Mossberg Patriot Predator .45 Flat Dark Earth Synthetic with Blued/Black Metal Rifle

well lets start this...

well lets start this off saying that I bought this rifle because I was making a modern interpretation of a big bore brush gun. I live in the dense old growth woods of New England about 45 minutes from Canada. I can tell you without a doubt that the rifle is worth the money and much more. I put a a small vortex crossfire 1-4x30mm on it on the lowest mounts I could buy and it shoots like a dream. bench rested it and for time out to the range using Hornady ftx 250 grains after my first few sighting shots the rifle would put the rounds threw about a 2 inch hole at 100 yards. only thing that opened that up was reloading. the bolt is very smooth once you get it hope and grease it will. make sure to grease the bolt guide rails and it runs like a dream. bolt has a nice throw and doesn't hit the scope even with it mounted as close to the rails as possible. the bolt handle has some nice texture to it and gave me a very positive grip on it even when your hands are sweaty and muddy. it comes with a fluted bolt which is a nice feature but its good at catching mud and thick grease so be warned about that. if they had polish the flutes it would be better but as they are they have a very textured parkerized coating and it holds onto grease and dirt. the stock is very light weight and comes with a very nice soft recoil pad. my 8mm Mauser kicks like a mule using the light 170 grain bullets it likes compared to this. the rifle is also very well balanced and with the scope and loaded mag it balances right at the mag and makes it easy to hold up for long periods of time. the stock also has some nice texture to it and gives your a very positive grip in all the weather I've been in so far from down pours to light snow. its been out in the woods with me a lot this bear season and I haven't gotten the good fortune of tagging one yet but its very sort and when I'm going through brush it is very handy and when I have it slung on my shoulder the rifle muzzle is below my head and my hat gets knocked off before the barrel gets snagged on things. all in all the only problem I've had with it is the safety. the safety on mine was a little mushy and was hard to tell when it was all the way forward without putting significant pressure on it. A few times I've gone to shoot it thinking the safety was disengaged but that was caused by a metal bur that hadn't gotten taken off by the factory and a quick once over with my de burring tool fixed that. all in all a very nice budget rifle with very few flaws and an excellent choice.