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Evolution of 500 internals

EODFXSTI

Copper BB
First post here. I recently acquired a couple shotguns manufactured in the 80s and it got me thinking, what has changed over the years? The last two I bought were a 500A and a 500 ATP8. The ATP8 needed a bit of work so I am in the process of accruing the parts and making this my own. I do not want to put a bunch of modern looking stuff on it and I would like to keep it stock(ish) looking. I have found what was described as an early aluminum trigger assembly on a gun auction site (yeah, that one). It looks different than my two older 500's but also different than my 3 year old 590A1. I know Mossberg is all over the place with different years/different model numbers/different parts etc... My question is this, is there a resource anyone knows of that shows all of the different trigger assemblies, bolts, safety switches etc side by side from over the years? I am not trying to get into a discussion about the pros and cons of polymer vs metal, I am partial to metal and that is what I am am trying to get to is wood and metal. There are many different metal safety switches and I want to try and stay all OEM for this mutt shotgun build. I would like to know what trigger pack works with what safety switches and bolts etc. I have made an honest attempt to scour this site for my answer before posing it here so I apologize if it has been asked before, I have not been able to find it. There is so much knowledge here, it is a lot to sift through.
 
Welcome to the forum from upstate New York. Good luck on your project and keep us posted. Post lots of pics on your findings.
 
I'm not sure there is a single source that shows the differences from the older (1960's) models and the newer ones. But a good topic to discuss.

The 500 was designed by Carl Benson around 1960.

And back in the 60s and into the early 70s the 500s had single action bars until the Remington patten ran out and they went to the dual action bars. The first 500 came on the market in late 1961 or very early 1962 as I remember.

Here's an old forum link that discusses some of the differences in the trigger assemblies and shows a picture.


Plus here's a link to information on many of the pre 500 models which might help with evloution change thinking back in the day.


Hope some of this helps. There are bits and pieces regarding the design changes on this forum plus the internet but really takes a lot of searching. Maybe others will chime in with info.

Regards
 
Here's another forum link discussing the differences in the bolts.


Regards
 
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