a GG&G sling attachment part I had that gets clamped under your magazine cap. It sticks rigidly out to the side which I don't like, plus it puts the front of the sling way out by the muzzle, as I have a full length tube.
I was looking at GG&G's clamp which takes an M-Lock sling attachment and a short piece of M-Lock rail on the other side.
Then I saw that Nordic Components also sells a streamlined clamp that uses a Q.D. mount and rail section that screws onto the clamp. It seems to be even more streamlined an low profile than the GG&G one.(They also sell a thin liner to protect your tube and barrel's finish that is cut to fit their clamp). It looks like a thin red rubber material.
I am pretty happy with the stock, sight and safety as it sits, but have not yet purchased the light/sling clamp, so any recommendations on that will be appreciated.
The GG&G sling plate I am now using is easy to take off when removing the barrel but that is about all I like about it.
The barrel/tube clamps have their drawbacks, they have to be removed or greatly loosened to get the barrel off for cleaning. But I'd rather deal with that than have the front sling mount right at the muzzle.
The sling I'm using, same as on my carbines, is the Blue Force Gear Vickers quick adjust.
The other thing I upgraded was the brass bead. When I shoot with any degree of precision with a bead, (and there is no middle bead), I try to get the bead right down against the ribs on the receiver, where the scope mounting holes go. That way at least it is consistent.
When I patterned Buck at 25 yards and some W-W slugs at 50 they both shot about a foot above where I aimed.
I thought that a taller bead would help angle the muzzle down and improve POI.
I saw that the XS Big Dot bead sits taller than the factory bead due to it's housing.
I ordered one in Yellow with the Tritium insert, and now my Buck and Slugs aren't hitting high anymore. As a bonus it is unbelievably more visible in daylight than the brass bead, and we don't even need to talk about which one is better in low light or no light.
A few days ago I got some Fiocchi Low recoil #1 Buck to try. I did a review on it here earlier today.
It is nothing special like I had heard but is decent for 50 cents a round Buckshot.
With the new Hogue stock and its good pad, the low recoil stuff seemed almost wimpy, like I was shooting 20 ga. field loads.
My next case of Buck will be the full power stuff.
