500 Butt Plate Suggestions?

[Twelve Pump]

My 500's LOP is a tad long for me. Not enough to make me get a Bantam stock (especially since I already have two regular wood sets), but the gun is also tight in its case and I do wear body armor on occasion (job). So something less grabby and shorter than the factory pad would be awesome. It's a defense shotgun so shoulder comfort is not a priority; an easy and quick mount is, along with trouble-free car transport.
I already got a plastic universal butt plate from Brownells and it looks like a small project to make it fit right. In the meantime, would anyone know of a plate that would be a direct fit for a 500A? Just curious and thanks in advance!

 

[old mossy]

I cut my wood stock,,,,,,,,,

 

[LAZY EYED SNIPER]

The fit will depend on the stock.

What does your stock end measure top to bottom down the center line?

 

[old mossy]

Bob's shows one $10.
http://www.gun-parts.com/index.html/

 

[Twelve Pump]

Thanks for the quick replies, guys!

@ old mossy: I'm hoping for a quicker/simpler fix. And my main gripe is the tacky material of most butt pads. Most are designed for recoil-absorption and add length or stickiness. I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone by shaving a little length and having a smooth/hard contact patch with a simple pad replacement.

I just looked at Bob's site and they show the butt plate as "out of stock" unless I missed a link.

@ LAZY EYED SNIPER: I'm at work and the 500 is guarding my home alone right now, but I'll get back to you on that*. As far as the plate's length I believe it's 4-3/4". If I recall correctly, I bought the small universal one from Brownells based on it being the correct length. It turns out to be too thin towards the bottom and my next move would be to get the medium one and do a lot of grinding unless you guys know of another plate that's a sure fit.
I was surprised to see that the wood stock is actually slightly shorter in both horizontal and vertical dimensions than the tactical (black polymer) one that came on my gun. I actually thought I had bought a Bantam from eBay. But the factory one that Mossberg sent me is exactly the same size and I used the rubber pad that came with it.

*Measured my spare furniture last night. The stock is 11.5" long and the height of its butt is 4-5/8" (without pad), while its widest dimension there is 1-5/8". Probably the standard wood stock. I'm leaning towards getting the medium universal plate and then grinding it to fit. The small one I have now is too narrow by 2mm on each side and doesn't look right.

 

[Twelve Pump]

UPDATE: I finally had the time to address this and ordered a medium universal butt plate from Brownells. My original mistake was to try and get one as close to the stock's shape and dimensions as possible. I was hoping for a quick fix out of laziness and lack of time. But it's better to get a plate that's oversized and then to grind it to fit. Medium is what worked in my case: the width was perfect and I just had to remove some material at the top and bottom, then to even and smooth things out as much as possible. I used a large metal file followed by 800 grit sand paper. The plastic being pretty soft it took me and my 10 thumbs only an hour. The plate was contoured while screwed on the stock with a taped-up stock to protect the wood.
I like the result a lot although my blurry pics don't show the few surface imperfections on the flats, and the LOP is now perfect for me, which was the goal. I know that rubber pads are more comfortable, but for a defense shotty I'm not worried about that (fired rifles with metal butt plates before so I know I'll survive). What I was concerned with was the pad grabbing at my clothing when shouldering in a hurry and also having to reach a little too far for the forend. Life is good.

Oh, and while I was at it I took down the gun and did the lifter mod because the part was catching the brass when unloading. Using the forum pics as a guide I beveled the lifter and things are a lot smoother now. I don't remember my old mossies needing anything like that, but both my current 500 and 590 are a little snag-prone in that area. I'll do the 590 next.

 

[old mossy]

Nicely done sir.

 

[Bobster]

A little late with response but I had a 70's 500AT that had a smooth butt plate, I think it was made of plastic. Barrel was cut down (by me) from 28" to 18" and bead re-installed. It was well-used, bought right and sold right...

Pic is dot about 10yo. The "look" is coached... I put 1 round in it to let her fire and she was about to shoulder it and I suggested she hip-fired instead. Even then she nearly dropped it! She has gone on to shoot the Thug, no problemo...

 

[Twelve Pump]

That butt plate looks exactly like mine from what I can see and I like it. You reminded me that I had my mom shoot a 500 with pistol grips (stock & forend) that I had bought her for home defense when she was in her 70's and... she did drop it after the first shot. What was I thinking?!

 

[12gafun]

One guy suggested a small slip on rubber limbsaver recoil pad.

 

[Twelve Pump]

I looked into those, but besides the fact that they would've taken away from the plain jane look I was going for, it seemed to me that they would've added too much material, easily as much as the factory pad. I would've gone that route if I had butchered the stock cutting it and needed to cover it up. I know it would've driven me crazy, though. The Brownells plate is very much what I wanted and much easier to work on than I thought.

 

[12gafun]

I agree it looked really nice, I just wish I had a vice and some better tools. I like the thicker butt pads though I went looking at the plastic one myself after I read this.