Military Use
Mossberg claims the Model 500 is the only shotgun to pass the US Army's Mil-Spec 3443E test, "a brutal and unforgiving torture test with 3,000 rounds of full power 12 gauge buckshot". (The updated 3443G specification requires a metal trigger guard, so only the Model 590A1 variants, which have a heavier barrel and use metal trigger groups instead of the standard Model 500's plastic trigger groups, will fit the requirements.)
While the Marines officially switched to the semi-automatic M1014 Combat Shotgun in 1999, various branches of the US military are still acquiring pump shotguns. The Navy acquired several thousand Mossberg 590A1 shotguns in 2004, and the US Army placed an order in 2005 for 14,818 units at a price of just over US$316 each (The Benelli M1014 is considerably more expensive).
In 2009 US Special Forces Groups procured Military Enhancement Kits to provide a standardized shotgun configuration based on the Mossberg 500. The kits included a collapsible stock, "shotgun retention system", 1913 receiver rail, forend rail system and breaching barrels. A total of 1301 shotguns were converted with the first unit being equipped in July, 2009. The majority of the kits convert the standard issue shotgun to a 14" compact model with a 16" accessory breaching barrel.
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