Pump action shotguns are a North American phenomenon. Over in Europe, where hunting is reserved for the upper classes, over unders and semi-autos rule the roost. On this continent, the shotgun is a much more utilitarian firearm. Open a blue collar gun safe and you’re likely to find a pump action 12 gauge. No shotgun better exemplifies North America’s pragmatic approach to scatter guns than the Mossberg Maverick 88.
Philosophy of Use
Before we delve into the specifics, let’s outline the use case for a pump action shotgun. The pump action shotgun is a jack of all trades, and a master of none. For a designated clay guns an over-under is better. In the duck blind, a semi-automatic is ideal. Likewise, for deer hunting, a bolt action like the Savage 220 offers the ultimate in slug gun accuracy. However, a pump action shotgun is able to effectively fill all of these roles at a much lower cost than any of the other popular shotgun actions.
The Maverick 88 is designed with this in mind. Importantly, the Maverick 88 is a no frills hunting and self defense shotgun and a rock bottom price. I paid $270 USD for a new Maverick 88 with two barrels, which after selling one of the barrels got me into a new shotgun for $160 USD.
Design
The Maverick 88 is a variant of the venerable Mossberg 500. Minor design changes have been made to cut down on production costs. The most significant of these is a fixed handguard and the removal of the tang safety in favour of a crossbolt design. Another significant change for slug and turkey hunters is the Maverick 88 does not come drilled and tapped for optics. Depending on your use case this may or may not be important to you.
Importantly, the action itself is essentially unchanged. Conveniently, the Maverick 88 still takes many Mossberg 500 parts including barrels. This allows for easy changes from a rifled slug barrel, to a field barrel for birds, to a short barrel for tactical use.
First Impressions
Out of the box the Maverick 88 handles much the same as the classic Mossberg 500. The crossbolt safety is not as tactile as the tang design but it functions well enough. Notably, the action definitely receives less attention at the factory than on a Mossberg 500. Out of the box I found the action to be fairly stiff. This was easily remedied after stripping the gun and removing the factory grease and detritus, and cycling the empty gun several hundred times. After this treatment the action felt virtually identical to 500’s that I’ve handled.
The furniture is generic plastic and while nothing to write home about it was solid and functional. The stock lines are traditional for a field gun. For tactical uses the length of pull is a tad long but still useable. The stock design is a compromise to be effective for all types of shooting, as tactical shotgun shooting is typically done with a square stance for recoil mitigation while wing shooting is done with a bladed to provide a wider swing.
Shooting Experience
Next, the Maverick 88 was very reliable with an assortment of ammunition of varying quality. It reliably ran everything thrown at it, including some corroded old duck loads that had spent several decades in my grandfather’s barn. Ejection was strong and consistent with a number of different shells. The only hiccups were with 1 3/4 inch mini-slug shells, but apart from single shots I have not found many actions that are bomb proof with mini-shells.
Perhaps the largest drawback to the Maverick 88 is the recoil. With a short barrel, my Maverick 88 weighs in under 6 lbs. The low weight combined with the manual action and traditional stock lines result in higher felt recoil. This was manageable with birdshot and buckshot. However, full-house 3 inch foster slugs were punishing to shoot.
Competitive Options
In the ultra-budget segment of the shotgun market, the Maverick 88 stands heads and shoulders above the competition. While there are many Turkish made pump actions that are similarly priced, none of them offer the no-nonsense reliability and durability of the Maverick 88. Likewise, for general bird hunting or defensive use I see no reason to spend nearly twice the money on a Mossberg 500 or a Remington 870. The exception to this is if you want to put a scope or a red dot on your shotgun.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, the Mossberg Maverick 88 is a durable and reliable pump action shotgun at a very good price. Are there nicer guns? Absolutely. However, to get the same reliability in a different pump action shotgun you are looking at spending double the price. Similarly, a reliable semi-auto will cost even more than that. The Maverick 88 is a quintessentially utilitarian tool that, while not flashy, works and works well. For a beat around shotgun for hunting, wildlife defense, or managing varmints there isn’t a better value on the market.