Mossberg Silver Reserve II Super Sport
By Scott Mayer
Mossberg & Sons
www.mossberg.com
Mossberg Silver Reserve II Field
Mossberg Silver Reserve II Field Side-By-Side
Mossberg’s Silver Reserve is a line of entry-level, break-open shotguns that cover an array of sporting shotgun activities. Models include basic field over-unders for hunting, sporting guns with competition-specific features for competitive shooting, and nostalgic side-by-sides for those who pine for simpler times.
The newest generation of Silver Reserve shotguns—the Silver Reserve II—is still modestly priced, but also has some of the special touches hunters and shooters expect on higher-quality double guns. Those features include black walnut stocks with fine-line checkering and blued barrels complemented by silver-finished receivers sporting wraparound classic scroll engraving. Functionally, the Silver Reserve II line offers chrome-plated chambers and bores, dual-locking lugs and tang-mounted safety/barrel selectors as standard features. A variety of barrel lengths and stock options are also available.
Two mornings of hot-and-heavy duck hunting gave the author some of experience with how the Silver Reserve II handles heavy-recoiling loads in wet, muddy conditions.
A good entry-level gun is one with which you can try the sport of your choice without making a huge financial investment in equipment, yet actually be competitive or successful at the beginner level. This type of gun is not necessarily intended for the daily regimen of a professional shooter, but it should readily endure frequent casual shooting and hunting well enough for you to pass it down to the next generation. A good entry-level gun should also have decent fit and finish, but it’s silly to expect the attention to detail given a British Best gun or even the hand fitting commercially made name-brand guns received in the days before CNC machining. There are also not-so-good entry-level guns that are the sporting equivalent of cheap furniture—you get what you pay for.
The monobloc is jeweled, or engine turned, for a decorative appearance when the action is open. From arm’s length it looks fine, but on close inspection the indexing is inconsistent.
The Silver Reserve II Field variant ranges in suggested retail price from $693 to $1,042, depending on features such as gauge, extractors, ejectors and barrel length. As equipped, my 12-gauge sample, sku# 75435, came with 28-inch vent-rib barrels; full, improved modified, modified, improved cylinder and cylinder choke tubes; plastic choke tube case and wrench; and ejectors. I found this gun listed for $776.
I believe this is the most difficult “price window” for break-open shotguns, because the guns are sometimes too good to be cheap or too cheap to be good. If they’re too good to be cheap, buyers get a heck of a gun for the money, but the manufacturer’s profit margins ultimately might not be there, and lines are discontinued. If guns are too cheap to be good, manufacturers make money, but consumers overpay, eventually word gets out, then sales lag, and lines are discontinued. In 20 years of evaluating everything from rickety Chinese-made guns to European over-unders that cost more than my first house, I’m putting Mossberg’s Silver Reserve II solidly in the “good” entry-level gun category.
There is very little “proud” wood on the Silver Reserve II. “Proud” is a nice way of saying the wood sticks up higher than the metal and is a common cost-cutting feature on less expensive guns.
It’s not easy to find much in the way of cost-cutting measures on this gun. The biggest cost-cutting measure is likely that the Silver Reserve II guns are made in Turkey. I’ve had the privilege of visiting Turkish gun factories and am happy to report there’s cutting-edge manufacturing technology and quality coming from there. About 15 years ago, well-known firearms importer Val Forgett told me to keep my eye on this bridge between East and West for high-quality future imports. I chuckled, but he was right. Back then, many guns coming out of Turkey were distinctly “Eastern” and downright gaudy by American standards. My experience at the time with several imported Turkish guns was that some worked well, others not so much, and also that their metallurgy could be spotty. Today, the Turks “get it,” and are doing a great job of making guns to suit “Western” tastes. As for the metallurgy, it’s there, and I’ve even put my money where my mouth is and own a few modern Turkish-made guns.
Decoration on the top latch is functional, but a little disappointing. The checkering isn’t crisp, and the part looks like it came from a well-used mold.
The wood on the Silver Reserve II is plain, but not cheap. Its ordinary looking walnut stock doesn’t have much in the way of figure, but has much more class than the “walnut-finished hardwood” more typical of price-point guns. The wood-to-metal fit, while hardly perfect, is some of the best I’ve seen on a gun in this price range, and there’s very little “proud” wood. Proud wood is a nice way of saying the wood sticks up higher than the metal and it is a pretty common cost-cutting feature on inexpensive guns. Tight tolerances cost money and precise wood-to-metal finishing raises the price because the manufacturer has to either pay someone to finish the wood down, even with the metal, or risk a higher stock-rejection rate by adjusting automatic equipment to cut “too close to the bone.”
Checkering appears to be laser-cut, and can only be described as “precise” as it lacks either the flaws of poor hand-cut checkering or the soul of good hand-cut checkering.The buttstock is slightly cast-off for right-handed shooters. Cast is a purposeful bending of the stock to the right or left of the centerline of the bores. The reason for cast is because you mount a gun out on our shoulder, and on a shotgun your eye is the rear sight. Cast positions the bores more in front of your face so you’re really sighting down the center of the barrels instead of from down one side. Usually more utilitarian guns such as pumps or semi-autos don’t have cast because they’re intended to be used equally by left- or right-handed shooters, so the cast on the Silver Reserve II is a nice touch—so long as you’re a right-handed shooter.
