What is my Mossberg 500 worth?
One of the most-produced shotguns in the world, built to a price and built to work. Almost all are worth used-shotgun money, which is exactly what they should be worth.
Made 1960–present.
No page can price your gun, and one that offers to is guessing. What this does is show you which one you have — because that is where the money is.
How to tell which one you have
- Read the model number on the receiver, and check whether it is a 500 or the heavier 590.
- Look for any military, police or agency contract markings.
- Establish the gauge and barrel length, and whether extra barrels came with it.
- Check the action for wear and the bore for pitting.
The versions that change the number
| Version | What it means for value |
|---|---|
| Standard 500 1960–present | Field and utility guns in enormous numbers. Honest working money. |
| 590 and 590A1 1987–present | Heavier military-pattern guns, with the A1 built to a military specification. |
| Contract and agency guns various | Marked guns from departments and services, which some buyers seek. |
| Combo sets various | Supplied with two barrels. Worth more complete than with one missing. |
What actually drives the price
- Whether it is a 500 or a 590, and whether it carries contract markings.
- Extra barrels, which have real value separately.
- Condition of the bore and the action.
- Gauge, with the less common ones slightly ahead.
And the two that apply to every gun on this site: do not clean it, and keep the box and papers. Removing original finish is permanent, and on the right gun the packaging is a real part of the total.
"It is a cheap shotgun, just throw it in"
As a single gun that is roughly right, and there is no shame in it. The thing worth checking is the barrels: a spare barrel, a rifled slug barrel or a combo set adds money that disappears entirely if the guns go out as a job lot with a box of odds and ends.
I have a couple of these and some old rifles. Worth a visit?
Yes. We buy the whole lot rather than picking through it, and a few working shotguns alongside anything older is a completely normal thing for us to look at.
Getting a number for yours
Send photographs and we will tell you what we will pay for it. We buy nationwide — a single firearm ships to us prepaid and insured, and for a collection we come to you. More on what separates one Mossberg from another.