Anyone have both ? Thoughts ?

there are 3 primary differences now since they made the forearms the same

the first is the location of the safety on the Maverick 88 it is in the trigger group forward of the trigger and it is a cross bolt aka button safety you push it right to left to take it off
VS the 500 where there is a slot cut in the receiver and the safety selector is moved forward to fire back for safe

second the finish , the 88 uses a very thing bluing

third the 500 is now drilled and tapped for a scope mount and the 88 still is not

the forth but no longer a difference on new 88s as I understand it , the forearm furniture used to be pinned to the action slide tube.
and now it uses a typical 500 type with the threaded tube and action tube nut.

so the receiver is different only in the slot for the safety and being drilled and tapped.
basically everything else is interchangeable other than the safety and trigger group and an 88 trigger group would fit a 500 just fine and the same the other direction but then you would have no safety.

bolts , butt stock , barrels , mag tube , spring, follower all interchangeable

the maverick 88 is made at Mossberg's Maverick Texas plant , designed as a budget gun in 1988 to hit a price point for the entry level shotgun market.

they work very well and hold up to a lot of use

James Reves did 500 round test that a number of the turkish guns failed a couple years ago

when he talked to Mossberg they were like no problem
and really it should be no problem the 500/590 passed 1000 rounds to enter military service

a 88vs 500vs 590 video

now I feel like a thread killer

bonus for you it is a great gun to paint.

Lol naahh, so that fist video you posted is actually one of the main thing for me looking at the maverick seems like it would be good for what I want though kind want the ability to put a rail on it for a lil red dot possibly

I bought a brand new Maverick last year for a cheapo coyote calling shotgun and it started misfiring right out of the box with Winchester buckshot. I sent it back to Mossberg and when I got it back it still misfired. Sent it back a second time and this time they said they replaced the bolt. It still misfires on occasion. I've only had it happen with Winchester shells. I have no idea what the issue is.

unless your using slugs or round ball a shotgun is point and shoot

Mabye it's just the shells more then anything? Using the same box /lot ? I know I've had some weird stuff happen with Winchester primers

I have shotguns with and without red-dots

I will say the dot gives greater confidence in shot placement and when you have to be in some less than ideal position if your eye isn't square behind the gun but you can see the dot and it is on the target squeeze the dot doesn't lie even if it is not centered in the glass.

but my go to gun for birds doesn't have a dot , vent rib and double bead

something about the simplicity of a vent rib and bead

if you can get more money together the 500 turkey or the 590 optics ready give you all the features it really is a buy once cry once owning a shotgun that really fits you because you fit it to yourself and set it up exactly how you like.

with shot and even buck-shot you do run out of pattern generally well before you run out of the ability to see

I am finding used 500 for the same money as a new 88
bought one 2 weeks ago 255 out the door in really good shape it &tapped but it was also a 20 inch barrel 7 round tube 1980s riot gun the exact same one as in the police academy movies I didn't buy it for that reason.

it really depends what your looking at for features

for me 20 inch barrel and chokes is a big one and the 88 only comes with a 28" and accu-chokes in 12ga

I've got 6 of the mavericks. Three 12 gauge and three 20 gauge youth models. Mine are always in the mud so I try and clean them every 5 years, or not. Never had a misfire and they work great in very cold weather as well. I put customized stocks on a couple of the 12 gauges to shorten them a bit for my shorter arms and run 2 recoil pads on the 20 gauges or they suffer kids shoulders using high speed steel.

there is also a vent rib red dot mount , I haven't tried one but I used to have iron sights that mounted on the vent rib they worked well.
https://www.meadowcreekmounts.com/

I’ve shot a Mossberg in 12ga and you couldn’t pay me enough to buy one. They’re probably great guns, but I’m not gonna pay money to dislocate a shoulder. Heck, I can hire someone off the street to do it for next to nothing!

Greencountypete, my son just ordered one of those to put on his dedicated turkey gun. I’m curious to see it and look down the barrel compared to the traditional mounting near the stock.

Good I just want a .410 then lol

he may want to build up the cheek on his stock so that his eye lines up with it right off and he can keep his face tight on the stock.
my 500 20ga I keep the rifled barrel on with a 2-7 scope has the cheek built up so that my eye lines up fast that has been a great sabot slug shooter 24 inch ported rifled barrel.

our 4-H club has 2 of the 500s with the wood stocks and 24 inch ported accu-choke barrels bunch of kids have no problem with them
the stocks are a bit too short for me I think they are cut to 12 1/2 inches so the stock or my thumb smacks me in the face if I try and shoot them.

OK , I will admit sighting in with slugs on such a light gun is a little abusive and turkey shells

my bird gun has a Morgan pad to get the length of pull right for me and drop the pad
Fit has a lot to do with it A Lot.

you can carry a heavy gun all day and have less recoil for 2 seconds of the day or you can carry a light gun and not even feel it when you pull up on a bird.

Mavericks only come in 12 and 20

actually Wolfie the 20ga might be perfect for you with the 22 inch barrel I have thought about getting a 20ga youth gun with the 21-22 inch barrel several times and just building up the stock to my xxl adult length
I sort of did. I liked my sons 500c so much I bought a 500c combo when I saw a good deal on it used , that has been my dedicated sabot slug gun for several years now it costs too much to sight back in with sabots I just keep the barrel and scope all set.

we were changing stocks on the other 500c 20ga to a 11 3/4 LOP stock to get it ready for a young lady to use for 4-H trap and realized the 12ga stock fits the 20ga just has a little extra wood around the action but the part that fits in the action is the same
take off wood should be easy enough to find if you buy the 88 with plastic then want to fit a wood stock to you.

Yes sir, honestly I've been talking myself I'm just gonna have to go with a 20. As much as I'd like a .410 components are just to hard to come buy. Think 20 will be a good compromise. And Walmart always seems to have them in stock for all of $250 lol. Wanna try loading some specialty stuff for predator hunting with powder coated cast lead buck shot but I have so many other irons in the fire right now

bubba round tree has a nice F and T buck recipe for 20ga he has a video out he explains the entire loading process and components

If a 10 year old can shoot slugs out of a 20 you can to.

Yeah I've been watching him and I gotta say, even though I'm completely lost half the time I find his stuff really interesting. Really need to see about getting like a shot chart , samples of each size pellet or something too.
Idk though somthing about shotguns just don't really hit that button with me that rifles do mabye loading for them will change all that.

I have to admit shotguns didn't really do it for me either for a long time , always had one but it was a means to hunt.

rifles and distance intrigued me

I was ok with a shotgun , I learned how to shoot them better and how to coach youth and that helped also.

then I got into chasing birds pheasant primarily built out a couple guns just the way I wanted them even if it didn't maybe make the most money sense.

I still like to shoot pistols and rifles , but I found an appreciation for shotguns as well.

I don't load for the shotguns , my dad has the reloaded for shot shells but for the components to make trap loads it stopped making sense.

as much as I like shooting them and hunting with them and talking about them here , and their great utilitarian value I still don't really consider my self a shotgun guy they are still a means to hunt , but darn are they useful with the right loads when you know how to use them.