Sticky rice-field mud speckles the muzzles of the Silver Reserve II Field as this drake mallard makes its final approach to the decoys.
There’s no wiz-bang-fancy recoil pad to soften the kick, though under the rubber recoil pad the stock is hogged out more than necessary for the through-bolt, creating something of an air cushion. The through-bolt is the bolt that joins the receiver and buttstock and the large opening for it forms a hollow that the slightly pliant, solid-rubber recoil pad flexes into under recoil. That’s not a design feature Mossberg is touting, so it’s probably not purposefully designed into the Silver Reserve II, and just an observation on my part. The pad also has a slick heel insert making it easier to shoulder the gun without snagging on clothing, and overall it is a huge step up from the cheap, solid-plastic buttplates common to less expensive guns.
Metal finish is really good, too. With modern bluing methods, there’s no excuse for bluing to be anything less than perfect—and it is perfect on the Silver Reserve II. The wraparound scroll engraving on the silver receiver is refreshing to me because this is an area where my shotgun snobbery shines. I generally hate anything less than the best engraving on the best guns because, lesser engraving frequently looks like someone trying to make a cheap gun not look cheap—even when it’s on a not cheap gun. To me, less has always been more in this regard, but surprisingly the pattern on this gun strikes me as right for what this gun is. The only exterior metal treatment I have to criticize is the molded-in checkering on the top latch. It’s not at all crisp and makes the part look like it came from a well-used and tired mold.
There is a slick, hard-plastic insert at the heel of the buttpad that makes it easier to slide the gun up and onto your shoulder without snagging on clothing.
Interior metal finish is a mixed bag. Where it counts, it’s OK; where it doesn’t matter, there’s no finish. Overall it’s about what you can expect for an over-under in this price range. For example, the monobloc is jeweled, or engine-turned, to provide an attractive finish to that part when the action is opened. This type of finish is normally applied using some type of spinning, cylindrical tool with valve-grinding compound to polish distinct, overlapping circles on the metal. The piece is indexed between these circles, leaving it with something of a fish scale appearance. From arm’s length, the jewelling on the Silver Reserve II looks fine; on close inspection though, it’s evident that it wasn’t indexed consistently. Fortunately, jewelling is a cosmetic feature and, while I wouldn’t expect an entry-level gun to have it at the same level as a fine pocket watch case, I think it should at least be done right or not at all. Perhaps one day we’ll see the Turks come up with an indexing fixture that automates jewelling to the same level of quality as their receiver engraving or wood checkering.
Mossberg’s Silver Reserve II Field with 28-inch barrels responds best when using the “break point” method of wingshooting, where the gun moves little and the trigger pull comes the instant the gun is seated in your shoulder pocket.
The standing breechface is mostly polished and the inside faces of the receiver not at all. None of those are wear areas, so accept that functionally the finish doesn’t matter—it’s one of the things you give up to get the low price. Even more expensive production guns are often left unfinished inside where it doesn’t matter. The only part I could find that gave me any concern over durability was the Deeley-style fore-end latch, which just looks fragile. It might be really strong and last forever, too, but since it’s not a part that’s subjected to much in the way of strain or use, it’s something I can live with on a gun in this price range.
In my opinion, and I rate it nothing more, Mossberg specified the function of this gun properly for an entry-level shooter. For example, the trigger is mechanical instead of inertial, meaning if you have a misfire or load the wrong barrel, simply pull the trigger a second time and the other barrel fires. A mechanical trigger mechanically resets the sear to the second barrel while an inertia trigger relies on gun recoil to reset the sear to the other barrel. If, for whatever reason, the gun unexpectedly does NOT go off, inertia triggers can leave beginners confused as to why it didn’t fire the second barrel and wondering what corrective action to take. Another reason I like mechanical triggers is for second-shot insurance. Several years ago my neighbor and I were grouse hunting in 17 degree weather and, when the first shot of the morning presented itself, my side-by-side with inertia single trigger went “click” instead of “bang” because the cold had congealed the oil on the firing pin, slowing it down too much to ignite the primer. If my gun had a mechanical trigger, I could have pulled the trigger again and properly missed that bird instead of watching it fly off unmolested. If there’s a fault I can assign mechanical triggers, it’s that if you mount the gun poorly, some shooters report what appears to be a double on firing. When that happens, it’s usually the shooter’s fault for not shouldering the gun tightly and it “bounces” off of their shoulder causing them to pull the trigger a second time. The second shot happens so quickly after the first that beginners often think the gun fired twice.
This laser-checkering tool at a gun factory in Istanbul is indicative of the level of technology used in Turkish gun factories today.
Another functional feature I like on this gun for beginners is that barrel selection is all but idiot-proof. With the safety in the “safe” position you slide the safety button side-to-side to select which barrel fires first. Set it up so the letter “U” shows, and the “under” barrel fires first. Set it up so the “O” shows, and the “over” barrel fires first. There’s no need to remember any dot code often found on barrel selectors. You don’t have to move the selector between shots to fire the other barrel; it simply selects which barrel fires first and the gun transitions to the other barrel automatically for the second shot. If you don’t shoot the second barrel, simply opening the action to eject your empty resets everything back to fire the pre-selected barrel first. Here’s a shooting tip: set up the selector so the under barrel fires first and forget about it. The under barrel has more straight-back recoil, while the over barrel produces more muzzle rise. Firing the under barrel first disrupts your sight picture less for the second shot.
