I got a 500A mariner 18.5" model that was made sometime in the late 80s and has a shiny nickel/chrome finish on the barrel, receiver, heatshield, and bolt. The gun is awesome. I bought it off a friend who originally bought it at an estate sale. He shot probably ~250 rounds through it and I shot probably ~150 rounds through it and then I started having an issue where the shells were dropping out of the bottom of the receiver when I pump the action. I figured it was something to do with the cartridge stop but I called Mossberg and I sent it to their repair facility. Long story short, I sent it to them and then about 4-5 weeks later I had it at my door with brand new internals (bolt, cartridge stop, cartridge interruptor, elevator etc.) and now it functions flawlessly. They didn't charge me for the repairs OR for the return shipping which was great. I was expecting to pay something especially when the Mossberg rep said "oh! well sir, that's a very old shotgun and is out of warranty at this point" after I gave him the serial number. The gun probably got a lot of use and the internals got warped or warn from so much use is my guess.
Anyway it's a great shotgun for the money. Most of the basic mossberg 500s you can get in the low-mid $300s like at Four Seasons. The Hogue forend and pistol grip will run you like ~$30 on Amazon and probably $5-$10 for a shellholder. So you should definitely be under $500 total. I hear the Hogue forends are hit or miss depending on which model and year your 500 was made and whether or not it has a heatshield will dictate if the Hogue forend will fit well. If it doesn't, I hear that people will dremel off some of the rubber on the forend for it to fit right.
If you ever want/need information on Mossberg shotguns or need parts check out
Havlin Sales & Service - Mossberg Gun Parts They are a husband/wife run business and I've talked with them numerous times and they know everything about mossberg shotguns. They gave me a whole run down of mine having the shiny nickel or teflon coating for the US coast guard and it got phased out quickly because they didn't like the glare etc.
If you don't want to go broke buying a decent shotgun, you can't go wrong with a Mossberg. My shotgun is probably 25 years old and functions great. I've got the pistol grip and full stock for mine. The pistol grip got old and my wrist didn't enjoy it either after a few trips to the range. I'm sure pistol grip on the Cruiser model can be swapped out for the full stock which I'm sure you will get one after shooting it with just a pistol grip a few times.
Here's mine with and without the pistol grip:
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