Think of those classic old photos you’ve seen of hunters in a South Dakota upland field in search of pheasant. They usually were carrying a break action shotgun, box-lock over/under or side-by-side. Those iconic scenes made other hunters want their own double gun, either for pheasant, ducks, sporting clays or skeet.
The problem was, the biggest cost in producing a shotgun is in the barrel(s) and a decent over/under or side-by-side field gun cost more than a lot of hunters wanted or were willing to spend. That situation led to a lot of gun makers sourcing much more affordable shotguns from overseas, usually Turkey. Enter O.F. Mossberg & Sons’ introduction of their Turkish-made Mossberg International Silver Reserve series back in 2013.
The line has been improved and expanded since it was first rolled out to include both field and sporting models in all four popular gauges and barrel lengths from 26 to 32 inches. They also offer a Bantam model for kids or smaller-frame shooters. All but one come with five-choke sets and Mossy even offers a couple of two-barrel packages; a 12/20 option and a 20/28 pair. Mine is the Silver Reserve II Field model with 28-inch tubes and extractors.
The Silver Reserve II is chambered for three-inch shells and the slim aluminum box-lock receiver is engraved with scrolling for a classic look.
Mossberg has jeweled the monoblock and equips all of its field guns with extractors (the sport models have ejectors). For me, that’s a plus as I don’t have to chase my empties. Your mileage may vary.
There’s a combination barrel selector and safety switch on the tang, which is common on most over/under shotguns.
Happily, the safety isn’t automatic. Some makers design a safety that engages every time the shotgun is broken open. In my experience, that results in a lot of missed birds. I’d rather be responsible for engaging and disengaging my own safety.
The Silver Reserve II has a checkered back walnut stock and fore end. The checkering isn’t aggressive, but provides the shooter with a solid enough grip on the gun. There’s a slim rubber butt pad that doesn’t snag when mounting the shotgun.
The wood-to-metal joins are clean and reasonably even, probably better than you’d expect in a budget priced over/under like this.
The Silver Reserve II’s chambers and barrels are chrome-lined.
I took the Silver Reserve II out and put a variety of loads through it. The 7.5 pound gun mounts easily, swings smoothly, tracks naturally and busts clays whenever I do my job of putting the bead on the (clay) bird. In short the Silver Reserve II Field model gives the average shooter an outstanding value in a full-featured shotgun that will do a variety of jobs and look good doing it.
Specifications: Mossberg Silver Reserve II Field
Gauge: 12
Chamber: 3 inches
Barrel finish: Blued steel
Stock Finish: Satin black walnut
Barrel Type: Vent Rib
Barrel Length: 28 inches
Weight: 7.5 pounds
Overall length: 45 inches
LOP: 14 inches
Chokes: Field set of five
MSRP: $773 (widely available for under $600)
Ratings (Out of five stars)
Style: * * * * *
This is an affordable over/under that features attractive scroll work on its silver receiver with nicely blued barrels. The black walnut stock looks good and the overall effect is stylish. The Silver Reserve II looks like it costs more than it does.
Ergonomics: * * * *
The checkering isn’t deep, but it works. The Silver Reserve II’s 14-inch length of pull might be a tad short for some larger shooters, but you can always shim the rubber but pad to add some length. At 7.5 pounds, the shotgun has enough heft to absorb some recoil while being light enough to carry in the field all day.
Build Quality: * * * *
Very good, especially for the price point. The finish on the walnut stock is smooth with a nice sheen. Bluing is even and un-blemished. The wood-to-metal joins aren’t sloppy or uneven.
Reliability and Accuracy: * * * * *
An over/under is kinda like a bolt action rifle. While it’s possible for something to go wrong, it rarely does. The Silver Reserve II reliably powdered everything I pointed it at. And with minimal cleaning and maintenance, I expect it to keep doing that.
Overall: * * * *
The Silver Reserve II field gun is a pleasure to shoot. After shooting semi-autos for years, I’d forgotten how much I like an over/under. The classic silver scrolled receiver looks good in contrast to those blued barrels and puts a reliable, attractive over/under within reach of just about any shooter.
But only one star for amount of Creedmoor.
How does an auto safety result in missed birds?
Is it common to wait to load the shotgun until the dog goes on point?
Try one. You close the gun and the if the safety is auto-on, it’s easy to raise and pull while forgetting to flip off the safety every single time.
Yes, if you’re standing in place, load and shoot (like trap shooting), you can have missed clays from an auto safety, but I thought the author was talking about hunting. If he was talking about experiencing many missed clays, then that makes more sense.
When hunting, I get to the field where birds are suspected to be, load and safe the shotgun, and send the dogs out. Doesn’t really matter if I put the safety on or the gun does it for me, but I’d still prefer the gun not try to do my thinking for me.
Think dove hunting, when they are coming in fast. Many times they come in clusters. Very easy to miss a bird when trying to quickly reload after dropping one or two.
Right you are Dan , been there , done that.
