Mossberg’s 590M takes magazine-­fed shotguns to a higher level.

Mossberg’s 590M takes magazine-­fed shotguns to a higher level.

I have long been a fan of Mossberg shotguns. The affair started with one I carried during Operation Iraqi Freedom back in 2003. It saved my life many times.

Despite that hard-­earned loyalty, I was one of those who put the shotgun in a rack when I could pick up an AK. It wasn’t because I felt outgunned, as many critics suggest. Most of our engagements were well within the shotgun’s lethal range. Rather, my decision came down to reloading. Reloading the shotgun took more time than I was willing to spare.

I’m not telling you that a pump-­action shotgun is the best choice for combat. However, for thousands of police officers and armed citizens, the shotgun is the preferred choice. (In some areas, it may be the only choice.) If those folks are involved in a lethal encounter with said shotgun, the speed-­reload problem will be no different than it was in Iraq.

We all know changing a magazine is much faster than trying to download and upload different munitions, too. My select-slug transition. i.e., from buckshot to slug, is pretty fast with my duty shotgun, but I’d rather just lock a fresh magazine of 10 slugs in place and go about my business. With the news of the Mossberg 590M Mag-­Fed, this is now reality.

The variety of magazines made for the m590m gives the shooter a distinct advantage when switching out loads to meet the need.

The variety of magazines made for the M590M gives the shooter a distinct advantage when switching out loads to meet the need.

The 590M is a magazine-­fed variant of the company’s 590 military-­grade pump shotgun. It maintains all of that model’s toughness and reliability, but adds the ability to change mags with capacities of five, 10, 15 or 20 rounds. The double-­stack magazines are sturdy and feature heat-­treated

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