What are some good shotgun mods?

[Guest Calfkiller]

Kinda new on here, so this might have been covered somewhere. I just bought a Maverick 88 12 ga. with the short barrel and synthetic stock. What are some good mods for a home defense gun? I don't have much in the gun, so I want to keep it real.

[Mike]

Mag tube and a side saddle. Done.

Don't put a bunch of crap on your gun. It will just make it heavy and less useful.

Mike

Edited July 26, 2011 by Mike

[Jonnin]

Mag tube. I added one so mine now holds 10 rounds, costs about $30 - $50 (I forget) and if I can install it at home, anyone can (I have no skill and few tools). Mine had a terrible loading ramp so I had that replaced (rem 1100 model has a button on the load ramp that is nearly impossible to hit in a hurry making it hard to reload) with a much more friendly ramp which lets me load it fast. If you are serious about it you can get the speedloader but that is fairly expensive and to be honest, its more for competition than practical use. The trouble with a long tube on your gun is the short barrel, you have to pick the length that makes sense to you (mine is 1 shell longer than my barrel and its a full sized barrel) -- you may be stuck with a 5 or 6 shot gun tops. Other ideas are the metal shell holders that carry some spare ammo on the side of the gun, though I just use the cloth version that goes around the stock. You could do both to carry 10 extra rounds, or one of them for 5. Mine came with a red dot sight and thats nice for slugs but its really a waste, I just dont have anything else that needs the hardware so I left it on there. You might like a sling? You may like to chop it down to pistol grips?

[Guest nicemac]

A sling and a buttstock shell holder. I have one made of fabric/ elastic that wraps around the stock and holds six shells–between $10 and $15.

[bigwakes]

When I added a mag tube I had to change my plastic plunger round pusher thingy (yes im certain that is the official name) to aluminum. It wouldn't cycle with the old one in the extended tube.

[Jonnin]

When I added a mag tube I had to change my plastic plunger round pusher thingy (yes im certain that is the official name) to aluminum. It wouldn't cycle with the old one in the extended tube.

Good call. Mine just worked but you are correct this can be a problem. My gun had indentations in the mag tube that I had to grind out, it took a number of iterations before it was smooth enough to use. You can beat/bend them out but I didnt have anything appropriate.

[Guest Calfkiller]

Right now I'm thinkin' mag tube, elastic shell holder for stock, and a sling. What about replacing bead on front sight with a hi viz or something. Is this an easy project?

[Guest nicemac]

What about replacing bead on front sight with a hi viz or something. Is this an easy project?

For home defense, unnecessary. Point and shoot.

[Mike]

For home defense, unnecessary. Point and shoot.

Wrong. You still have to aim. At 40' nine pellet buckshot only spreads to about 4-5" out of a cylinder bore.

Mike

[Guest nicemac]

Wrong. You still have to aim. At 40' nine pellet buckshot only spreads to about 4-5" out of a cylinder bore.

Mike

I have not been in a home defense situation (and hope to never be in one), but can't imagine using my 12 gauge shotgun in a 5'-10' encounter by drawing it up and aiming.

[Il Duce]

Ummm unless I am wrong there is no tube extension for a Maverick 88

[Guest Calfkiller]

You may be right, Il Duce, I will have to check into that. The 88 does have some differences from the Mossy 500 series, including the location of the safety.

[Il Duce]

I say that because I have the same gun

[Guest Calfkiller]

Guess I can cross one mod off my list. By the way, like your avatar. I am a Saints fan myself.

[JeffL]

I still need to get a receiver mounted shell carrier and tri-rail for my FN SLP. I've got a VTAC sling on it and a Surefire Scout light waiting for the rail.

[Alleycat72]

Cut half the barrel off.

[Guest Calfkiller]

Well, Alleycat, since the barrel is only 18 inches or so now, I'm not sure that is a good idea for me.

[Guest bkelm18]

I have not been in a home defense situation (and hope to never be in one), but can't imagine using my 12 gauge shotgun in a 5'-10' encounter by drawing it up and aiming.

Then I hope you have a backup plan. Do you aim with your rifles and handguns? At 5' the spread of your buckshot will be negligible so you can think of it as a slug of buckshot with which you'll easily miss if you don't aim.

[Alleycat72]

Well, Alleycat, since the barrel is only 18 inches or so now, I'm not sure that is a good idea for me.

[Caster]

I'll tell you one mod to NOT make....a CAR stock. Nothing looks worse than an AR-15 stock on something that's not an AR.

As has already been stated, the less trinket bull crap you put on there the better. It just adds weight and mall ninja cooties.

[Guest bkelm18]

Cut that barrel under 18" and that's a sure way to get put in prison. A shotgun with a barrel under 18" is considered an NFA item and requires a tax stamp.

[Guest bkelm18]

I'll 2nd Mike on this. If you can put an extended tube on it, go for it. A side saddle or some way of carrying extra shells is about the only other mod worth it. If you don't care for the recoil you can pick up a Knoxx recoil reducing stock.

[Alleycat72]

Cut that barrel under 18" and that's a sure way to get put in prison. A shotgun with a barrel under 18" is considered an NFA item and requires a tax stamp.

That's what Form 1s are for.

Every one should have at least one stamp.

[wjh2657]

Wrong. You still have to aim. At 40' nine pellet buckshot only spreads to about 4-5" out of a cylinder bore.

Mike

Where do you live, Buckingham Palace? The longest shot I could make inside my house is from the back hall through the living room and kitchen to the back door and that is only 28 feet. However, I do agree with you , at greater than 10' I will be firing from the shoulder and aiming.

[Guest bkelm18]

Where do you live, Buckingham Palace? The longest shot I could make inside my house is from the back hall through the living room and kitchen to the back door and that is only 28 feet. However, I do agree with you , at greater than 10' I will be firing from the shoulder and aiming.

Think you got it backwards. He was saying that even out to 40', spread is minimal, and even smaller as the distance decreases. Aiming is a must at all household distances.