Mossberg 500ATP Safety - looking for experienced Houston area Gunsmith
My ~1974 Vintage Mossberg 500ATP Safety has developed a problem where it sets upon recoil from the shot fired. I have searched the web and it is apparently a common problem. I contacted the Mossberg Repair Center and they confirmed it is a common repair, but they would not sell parts to me. Instead, they suggested I either send it in or take it to a qualified gunsmith.
Mine is the older style one piece Metal safety button/selector. It is not the plastic kind with the metal plate under the safety selector button. As I am no stranger to the assembly and disassembly of my shotgun, I disassembled the receiver and inspected the parts. I found no obvious signs of failure, or excessive wear, so I cleaned the safety components, paying special attention to the spring/ball detent mechanism. While I had the receiver broken down, I cleaned the Red "Ready" marker/indicator dot relief hole. Then I applied a drop of Red Devil Stop Sign Red Enamel. The selector button is symetrical, providing you with a virgin set of detents for the detent ball to land in. I reassembled the button 180 degrees from its original direction. Also, I applied a coating of Loctite Threadlocker Blue to the screw, before torquing it down tight. I've let the gun sit for several days now to let the loctite really set. I'll take it to the range soon and test it to see if my efforts were in vain.
If it does still have a problem with a recoil reset of the safety, I'm pretty sure the answer is replacing the spring and ball. Mine is the kind that is captive. The ball and spring do not fall out on their own. The ball is staked into the receiver. The only way I know to remove the ball and spring, I'm afraid, will damage the aluminum receiver. I'd like to avoid doing that if there is a better way. So I'd like to take it to a local professional. I like this old receiver and don't want to mess it up.
Is there a gunsmith here (Houston) that has done this? I don't want to take it to someone is learning to repair Mossberg 500ATP Safeties, I want to take it to someone that has repaired a number of them and already knows what their doing. And, I don't want to convert it to the new plastic button and one way screw either.
Any suggestions? How much should the operation cost?
Thanks in advance for your replies,
Happy Shooting!
My ~1974 Vintage Mossberg 500ATP Safety has developed a problem where it sets upon recoil from the shot fired. I have searched the web and it is apparently a common problem. I contacted the Mossberg Repair Center and they confirmed it is a common repair, but they would not sell parts to me. Instead, they suggested I either send it in or take it to a qualified gunsmith.
Mine is the older style one piece Metal safety button/selector. It is not the plastic kind with the metal plate under the safety selector button. As I am no stranger to the assembly and disassembly of my shotgun, I disassembled the receiver and inspected the parts. I found no obvious signs of failure, or excessive wear, so I cleaned the safety components, paying special attention to the spring/ball detent mechanism. While I had the receiver broken down, I cleaned the Red "Ready" marker/indicator dot relief hole. Then I applied a drop of Red Devil Stop Sign Red Enamel. The selector button is symetrical, providing you with a virgin set of detents for the detent ball to land in. I reassembled the button 180 degrees from its original direction. Also, I applied a coating of Loctite Threadlocker Blue to the screw, before torquing it down tight. I've let the gun sit for several days now to let the loctite really set. I'll take it to the range soon and test it to see if my efforts were in vain.
If it does still have a problem with a recoil reset of the safety, I'm pretty sure the answer is replacing the spring and ball. Mine is the kind that is captive. The ball and spring do not fall out on their own. The ball is staked into the receiver. The only way I know to remove the ball and spring, I'm afraid, will damage the aluminum receiver. I'd like to avoid doing that if there is a better way. So I'd like to take it to a local professional. I like this old receiver and don't want to mess it up.
Is there a gunsmith here (Houston) that has done this? I don't want to take it to someone is learning to repair Mossberg 500ATP Safeties, I want to take it to someone that has repaired a number of them and already knows what their doing. And, I don't want to convert it to the new plastic button and one way screw either.
Any suggestions? How much should the operation cost?
Thanks in advance for your replies,
Happy Shooting!
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