No it’s not hard to remember to take the safety off. The only way I could see where that would be true is if you wait to load until a bird goes up which makes no sense.
I had a savage 330 with auto safety and I had it disabled. I don’t see the need for a safety button on a gun you carry open until ready to shoot.
I used mine for trap and a few times missed clays because the safety was on
No creedmoor option?
Funny thing about shotguns and Creedmoor…
I had one of these mossberg OUs a few years back. It was the cheap model with black poly furniture. A firing pin broke. It took mossberg 4 months to get a replacement from Turkey. My interactions with mossberg were not great. Hopefully the supply issue is resolved and their cs team found some pms meds.
There are no meds for menopause. Short of a headstone.
Definitely looks nice and is affordable but these and the Ruger 9mm rifles are impossible to find in California because they get snapped up quickly. Wish I could see one in a store.
I just picked up my pc9 takedown from my guy at S&S gunshop , in Auburn N.Y. for $519.00 link to website sandsgunsales.com they are good people , I went to a gun sale this past week in Cortland N.Y. they were selling for $725.00 I believe msrp is around $600.00 don’t get ripped off. BTW I love it. Great rifle fits in original 10/22 takedown bag my 50 yr anniversary came in. It also has a drop in glock mag block for those with glock handguns.
If you’re having trouble finding those and the Ruger PC9 in California come to Burbank, I’ve seen both in multiple stores but don’t expect to get a bargain, for what ever reason guns shops here don’t go much below MSRP.
Is there a steel insert in that aluminum receiver? I wouldn’t like to think of an aluminum to steel lock up!
Wow that’s purdy
No man, if that was a Purdey you’d have to add a handful of zeros before the decimal to that price tag. 🙂
7.5 pounds. This is a small, but real, problem. My mossberg 500 weighs in at 7 pounds. Weight is a factor in day long hunts over rough ground. Especially if you are past 60. There are times I hunt with my Single shots because I know the terrain and the distances and my single pipes are easier to carry.
Mossberg called it right using aluminum for their smooth bores.
Seriously? If I am concerned about an extra 1/2 lbs on a hunt, my trick is to drink an extra cup of coffee in the morning and take a larger shit before I go out. I am a big guy so YMMV.
Obviously the commenters who don’t think 7.5 lbs is heavy for an upland OU don’t hunt much, and certainly don’t carry their guns all day. Try swinging that heavyweight gun on a fast moving bird after 5 hours of field slogging…
Maverick Over/Under Hunter says is 7lb
http://www.mossberg.com/product/maverick-hunter-overunder-75445/
Great price on a good looking O/U.
Bonus, that’s a good looking dog.
I had a very good experience with Mossberg a few years back. My son’s youth model 20 ga. shotgun lost a spring under the safety switch (loose screw). I sent it back to Mossberg as the local gunsmith was not able to get the spring any time soon.
I got the shotgun back in two weeks. Not only did they replace the spring, but they replaced the stock as well. (I had cut it down for my son when he was only 9. They put on a brand new stock!) They did all the work and charged $0 for it.
Now that is customer service!
Does this come from the same company that builds the CZ OUs? I know those come from Turkey.
Mossbergs are made my Kyhan, CZ’s by Huglu.
I have one of these in 20 that I use for dove and quail. Great field gun. Love the extractors instead of ejectors. One of the reasons I use a break action is so I do NOT have to chase my hulls all over the place.
One issue with them is they have a “gravity safety” (pendulum) so it won’t fire if the barrels are depressed more than around 40 degrees. Not the sort of thing you want when hunting in an area with active rattle snakes.
I ended up taking it apart and supergluing the pendulum in the rear position.
In many extractor guns, you can easily disable the ejectors by pulling the trip rods out of the action. Tape them together and toss them into the stock screw bore before you put the recoil pad back on for safekeeping.
I heard the triggers on these are super sloppy, can anybody attest to that?
Why is this gun listed under the .17 HMR caliber section?
As a gunsmith I have started refusing to work on shotguns that are made in Turkey due to the poor quality of the guns and the inability to get parts. I had a customer last year with a Mossberg O/U that would double when fired. It needed new triggers and sears. After getting the wrong parts several times and many complaints to Mossberg, they took the gun back and repaired it at no charge to the customer. The internal parts of the gun are just a little harder than lead and break easily. I had a similar problem with a Weatherby shotgun made in Turkey and a Charles Daly made in Turkey that it took 14 months to get a gas piston for it. The gas piston was Delron or a similar hard plastic and it simply disintegrated after a while. So, at this point, I will not touch any shotguns produced in Turkey. Several gun companies have sold Turkish made shotguns and dropped them from their line which means there are no parts or service for these guns and the customer ends up with an eight-pound paperweight that looks like a shotgun.
