Mossberg maverick 88

[starmac]

I have dione went and bought my first dreaded black gun.
It is a home defense (I reckon) mossberg maverick 88. I don't know anything about mossberg pumps, but do know the 500 is a respected and popular pump gun, is the 88 worth haveing, is it a cheap version of the 500??

[CHeatermk3]

Mine needed a bit of tuning but works OK now. Had to deepen the extractor cuts in the barrel to get it to extract reliably. It also had a tendancy to spit a loaded round out onto the ground when cycling the action. Needed a bit of break-in the gunsmith up the road advised but I didn't want to wait so he also filed a tiny bit off the operating rods which solved that issue.

If I had it to do over again I'd wait and pick up a used M500 in good shape.
YMMV.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
Have had a Maverick for well over 15 years. Never a problem. Also have had Mossy's the same time and there is little difference. Barrels interchange on mine. More plastic on the Mav but have had no issues. Chunk Chunk boom.
Mike in Peru

[Artful]

As I recall
- the Maverick 88's were part of the international treaty signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush
the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
setting up Foreign-Trade Zones to have parts made in USA
and shipped to the Mexican free enterprise zone having
been set up to use Mexican Maquiladora labor to assemble
and package then shipped back to USA to be sold at a
cheaper cost then firearms made totally in the USA.

[starmac]

Probably something like that, it says made in usa (eagle pass Tx) which is pert near Mexico. lol I bet at least some part of it is made in the US. lol
Haven't shot it, but it seems to function good and is quick to come up and get on target.

[nagantguy]

Love my maverick was the first gun I bought with my own money from running a trap line. It's a dedicated turkey gun now but it filled all rolls for years without complaints.

[Artful]

Oops looks like I got it backwards
- so much for my memory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossberg_Maverick

The Maverick line of shotguns are assembled in Eagle Pass, Texas using some parts manufactured outside of the United States, mainly from Mexico; which contributes to their relatively lower price in comparison to the Mossberg 500 series of shotguns, which is entirely domestically manufactured and assembled at the O.F. Mossberg & Sons factory in Connecticut.

The trigger groups will not interchange between Maverick 88 and Mossberg 500 models, but the majority of other parts including barrels, stocks, and magazine tubes will (the barrel and magazines must be the same length). Maverick 88 do not come equipped with any sling mounts, as the Mossberg 500 series do.

Maverick 88 shotguns feature a trigger guard mounted cross-bolt safety as opposed to a top tang safety, which is used on the Mossberg 500 series.

Early Model 88s were equipped with a single slide rail, but this was updated to a dual slide rail in 1990. Also the Maverick 88 does not have a receiver top pre-drilled and tapped for a Weaver scope mount rail.

Maverick 88's are factory finished with steel bluing only, whereas Mossberg 500s have factory blued, nickel plated orparkerized (barrel/magazine) options.

There are two basic models of the 88, the 88 field and the 88 security. The 88 field comes with a longer 28" vent-rib barrel, whereas the security comes with an 18-1/2" or 20" non-vent-rib barrel. The 88's have a cartridge capacity of 5 in the tube magazine and 1 in the chamber and cannot have their magazines easily extended without machining. Magazine capacity is further limited, if loading "3 shells, to 4 in the tube magazine and 1 in the chamber.

The Mossberg Maverick comes from the factory with a black synthetic stock and forend. Sling swivels are not included, however they can be installed to allow the use of a sling.

Sorry for the confusion

[starmac]

Thanks Artful, this would be the security version with 18.5 in barrel, dual slide, so after 90. I do not think it is very old as the soldier I bought it from claimed to have bought it new. It does have provision for a sling in the buttstock though (kind of cheesy looking).
If I understand that article right, if you swap barrels with a 500, it would have to be the same (18.5 )length, that seems odd.

[Lonegun1894]

The barrels of different lengths can be swapped on both the Mossberg 500 and the Maverick 88, but the barrel has to be a match for the magazine tube being used. For a hypothetical example, you can get 3 Mossberg 500s, a 5 shot 18.5" and a 5 shot 28", and swap the barrels, but they will not swap onto the 8 shot 20" you also bought (just to have the full set?) due to the magazine tube being a different length. Does that make sense? Same thing applies to the 88. Any barrel will fit if it is made for the length of mag tube on your gun. You can switch out mag tubes also if you're feeling like spending extra cash, but it isn't necessary.

