At first glance, it is extremely difficult to tell the Remington 870 apart from the Mossberg 590 Shockwave. If the two were laid side-by-side on a gun bench, it would be tough to tell which is which from a distance. Their qualities and features overlap quite a bit, but IN MY OPINION, the Remington 870 TAC-14 holds the edge over the Mossberg 590 Shockwave (just slightly).

Without two samples to play with side-by-side for us here at TFB (*cough*… you should probably send us some Remington and Mossberg… *cough*), a side-by-side comparison of features will have to do.

TAC-14: Capacity 4+1; Shockwave: Capacity 5+1

TAC-14: Milled Steel Billet Receiver; Shockwave: Aluminum Receiver

Shockwave: Aluminum Receiver TAC-14: Magpul M-LOK Forend; Shockwave: Corn-Cob Forend w/ Handstrap

Shockwave: Corn-Cob Forend w/ Handstrap TAC-14: MSRP $443.05; Shockwave: MSRP $455.00

Shockwave: MSRP $455.00 TAC-14: 14″ Cylinder Bore w/ Bead Sight; Shockwave: 14″ Cylinder Bore w/ Bead Sight

TAC-14: Shockwave Raptor pistol grip; Shockwave: Shockwave Raptor pistol grip

TAC-14: Black Oxide finish; Shockwave: Matte Blued finish

Shockwave: Matte Blued finish TAC-14: 5.65 Lbs; Shockwave: 5.25 Lbs

A lot of the features can be considered a draw, but overall, the Remington 870 wins out in my opinion. Some other items not mentioned are both models are American-made, have a Lifetime Warranty, and have a strong after-market parts backing.

When staring at this list of features, the 2 biggest victories I see are the milled, solid-steel billet receiver and the Magpul M-LOK forend; both wins for the Remington 870. With a firearm like this, the extra weight and strength could go a long ways in taming recoil and improving durability. Also, the M-LOK compatible forend is huge with how wildly popular M-LOK furniture is becoming.

The one temporary downside, unless Remington makes some modifications, is the Mossberg 590 Shockwave can accept the ultra-fun Aguila Minishells. Since the Aguila Minishells are only 1 3/4″ they present some feeding problems, but with an OPSol Miniclip, consider the problem solved. With the OPSol Miniclip installed, you can only shoot the Aguila Minishells though. It takes only a few seconds to remove the insert to revert back to normal shotgun shells. Since the Remington 870 is so fresh to the market it is yet to be seen if OPSol will produce something compatible for their shotgun as well.

Overall, both of these models should have a street price around $400 and would be equally fun at the range. My tip of the hat goes to the Remington Model 870 TAC-14.

Remington Website

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