My $20 Mossberg 500A

[1776]

I bought an old rusty Mossberg 500A the other day for $20.00. I thought I would try to bring it back to life on a low dollar budget. It had been involved in a garage fire a few years ago and then suffered water and rust damage from sitting while the former owner waited on his insurance company to do something with his property loss. I soaked it with PB Blaster rust solvent and then took it all apart. The receiver cleaned up fine by hand, I glass beaded everything else. The wooden stock was still good and I was able to find a good used matching forend at a pawn shop for $5.00. The barrel is a rifled slug 24" variety. I cleaned it for 2 hours using 3 brushes. Looks OK now although it has some light pitting in places. I painted the barrel with Krylon for now, might try bluing it in the future. I have it all back together now and it works fine, pumps & cycles good. Safety and trigger work good. Now I need to find a good used trigger guard or trigger assembly to replace the melted one. This one works but looks ugly. I thought about cutting it off and filing it away but that would not be very safe. Anyone know where I can find a cheap used one? I have less than $30 in this project so far and it has been fun. I need to get out to the range and test it out!

 

[ke3gk]

Wow - nice job.

 

[JnstemIII]

Looks great.

 

[Inigoes]

Numrich has a trigger guard repair kit for $6.60

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=56140A&filter=mossberg+500+trigger&catid=0

edit: you can find a new trigger asembly for $65 http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Products.aspx?catid=11934

 

[Oldcarjunkie]

Much Better

 

[Seagrave1963]

Nice work!

 

[jmiller320]

Do a google search for "Mossberg 500 series Shotgun trigger housing assembly" Brownells is out of stock, but others may have it,

 

[Boondock Saint]

Not too shabby, especially for $30. Well done.

 

[NateIU10]

It may just be me, but I'd be wary of firing that thing if it were in a fire...

 

[tdt91]

Great job Ron, I'll give you 31.00 for it, you can keep the scope.

 

[BeltBuckle]

It may just be me, but I'd be wary of firing that thing if it were in a fire...

that was my thought. I'd consult with a metallurgist before I took it shooting, I think.

you gonna name it "Phoenix"?

 

[chris12138]

Very nice! Not sure about the trigger assembly. But since it was in a fire I would probably attach it to a bench and fire it from behind a brick wall a few times

I got two of my rifles the same way. Bought an M1 Carbine for $50 that was rusted to hell, had a cracked stock and no bolt assembly but the rifling was pretty nice. $50+$40 synthetic stock+ $120 bolt assembly= $210 for one of my favorite rifles!

Also got a rusted out Ruger 10/22 for $50. Threw a NCSTAR Scope on it and it shoots pretty tight groups at 50yards with cheapo ammo. If I wasn't working towards a Rem 700 sps tactical and optic right now I would probably just throw a bull barrel and a good stock on the 10/22.

Both took a TON of elbow grease and rust remover.

 

[fivepointstar]

photoshop j/k

great job!!!

 

[Masterchief36]

Nice job.

 

[Echo Victor]

Damn, I was going to say something about polishing a turd but for $30, that's not bad!
Nice work

 

[RaVis]

That's awesome. Enjoy seeing life put back into that thing. Great job!

 

[Minuteman]

Wonderful work. Hey, gave me an idea... I'll PM you about it.

 

[captsin]

Trigger guard

I have a Mossberg parts gun with the trigger guard for $20.00, must be picked up in Salisbury.

 

[CrabbyMcNab]

Can we get a gun makeover show? HGTV maybe?

Nice job.

 

[wilcam47]

naval jelly is supposed to be bad ass for removing/stopping rust...it does remove blueing though...also i change the springs as they could be weakend by the heat of fire...i would be cautious about shooting it as the irregular heating of the fire could cause problems...i know if metal is heated and not quenched it will be softer...but thats about the extent of my knowledge of metal working....