Mossberg MVP Series
Review By Kieran Harris
A friend of mine recently came to me with a problem. He raised the issue where many, if not most of his rifles were hyper-specialized and engineered for a very specific purpose, think dedicated precision rifles or long-range target outfits not well suited for use outside of the gun range.
What he wanted and yet didn’t really have, was a general purpose, do most things well but not anything specific rifle. A sort of Jack of all trades type firearm which could be used for target shooting, hunting, pest eradication and plinking. My answer was simple. The Mossberg MVP Series.
I’ve always thought the Mossberg MVP is a fantastic do it all rig with lots of potential. I have shot many variations of the platform and can say without a word of a lie they are one of the most versatile, handy, and best-value rifles on the market today. Available in common calibers such as .223, 300 Blackout and .308, ammo is generally easy to find even in today’s market.
My friend decided to take my advice and purchased an MVP Patrol in .308. Being that he wanted to shoot everything from goats to pigs to big red stags the .308 made the most sense. We scoped it up with a Leupold Freedom 1.5-4x20 LPVO (Low Powered Variable Optic) and he was on his way. The first thing you will notice about the MVP is that it has a no-frills tactical look to it. The type of look that says I’m ready to work and don’t care if I get dirty. The synthetic stock is sturdy but not heavy and the medium contour 16.25’’ barrel has a low glare parkerized finish with a removable brake at the muzzle. A picatinny rail is mounted over the action and the rifle wears adjustable open sights with a bright red fibre optic foresight. This means if your scope or optic should ever fail then you have the comfort of knowing the backup sights are there. This brings me to the other model of MVP, the Scout.
Colonel Jeff Cooper knew a thing or two about guns. His knowledge of calibers, big game hunting and handguns rivalled some of the best minds in the business. But the thing Cooper is perhaps most universally recognized for is the conceptualization of the Scout rifle. While he didn’t so much invent the idea, he did strongly promote and define the parameters of what the Scout rifle should be. Many companies have jumped on the scout rifle bandwagon and Mossberg is no different. The MVP Scout is a modern version of Jeff Cooper’s vision and while it doesn’t strictly adhere to the exact definition it also improves on it. The longer forward-mounted rail for an intermediate or long eye relief scope is included atop of the rifle’s receiver and barrel. This allows the shooter to use the scope with both eyes open, giving a much wider field of view. You can also mount a traditional riflescope on it if the LER scope isn’t your cup of tea. Like the Patrol, the Scout also has iron sights but utilizes a rear peep/aperture as opposed to a barrel-mounted v-notch. The bolts on both rifles are fluted allowing for free and easy movement and the trigger breaks clean at approximately 4 pounds. The rifle ships with one Magpul 10-round magazine and these are easily inserted and removed from the mag-well.
On the range, my friend’s new Patrol rifle shined in all departments. At 100 yards the rifle produced 1.1’’ to 1.5’’ groups with a variety of factory ammo offerings and with handloads he managed Sub MOA in a nice little cloverleafed 5-shot group. One has to be confident that taking a snapshot while hunting will yield fallen game and I have no doubt the Patrol or Scout is capable of doing so.
Needless to say, this gun lends itself to hard use and when I’m hunting, scouting, or roughing it in the bush the last thing I want to worry about is scuffing up a finely checkered piece of walnut or a highly polished blued finish. With the MVP I know if it gets knocked around it’s going to wear it.
Weighing in at 7 pounds the Patrol is not the heaviest or the lightest rifle out there. I found it very well-balanced in that it is light enough to carry in the field yet heavy enough to soften the recoil of the .308. Mossberg have now also offered the MVP in .300 Blackout. This is great for all the Subsonic fans out there who want to get the most out of their suppressors. That and the .223 model are slightly lighter at 6.5 pounds and also use AR-compatible magazines. I would recommend anybody who wants a general-purpose rifle that you can take right out of the box and go shoot or hunt with, that they seriously look at the MVP series from Mossberg.
