Sent to me by Reader Tony H (thankee, squire), an analysis of shotgun brands sold.
Executive summary: It’s Mossberg (43%), and then all the others. (Add Legacy, at 24%, and that’s two-thirds of the market.)
I’m rather surprised at Mossberg’s dominance, but no overly so. The shotgun is the most basic kind of firearm extant and the fact that Mossberg’s budget-priced line dominates the market reflects its commodity positioning.
Me, I’m casting longing eyes at the shotgun I’ve always really wanted, the Mossberg 590 Mariner (~$625 street):
And yes, despite my preference for the 20ga chambering in general, I’d get it in 12ga because nothing says “Fuck Off And Die (FOAD)” like a couple pops of 00 Buck thereof.
Self-defense in its purest, and most basic form.
Good choice. I’ve had a Mossberg 500 Mariner for ages. It’s a lovely little gun. Over time it’s worn both the full stock and the pistol grip it came with, plus a variety of folders and side saddles. It’s an ongoing experiment. Usually it lives in a tennis racket case near at hand. Next it’s probably going to get the cheek shotgun treatment, à la Demonstrated Concepts. That should be fun to try … or a broken jaw … we’ll see.
You’re right, the shotgun is the most basic of tools. Like hammers, everyone needs a few different ones for different occasions.
I honestly thought Remington and Mossberg would be the top two brands. To see Remington with less than 7% genuinely shocks me. Have they fallen off in quality in recent years? I haven’t bought a shotgun in 20 years, simply because I have a few and they all work perfectly, so I haven’t seen the need.
Unfortunately, yes. Remington’s quality fell into the crapper after they were acquired by Cerebus Capital’s “Freedom Group” in the mid-2000s. Remington went bankrupt in 2020 and the company was broken up. The firm selling “Remington” branded firearms today is not the same Big Green from the past. Jury’s still out on the quality of their offerings, though the general consensus is they’re better than the stuff Old Remington was putting out at the end of their days (though that is a ridiculously low bar).
10g has an opinion as well.
Looks much like my now 20 year old 870 Marine Magnum before I went all tactical a few years ago starting with the Magpul Hunter stock conversion. Nothing says “fuck you” like a well working 12ga shotgun. Yes, a 12 ga shot gun is foundational to any gun owner.
I picked up a police trade in Mossberg 500 with ghost ring sights, side saddle and a rail near the muzzle. The Federal flite control 00 buck groups beautifully at home protection distances.
I think Remington lost market share because they were closed for a couple of years during the bankruptcy of Remington Arms. the new company making them RemArms just started producing last year I think.
My bedside gun is a Mossberg 500 (not mariner) with an XS Big Bead front sight–I hate ghost rings–and a Magpul tactical stock, Unecessary, but it is a truly wonderful defender.
FE00132, Federal 00-Buck, low recoil, and using Rob Haught’s push/pull method, it’s a pleasure to shoot!
If you’re still in investigational mode, don’t neglect checking out the Winchester SXP Marine Defender. My brother has the standard, blued model, and I was quite impressed with it when I handled it. Also very economical.
I love this Clint Smith quote:
“Pistols put holes in people. Rifles put holes through people. Shotguns, the right load at the right range will physically remove a chunk from your opponent and throw it on the floor behind him, and you will have to get someone to come clean it up with a shovel.”
And, off topic, but I know of your great love for the .45 ACP, so I’m putting this in here because I found it looking for the above quote.
“A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him ‘Why do you carry a 45?’ The Ranger responded, ‘Because they don’t make a 46.'”
JC
Mossberg’s dominance isn’t surprising given the real and significant damage Cerberus and the Freedom Group did to Remington. I won’t buy anything Remington produced after 2006. Time will tell about the post-bankruptcy Remington Arms.
My Mossy 590 has found a better home, but only because the suppressed PCC and PDW replaced it in my countryfied self-defense senarios. It was a very good shotgun; IMNSHO demonstrably better than the 870.
A brother sleeps with a 590 Mariner under his bed. He sleeps very soundly.
+1. Bought my Mossberg while I was still a starving college student back in 1979. Ok, maybe not starving as I was on the G.I. bill. Anyway, purchased it on sale at K-Mart for $135, vent ribbed, with a mail-in rebate for an extra plain barrel. I’m guessing it was a popular deal and they ran out of plain barrels because the one that showed up was also vent ribbed. It is my bird gun.
I’ve always lusted for the retro Mossberg 590 with the bayonet lug for an M7 bayonet. Even more so for a military Winchester M1200 to go with my M1917 bayonet.
After reading about the 1986 FBI Miami shootout, where a wounded agent wound up running his pump shotgun with one arm, I came to the conclusion that a semi-auto had merit. I bought a Benelli Super 90 M-1. Still have it.
Bought a 590 30 years ago, and upgraded to ghost ring sights when a distributor was unloading a batch they had on their shelves. Now, it resides in Archangel furniture with their 7-round sidesaddle with individual round tensioners. It’s always worked, and like a good dog, it stays ready at hand.
I picked up a Mossberg 590S last fall. It was heavier than I thought it would be, especially loaded with 00. Not sure I’ll keep it, but it’s 13+1 capacity and ability to chamber most lengths including 1.75″ is a redeeming factor, if only for a riot shootout. I’m still hanging on to the FN SLP I got several years ago, just in case. 8 rounds downrange in under a second is also a redeeming factor.
The nice thing about the Mossberg 500 series and just about any pump action shotgun is that you can put an 18″ barrel on it for home defense or also put longer bird barrels on it for clays or bird hunting as well as a rifled barrel to use sabot slugs for deer hunting.
Sure a double barrel shotgun is more at home on the clays fields or maybe for taking birds, but a pump can get the job done at a fraction of the price.
The Remington 870 may be made of steel, but the Mossberg 500/590 is still tough as a tank, and better designed as well, to say nothing of the Remington QC issues under Cerberus.
Better designed, I say? How is that?
A Remington can get a shell caught between lifter and bolt if you fumble a reload, or if the magazine catch breaks. That will jam the gun up HARD. A Mossy will just barf on the ground if you fumble or the catch breaks, and the action will remain operable. Mossys are also easier to reload while wearing gloves, due to the action/lifter design.
And Mossbergs are more ambidextrous to boot.
Remington has always made a fine hunting and fowling piece in the 870, their QC of the 00s aside. But Mossberg makes a FIGHTING shotgun.
I’ll also throw in a big +1 for the Federal Flite Control 00 loads. That FC wad makes a cylinder bore pattern like a full choke or better for me. I dunno how they do it, but it does. I highly recommend it for anyone with a HD shotgun and potential shot distances greater than 10 feet. It’s that effective in comparison.