Mossberg 590 Tactical Review: Best 20-Gauge Pump Shotgun?

I'm a big fan of gauge, mostly the 12-gauge. While I've heard plenty of folks champion the 20-gauge as an alternative with lower recoil and lighter weight, I never saw one that appealed to me.

That is until Mossberg released a 20-gauge variant of the famed Mossberg 590.

While lots of people are quick to suggest a 20-gauge as a low recoil alternative, there weren't a ton of defensive options. The 20-gauge is dominated by deer and bird guns, and high-quality defensive shotguns are few and far between. Mossberg has released two 590s in 20-gauge.

We are reviewing the simpler model with a basic bead sight and a 6-shot tube. There is also a 9-shot model with ghost ring iron sights.

This represents an affordable and security-minded 20-gauge option for those who want a shotgun with less recoil than a 12-gauge.

Does the 20-gauge Mossberg 590 series live up to the hype of its 12-gauge big brother? Let’s find out.

Keep reading!

Why Trust Us

I’ve spent a lifetime shooting, starting with a family that hunted every season they legally could. From there, I joined the United States Marine Corps and spent five years as an infantryman.

In the middle of my Marine Corps career, I began writing and have never stopped. I soon earned my NRA instructor certification and used my knowledge to help guide students.

I love shooting, and I love guns — weird guns, old guns, new guns, tactical guns, and especially shotguns. I’m a continual student of firearms, and I strive to educate myself to provide the best information possible to the readers of Pew Pew Tactical.

Mossberg 590 Tactical, 20ga

$439

at GrabAGun

Prices accurate at time of writing

$439 at GrabAGun

Firearms Depot (see price)

Mossberg 590 20ga Specs & Features

Specs

• Barrel Length: 18.5"
• Overall Length:39.5"
• Weight: 5.7lbs
• Length of Pull: 13.87"
• Chamber: 3"
• Capacity: 6+1
• MSRP: &566

Features

• Optics ready
• Ambi tang safety
• Black polymer furniture
• Anti-jam shell elevator

History of Mossberg’s 590 20-gauge

The original 590 was Mossberg's answer to the request by the United States military for a pump-action shotgun. It's a Mossberg 500 modified with a clean-out magazine tube and a different barrel design.

The 590 series are tactical shotguns designed from the ground up to be short and easy to use.

The 590 series have always been 12-gauge guns. That's the caliber that the military and police prefer, so that's the caliber Mossberg produced until Mossberg hit it out of the park with the Mossberg Shockwave.

The Shockwave was a firearm, not a shotgun by law, and used a 14-inch barrel with a Raptor grip to produce a firearm that's a pump action 12-gauge.

It was a huge success, and Mossberg followed it up with a 20-gauge and .410 variant. Shockwaves were built on 590 series receivers, and that was our first taste of a 20-gauge 590.

Mossberg quietly followed up the Shockwave 590s with complete 20-gauge and .410 bore 590 shotguns.

Who Is It For?

The Mossberg 590 20-gauge is perfectly designed for someone who wants to use a shotgun for home defense but doesn't want to deal with the recoil of a 12-gauge.

Lower recoil options like the AR-15 are a great alternative, but the 590 in 20-gauge offers a much more affordable option. It maintains a very powerful payload while being purposefully designed for a defensive application.

The 20-gauge is still large enough and capable enough to offer you the advantages of using buckshot, namely the handful of projectiles it throws per trigger pull. Pump-action shotguns are rarely, if ever, targeted by gun control.

In states with restrictive firearm laws, the Mossberg 590 is an awesome option.

Fit and Feel

The Mossberg 590 in 20-gauge is identical to the 12-gauge variants. In fact, the receiver sizes are so close that the 20-gauge version can use 12-gauge stocks.

It could be smaller, but smaller isn't always better. This increases the gun's weight, but that's great for recoil reduction.

These receivers are drilled and tapped for an optic's rail, as well as various purpose-built optics mounts.

The 590 comes pretty plain. It has black polymer furniture…that's as simple as it gets. The front sight is a simple bead sight and nothing more. We get a recoil pad at the rear of the gun, with a very simple cylinder bore choke.

The gun is sling-ready with swivels on the stock and magazine tube cap. The gun has all the standard Mossberg features. This includes the ambidextrous tang safety, an anti-jam shell elevator, and twin action bars.

Outside of the smaller bore and magazine tube, the 590 looks like every other 590. It's lighter and smaller but still a simplistic boom stick for defensive use. It's very simple but has a plain black finish and plain black furniture.

