Mossberg 500 steel safety question

[Reaper]

Do I need to use the sheet metal piece that goes under the Mossberg factory plastic safety with the Mossberg steel replacement safety?

 

[Rossignol]

I believe that would be affirmative.

 

[old mossy]

^^^^YUP^^^^

 

[590guy]

Is it a good idea to replace the plastic safety with a steel one, or should I leave well enough alone until it breaks?

 

[old mossy]

I didn't wait for the plastic one to break and changed it out for a metal enhanced one.

Mainly because of the more positive feel.

 

[590guy]

I've seen this in another forum...are they difficult to install?

 

[Rossignol]

Is it a good idea to replace the plastic safety with a steel one, or should I leave well enough alone until it breaks?

It's more a preference than a need. A number of guys on here have decades old 500s with original plastic safety. I my self have a 500 that's is more than 10 years old with a few thousand rounds through it with zero safety issues.

It's not likely to break, but should one desire to upgrade, there are a lot of really cool choices out there.

 

[Rossignol]

I believe the hardest part is getting the factory screw out.

 

[590guy]

my 590 was built in '99, and as far as i know it's the original plastic safety, and my 500 is so new it hasn't had a round fired out of it yet. i like the idea of the taller piece.

 

[drfife]

The hardest part was getting the trigger assembly back in....

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[Pawpaw]

The hardest part was getting the trigger assembly back in....

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There was no reason to take it out. In fact, you don't need to disassemble anything else to replace the safety.

1. Verify the shotgun is unloaded, including the chamber.

2. Cock the shotgun and do NOT pull the trigger.

3. Remove the old screw (some are hard, others are easy), safety button, detent plate, & detent ball. Take care not to lose the ball or the spring under it.

4. Use a dab of grease to hold the ball in position on top of the spring.

5. Put the plate in place, making sure the center hole lines up with the screw hole.

6. Put the new safety in place and tighten the screw.

7. Verify proper function.

It took longer to type that that it did to replace the one on my 500.

Note, If your old screw is hard to get out, you can grab the plastic safety with a pair of pliers and break it. It will break right at the screw hole, then you can remove the screw with pliers, if necessary.