Does anyone know when Mossberg stopped making plain field barrels, and went exclusively with vent rib?
Cut to the chase: Having tried a total of 4 different barrels for my 1980s 500CG, when I picked up a very old, plain barrel (28” fixed modified), it was a revelation! The gun came alive: the gun carries better, shoulders better, and swings better! Truly a field gun now. I sold all my other barrels except for the 22” accu-choke (for turkey).
I don’t know how much of the difference is the weight of vent rib itself, and how much is that the newer, accu-choke barrels are thicker; but that 28” plain barrel is a full 1/2 lb. lighter than a 26” vent rib! It's like a "light contour" barrel. And after trying out the plain barrel, the newer vent rib barrels felt like lugging a sewer pipe.
So now to keep an eye out for an old, 26” plain barrel in IC.
Cut to the chase: Having tried a total of 4 different barrels for my 1980s 500CG, when I picked up a very old, plain barrel (28” fixed modified), it was a revelation! The gun came alive: the gun carries better, shoulders better, and swings better! Truly a field gun now. I sold all my other barrels except for the 22” accu-choke (for turkey).
I don’t know how much of the difference is the weight of vent rib itself, and how much is that the newer, accu-choke barrels are thicker; but that 28” plain barrel is a full 1/2 lb. lighter than a 26” vent rib! It's like a "light contour" barrel. And after trying out the plain barrel, the newer vent rib barrels felt like lugging a sewer pipe.
So now to keep an eye out for an old, 26” plain barrel in IC.
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