A note about Auto-safeties. They are a good thing as the gun is in a safe condition when you close the action. If you can’t remember to flip the safety off when you shoulder the weapon and keep your finger off the trigger until you are on target, I question if that person should even be handling a gun. I have worked on 100-year-old shotguns that had auto safeties. People that don’t like auto-safeties are the ones you read articles about being shot by their dog when they lay their gun down and the dog steps on the trigger. Oh, and forgive my ignorance, but I have never seen anyone carry their gun breech open until a bird is flushed. The time it would take to close the action, shoulder the gun, aim and fire would pretty much guarantee a miss. I’m just sayin. but maybe I misunderstood what was being stated.
Why not repair firearms made in Turkey. They are no different trying to get parts or repairs done on USA made firearms. When firearm production stops on a particular firearm so does parts. Try to get parts and service from Ruger on their shotguns. When Browing or Winchester changes there semi-auto shotguns they stop making parts.
I have a 20 gauge Silver Reserve II that fires both barrels at once about 2 times every 25 rounds. Sent it back . Took 5 months to get it back . Took it out and fired 25 rounds and it double fired 2 times so it isn’t fixed. Hunting season is 2 weeks away and I don’t have a gun that works. Don’t know what to do but if I have to buy another gun it won’t be a mossberg.
My son has a Silver Reserve. Less than 300 rounds through it and both barrels had a crack on the end. He sent it back to Mossberg. They said that there were no cracks in the barrels. When my son got it back you could see that there is a hot spot on each barrel where the crack was plus, they ground the end of the barrels. They said they just polished them. If you look at the chokes, they are now closer to the end of the barrels.. It even shows in the before and after pictures he took. Whoever ground on the end of the barrels had less skill than a 6 year old kid with a grinder. If you put a straight edge across the end, you can see the the center is high and the top of the top barrel and bottom of the bottom barrel is low by almost 1/16 of an inch plus being wavy all the way around. They also ground the ventilated rib back and rounded it off. He sent it back again. One of there people called him and asked what was wrong with it. He told the guy and the guy said they did no repair on the barrels and no grinding. All they did was polish it. Then he got very cocky with my son and told him they are sending it back just the way it is. By the way, they didn’t even reblue where they ground so, now it’s just bare metal. Looks like this will be settled by attorney. In my opinion, Mossberg is now putting out crap and will not stand behind their junk. I have a couple old Mossbergs that have been excellent guns but, I’ll never buy another Mossberg
in reading some of these comments i had to laugh……
im also a gunsmith going on 31 years, AND i work on Turkish shotguns when they come in, and ive NEVER had issues getting parts. there are MANY parts distributors out there on the web ( ever heard of a thing called GOOGLE?) that have parts readily on hand and ready to ship for the majority of the stuff out there.
those “gunsmiths” who refuse to work on them must be allergic…to money!
AS FAR AS Mossberg Silver Reserve’s having issues, ive sold a ton of them in every gauge they offer and have never even one time had one come back with issues. i myself have one of the 20GA models and have put around 5000 rds of 3″ mag ( mixture of both lead and steel) without a hiccup. i own several higher end pellet throwers also, and when its time to take to the field and hunt weather it be pheasant,quail, cottontails or whatever, i grab the silver reserve II over my others.
Looking forward getting mossberg silver reserve11 and it cooling off here in the desert,Blythe, Ca.
Regret that I could not get one of these at age 16. Perfect for nabbing Iowa gamebirds. What a bargain for the money. Mossberg does have its quality.
Reading all the comments by folks who say in so many words these shotguns are more or less junk, and others who state they love theirs and after hundreds of firings never had any problems certainly makes it difficult to decide whether to buy one or not.
Regarding the nay sayers posts… did they just get a defective one through bad quality control or what ?
Maybe someone who is REALLY an authority on the subject should submit some factual information on the subject.
Decent shotgun for the price. The one issue Im having is the break action is way too snug when opening. I oiled the heck out of half-round cuts in the barrel lug and the round hinge pins inside of the receiver and still too snug. Needs polishing. Another new owner on our hunting forum said the same.
Love the not having to chase shells.
I bought my son a silver series II, 2 weeks ago. He loves shooting it.He has cleaned and oiled it 3 times. Spent some time breaking the action open and closed because it is a little tight but it is coming out of it. Today at trap about 35 rounds in, it started missfiring on the top barrel. So the instructors and I looked it over real well switched to the bottom barrel to finish the day out. We were also told thats the barrel he should be shooting from. After trap we looked it over again this time finding 2 cracks on the top of the stock one one on each side. The gun dealer I bought it from is open on Sundays so I brought it there. They said they could have the firing issue fixed by next weekend but they weren’t sure on the stock. We’ll see how it goes wish me luck. But until today my son loves the feel and how the gun shoots.
After around 12 rounds, my SR 12 gauge started double firing when the selector is set to Over. I cleaned it to no avail. I’m hesitant to send it to Mossberg as I don’t want to go 6 months without a gun. Any suggestions?
I sent my son’s into Mossberg theysaid 4 to 8 weeks we got it back in five. They polished it up the action is not super tight anymore and it fires really nice. I’m actually really impressed.
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