Finally, it has a manual safety instead of an automatic one that goes to the “safe” position when the gun is opened. There are good arguments for both manual and automatic safeties on an entry-level gun. The automatic safety, admittedly, is intuitively more “safe” because it happens without having to think about it. On the other hand, it encourages new shooters not to think about it. It’s our responsibility as shooters to make sure everyone we’re shooting with does so safely. In my experience, the constant gentle reminder to “put the gun on safe” instills a safety consciousness the automatic one does not.
The Silver Reserve II Field comes with full, improved modified, modified, improved cylinder and cylinder choke tubes, plastic choke tube case and wrench.
Since receiving the Silver Reserve II, I’ve used it about as much as my experience suggests an entry-level shooter would in the amount of time I’ve had it. I’m on Safari Club International’s staff sporting clays league and have used this gun on several weekend shoots this fall. Southern Arizona has experienced a spotty dove season, but I’ve still managed to spend a couple mornings afield making sure the mechanical trigger transitions to the second barrel after I miss with the first. Most recently, I’m finishing up our quail season with the Silver Reserve II Field. These activities are all light-load endeavors and I didn’t have any problems, so I opted to take the Silver Reserve II with me on an Arkansas duck hunt to see how it handles heavy steel-shot loads.
I was hunting in flooded rice fields where the primary objective was to try Under Armour’s new 3.0 base layer in wet, muddy conditions. We had “bluebird” days, but the pit blinds had about 4 inches of standing water in them and the mud was sticking to everything like a thick adhesive caulk. There were two other shooters in the blind using high-end semi-autos and, by the end of the second morning, the conditions and heavy loads had rendered one into a single-shot and the other an occasional single-shot.
The wraparound scroll engraving on the Silver Reserve II is just about perfect for a gun in this price range. It’s not “Eastern” looking like Turkish shotguns were a few decades ago, and it’s not so cheap-looking that the gun would look better without it than with it.
As you’d expect from something with so few exposed moving parts, the Silver Reserve II didn’t have a problem with the mud. Safety, ejectors, top latch and lock-up all worked fine. Mechanically, the only issue that arose was with my early shots on the first morning when the second barrel wasn’t firing. Hunting from a pit blind with an over-under is a little awkward because you have to break open and load the gun with the muzzles pointed upward, and somehow I was managing to break open the gun and load both chambers without cocking the hammer for the over barrel. Once I assessed what was going on and made a conscious effort to make sure I broke the gun fully open each time I loaded, I didn’t have any problems.
Another thing I observed was that, even though the Silver Reserve II Field weighs in at 7½ pounds, it kicks much harder than I expected with the heavier duck loads. We were shooting Remington’s Hypersonic loads that send 1¼ ounce of No. 2 steel at 1,700 fps, and I don’t mind saying they rattle your teeth. It’s also not much fun when you fire one of those loads with the buckle from your waders sandwiched between your shoulder and the buttpad. The little bit of give provided by the pad and the hollow underneath are fine for taking the edge off the kick from target loads, but if you’re going to consider this over-under for heavy-load shooting, either get a slip-on recoil pad or have your gunsmith install a pad better suited to softening the blow.
The buttstock is hogged out a bunch for the through-bolt that joins the buttstock to the action. When you fire the Silver Reserve II, the buttpad compresses slightly into that hole helping to take a little of the edge off felt recoil.
I found this gun a little sluggish when trying to use any shooting technique that requires tracking the target with the gun shouldered. It’s not a “dog,” and for long-range pass-shooting it should handle fine, but it is front heavy for me and that keeps it from being nimble and responsive. Instead, it’s much more effective using Gil Ash’s “break point” technique, where you move the gun as little as possible as you mount it, and pull the trigger the instant the gun hits your shoulder. If you haven’t tried that technique I highly recommend looking it up and giving it a try. It has improved my shooting with all types of shotguns. It’s the technique I use from my dove stool or a duck blind and it works well. Though I use the same technique on quail, hunting them with the Silver Reserve II was another matter. This gun gets heavy quickly when carrying it all day. If I were considering this model for an upland gun, I’d want to see how the 26-inch barrels or possibly even the 20-gauge models carried.
Even though I’m not an entry-level shooter, I’m probably going to send Mossberg a check for this gun because it’s going to make a nice, novice-friendly loaner for times when I have guests who want to go shooting. It will even work great for experienced friends who stop by. I’ll probably take the barrels to a local shop and spend a few bucks having the monobloc properly jeweled, and I’m surely going to take a metal checkering file to that top latch. But those two minor points aside, I think the Silver Reserve II Field is a heck of a gun for the money and is a good investment for someone wanting to get into a shooting sport with a gun of their own instead of a rental.
What a great article I have experienced both barrels firing and was about to send my gun back to the factory. The last time I shot sporting clays, I actually swapped guns with my friend to get some relief because my gun fired both barrels so many times my shoulder was bruised and killing me. I now have to make sure and shoulder properly. Maybe that is the reason I don’t shoot any better than I do.
