Feral Jared
FNG
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2026
- Messages
- 42
I picked up a used Mossberg 500 .410 to put together a lightweight turkey setup. The goal was to keep it light, keep it functional, and don’t spend a pile of money doing it.
First thing worth pointing out for anyone considering one, the .410 “500” is actually the 500E. It’s a scaled down receiver, so most standard Mossberg 500 parts don’t fit. Stocks, adapters, and saddle optic mounts are off the table. Instead of fighting that, I designed and 3D printed a rear adapter specific to the 500E so I could run a standard AR buffer tube, adjustable stock, and pistol grip. Below you can see the design progression. I am so pleased with how the final version came out.
I'm not sure if newer 500s are drilled and tapped but this one wasn't, so I handled that myself. Took my time with layout and spacing, drilled and tapped the 8-40 mounting holes, and it came out clean and ready to mount the dot.
The fixed full choke was the one thing I wasn’t sure about going in. I patterned it with a few different TSS loads at 40 yards, which is the max distance I’d plan to shoot a bird with this. Based on what I’m seeing on paper, it’s well within ethical range at that distance.
The rest of the build is straightforward. I’m working on printing a different forearm to match the rear setup and keep the wood stock untouched. After that it’ll get paint and a DIY hydrodip camo job, time permitting. It might just get some bottomland vinyl stuck to it this year.
If anyone else has messed with the 500E platform, I’d be interested to hear what you’ve done with them. There’s not much out there for these, so most of this has been figuring it out as I go.
First thing worth pointing out for anyone considering one, the .410 “500” is actually the 500E. It’s a scaled down receiver, so most standard Mossberg 500 parts don’t fit. Stocks, adapters, and saddle optic mounts are off the table. Instead of fighting that, I designed and 3D printed a rear adapter specific to the 500E so I could run a standard AR buffer tube, adjustable stock, and pistol grip. Below you can see the design progression. I am so pleased with how the final version came out.
I'm not sure if newer 500s are drilled and tapped but this one wasn't, so I handled that myself. Took my time with layout and spacing, drilled and tapped the 8-40 mounting holes, and it came out clean and ready to mount the dot.
The fixed full choke was the one thing I wasn’t sure about going in. I patterned it with a few different TSS loads at 40 yards, which is the max distance I’d plan to shoot a bird with this. Based on what I’m seeing on paper, it’s well within ethical range at that distance.
The rest of the build is straightforward. I’m working on printing a different forearm to match the rear setup and keep the wood stock untouched. After that it’ll get paint and a DIY hydrodip camo job, time permitting. It might just get some bottomland vinyl stuck to it this year.
If anyone else has messed with the 500E platform, I’d be interested to hear what you’ve done with them. There’s not much out there for these, so most of this has been figuring it out as I go.
