As a few of you may know, I was in the process of looking for a new replacement turkey gun for my Mossberg 500. After giving it some thought, and realizing I didn't want to put down $400+ for a gun that gets carried into the field a handful of times season, I started looking into what I could do as a makeover for my current gun. After some research and reading of reviews, I decided to do a vinyl wrap along with a saddle mount (Picatinny rail) and a Bushnell TRS-25 Red Dot along with a new HS Undertaker Choke. The vinyl is a mossy oak graphics kit, and from most of the reviews online, it seems to perform excellent, and is event water tight, which is a plus. It's a heat forming vinyl kit that comes pre-cut (rough cut...you have to trim, and cut out the ejection port, safety, groove at the top of the receiver, etc.), and can be applied with a heat gun or hair dryer. The biggest problem I faced were in areas around the lower end of the stock where it met the receiver and just forward of the the comb. Those areas ended up with one or two minor creases, no matter how many attempts I made to reheat and reform. Overall, it went pretty well, and I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I picked Mossy Oak Obsession as it's what I felt would fit better for a spring pattern. I plan to take it out this week to pattern and dial in the red dot, so we'll see how it goes from here. So far, cosmetically, I love it. Factoring in Cabelas bucks, and my NRA BP gift card, I only have about $65 into the whole thing. Thought I would share a few pictures of the process, start to finish: Starting out: Vinyl laid out: All wrapped: Sun Optics Saddle Mount and Bushnell Red Dot: All done: Closeup of the mount:
Looks good. Let me know how the HS Strut Undertaker choke patterns. I am curious what load and shot size works best for you with that choke.
Wow that turned out amazing! Great job man. I think I may have to do this to my 870 sometime in the future.
Nice! I had a 500 I sold to my best buddy (Jaws) that I killed a ton of birds with, he's killed a bunch with it now too. I found that same choke (I had the one that was OK for HD loads) worked best in my gun along with Winchester Xtended Range HD 3" #5's. I killed a bunch out to 45 or so yards and he flattened one at a lasered 62 yards with it one day. I'm confident you will find it to be a great gun, please let us know what you find when you pattern it.
That's awesome great job. I have the same gun in a 20ga. I'd like to do that but be able to wrap both barrels (smooth/slug) Is there enough to do both? Or do they offer a barrel kit for just that? Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
$25 + S&H http://www.mossyoakgraphics.com/shotgun-mossy-oak-camo-gun-kit.html Slowpoke, there is not enough to do two barrels, but they do sell regular vinyl wrap that isn't precut that you could order extra for the extra barrel. Thanks, guys. I'm excited to get out and shoot it. Matt and Brad, I'll keep you posted. Matt, thanks for the load recommendation. I'll have to see if I can add that to my list before I get out and shoot.
Well it was my first time, too, and it wasn't too bad honestly. The trimming was the easiest part. The smoothing it out around the weird angles and trying to eliminate wrinkles was the hardest. Just be patient and take your time. I think I could have eliminated a few of the small wrinkles if I didn't try to rush in a few spots.
