I told my son, that when I'm dead and gone, if he has to sell a shotgun to raise money, KEEP the Maverick 88. I said, "It's your End of the World, apocalypse, You will run out of ammo before it breaks gun." Great, working man's shotgun.
I got this exact Mossberg 88 (5+1) in the past few months. Love it. Keep it loaded with buckshot for home defense and for fun on the range. I am also testing out the “shorty” ammo with the Opsal “mini-clip” plug). That reduces the recoil and increases capacity to 8+1. I concur it needs a bit of time to break in, but mine was smooth after about 50 rounds. Best gun investment I have made.
Be careful with those mini shells I've heard that the adapter can make your gun run unreliably. I'd rather have less rounds that I knew would function perfectly and have a couple extra rounds and maybe have a jam when you need it most
8:40 Excellent point. Most people think their new gun is clean from the factory, but they often have "manufacturing residue" on the inside and whatever machining 'swarf' the final QC person missed. The oil they coat the gun in before it leaves the factory is a preservative more than a lubricant. That oil captures a lot of the aforementioned debris and when I wiped down my M500, the patch came back brown with dirty oil. I used LSA lubricating oil to lube it and that alone took care of a lot of the latent friction in the action. LSA is semi-fluid sort of like Cherry Balmz lube...
10:34 Did not expect to hear that. Most M500 fan boys constantly whine and deride the 88's safety, saying it is inferior to the M500's but it is the best all around safety if you add a single pistol grip like the Mossberg Cruiser or add a tactical pistol grip butt stock. Having the safety forward of the trigger instead of behind it is no detriment either, as your finger is in close proximity to it when resting it on the trigger guard. The only detriment to the 88 safety is if you are left handed. 😢
I actually got a maverick 88 specifically so I could install a pistol grip adjustable stock on it. That front forward crossbolt safety is PERFECT for any sort of pistol grip stock or pistol grip only.
AZ, again you knocked it out of the park on this review. You managed to take a budget 12 gauge and made an interesting review with a small upgrade with the XS sight. Thanks for an excellent channel.
I've been sold on getting one for a week, but I'll still say "Good overview". Was aiming to get the 7+1 20", but Idk. Might go 18.5". I like the price, lack of shell elevator in the way & the Rem style safety.
I've had several Mavericks. Absolutely the best budget pump on the market. It will run absolutely any ammo. It only has a jam if it's the shooter's fault. There are parts and accessories for days and days because of it'll fit a 500 it'll fit a maverick. If you don't want a safety you can put a nice 590 trigger group in it. If you want a double safety you can fiddle a bit and put a maverick trigger group in a 500, not sure why you'd wanna do that but you can have a trigger and tang safety at the same time. Weird. The only problem I ever had out of the maverick or 500 was if I dropped them on their side. The shell elevator will pop out of place sometimes if dropped on its side. My fix for that was I drilled and tapped the hinge pins and put a small, smooth rounded bolt on both hinge pins. By doing that I can beat the living He'll out of it and it just simply won't screw up EVER! My favorite thing about this Mossberg line is I can unload without racking it, I can swap barrels in less than a minute, there's a little rubber piece to run shorty rounds in it for more capacity and if you load the last round as a normal round the rubber piece holds it between chambered and magazine with the action open so you can run max capacity with your first round at ready by only pressing the half readied shell into batter with a slight poke and racking the pump forward. ...Yes... I've spent too much time with my Maverick. 😂
I just only have the short barrel only Just got the this 88 .. haven't had chance to take to target 🎯 range YET Haven't cleaned yet what they put on all from manufacturing .. Not. going to hurt if some was left on Until you clean later. After you shoot this 🎉. Nice gun ( it would be used for home defense only . No hunting. Maybe to the target 🎯 range to see how this shoots ..and give a clear job. I just wanted it for protection I have used guns all my life. My hunting days Our all over. 🎉.
Is it normal for my 88 forend to have a bit of forward and backward okay? I know about the signature rattle, but that seems to mostly be documented as side to side wobble.
I told my son, that when I'm dead and gone, if he has to sell a shotgun to raise money, KEEP the Maverick 88. I said, "It's your End of the World, apocalypse, You will run out of ammo before it breaks gun." Great, working man's shotgun.
I got this exact Mossberg 88 (5+1) in the past few months. Love it. Keep it loaded with buckshot for home defense and for fun on the range. I am also testing out the “shorty” ammo with the Opsal “mini-clip” plug). That reduces the recoil and increases capacity to 8+1.
I concur it needs a bit of time to break in, but mine was smooth after about 50 rounds. Best gun investment I have made.
Be careful with those mini shells I've heard that the adapter can make your gun run unreliably. I'd rather have less rounds that I knew would function perfectly and have a couple extra rounds and maybe have a jam when you need it most
I've been playing with that OpSol Miniclip and Aguila and Federal 1.75" shells for over 2 years. It's been reliable. No issues at all actually.