Bought my wife the 20ga Silver Reserve last year- she loves it…So I bought myself the Silver Reserve12ga with the additional 20ga barrel. My first Gun was no good. It would fire both barrels at the same time. Sent back for exchange… second one does the same thing – fires both barrels at the same time. Sent to mossberg for repairs this time, haven’t heard a word from them. They act like they have never heard of this happening….but clearly a simple Google Search will prove otherwise…
I wonder if I will ever get my gun back and if it will be fixed- this is my last Mossberg purchase I can assure you!
As a certified NRA instructor, I will be sure to share my experience with others about each and every gun manufacturer I interact with.
I have a new 28 ga Silver o/u…very stiff but starting to work it out…One problem is that itno break open all the way..have to force it…Any one else have this problem and fixes?
Is the forcing cone lengthened from the factory?
I have a silver reserve both barrels blast off with every shot, sent it back to mossberge took 8 months to get back and it still firs both barrels!!! JUNK!! It was such a hastle I will never by another Mossberg’s firearms pitiful!!
Anyone still looking at comments here? I am looking for a good quality 20 GA for my younger (13) son an my wife to share. I’d like to be in the <$1,000 range and don't mind a quality used gun. Any recommendations?
I’m a left handed shooter. I will be using to shoot trap. Will the cast of this gun bother me?
My daughter is a first year shooter that’s getting into Trap this year. So far she has shot about 4 boxes of light 12ga rounds through different styles of shotgun. O/U, Pump and Semi-Automatic. Her favorite are the O/U’s. HOWEVER, she is short with short arms. Wight is not a major issue, fit is. We tried the fit of the Silver Reserve Sport in a 20 ga. and it was almost perfect. Now comes my issue. It looks like the SS2 is a better beginner shotgun that will retain most of its value and be something she can get 200 rounds a month through without having any major issues. Am I reading too deep into the posts or too shallow? According to the one she tried out (not fired) the SS2 seems to fit well and would require very little modification. I know if you ask 1,000 shooters you’ll get 1,000 different answers but I need some advice for choosing this firearm before investing the money.
The SSII has been pretty well reviewed and you don’t see the complaints like you did on the first version. Stevens has a new OU you should check out too though, now in 12-.410 and everything in between.
Picked up a new SRll Field last nite and when I assembled this a.m. I see that the top latch is not centered. Veers off to the right.
Went back to Gander Mt this morning and they say its supposed to be that way. I have seen no pictures of the skewed Latch on any SRll s. Has anyone??
Latch to the right is good. It indicates the action is tight and not worn. As an O/U is shot many many times the latch will move toward center and eventually slightly to the left.
I sent my 20 ga. back last yr.for firing both barrel s at the same time. Opener next Saturday so I’ll find out…
I got my SRII SS 12g last spring for recreational trap shooting. I had always wanted an O/U but could not justify the cost for the amount I shoot. I’ve got around 600-700 rounds through it and it has so far worked flawlessly. It seems to be a robust gun and I expect it will hold up to my relatively low-volume shooting. Additionally, my scores have increased with this gun; partially because it is a good shooter and partially because I’m shooting more rounds. I expect my round count to increase because I’m enjoying the sport more, so if there are longevity problems, I will report back. My only problem is that the butt-stock is too thick for my shoulder/head/neck build and my eye does not line up with the rib properly with a standard mount. As long as I remember to adjust my mount, then it hits where it points. I suspect a smaller stature shooter would not have this problem. I will have to have a stock maker trim it down for me at some point so I can use my natural mount. IMHO, new shooters, recreational shooters, shooters on a budget or shooters needing a spare gun for buddies won’t go wrong with this gun.
Definitely digging the detail on that gun, and I’m not even much of a gun person lol. Looks very nice.
The pool water will be checked for correct chemical levels – chlorine and pH.
The pool filters will be cleaned and checked. A thorough cleaning of the pool filters is typically done a couple of times a year — depending on how much traffic the pool sees.
We ordered a Mossberg Silver Reserve II 12 Gauge Field from a local gun shop last week, and we are very pleased with the cosmetics of it, however… I have looked everywhere for the skeet chokes to accompany this gun and can not find them. Unfortunately the help at the gun shop was a ” Well I really would not know where to order those from” Can anyone please point me in the right direction? I guess I should have researched a little more before ordering because I found them for the price we paid that came with chokes. So while I am putting this into the “should have looked longer” file, I would sincerely appreciate any help or pointers on where to find them! Thank you
Susie, I have a SRII as well and I actually love this gun.
I buy my chokes (external chokes) from Carlson Chokes – http://www.choketube.com/
Be sure to select the Beretta Benelli Mobil Sporting Clays Choke Tubes – here is the actual link to the chokes I buy – http://www.choketube.com/choke-tube-product-details.php?Benelli-Mobil-Choke-Tubes&mf=3
Hope this helps.
-Jay Taylor
Is there really a cast to the stock, I was told by mossberg customer service there is not, as well as a gunsmith I know. I’m curious where this information on the cast came from if it was a feeling or a series of measurements. All in all sir a fine review indeed.
Thank you
I have a SRII Field model and cannot see a cast on the stock. My wife has no problems shooting this gun left handed either.