[kungfustyle]

Maverick is a decent shotgun. I did have a problem with my mag spring(it was gnarled up inside when I bought it and I didn't know it) Called Mossberg and they sent me a new spring for free. Put the mag tube in a vice between some would blocks and unscrewed the receiver took a bit but not to bad. Replaced the spring and now it runs like a champ. You'll be happy with your purchase. Worse case save some $$ and trade it in for another later.

[lancem]

I bought a field model a couple of years ago and put a short 500 barrel on it for home. With the long barrel on I've shot a lot of trap with it and won a lot, never had any problems with mine and now after hundreds of rounds it's as slick as any pump gun I've ever owned.

[slim1836]

No complaints here either, I've used mine for dove hunting the past 8 years with zero issues.

Slim

[starmac]

Well that barrel thing makes some sense. I don't see me ever changeing it anyway, easier just to switch guns. lol
This thing seems like it would be handy on the four wheeler, much handies than a long barrel.

[Remiel]

I picked up a 88 field that was cut down by the previous owner for home security, i cleaned up the cut and it serves as a dual purpose rig(hunting/home defense) for now, but i plan to get a rifled 500 barrel and retire my Ithaca model 37(the full time hunting gun), my only complaint is the recoil seems worse than my Ithaca deer slayer and the barrel on the 88 is longer by an inch, I am thinking its the plastic stock.

[starmac]

Just curious, why retire the ithaca??

[OnHoPr]

and retire my Ithaca model 37(the full time hunting gun), my only complaint is the recoil seems worse than my Ithaca deer slayer and the barrel on the 88 is longer by an inch, I am thinking its the plastic stock.

WHY, those are great smooooooooth pumps, and deadly and fast and can be accurate.

Heck, I would make a place for something like that in my closet with bed pan, walker, depends, wheel chair, crutches, and whatever else a retired gun needed. I could start a HMO plan for it.

[Maven]

"NAFTA stands for North American Free Trade Agreement. Signed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, NAFTA eliminated all tariffs between the United States and Mexico within 15 years. While Canada and the United States had already been trading under the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA went even further to eliminate trade barriers between the US and Canada.

[Artful]

Really?

http://forum.mtstars.com/373729.html

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney of Canada and President Carlos Salinas of Mexico, pictured below.

Bush negotiated all its terms, promoted the policy, then "fast tracked" its signing. Evidently, he wanted NAFTA to be HIS legacy. The negotiations and terms of the treaty had actually wreaked havoc during the extremely divisive Canadian parliamentary elections as far back as 1988, and continued to do so until 1993. Mulroney was forced to resign in July of that year.

The treaty required ratification by their respective legislative bodies, which took place in the US after Bush Sr left office during the Clinton administration. Clinton added protections for American workers and required the partners to adhere to US environmental practices and regulations. Passage of the treaty by the US Congress was highly contentious. The vote breakdown in support of NAFTA was as follows: In the House GOP 132, Dems 102; in the Senate GOP 34, Dems 27....not exactly a resounding endorsement, but owing to its bipartisn support, Clinton then signed it into law

Yeppers. No two ways about it. NAFTA is a GOP brainchild which they inflicted upon us and has staunchly defended ever since, except, of course, when they are playing pin the blame on the democrats.

Mossberg magazine tube explained a little more

about 15 min in

[Remiel]

Just curious, why retire the ithaca??

was my grandfathers, dont want to wear it out, parts are a bitch to get, i take the mav on rainy days

[Remiel]

WHY, those are great smooooooooth pumps, and deadly and fast and can be accurate.

Heck, I would make a place for something like that in my closet with bed pan, walker, depends, wheel chair, crutches, and whatever else a retired gun needed. I could start a HMO plan for it.

it is one hell of a slug gun, but it was grandpas and I want it to last as long as possible