Improved Mossberg MVP

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Mossberg 5.56 MVP Patrol Rifle’s A polymer magazine well was considerably larger than it needed to be and cartridges would not feed from USGI magazines. Fortunately, the aftermarket rode to the rescue. The Mossberg MVP Patrol 5.56 is a sort of hybrid "tactical scout" rifle chambered for 5.56×45 NATO and accepting NATO STANAG (Standardization Agreement) AR- 15 magazines.

In addition to the chambering and the ability to use the ubiquitous AR magazine, the appeal of the Mossberg MVP Patrol is that it is bolt-action, features a polymer stock, and is lightweight. I ordered one to use in dispatching coyotes and other pesky varmints. The 5.56 MVP Patrol is built on a short action receiver, similar to The screw at the rear of the trigger guard (not shown) does not engage the receiver and is not removed.

Loaded magazines would tilt down at the front, causing the bullet tip to "catch" below the feed ramp. series, and Zastava M85. A unique feature of the 5.56 MVP Patrol is a hinged "jaw" on the lower section of the bolt face which serves to drop "Mini Mauser" rifles such as the old Interarms 10X, current CZ 527

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down when the bolt is cycled to facilitate stripping of cartridges from the magazine. This jaw is just sufficiently wide to pass between the feed lips of an AR magazine, and it engages the head of the top-most cartridge in the magazine on the feed stroke. The jaw and its hinge pin are necessarily small and not particularly robust-appearing, but one assumes that Mossberg thoroughly fatigue tested the design before going to market.

The MVP Patrol features an adjustable trigger with a Glock-like trigger safety blade, a textured polymer stock, open sights with ared light-gathering front sight insert, a Picatinny rail for optics mounting, an A2-type flash hider, and a large, conical target-style bolt knob—the latter I could do without. The excitement of anew firearm quickly wore off when the 5.56 MVP Patrol all but failed to feed using 30-round USGI aluminum AR magazines.

With the supplied Magpul magazine the MVP Patrol fed reasonably well, but there were some random instances of a cartridge failing to be stripped from the Magpul magazine and fed into the chamber by the bolt. I tried a few 20-round USGI magazines, but I had no luck with them either. What’s the point of a rifle featuring acceptability of AR magazines if they don’t function?

The USGI aluminum magazines rocked fore-and-aft to a large degree, but the Magpul magazine Far The subject MVP Patrol exhibited satisfactory accuracy without bedding of the Tromix magazine well. exhibited far less play. If I manipulated the bolt while pushing the lower end of a USGI AR magazine forward, rounds would strip from the magazine and chamber most of the time. But missing a third arm and hand, this technique was impractical for shooting.

Given we’re 1/5th of the way through the 21st century, I do what most people do when faced with a problem: I turn to the Interwebz. Sure enough, my MVP Patrol was not the only one with this feed issue. In fact, it’s been a known undesired feature of the Mossberg MVP 5.56 since Day One, and the problem has spawned a number of "fixes" documented on video—viewer beware, in most cases.

While some of the You Tube "garage remedies" result in functional cartridge feeding in an MVP Patrol, they are not what I would consider technically or professionally acceptable. I often find that people who engage in such "repairs" become future customers.

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The small diameter end of the mag catch is a stop that prevents the magazine catch from swinging too far into the magazine well. Far The pin is stepped, and is pushed out from the bottom of the magazine well towards the top. In investigating the feed issue online, I discovered that Tony Rumore of Tromix Lead Delivery Systems (Tromix.com, offers a magazine well for the MVP Patrol that eliminates the feed issue.

It is made of machined aluminum that is hard coat anodized and black dyed available for $75.00 plus tax and shipping. I figured at this point I was already in for a pound and another 7,500+ pennies would yield a bolt-action "tactical scout" rifle in 5.56 suitably functional with USGI AR magazines, so I placed the order to Tromix. The Tromix magazine well arrived within a week and was well-packaged.

There were no instructions supplied with the unit, but an examination of the replacement magazine well and the original Mossberg polymer part showed that the magazine release lever, pivot pin, and return spring would need to be removed from the Mossberg polymer magazine well and installed in the Tromix replacement. Further, there are four "nubs" molded into the Mossberg polymer stock that must be reduced or removed in order for the Tromix magazine well to be installed at the proper elevation in the stock.