When playing the sport, always make sure that you are wearing protective gears and that you are mentally and physically prepared. The protective gears are your first line of defense as you play the game. Just relax and simply enjoy making tricks and of course, the ride.
I bought a Silver Reserve II 20 ga field for my daughter and after less than 8 months and less than 500 rounds it is back at Mossberg for the second time. the gun is off face according to my gunsmith and should be replaced. First “repair” was ineffective and made the problem worse, like the trigger was ready to fall off. Now they have had it for over 8 business days and told to wait 3 to 5 more. They have had the gun a full quarter of the time I have owned it. The gun is pretty and has promise but there is zero quality control and Customer Service is even worse. Run hard and long away from Mossberg SR. There are many better options and better companies out there to spend your hard earned money on.
ohh boy should have read this before i picked up the srII ss
trigger broke first shoot they will probably send it back also
After shooting trap a while I love this gun. It was tight at first but now it works great. I added a limb saver that was a big improvement I am wondering if some of the negative comments earlier were about the Silver Reserve and not the Silver Reserve II. Different gun. Many dealers are still selling the older Silver Reserves they still have in stock.
It’s not easy to find much in the way of cost-cutting measures on this gun. The biggest cost-cutting measure is likely that the Silver Reserve II guns are made in Turkey.It’s not easy to find much in the way of cost-cutting measures on this gun. The biggest cost-cutting measure is likely that the Silver Reserve II guns are made in Turkey.
I have a silver reserve 12ga over/under. Trigger pull is extremely difficult. Anyone experience this? Any fixes available?
i purchased a mossberg silver reserve II super sport about 3 months ago..over that time i have shot about a thousand rounds at my local sporting clays range..the gun has perrformed flawlessly ..not one misfire my shooting is much improved …ive shot expensive berettas and benelli’s and the mossberg is my fave..i would reccomend for the hobby shooter for sure although i may compete with mine someday ..
I have a sr 2 and am very happy with its performance. I bought it used from a friend, and have had no mechanical problems with the gun at all. My problem is that I am a left handed shooter, I have shot right handed guns my entire life and have never had a problem. After reading this article I now know why it roughs my cheek up. Wish they would have put an ambidextrious stock on it. Will have to trade or sell it or learn to start shooting left handed. Love the gun but hate the bruised cheek.
Got one on order and should be here by the end of the week. I have friend that shoots one and he loves his.
Was looking for gun for my boyfriend and he really likes the over under style, could you give me some type of price?
The gun they are reviewing, the Mossberg Silver reserve ii, sells between 600-900 depending on what model you buy. The Stevens 555 is also in that same general price range and is a great gun for the price.
I bought a Silver Reserve II a couple weeks ago. Very pleased. This is definitely a different gun than the first Silver Reserve. Engraving and wood are very nice. I am not comparing this $650 gun to a $2500 gun just giving facts. Looks to be built very strong and will last. My only negative is what I consider to be an engineering flaw. The butt stock is hollowed out in the center apparently in an attempt to lessen recoil. The center of the butt pad is also soft and hollow, it compresses in to this void in stock. The result is the recoil is transferred to the outside edge of butt only . This makes for harsh felt recoil. I am going to get a limbsaver as soon as possible. To answer a couple questions. Receiver is steel. Ejectors kick out only spent shell.
Does anyone know if the receiver on this gun is aluminum or steel?
Thanks.
LOOKING AT THE SILVER COMBO I JUST WANT SOMETHING TO START OUT SHOOTING SKEET WITH I HAVE A GOOD TRAP SHOTGUN ALREADY (PERIZZA). BUT DONT EVEN KNOW IF I WILL LIKE SKEET QUESTION IS COMBO??? I HAVE 12GA RELOADER BUT BEEN TOLD 20 WOULD BE JUST FINE FOR SKEET SHIRT DIDTANCE SAME SPRAD??? OR JUST GO WITH 20GA
I’ve had my SR for about 6 yrs..enjoyed shooting it. Pretty much only use it during dove season (2 wks in Calif) and some quail hunting as well. Well, as some comments have been posted..broken firing pins. Not a good resume, even for a $600 gun. Yes, from what i’m reading the issue has been addressed by MI..but with only a 1 year limited warranty, doesn’t do much good for the purchaser. Would I buy another one, probably not. I’ve purchased Mossberg 500 pumps both in 20, and 12 thruout our family and must say for a lot less money you have a much more reliable firearm. Basically bullet proof. As you say you get what you pay for; not in this case. So, except for the 500, I wouldn’t buy anything else from Mossberg.
I purchased the silver reserve 2 in 12 gauge . Have shot approx 200 rounds this far, have used shells by different manufacturers , thus far not a single misfire. I think it is a good choice for entry level gun for any one getting started shooting clays. I did add a limb-saver recoil pad after my first shooting of the gun left me with some bruises, since adding the pad solved the problem
If you have a reservation about buy this do to firing pin issues…. 99% of the time with these shotguns it is due to damage caused by user error (dry firing with the gun open). Call Mossberg and order and extra firing pin and spring set; its only $10.00.
