Mossberg 590M

The gun closest to “conventional” was the 590M. At first, it looks like a regular Mossberg pump shotgun until you realize it is magazine fed. The magazines are enormous polymer constructions that hold anywhere from five to a mind-blowing 20 shells, and they all worked great. However, I will say that 20 shells in a gun adds a ton of extra weight. The magazine also loaded easier than the metal magazines that accompanied several of the other shotguns. The 590M has excellent ghost-ring sights with an orange blade front sight. The barrel has a vented heat shield that gives it a WWI trench gun kind of look. I thought that was a little unnecessary, but I guess if you start plowing through those 20-round magazines, it might serve a purpose. The magazine release is ambidextrous as is the famous and well designed Mossberg shotgun safety that sits in the center of the tang and is manipulated by the shooter’s thumb. My one complaint was the length of pull seemed ridiculously long for a tactical shotgun. I would swap it out for a recoil reducing collapsible one from Mesa Tactical, switch the pump to one with a light from SureFire or Streamlight, pop in that 20-round magazine loaded with slugs, and I would be ready for Armageddon.