Mossberg Maverick Model 88

[LeSabreUltra]

Hello all...

I have something new to share and a few questions.

It's been a while since I've been here, my last visit was involving me trying to find the best home defense handgun I could, I finally settled on a .38 Special but I remember someone here told me that the best home defense weapon available is a 12 gauge shotgun.

Well, I remembered that, and for that reason and several others I went shopping for a pump action today...





I picked this up at a pawn shop today for $170. It looks like it's never been used, not a ding, scratch, or any wear can be found. It even looked to be cleaned and oiled, possibly just as it was from the factory. It's a Mossberg, so I expect great quality and durability from it and thus far have not been disappointed one bit.

I took it out to the local shooting range later and it worked great too...was extremely accurate and obliterated everything I shot it at. I had gone through the entire 25 shell box before I knew it. Loud as hell and quite a kick. I can see why they are great for home defense, after firing one I'd soil myself if I were a home invader and heard the pump action. The 28 inch long barrel would make it great for hunting too, should I ever take a hunting trip with my cousins.

I did notice something strange though...according to what I've researched these models are supposed to be able to hold six shells...but consistently I was only able to load two...it certainly looks like it should hold six, is there something wrong?

I also am trying to find an owners manual for it...the gun itself has a P.O. box to write to, but it might be as defunct as Maverick's website, which has a broken link to an online manual. Really the only thing I need to know is how to work what I call the slide lock tab...it prevents the pump from moving. I was able to deactivate it but I don't know how to put it back on again. I do know how to use the safety though, it's a very straightforward crossbolt system. It's always good to have an owner's manual, though. As you may be able to tell I'm new to shotguns, before today I have never fired one in my life. I was able to pick up quickly from prior experience with other guns, and from friends who have used similar guns.

Anyway though, I'm very pleased with and proud of my purchase. I LOVE this thing, and I was very pleasantly surprised with how cheap 12 gauge ammo is. Anytime I feel like shooting something or obliterating a water bottle, I'll take that to the range instead of the far more expensive to operate handguns!

Anyway, any opinions or insight for this gun would be most welcome.
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[JohnK3]

Welcome to the wonderful world of "plugged shotguns." LOL!

State law in several states require any shotgun to be plugged so that it may only hold 2 shells in the magazine, plus the 1 in the chamber when hunting. This does not apply when using the shotgun for self-defense.

For directions on how to take the plug out, refer to http://www.mossberg.com/manuals/500_...0_535_en_o.pdf for the owners' manual.

If you do take out the plug, remember, you MUST put it back in before going hunting. If you don't, then the game warden can make all SORTS of trouble for you!

[bunnyhunter12]

Awww, boys it's not no bad. Even though the law says I shouldn;t, I keep 5 in my pump in "bad areas" and take it to bed at night.

I have a Win 1300, but I've MUCHO expreience with the 88, as some of "The Boys" use them. The only problem we;v run in to was some (too many) failure to ejects).

The action will cycly completely, but not load a FULL, rfeady to fire shell(something you can check with m
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[LeSabreUltra]

Thanks very much for the link! I was able to find everything I needed, the dowel is out and stored for safe keeping, and the action lock is as it should be. It now loads exactly six 2 3/4 or 3" shells just as it should. I love how easy to disassemble it is, it will make for very easy cleaning after a few hours at the range.

I DID encounter one jam while at the range but I blame that more on me learning the gun rather than the gun itself. A small amount of working and the shell popped out as it should.

Anyway, I'm still very pleased with it...someday soon I will return to the range and try it out with the full magazine capacity. Next time I'll bring even more bottles and things to destroy.

How is the durability on these? I plan on doing much shooting with it.

And out of curiosity, how good of a choice was this particular gun for home defense? I picked it specifically because of the magazine capacity and the pump action, but also wanted to be able to hunt with it periodically.
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[Oneida Steve]

You picked a perfect shotgun for home defense as far as reliability & price are concerned. Myself, I would look around for a 18" or 20" barrel for the shotgun. Also, I would stay away from 3" shotshells. Magnum shells are not needed for HD and as you noticed, they do tend to kick a bit . . .

Your Maverick is plenty durable enough for your intended use.

[LeSabreUltra]

Great, thanks for the insight. I know why you say that though...just navigating it through the house to my gun cabinet last night took some careful maneuvering with the 28" barrel. I like how nearly all the parts are interchangeable between this and the Mossberg 500. I'm also thinking of getting a rear pistol grip for it if the stock is easy to remove and replace. How difficult is that?

I think this

http://www.amazon.com/Mossberg-Gauge...209533&sr=1-12

Plus this

http://item.express.ebay.com/ATI-Mos...mdZExpressItem

Would make it an excellent home defense shotgun. And, I still have the 28" and the shoulder stock if I want to go hunting, provided of course that it's easy enough to remove and replace.

I'd love to have a front pistol grip too, but I know that the forearms are different and it's not important enough to me to go to the trouble of replacing the parts so I can have one. I like what I've got there just fine.
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[Enfield]

Hi
I also have an 88 and have found it great fun, I am pleased to say that I have not got it for "home defence" you don't need that out here in New Zealand.

I just wanted a cheap 12 gauge to play with, I have the 28" barrel which has been good for clay shooting but I also have the 18". I took it to friends place a few weeks ago and we put some rifled slugs through the 18", now that was real good fun. It kicks a fair bit and had awsome stopping power, we even managed to through both sides of an old concrete cattle water trough - that amounted to 2" of concrete !!!

