Why Did Mossberg Change the 590’s Safety?

Mossberg recently released two new versions of its venerable pump-action shotgun, the 590, with the 590R and 590RM models. Respectively, these are the pump-action 590s with adjustable stocks, pistol grips and, in what some are making out to be the biggest betrayal since Benedict Arnold gave West Point to the British, an AR-15-style safety selector. The 590R has a traditional tubular magazine that holds six rounds, while the 590RM can accept removable box-style magazines from five to 20 rounds.

Yes. In these two models—and in these two models only—the safety is not on the tang, but on the side of the receiver. There are still many 590 models with the traditional, tang-mounted safety still available, new, from Mossberg. The company didn’t just throw away decades of tradition and get rid of the tang-mounted safety; it reacted to market forces and customer feedback (the *horror*) and added a new series with a safety better suited for a pistol grip.

See? There was a very good reason for Mossberg to introduce the 590R and 590RM: With the full, AR-15-15style pistol grip, reaching the tang-mounted safety requires either breaking your firing grip to get your thumb up to the tang or taking your support hand off the fore-end to take the safety off. Neither of these are great options. Recognizing that a popular upgrade to the 590 is the addition of AR-15-style adjustable stocks and pistol grips, Mossberg decided to both offer its own take on the update while simultaneously making the safety familiar to AR-15 fans and easier to use in general.

It’s smart, customer- and market-savvy and doesn’t detract from the existing line. It’s mystifying why this bothers some people as much as it does. I mean, I get it. It’s change. Some people don’t like change. Heck, I have been known to resist change. In this case, though, it adds to the general collective of stuff out there—it’s not like Mossberg discontinued the tang-mounted safety for the receiver mounted version; it simply added a new version. If you don’t like it; if you prefer the tang-mounted safety? You’re cordially invited to buy one. It’s that simple.

I had a chance to run the 590R through a number of drills at the launch at Gunsite Academy. If there’s any place to learn your way around a new operating system, Gunsite is it. We ran through some of the standard drills designed to familiarize folks with their shotguns, then applied those skills in a number of scenario-based applications (that’s a fancy way of saying we got to run through both the indoor and outdoor simulators, which is beyond fun and cool…)

Now, let me announce my biases here. I’m an unabashed fan of the AR-15. I’ve built a fairly large number of them, have taken a number of carbine-based courses and feel I know the platform fairly well. When I can port those skills over to a different platform—like the 590 shotgun—with similar controls, that makes it easier to work with something new. AR-15s in 5.56 NATO are pretty different than 12-gauge shotguns, of course; with recoil alone there’s a significant difference. Add in manual operation, and you’ve got two big differences between the two. Changing the stock, grip and safety of the 590 makes it more familiar to fans of the AR-15, and every little bit helps.

So, for those of you looking at this as TL/DR, the bottom line is easy: If you like the old Mossberg safety location on the 590, you can still get one. If you like the AR-15-style safety selector, you can get one. Don’t blame Mossberg for being proactive and listening to its customers; instead, be thankful the company is now providing even more options.