Mediocre quality - Hogue Mossberg Action Slide Tube Assembly w/ 7.75in Nut

This review and rating are not indicative of Opticsplanet but rather the specific item from Hogue (purchased this item w/ the Stock and Forend kit). The packaging was fine, a hard plastic like many other items but the overall quality and finish of the item was not impressive for a new-in-box item - bluing was almost non-existent, not quite rusting but near-to. Just an overall cheap finish. Hogue also sells this item for $10 MORE on their website, plus S&H which is just crazy to me.

Installation is relatively easy if you're able to disassemble the shotgun (plenty of YT vids showing how, very simple, can be done in 15 minutes) and the slide-rails fit the same as the original. The forend installed easily over the tube and is tightened with the end-nut. After installation I brought it to the range and shot 25 rounds with no noticeable issues and I was happy. I figured it was squared away and would be fine from there on out.

A few weeks later I went back to the range and fired 10 rounds then had a mechanical failure when the slide-tube LOOSENED AND CAME OUT of the action bar via the connecting joint. The tube isn't held in by any mechanical force or cross-pin, it's simply held into the connector via 'pressure' or 'tightness.' This creates an issue because even if the nut is tightened all the way down at the end of the slide-tube and forend, with heavy force upon working the action it can loosen from the joint, making the action unusable and causing a major malfunction, allowing the slide-tube and forend to move freely upon the magazine tube.

After a diagnosis I reinstalled the slide-tube into the connection joint on the action bars, and hammered it down far enough to ensure a tight fit. I will take it back to the range to test it again and hope it will be more reliable. The reason I can't recommend this product is for the previous reasons listed and if I had known of the design flaw I would not have purchased originally. Again, NOT Opticsplanet fault it's entirely on the manufacturer. I wanted to write this review for other potential customers to be aware, as there are no other reviews currently.

For those reading this thinking it was installed incorrectly, think again - I followed directions and double and triple-checked my work to ensure it was installed correctly. I did NOT have any issues even close to this with the original single-piece forend that originally came with the gun and I will need to put hundreds of rounds through this item before I will trust it. If you are building a HOME DEFENSE GUN DO NOT PURCHASE THIS ITEM. Fortunately the shotgun I installed it on is more of a range/fun/project gun, so we'll see where it goes from here. If I have the same issue I will contact Hogue directly.