Anyway like I say a geat gun for the money

All the best

Enfield in NZ

[LeSabreUltra]

Glad to hear I picked a good one.

I went ahead and bought the 18" barrel and the rear pistol grip in those links I posted, they should be here sometime soon. After reading up a bit, the stock was super easy to remove, just as easy as the barrel. I could switch from assault to hunting shotgun including replacing the plug in less than five minutes, easily.

When I'm done, it should look like the picture on this bag:



Which contains the pistol grip I bought. Not bad for close encounters. I'll have to see how accurate I will be shooting from the hip, as obviously I cannot sight the same way as with the shoulder stock. It's kind of neat owning a gun as interchangeable and customizable as this, none of my other guns can be customized without custom gunsmithing.

I'll post pics when I get the parts in. They just can't come fast enough...
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[LeSabreUltra]

Well the pistol grip arrived today. Looks great and feels very natural. Going to have to see about that kick though...

Yet oddly, the first thing said by a non gun enthusiast family member was
"Why did you do that? That looks stupid! How can you hunt with that?!" Some people will never get it. Five minutes of trying to explain the ease with which the parts can be interchanged did very little.

Granted it does look a little strange like this:



But imagine the shorter barrel coming to the white line. Which, I'm still anxiously awaiting...
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[LeSabreUltra]

And here's the current product, with the new barrel:



I also bought a strap for it so I can carry it at waist level, but that's not in this picture.

I plan on buying a heat shield sometime soon, but in the meantime I'm very happy. It's extremely maneuverable like this, it feels almost like a large pistol. I now would feel a lot more comfortable with it should the need arise.

I haven't tried shooting it yet, I'm planning on going out to the range next week with a friend of mine to see how it shoots. I'm curious to see how bad the kick will be.
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[LeSabreUltra]

So after firing about 50 shells through it my hand is feeling some pain. The .38 handguns I used to think had a fair amount of kick feel like pop guns compared to this cannon.

I have to ask, how should I lessen the force of the recoil on my hand? I'm firing it at waist level and I'm having no trouble controlling it but all of the recoil force is being concentrated between my thumb and forefinger. My hand is now slightly swollen and painful. I thought about putting padding between the grip and my hand but that would increase the chance of me losing grip on it. Should I keep the rear of the gun against my gut to let that absorb some of the recoil?
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[djohns6]

I bought one of those for my son . He hunts everything with it and it's performed pretty well .

The pistol grip 12 gauge is a pretty brutal weapon to shoot . It's not a
" plinker " . 50 rounds is a lot of shooting . Experiment with some different loads but don't expect any of them to be enjoyable .

[LeSabreUltra]

Thanks for the reply. I figured that might be the case, which is too bad because aside from the pain, it was great fun shooting that cannon. I guess next time I'll either just put the stock back on or deal with it and shoot it anyway.
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[LeSabreUltra]

Well, now that the heat shield and all are in here's the finished product, along with the original stock and barrel:



I like it. I also find it interesting how the shotgun is now shorter than the original barrel.
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[Rawdeadfish]

Hello,

I am a new user to this site. I am glad it is here. Thanks.

I recently bought a used Maverick 88 12 gauge. The previous owner removed the plug. I am a avid hunter and I must have a plug in the gun. The previous owner does not have it anymore. Where can I get a plug. It looked very skinny and with a little rubber o ring towards one end (I watched a video on you tube) Either make it or buy it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

Joshua

[johnlives4christ]

cut a piece of down about as long as a dollar bill, either a straight stick or a dowel rod, and go to the hardware store and find a couple o rings to put on it. should cost you about a buck all together.

[Rawdeadfish]

Thanks

What are the o rings for? do they need to be inside the magazine or on the outside.

[CDN WFE]

I have an 88 that was given to me and it came with the ribbed barrel and a slug barrel. I have used it extensively for hunting water foul and game birds with great returns. Yes it does wear on your shoulder with the 3" shells but the only complaint I have with it is that I don't have the range of the guns that have slightly longer barrels. This gun does what it was designed to do. Shoot and decimate what it is aimed at. The action on it is very smooth and once or twice I have been asked if I was firing a semi-auto! I found it to be a rugged and take a beating.

For the price of it, I can't beat its performance.

CHIMO!

[ski9393]

The o-rings just help to keep it from rattling around inside the magazine.

[johnlives4christ]

you put the o rings on the piece of dowel/stick to keep it from ratteling around inside the magazine.

[Johnny Knoxville]

Interesting that this thread is about ready to celebrate its second birthday.

Here is one with a 20 inch barrel and vented rib with accuchokes. I put the pistol grip on it but I think I'm going back to the standard stock.

[lightning]

i want to get a Mossberg Maverick Model 88 12 Ga. Pump for trap shooting

it will see around 1000-1200 rounds a month

2 questions..

1- can that shotgun that that much use??
2- where can i fine a monte carlo stock for it??

thanks for your time

[johnlives4christ]

the shotgun can take that much for a while. i'd say 4 or 5 years. any shotgun taking that much shooting without proper maintenance will not last very long.

dunno about a monte carlo stock

in my opinion you'd be better served with a remington 870 over the maverick 88 for that much shooting.

[lightning]

if i back it down to 500 rounds a month will i be fine with the maverick??

[johnlives4christ]

i dont see any reason that the maverick wouldnt take 1000 rounds a month. any gun may have a small part here or there break but in general they are quite reliable.

a remington would hold up better, not to say that the 88 wont hold up. it just wont hold up as well for as long