Mossberg 500 Bantam
- Category
- Shotgun
- Barrel
- 559 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.95 kg
- Introduced
- 1990
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Mossberg 500 Bantam is a compact, youth-oriented pump-action shotgun derived from the popular Mossberg 500 series and chambered in 20 gauge. It combines a shortened length of pull, reduced barrel length, and lighter overall dimensions to fit younger or smaller-framed shooters, while retaining the 500's twin-action-bar pump mechanism, ambidextrous top-tang safety, and aluminum receiver. Fed from a tubular magazine, it typically ships with a 22-inch ventilated-rib barrel, Accu-Set interchangeable choke tubes, and a 3-inch chamber suited to field, small-game, and clay shooting.
The Mossberg 500 platform is one of the best-selling shotguns in history and among the few civilian shotguns to pass the U.S. military's MIL-SPEC 3443 torture test; the Bantam variants adapt that rugged action into a scaled-down package aimed at introducing new and younger shooters to the sport.
Part of Mossberg's Bantam and later Super Bantam youth lineup; Super Bantam models add stock spacers to grow the length of pull as the shooter grows.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- O.F. Mossberg & Sons
- Category
- Shotgun
- Country
- United States
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 1990
- Variant of
- Youth compact
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 559 mm
- Overall length
- 1035 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.95 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Pump action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Tubular
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum alloy
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Effective range
- 40 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Compact youth stock
Shortened length of pull
Adjustable stock spacers
Ventilated rib barrel
Twin bead sights
Accu-set choke tubes
Dual extractors
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 40 20 Gauge shotguns | 2.95 kg | 2.90 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 36 20 Gauge shotguns | 1035 mm | 1156 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 42 20 Gauge shotguns | 559 mm | 711 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 41 20 Gauge shotguns | 5 | 2 | Holds more rounds than about 90% |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the Mossberg 500 Bantam
How much does the Mossberg 500 Bantam weigh?
The Mossberg 500 Bantam weighs 2.95 kg (6.50 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Mossberg 500 Bantam?
The Mossberg 500 Bantam is chambered in 20 Gauge.
How many rounds does the Mossberg 500 Bantam hold?
The Mossberg 500 Bantam holds 5 rounds, fed from a tubular magazine.
How long is the Mossberg 500 Bantam?
The Mossberg 500 Bantam is 1035 mm (40.7 in) long overall, with a 559 mm (22.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Mossberg 500 Bantam?
The Mossberg 500 Bantam is made by O.F. Mossberg & Sons (United States). It was designed by O.F. Mossberg & Sons.
When was the Mossberg 500 Bantam introduced?
The Mossberg 500 Bantam was introduced in 1990.
How does the Mossberg 500 Bantam operate?
The Mossberg 500 Bantam uses a pump action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
80%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/mossberg-500-bantam' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "mossberg-500-bantam", "name": "Mossberg 500 Bantam", "manufacturer": { "id": "mossberg", "name": "O.F. Mossberg & Sons", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1919, "website": "https://www.mossberg.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "efbce48d45f2bf96c91e5b66c03052b97d55affea9178a31feda8fd7fc882671" }, "category": { "id": "shotgun", "name": "Shotgun", "description": "Smoothbore firearms designed to fire shot or slugs" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1990, "barrel_length_mm": 559, "weight_empty_g": 2948, "action_type": "pump_action"}