8:40 Excellent point. Most people think their new gun is clean from the factory, but they often have "manufacturing residue" on the inside and whatever machining 'swarf' the final QC person missed. The oil they coat the gun in before it leaves the factory is a preservative more than a lubricant. That oil captures a lot of the aforementioned debris and when I wiped down my M500, the patch came back brown with dirty oil. I used LSA lubricating oil to lube it and that alone took care of a lot of the latent friction in the action. LSA is semi-fluid sort of like Cherry Balmz lube...
10:34 Did not expect to hear that. Most M500 fan boys constantly whine and deride the 88's safety, saying it is inferior to the M500's but it is the best all around safety if you add a single pistol grip like the Mossberg Cruiser or add a tactical pistol grip butt stock. Having the safety forward of the trigger instead of behind it is no detriment either, as your finger is in close proximity to it when resting it on the trigger guard. The only detriment to the 88 safety is if you are left handed. 😢
I actually got a maverick 88 specifically so I could install a pistol grip adjustable stock on it. That front forward crossbolt safety is PERFECT for any sort of pistol grip stock or pistol grip only.
Mossberg is like the Glock or AR for shotguns. Easy to find parts and you can customize it however you want. Love my 500 Scorpion.
Not the action tubes 7 3/4, those are rare af
AZ, again you knocked it out of the park on this review. You managed to take a budget 12 gauge and made an interesting review with a small upgrade with the XS sight. Thanks for an excellent channel.
I've been sold on getting one for a week, but I'll still say "Good overview". Was aiming to get the 7+1 20", but Idk. Might go 18.5". I like the price, lack of shell elevator in the way & the Rem style safety.
I have the 20" 7+1 Security model.. I love it. Fills home defense duty.
20 inch limits you to that barrel with that tube . 18.5 and every other barrel except that 20 inch.
Good info. Would have liked to see the barrels swapped; and hear how they shoot compared to fixed barrel models.
great review. i have the 88 Combo. Wonderful tool.
I've had several Mavericks. Absolutely the best budget pump on the market.
It will run absolutely any ammo. It only has a jam if it's the shooter's fault. There are parts and accessories for days and days because of it'll fit a 500 it'll fit a maverick.
If you don't want a safety you can put a nice 590 trigger group in it. If you want a double safety you can fiddle a bit and put a maverick trigger group in a 500, not sure why you'd wanna do that but you can have a trigger and tang safety at the same time. Weird.
The only problem I ever had out of the maverick or 500 was if I dropped them on their side. The shell elevator will pop out of place sometimes if dropped on its side. My fix for that was I drilled and tapped the hinge pins and put a small, smooth rounded bolt on both hinge pins. By doing that I can beat the living He'll out of it and it just simply won't screw up EVER!
My favorite thing about this Mossberg line is I can unload without racking it, I can swap barrels in less than a minute, there's a little rubber piece to run shorty rounds in it for more capacity and if you load the last round as a normal round the rubber piece holds it between chambered and magazine with the action open so you can run max capacity with your first round at ready by only pressing the half readied shell into batter with a slight poke and racking the pump forward.
...Yes... I've spent too much time with my Maverick. 😂
Ive owned the mossberg 500 it also has the Aluminum receiver all parts will inerchange but the trigger groop
Fantastic review. Thanks. 👍
I just only have the short barrel only
Just got the this 88 .. haven't had chance to take to target 🎯 range YET
Haven't cleaned yet what they put on all from manufacturing ..
Not. going to hurt if some was left on
Until you clean later. After you shoot this 🎉. Nice gun ( it would be used for home defense only . No hunting.
Maybe to the target 🎯 range to see how this shoots ..and give a clear job.
I just wanted it for protection I have used guns all my life. My hunting days
Our all over. 🎉.
Can trigger be fired when the mechanism when the bolt is not fully locked the barrel.
Good video for new shooters.
Really good video. Very informative. Thank you so much. 👏
Good info. Didn't know about lower recoil shells either. Do these only come in 12 gauge?
20.gauge 26" barrel & youth model with 22" barrel are available in black or camo stocks.
Is it normal for my 88 forend to have a bit of forward and backward okay? I know about the signature rattle, but that seems to mostly be documented as side to side wobble.
Yes it's normal , mine I bought used does the same thing but it don't affect it none
Great review.very educational thanks
....old woman here...I used my band-saw to take the length-of-pull down to 12"....ain't "reaching" no mo..😸...
Perfect combo gun for the $$
Great channel. Great info new sub thank you sir.
Don't Maverick, 88 security have 9 + 1? And the barrel and the feed tube is the same length. How are these different?
Seven- 2 3/4" in the tube, one in the chamber =8 total. 3" shells, one less.
Very well done.
My 612 had feed issues out of the box.
Which Velcro shell holder is that?
2A🇺🇲
Maverick just looks way cooler
Savage model 301.
Does the tactical barrel have a removable choke? I need one a short barrelled shotgun with a removable choke
Excellent review, thanks.