This article was fun to both write and do the testing. Adaptive Tactical is a small company that makes various parts, accessories, and modification kits for the Mossberg 500, Ruger 10/22, and Remington 870. For this article, I will be looking at Adaptive Tactical’s Venom Conversion Kit for the Mossberg 500.

Adaptive Tactical makes conversion kits for the Mossberg 500/590/Maverick 88. These kits allow you to take your standard magazine-fed Mossberg shotgun and turn it into a modified box-fed shotgun with a 6-position, M-4 style stock. Unfortunately, while they make forends and 6-position stocks for the Remington 870, they do not yet manufacture the conversion kits. The conversion kits for the Mossberg 500/590/Maverick 88 6-shot models with an 18.5″ barrel in 12 gauge only. If you are interested in buying the conversion kit and already own a Mossberg or Maverick, check out the Adaptive Tactical website and look at their “shotgun compatibility guide” to make sure your specific model will work. While the barrel length is not a serious factor in the install, the magazine tube size definitely is. It *must* be the 6-shot magazine tube.

The conversion kits are a bit expensive, but Adaptive Tactical also goes to various gun shows, including the SHOT Show and NRA Convention, and usually have some kind of show sale special on some of their products. There are several different selections for the kits, with different patterns and magazine sizes. Some kits have a 5 round box magazine while others have a 10 round box magazine. A few kits come with a 10 round rotary magazine instead of a box magazine. The largest magazines Adaptive Tactial manufactures are 10 round magazines.

The stocks are the same in function, they just come in different patterns. However, there are a couple choices for the forend, the “Wraptor Forend” or a standard forend. Both types of forends come with a threaded forend grip that can be screwed into the forend. I tried the modified 500 with and without the fore grip during testing. The model I had contained the Wraptor forend and a 10 round box magazine, pictured below. It is a little different from a standard forend, but I liked it. I talked to one of Adaptive Tactical’s salemen at the NRA Convention back in May, and one of the main complaints they had heard about the Wraptor forend is that it got in some peoples’ way. I did not have that problem, but to each, their own.

The conversion kits are fairly simple to install and the instructions are straightforward. Utilizing the instructions and Youtube, I was able to successfully install the conversion kit on a standard 6-shot Mossberg 500 with an 18.5″ barrel relatively quickly. One of the nice things about this conversion kit is that it does not require any special tools to install, just a screwdriver, wrench, and pliers. Once it was installed, I went out to test it.

I will be honest, this conversion kit was an absolute blast to shoot. I did not have a timer to see just how fast I could empty a 10 round magazine, but it could not have been no more than 4 seconds. The modified 500 worked very smoothly, just like a Mossberg 500 is known to work, despite having replaced half of the shotgun. The forend moved smoothly over the new magazine tube and the shell fed without a problem.

However, there was one strange hiccup. If the magazine is loaded while the action is open, you have to close the bolt and rack the slide to load a shell into the chamber. Due to the way that the tube feeds a round into the shotgun from the magazine, it cannot feed a shell in was soon as you load the magazine if the bolt is open. Basically, the conversion kit does not automatically kick a shell into the tube when you load a magazine, you have to cycle it. However, if the bolt is closed, there is no problem. Load the magazine, rack the slide, and you are good to go.

Despite that small hiccup, it was incredibly fun and simple to shoot. The function of the 500 itself did not change, only the loading was changed by the kit. Reloading was also much faster. There are some special 3-gun type shotguns that have 8 or 10 round magazine tubes, but they take time to reload. The Adaptive Tactical conversion kits do not. The magazine well is a lot like an AK-47 magazine well. There is a notch at the front of the magazine that catches in the front of the magazine well and then locks in by a latch at the back of the well. This allows for very fast reloading, just knock the empty magazine out of the well and snap the new one into place. The magazines are easy to load as well, although they are heavy when they are full.

Adaptive Tactical was also smart and put a very good recoil reducing buttplate on the stocks that they make, so you can keep shooting for a time. It may be fun to rip off 30 or 40 shotgun shells in less than a minute, but you will definitely feel it later, even with a good buttplate and padded vest. It’s just a lot of shells in a short time.

Of course, some people may argue that the increase in capacity is not a big deal since there are several shotgun models that have 8 to 10 round magazine tubes. If you already own one of those models, then you probably don’t need one of these conversion kits. However, the Venom Conversion Kit allows for rapid reloading and you do not have a massively long barrel and extended tube like many of those traditional high-capacity models. The conversion kit keeps most of the weight in a smaller, more compact unit that is easier to handle and manipulate.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the Adaptive Tactical Venom Conversion Kit. It was very fun and easy to shoot. The install was not very difficult, required no special tools, and was able to double the shell capacity of the short-barreled Mossberg 500. I hope that Adaptive Tactical continues to make these great products and I looked forward for when they branch out to other shotgun brands and models.