Mossberg 500 Police "Corn Cob" stock set history

[gsdelong]

I have a Corncob forend and plain stock with no checkering or other embellishment.

I see on Ebay what looks like selling as original police corncob stock sets for about double a checkered set.

Anybody know why?


In my case the gun came from the old Service Merchandise about 40 years ago and I thought the plain stocks was so they could sell it cheaper.

The set did come with a pistol grip and 18" smooth bore beaded sight barrel also.

[Rick Hodges]

My 20 ga. Mossberg circa 1971 or so came with an American Walnut stock, plain vertical grooves on the forend (corn cob?). I purchased a new 12 ga. Mossberg 500 around 1980 with checkering...but the stock was a stained hardwood piece of wood with pressed checkering (birch?). I much prefer the Walnut, and metal safety of the older one. The plastic safety piece broke and I bought an aftermarket one to replace it.
I would pay more for the Walnut over the birch.
Both are utilitarian shotguns and function well....still own and use both.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Anybody know why?
In my case the gun came from the old Service Merchandise about 40 years ago and I thought the plain stocks was so they could sell it cheaper.

40 years ago wasn't just yesterday, although to some of us old timers it seems like it. So, at this late date it's difficult to address your specific case.
There could be several reasons. Perhaps it was fitted with a Plain Jane stock set to lower the selling price. Perhaps it was a factory over run for a police agency that was offered on the market. The truth is that the cosmetics of guns are often changed several times during their production life to stimulate lagging sales or to appeal to a particular market. A current example would be the Marlin lever action rifles. As produced by Marlin they had smooth stocks for many years, but now as produced by Remington they have sort of fancy checkered stocks. As you've already noted, replacements made for later editions often come on the market, and it's just a matter of money, taste, and what you like. If you are a Mossberg fan there is a book you should buy, "Mossberg -- More Gun For The Money" by Victor Havlin. It covers all of their models until just a few years ago, and many variations.