TO Scott:
(or anyone else who may chose to reply)
Now, I am conflicted? I was looking at the Mossberg SRII as a good Entry/ Intermediate level U/O…… for skeet and trap. How does it compere to a CZ-USA, or TRISTAR? Is there a good reason to choose one over another other that extends to more than money? Accuracy…Weight?…..Reliability?…. How do the other manufacturers stack up in a $600-$800 price range? If it was your choice what would you choose if you could only spend so much for a bird gun, what would be your choice? Humbly, I ask because I “Really Don’t Know!”…. Because, while I could never afford a Holland & Holland….(NICE SHOW PIECE!) I just really want to learn to shoot skeet..(And be “DECENT” at it.!)
I purchased the sr2 at gander mountain used for $299 and the gun is a 2006 as researched through tech help at Mossberg. First time using it was at a pheasant hunt at club in Michigan where they raise and send out birds in the property where your going to hunt. This was my first time hunting ever at the age of 52 and have to admit I for some reason seem to have a natural knack for shooting that I was not aware of, some call it beginners luck but have to say that I took down 4 out of the 10 birds that the dog flushed out with 4 of us guys shooting. since then I have taken up just shooting trap, skeet and on occasion sporting clays, I shoot regularly 22-25 out of 25 on trap and 17-20 on skeet. This gun has been a great sporting choice and in the words of the gunsmith at gander, he said the gun was in great shape and did not for see any future problems. I believe that in no matter what u purchase there are always good and bad except for those who only use the quality materials the frequency is less. You can buy 2 of anything whether it be a coffee pot to a high end vehicle they will have different issues.
I purchased the 20 gauge silver reserve II model 75414. When first received I had to work the action for some time before it would close with shells in the chambers. I shot the gun on once in a sporting clay event and noticed while cleaning it that one of the plugs that close off the separation of the barrels had fallen out. I sent the gun back to Mossberg who told me that their was some separation occurring and that the gun would have to be replaced. I have been unable to use the shotgun for two months now and am talking to the 4th person at Mossberg trying to determine when the replacement will occur. Not good and very disappointing.
To be fair to Mossberg they did replace the 20 gauge silver reserve II model 75414 shotgun. The new gun has had no problems. I appreciate the follow up of their customer service personnel.
I have a problem with my Silver Reserve. The locking lever will not “go home” when I close the barrel, causing the barrel to remain unlocked. I pushed on the pin that the barrel hits and the lever goes home. I position the lever to open the barrel, try to close the barrel and the lever still will not go home. Does anyone know how I can remedy this without sending it back?
I have been looking at this o/u to purchase for my son. He is 13, and has been 4-h shooter for 3 years, I look for several more years in compition . He needs a new /better gun. I don’t think this gun will hold up to his shooting. My question is what is the next step up but not to go up in price too much, and look nice too?
I have been looking at this o/u to purchase for my son. He is 13, and has been 4-h shooter for 3 years, I look for several more years in compition. He needs a new /better gun. I don’t think this gun will hold up to his shooting. My question is what is the next step up but not to go up in price too much, and look nice too?
Well I have some bad new
I purchased a Mossberg Silver Reserve II Sporting 28′ about 3 weeks ago. Things started out great. I would shoot about 4 to 5 boxes every sunday until the 3rd week when things started to happen. First I had problems with the lower ejector, it stopped working so I used the upper until I greased it. That fixed it until it would not allow me to close the gun. Seems the shell would pass the elector causing this to happen then I had problems using the selector switch, it would jam and not allow me to select or put the gun in safe mode. then it started to miss fire and thats when I took it back to the Dealer. This was verified by them and it was shipped out to Mossberg. They told me it would take about 1 month to get it back. So I called the company and spoke to customer service they told me this gun was created in Turkey for the Mossberg Company so I was out of luck until it comes back they didn’t even try to do anything for me they said it was up to the dealer if they wanted to exchange it for a new one. So I learned a very big lesson. When it come to anything in this world you get what you pay for. I was told by another dealer even tho the gun is a sporting class it would never hold up to the amount of shooting I was doing because of the parts used to create the shotgun. ( not my words ) So I took this lesson and selected a new Beretta Silver Pigeon 1 Sporting 12G 32″ I will use the Mossberg for others who want to come with me and shot but for me I’ll stick with the Beretta.
its been 5 months YES 5 months and Mossberg still have my SR2 from April I have had my FFL call and they said they are waiting for parts. Waiting for Parts? 5 months ?
Got the SR2 back from Mossberg. I forgot how much I really like this shotgun but i’m afraid to use it. I did take it to the range and it felt so good to shoot. What if it breaks again another long wait ? I wish Mossberg would chime in to let me know just how much shooting I can do with a shotgun like this. It would have been great to let me know what they replaced. I’m going to keep it.
I’m interested by the SR2 side by side. Somme kind of a fantasy simply because I like the model.
I hunt ducks mainly with a semi auto Benelli, but I would use too the SR2.
Question: 1) is the SR2 compatible with steel shots?
2) What about the recoil with 3” magnum?
