By Chad Adams
In April of 2003, Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Stafford was riding in the backseat of an unarmored Humvee on the outskirts of Baghdad. Enemy Baathist activity had been reported in the area. That’s when Stafford observed movement in a large building’s window—the Marines were headed into an ambush.
Stafford called out the position and sprinted to cut off the enemy. “I was very worried that they would be able to get a good angle set up to ambush our slow-moving convoy,” he said.
So, Stafford sprinted ahead of the column, charging right into harm’s way. “As I skidded to a a halt in a hail of incoming 7.62×39, the Mossberg 590A1 came to my shoulder. I remember the sun glinting off the gold bead sight and the buck of the gun into my shoulder, but I heard nothing.”
A Marine in a Gun Fight
The Mossberg barked, sending a 1-ounce slug into the first Baathist, “spinning him and throwing him to the ground. He maintained control of his AK, but the next slug caught him in the torso, ending the threat.”
Momentarily trapped in the fog of war, reckoning with taking a life, his training ultimately overcame his overwhelmed state just as another enemy combatant sprayed full-auto AK fire in Stafford’s direction.
“Once again, the 590 came to my shoulder and once again, a Baaathist lay dead on the ground.
“Before the fight ended, the 590 roared several more times with the result always the same,”Stafford added.
Stafford’s actions would earn him a Bronze Star with a Combat “V” for valor. The Mossberg 590, on the other hand, had once again earned its keep in combat.
The awesome firepower that is the Mossberg 590 platform remains undeniable, even if we don’t always hear the details of its martial deployment. Nevertheless, from breacher to room clearer to trench sweeper, the combat shotgun continues quietly supporting America’s warriors. It keeps on winning gun fights.
Mossberg 590 Retrograde
The Mossberg 590 Retrograde pays homage to nearly 50 years of continuous U.S. military service. Since the first fielding of the Model 500 in 1979, by the ‘80s the call had come to beef up the combat shotgun.
The resulting 590 did just that, replacing the plastic tang safety and trigger guard with metal components. An updated magazine cap delivered better access for cleaning without requiring disassembly. A beefy, thickened 20-inch barrel, Parkerized finish, and barrel shroud, along with an eight-round magazine, rounded out the bombproof package. Despite Benelli’s M4 adoption in the early 2000s, the 590A1 remains in service to this day.
In the 20 years of wars on terror, the 590 did more good work than we’ll ever fully know. From door breaching to frenetic in-room firefights, the Mossberg saved many an American life in theater.
Mossberg’s 590 Legacy
So, the 590 Retrograde, if it does anything, it packages that bloody legacy into a wood-and-matte blued flag bearer of American warfighter resolve. The pump-action 12-gauge wears a bead front sight and a 3-inch chamber. With 20-inch barrel (our test gun) and 8+1 capacity, choked with cylinder bore, it’s a fighter.
Inside, it’s all 590, including dual extractors, steel-to-steel lockup, twin action bars and an anti-jam elevator. Drilled and tapped for optics, the Parkerized finish nearly hides the complement of modern touches in this retro package.
Some things just are. Marines are tough, and they go looking for trouble. That’s just a fact, evidenced by Staff Sgt. Stafford’s decorated actions. The Mossberg 590 is just a badass defender boomstick of the highest order, in any form. This one just happens to look old school cool while doing it.
Price: MSRP of $721.
Pros: You get the 590 internals with a throwback look to the vintage 500/590s of yesteryear that did some early military work. A good price for a true working gun with Mossberg reliability.
Cons: When I think of the 590 legacy, I think more along the lines of the 590A1 Special Purpose. That gun probably blew more door hinges and introduced more martyrs to virgins across the Middle East than any other shotgun. That’s the throwback Retro I’d like to see.
