I’ve been on the hunt for one of these since I have several 500’s. Are they worth a dang or am I barking up the wrong tree?

What's your experience with black powder?

Most people, myself included, start with a black powder revolver. It's enjoyable to shoot, there's no recoil, and it has lots of history to it.
From there BP shooters move into rifles. Usually traditional caplock or flintlock rifles.

Other BP shooters focus on hunting - modern in-lines for Deer Hunting.

Another aspect of BP is loading BP cartridges and shotgun shells.


Regarding the Mossberg 500 BP barrel, I don't think you want all that weight on a gun if you plan to hunt with it. You might start with a traditional rifle or inline rifle. Get a feel for it and see if it's still worth pursuing that hard to find Mossberg barrel.

Personally I prefer traditional over in-lines for shooting. They bring me (in my mind) closer to the origins of shooting.

I think the only purpose for it was so you could hunt during black powder season, if they allow modern BP guns in your area. Personally I'd just buy a BP gun.

Grew up on a thompson center encore. Mainly wanting the Mossberg barrel because I have a scope on the receiver for my slug barrel and want to use it for the muzzleloader as well to keep things simple. I'd rather rezero it twice a year than buy a whole new setup. Thank you!

Biggest gripe is the loading rod is a bit flimsy.  After a couple shots of fouling it is really hard to load.
Only shot it on one range trip to zero it in years ago.  I have not shot it since.