Gun Of The Week: Mossberg International Gold Reserve Black

O.F. Mossberg & Sons is well-known for its extensive line of American-made shotguns, notably for the pump-action 500 series, as well as the more recent semi-automatic offerings in the 940 line. But when Mossberg decided to offer a more traditional line of break-action sporting shotguns, the company looked overseas. In recent years, Turkish gunmakers have turned out a number of quality arms at affordable prices, notably when it comes to over-unders. That’s why Mossberg tapped Kahn Arms to make this International Gold Reserve Model, and for a well-appointed shotgun for field and range use, this 20-gauge ticks all the boxes. Watch our video above to see this over-under shotgun from Mossberg in use on the range.

As with most over-under designs on the market, this Gold Reserve model is based on the legendary Browning Citori receiver design, which is descended from the famous Superposed shotgun designed by John Moses Browning. As such, there’s a traditional and time-tested boxlock action into which the stacked barrel assembly hinges.

Opening the lightweight aluminum receiver involves pushing the top tang lever to the side, which unlocks the action, allowing shooters to break it open and expose the breech end. If there are empty hulls in the action, a pair of automatic ejectors quickly shoots them out. To load, simply insert two fresh shells into the breech, then close the action, and you’re ready to shoot. Just below the tang, there’s a combination safety and barrel selector. Pushing up or down on the selector is what makes the gun safe or ready to fire. Pushing from the left to the right selects the top or bottom barrel for firing.

One nice feature about the Mossberg International series is that the guns are outfitted with mechanical triggers, not inertia triggers. This means that you can count on the next shot being ready to fire without worrying whether or not the recoil of the first fired shot properly reset the trigger, adding to the gun’s reliability for field use. The action is also jeweled, which traps lubrication between the barrel monoblock and receiver wall, ensuring that this tight-fitting action operates smoothly when opening and closing.

Mossberg outfits its International Gold Reserve 20-gauge with 30” barrels featuring a ventilated sighting rib, as well as a ventilated center rib, and they swung nicely on the range. A great set of five extended choke tubes comes with each model, and they’re color-coded for easy identification. We also appreciated the aesthetic touches on the receiver, which incorporated scroll engraving and gold inlay that was attractive without being too flashy. Of course, the chrome-lined chambers and bores allowed us to easily extract and load shotshells, and it made cleaning fast and trouble-free, too. A wonderfully finished set of Turkish walnut furniture, outfitted with laser-cut checkering at the fore-end and wrist, completed this great-looking and great-shooting package. Best of all, thanks to Mossberg’s work with international manufacturers, this over-under shotgun is a great do-it-all option that won’t break the bank and is also backed by one of America’s biggest names in gunmaking.

Mossberg International Gold Reserve Black Specifications
Action Type: over-under, boxlock shotgun
Gauge: 20; 3"
Receiver: aluminum
Barrels: 30" steel; polished blued finish
Stock: walnut; satin finish; 14" LOP
Trigger: single-stage; 7-lb. pull
Overall Length: 47"
Weight: 6 lbs., 4 ozs.
MSRP: $1,135