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Purchased the SR2 and finally took it out yesterday for 125 rounds of trap. I also let a buddie handle so as not to be bias. I think he loved it more than I did. Gun worked great broke twenty on the traps. My pros and cons. Gun looks amazing… looks like a $2000 gun everyone asked what I had. Very accurate and pleased with the recoil and no rap ups from the bottom position. Cons, The safety switch is also the over under selector and if you are shooting individual and want to cycle through it is very rough to change. However, if you are shooting doubles its fine or staying on one barrel for the 25 rounds. But if on the field hunting and you have full on top and modified for birds and you needed to quickly switch could be a problem. Regardless the gun is beautiful and performs well. Its a $1000 gun for $600-$700 dollars, mine is the basic with extractors. Great first over under gun.
Purchased the SR2 and finally took it out yesterday for 125 rounds of trap. I also let a buddie handle so as not to be bias. I think he loved it more than I did. Gun worked great broke twenty on the traps. My pros and cons. Gun looks amazing… looks like a $2000 gun everyone asked what I had. Very accurate and pleased with the recoil and no rap ups from the bottom position. Cons, The safety switch is also the over under selector and if you are shooting individual and want to cycle through it is very rough to change. However, if you are shooting doubles its fine or staying on one barrel for the 25 rounds. But if on the field hunting and you have full on top and modified for birds and you needed to quickly switch could be a problem. Regardless the gun is beautiful and performs well. Its a $1000 gun for $600-$700 dollars, mine is the basic with extractors. Great first over under gun.
Scott As a Newbie with Shotguns i’m was looking for a Mossberg Silver Reserve II Over/Under Shotgun but which one ?
I would like to shoot Trap and skeet do I pick The Sport or the field or Super sport How many types of Reserve II are available. Any information would be helpful.
Don, if you’re a newbie who is going to shoot trap and skeet, then you’re probably going to be just fine with the Field and 28-inch barrels. The Sport has an adjustable comb, but you probably won’t need that unless you have an unusually long neck or shape to your head and need the adjustment. The Sport also has extended choke tubes and the reason for those is when you shoot sporting clays it’s easier to change out chokes to match the presentatioin. With trap and skeet, you don’t need to change change the chokes between stations, so you don’t need that feature.
Scott, Thanks for your quick reply . After looking at all the information I was going to go with what you said (Field 28 ) but nothing was in stock anywhere and wait times could be a month. so I went with the (Sport 28) http://www.mossberg.com/node/2664 Model 75444 should be here next week they took 200.00 off the price so I think I did good.
You did fine, Don. Let us know how you like it.
Today I got a call from my local gun shop “Come On Down your gun is in” right in the middle of a snow storm here on long island but I made the trip anyway. The guys at Campsite went over all aspects of the gun, break apart put together & Cleaning. It’s really a great looking shotgun. Manufactured on 1/18/2013. Can’t wait to take it to the range. I want to take some lessons on the proper way to shoot since this would be my first shotgun, let you know happens. Scott thanks for all your help.
Scott,
Finally had the chance to get to the Suffolk Clay range today. First off I had 4 people ask me about the gun. One even thought it was a Beretta. I selected to do some Trap shooting. My first 25 I shot a 9. I did improve slightly over the course of the day but during the first run the lower stopped ejecting shells but after a few drops of oil it was back working, other than that I had no other problems with the other 75 rounds I shot that day. I think I’ll continue to shoot Trap until I’m hitting the clays more.
Ya gets what ya pays for. If you want to shoot and have a good investment go for the high end gun, if you want something to shoot a lot and not worry about cosmetic issues go for the cheapie. I do both, if I like the looks of a gun (or knife) I buy it and to hell with the investment value. As always the old firstsoldier
Its always a good idea never to buy a new model gun for at least 2 years after it comes out. Manufactures do not test guns for durability or safety but rather rush them into production to satisfy the greed of the stock holders. The massive amount of recalls on all new model guns is staggering to say the least.
As far as making excuses for an entry level gun failing with a lot of firing this gun should be compared to other entry level guns of the distant past that often lasted every bit as long as expensive models. With today’s new steels this is totally inexcusable.
I am sorry to see the Turks have gone over to junk machine cut checkering. In days of long ago they were very good at hand checkering. There is no substitute for hand checkering as it gives a more positive grasp to the gun and a good hand checkering job makes machine cut checkering look like the trash that it really is.
There are a lot of very good used guns out there and waisting your money on this gun does not make a whole lot of sense. A little patience and a lot of Internet cruising or gun show attendance will get you an older good used gun that can often give you years of good service and it will escalate in value much more quickly than any of today’s modern made junk. The resale value alone will justify the higher cost of a good used older higher quality gun. When you sell the Mossberg you will take a financial loss, not a gain.
When you buy less you lose twice. You lose the first time when you get ready to buy a quality gun the price has gone up dramatically and when you sell the low quality gun you lose again because you take a big financial loss on the resale value of it.
Unless it is from Springfield Armory.
Excellent article,I understand more about the over and unders trigger, sounds like the gun I’ve been looking for, going out and buy one.
Thanks
The best gun i have had so far!
Wait – a Citori is an “inexpensive” shotgun? Even a good used one? From a beginners perspective I would disagree.
