Mossberg 590M Mag-Fed

In 2018 Mossberg rolled out the 590M Mag-Fed shotgun. I’ll be honest, this is not where I thought the shotgun space was gonna head next. It really makes sense when you think about it. What is one of the first drawbacks about shotguns that comes out the mouths of professionals, law enforcement, and firearm enthusiasts when asked by manufacturers? In a word – capacity.

So Mossberg (and others) did exactly what they were told, they hung a magazine from the bottom of the gun. The breakdown is simple; for all intents and purposes, the 590M is a Mossberg 500 with a revamped storage/feed system. It’s simple and well designed as you’d expect it to be. Its made from synthetic composites and comes in different formats and capacities. Anywhere from 5 to 20 rounds and even a double stack mag to try and make the weight distribution a little less unwieldy.

I’d like to roll that back for a minute, there’s a 5 round capacity mag. So they designed a magazine to carry 5 rounds underneath the gun. Okay, why not just use a regular tube fed 500 then? Sure, I understand why they’re gonna say they did it. It’s because they wanted folks that use this system to have the same relative weight and power option of a stock 500. I’m just having trouble seeing it at the moment.

Let’s move up the chain to the 20 round mag. That’s a lot of weight. 20 rounds of punch will put a lot of lead on target but undoubtedly, it would be a touch weird slung under there. It’s not that the 590M’s mag system isn’t well designed. It tips in, it’s sturdy, it looks cool – I just can’t figure out why I need to have 10 or 20 rounds in my 500. Other than it would be fun to roll off $6 worth of shells in 16 seconds.

Mossberg 590M [website]