Replacement barrel as much as a whole new shotgun. Why?

[1sailor]

A neighbor who is moving offered to sell me his Maverick 88 shotgun. It has a 24" smoothbore barrel with iron sights. Good price so I thought maybe pick it up and an extra barrel. Searching online I find lots of replacement barrels but the prices are astronomical. Maverick shotguns with 18 to 20 inch barrels run around $220 to about $260. Replacement barrels run about $200 and up. Seems odd that it's almost cheaper just to buy multiple shotguns rather than replacement barrels. Maverick's are made by Mossberg outside of El Paso Texas and Mossberg barrels are interchangeable. My search included Midwest, Midway, and ebay. Brownells wouldn't open up at the time but I doubt they would be any cheaper.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Maverick shotgun value drops like a rock after initial sale. I'd steer clear and look for a Remington 870.

 

[Drm50]

I've never been into extra barrels. I don't do Moss/ Mavericks ect, but Rems, Wins, Brn and Ithaca are all the same. A little more and you can buy the barrel you want with a gun hanging under it.

 

[1sailor]

Not real concerned about resale on a gun I would only be paying $150 for if I bought it. And I'm not enough of a shotgun shooter to make it worth the expense of an 870 or a 500. Still probably worth the 150 bucks though. Even without an extra barrel.

 

[2152hq]

With the Mossberg 500 & Maverick 88 bbls being interchangeable within gauge and capacity,,I'd be in the market for a used one of either.
Lots of them on FleaBay usually and the other gun-auction sites.
Quite a few under $100.
Of course there are the ones listed at full retail as well,,but that's to be expected.

 

[1sailor]

Yeah, there are some on ebay and some aren't too overpriced. I guess it just kind of surprised me. I figured that a barrel wouldn't be any more than about half of what the whole gun costs. Not unusual for me to figure wrong though.

 

[reddogs]

I ordered direct from mossberg 3-4 years ago a 18.5 bbl for my 500 it was much cheaper than what you are finding.But a lot has changed since then.

 

[WR Moore]

Depending upon what you want the extra barrel to do, having the original barrel modified to take choke tubes might be the way to go.

 

[max]

I had been looking for an extra barrel for my Winchester 1200 for some time. At an auction last year, a barrel sold for $350 and I bought a complete like new 1200 for $300. I got the barrel I wanted complete with the rest of the gun.

The barrel prices made no sense to me. However, this was during the period when all gun prices were sky high. People were buying up barrels, cutting them down and selling"riot guns".

 

[1sailor]

Seeing the cost of barrels has me deciding that unless I keep the 24" barrel it's not worth buying. Still, $150 for an almost new gun isn't too bad. Not real crazy about the idea of cutting it down.

 

[DWalt]

Maverick guns are not assembled in El Paso, but in Eagle Pass TX. I have been inside their factory. Many components are made in Piedras Negras, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass.

 

[1sailor]

My bad. I thought that Eagle Pass was just outside of El Paso. Just looked at a map though and yeah, I was way off.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Seeing the cost of barrels has me deciding that unless I keep the 24" barrel it's not worth buying. Still, $150 for an almost new gun isn't too bad. Not real crazy about the idea of cutting it down.

Wise move........No Quality there. And read Dewalt's post above again. Lipstick on a pig..........Still a pig.

 

[max]

Here is a very interesting test of a Maverick 88:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9OL7IquoIo[/ame]

 

[cyphertext]

Wise move........No Quality there. And read Dewalt's post above again. Lipstick on a pig..........Still a pig.

There's nothing wrong with a Maverick shotgun. They are lower cost, so there are some things that I don't care for, such as the pinned on forearm, but they work and are reliable. Used them for duck hunting, can double as a boat paddle if the motor dies.

The Remington 870 Express sells for twice the price and it is not twice the shotgun.

 

[Autonomous]

I'd like to get an 18 1/2-inch barrel for my Mossberg 590. Should be easy, right?
Ha!

 

[Doug M.]

A decent gunsmith can probably shorten and replace the front sight for a reasonable price. I have no use for a longer barrel, so I ordered one with the 18". If I were still in LE, I would have a 14"in the car.

 

[Bald1]

I have Mossberg 500 and Maverick 88 shotguns. They are good functioning guns. You will not wear them out and they will not malfunction unless u got a lemon. Even Mercedes produces the occasional lemon…… I recently got a brand new factory Mossberg barrel (18") on GB for $80. If u watch sportsman supply in butler PA , they list many at at time. Just make sure of finish your bidding on as they have matte and blued.

 

[Bald1]

Also ……. Cheapest way out is to cut your 24" barrel to 18.25" and press on a fiber optic bead, (midway has them as well as eBay Amazon) I'm assuming your 24" does not have a rib. And in the winter when your bored then accessories are endless. Like building an AR. Good cheap fun.

 

[GypsmJim]

Maverick guns are not assembled in El Paso, but in Eagle Pass TX. I have been inside their factory. Many components are made in Piedras Negras, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass.

I have several Mossberg 500s and can't speak highly enough of them. Made in USA (or used to be anyway) and good quality.

Then,..............I got a mexico mossberg and without a doubt it was the worst firearm I ever owned. 4 times back to the factory and still no good. I ended up selling it for 1/2 price.