I bought a Silver Reserve Sporting about a year an half ago for just the reasons you mentioned in the beginning, to get into the sport of clay shooting with my own O/U that was affordable. I think I paid about $600 brand new for it. My only disappointments with the gun were cosmetic, I do not like the scrolling or barrel finish. But the new version looks a lot nicer from the pictures here. Mechanically, I’ve never had any problems with it all. Granted, I still have limited experience overall but for me that is all the more telling, the gun did not cause issues that I had to figure out, and I did not cause issues with the gun by my lack of experience. I’ve fired over 5300 rounds with it, (yes I kept a log of every shell fired, scores, etc) mainly 1-1/8 oz Gun Club or STS, in about 8-10 months and never had one single problem, not even a “double-fire”. I was concerned about the durability so I made a point to track every round fired to know how many rounds or how long it went before a failure or problem.
I’ve since sold it to a buddy and I now shoot a Cynergy Sporting, but my friend is also a new clay shooter and he has fired at least another 3500, maybe closer to 5500 rounds with it and not one single issue whatsoever. So if this new SR II is even better than the original, I dont see how an entry level shooter could go wrong with it. I would not hesitate to recommend either the I or II to anyone asking. Thanks for the great article Scott!
I bought a Silver Reserve Sporting about a year an half ago for just the reasons you mentioned in the beginning, to get into the sport of clay shooting with my own O/U that was affordable. I think I paid about $600 brand new for it. My only disappointments with the gun were cosmetic, I do not like the scrolling or barrel finish. But the new version looks a lot nicer from the pictures here. Mechanically, I’ve never had any problems with it all. Granted, I still have limited experience overall but for me that is all the more telling, the gun did not cause issues that I had to figure out, and I did not cause issues with the gun by my lack of experience. I’ve fired over 5300 rounds with it, (yes I kept a log of every shell fired, scores, etc) mainly 1-1/8 oz Gun Club or STS, in about 8-10 months and never had one single problem, not even a “double-fire”. I was concerned about the durability so I made a point to track every round fired to know how many rounds or how long it went before a failure or problem.
I’ve since sold it to a buddy and I now shoot a Cynergy Sporting, but my friend is also a new clay shooter and he has fired at least another 3500, maybe closer to 5500 rounds with it and not one single issue whatsoever. So if this new SR II is even better than the original, I dont see how an entry level shooter could go wrong with it. I would not hesitate to recommend either the I or II to anyone asking. Thanks for the great article Scott!
Sorry to have to disagree with Mr. Mayer, but in my opinion the Silver Reserve is far from being a good entry level O/U shotgun. As a full time professional gunsmith I did the repairs on rental firearms from a local range at which the Silver Reserve was used. I found the firing pins to be the weak link in this gun, as they broke almost on a weekly basis. For a time, Mossberg actually ran out of firing pins to replace the excessive breakage on this model, until all the range guns were down with broken firing pins. The cocking bar was also a weak point as the metal was soft and would get hammered from use. In this day of “you get what you pay for”, I would not recommend this gun to my customers, suggesting instead that they look for a good used Browning Citori for a far better choice in an inexpensive shotgun.
Mossberg could do better than this gun.
Steve, you’re absolutely correct that the Silver Reserve had firing pin problems. This review is on a different gun, the Silver Reserve II. Speaking with representatives from Mossberg, they say the firing pin problem as been addressed on this model. We’ll both know over time how well the fix works.
I think it was a mistake for your local range to choose this as a range gun because range guns are simply fired constantly and, as I write in the article, these are not made to withstand the rigors of constant shooting.
I saw on another website blog that the Silver Reserve had a problem with the firing pins. I beleve Mossberg has corrected the problem and this gun being reviewed is the Silver Reserve II. A newer model.
I am so sick of being “left out” of these entry level O/U ‘s because I shoot left handed!!!!!!!!!
You and me both, Jack! Being a lefty can be quite the bummer sometimes…
My 28 gauge SR2 is cast neutral. I’m left handed and shoot it just fine
I also have purchased the Mossberg Silver Reserve Field model in a combo set of 12 ga O/U and 20 ga O/U complete with both including a set of choke tubes. I have been very pleased with this firearm in all aspects especially the versatility of handling for a beginner level shooter. I can honestly say i was not looking at the sticker price when i bought this combo set as i have enjoyed the many other Mossberg shotguns that i have bought in the past. If i was to rate this firearm on a scale of 5 stars with 5 being the best quality and 1 being the least quality i would give this firearm a rating of 4 and 3/4 stars.
I am so glad to have found this article. I have experienced both barrels fireing and was about to send my gun back to the factory. The last time I shot sporting clays, I actually swapped guns with my friend to get some relief because my gun fired both barrels so many times my shoulder was bruised and killing me. I now have to make sure and shoulder properly. Maybe that is the reason I don’t shoot any better than I do.
Glad to hear that, Don. If I may, I’d like offer a methodology to diagnose this: get two boxes of target loads and head to the sporting clays range. Set your barrel selector to the “U” setting, and start firing the course being conscious of the mount, and always having two shells in the chamber when you’re up to shoot. When your first box of shells is empty, switch the barrel selector to the “O” barrel and repeat. If it doubles on one barrel setting, but not the other, it’s the gun. If it doubles on both, it’s either the gun or you. If the doubling stops, it was you.
Be sure and come back and let us know how it goes. There’s always a possibility that it’s a true mechanical malfunction, but it’s best to eliminate the possibility of human ones first.