Nothing about the gun is particularly fancy or flashy. The gun is very well put together and rock-solid. The pump has noticeable slop, but that's typical with all Mossbergs and most pump action shotguns.

What I really love is how little the weapon weighs. At 5.7 pounds, it's ultra-light and easy to handle. Mossberg lists the weight as 7 pounds on their website, but my scale says 5.7 pounds. Light translates to handy, and while it's great for self-defense, the gun can be useful for pest control and as a working gun.

The action works easily, the safety clicks and pops with ease, and you can tell it's a well-built gun all around. It's not fancy, but Mossberg excels at the basics of building a good gun, and it clearly shows.

How It Shoots

At the range, I shot the Lucky Gunner Home Defense Shotgun Skills test a few times to get some training reps in. This is where the difference in recoil is immediately apparent.

Times with the 20-gauge pump-action shotgun were on par with a semi-automatic 12-gauge.

Those times were due to the gun's recoil. Heck, one of the stages calls for an emergency reload of two rounds, and I don't have a side saddle for the gun…so I just dropped the rounds on a table and grabbed them from there.

This surely added seconds to my times, and I imagine I could shave a couple of seconds off with a side saddle.

Utilizing a push/pull recoil mitigation technique, the recoil amounted to something smooth and fairly soft. My shoulder remains unbruised after 250 rounds of 20-gauge 2.75-inch buckshot over a few days.

That lower recoil isn't just great for shooters who can't handle 12-gauge, but it's just easier all around. Shooting on the square range is fine, but what about when you have to take cover? Or when you need to swap shoulders or shoot in odd positions?

The lower recoil of the 20-gauge makes doing all that so much easier and shouldn't be ignored.

Also, to get it out of the way, those 250 rounds, plus another 100 rounds of birdshot, were problem-free through the gun.

In terms of accuracy, Mossberg is dead set on never moving the bead off the barrel, so that does result in a tight pattern appearing to hit right above the bead. Once you're used to it, it's no big deal, but for new shooters, it's important to observe the point of impact relative to the point of aim while patterning.

Speaking of patterns, the gun does about what you expect. Nothing special, and the patterns at 10 yards are about 8 inches. At 5 yards, it's about the size of my hand. This is the big downside of using a 20-gauge for defensive purposes.

There is no purpose-built defensive load like the 12-gauge has. Federal doesn't make Flitecontrol for the 20-gauge, and Hornady doesn't use the Versa-Tite wad in any 20-gauge loads either.

Luckily, most standard 20-gauge loads fall into the low recoil variety by their very nature.

What Sets It Apart

There aren’t many defensive-oriented 20-gauges on the market. The ones that are out there are mostly Turkish, and those are always a gamble.

For Mossberg to take their well-proven and well-respected 590 platform and bring it down to 20-gauge, I can't help but think this is the best 20-gauge defensive shotgun option on the market.

Admittedly, there just aren't many on the market for it to compete with, but it is one of the best pump-action shotguns ever made. The 20-gauge version can even wear 12-gauge furniture, making it quick and easy to accessorize.

The gun is held back by the fact that ammunition manufacturers are not focusing on the 20-gauge as a defensive caliber.

Typically, the smallest buckshot that consistently penetrates deep enough to stop a threat is the Number 1 buckshot, and most 20-gauge buckshot loads are in the Number 3 and Number 2 variety.

Home defenders will have to try several rounds and pattern them extensively to ensure the patterns are tight and consistent.

Mossberg 590 Tactical, 20ga

$439

at GrabAGun

Prices accurate at time of writing

$439 at GrabAGun

Firearms Depot (see price)

Mossberg 590 20ga Accessories u0026 Upgrades

Magpul SGA Stock

$94 at Brownells

Esstac Shotgun Card

$12 at Esstac

AXIL GS Extreme 2.0 Electronic Ear Bud

$129 at AXIL

Final Verdict

Most people who have used a 20-gauge for defense likely had to build it off a bird or deer gun. That's not a problem anymore.

The Mossberg 590 in 20-gauge is the perfect option for shooters who want a good scattergun with low recoil but plenty of capability.

It lives up to the Mossberg name quite well, and I have no problem saying it's the best defensive 20-gauge on the market.

What do you think of the Mossberg 590 in 20-gauge? Let us know in the comments below! For more tactical shotties, check out our guide to the Best Home-Defense Shotguns.