If the Tromix replacement is placed into the recess in the stock without removal of these nubs, the replacement sits too high in the stock and the barreled action cannot be properly installed in the stock. This is due to the Tromix well being wider at each end than the factory Mossberg well. The first step in the magazine well replacement process is disassembly. Remove any installed magazine and withdraw the bolt to verify the rifle is unloaded. Depress the bolt latch and withdraw the bolt from the action.

The barreled action is separated from the stock by removing the screw in front of the magazine and the screw directly in front of the trigger guard. The rear most screw can be left in place as it serves to attach the trigger guard to the stock. Once those two screws are removed, lift the barreled action out of the stock. The Mossberg polymer magazine well can be lifted up and out of the stock after removal of the barreled action. It may help to push up on the bottom edges of the magazine well to get it started.

With the Mossberg magazine well out of the stock, attention is directed to two features. First, the previously-mentioned four nubs in the stock essentially at the corners of the magazine well opening. Second, the magazine catch lever in the front and side of the magazine well. As mentioned previously, these four nubs need to be reduced or removed in order for the Tromix mag well to seat properly in the Mossberg polymer stock.

This is easily done with a small wood chisel, paring the plastic nubs away a bit at a time. The flange portion of the Tromix mag well is just a bit thicker in section than that of the OEM mag well, requiring removal or reduction of the nubs. The magazine catch lever is to be transferred from the OEM mag well to the Tromix replacement. This is accomplished by removing the pivot pin using a small pin punch. The pivot pin is stepped and installs only one way, from the upper side of the mag well toward the bottom.

To remove, push the pivot pin out from the bottom up. Swing the magazine catch lever into the mag well and lift it upwards to remove it. Note that there is a coil spring in a slot at the front of the mag well; take care that it is not lost and that it is relocated to the replacement. A tip: The magazine catch lever in contact with the hard coat anodizing of the Tromix mag well exhibited fairly high coefficient of friction.

Considerable force was required "just so" on the magazine catch thumbpiece to release a magazine. While the rifle was apart, I removed the magazine catch lever and polished its surfaces that come in contact with the mag well and polished the mag well’s contacting

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On the subject MVP Patrol there was some friction holding the spring in place, but take care to ensure that it is not lost during disassembly. surfaces, too. Predominantly that’s both sides of the long slot in the side of the mag well. These were polished and the sharp edges removed by ever-so-slight chamfering of the slot using a rubber polishing tip. The polishing noticeably improved the working of the magazine catch lever and reduced the force required to activate it.

Of course, a very light film of RIG on the parts also made releasing a magazine easier. Once polished and assembled, the replacement mag well was installed into the stock and the barreled action screwed into place. In keeping with customary practice, both guard screws were tightened to the beginning of resistance and the front guard screw was then fully tightened before fully tightening the rear guard screw.

To correctly state the oft-misquoted adage, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating," 223/5.56 snap caps fed from both 20 and 30-round USGI metal magazines without issue. It was then time for a range trip. Twenty rounds were loaded in both magazines as well as ten rounds in the Magpul magazine that came with the rifle. All rounds fed from all three magazines without issue. This was in stark contrast to the first range outing when rounds would not chamber at all from a USGI magazine.

While at the range, I took the opportunity to sight in the MVP Patrol, adjusting the rear sight for elevation. Windage was dead on from the factory. The MVP Patrol turned out to be very accurate when fired offhand. With the open rear sight I was able to repeatedly dust standard diameter clay birds sitting on edge at the 100 yard berm using 55 grain Prvi Partizan FMJ, Federal XM193, and South African surplus 55 grain ammunition. I set some birds on the 200 yard berm and fired from a rest, same ammo and sights.

The red front sight insert covered the clay birds and then some, but the MVP Patrol broke 6 out of 10 on the first 10 rounds fired. I didn’t touch the adjustable trigger as it broke at 3.3 pounds out of the box. This is sufficient practical accuracy that I did not bother with glass bedding the magazine well or action. Others may not be so lucky.

Despite USGI magazines acting like a broomstick in a bathtub in the MVP Patrol’s original magazine well, in the course of remedying the subject problem I learned that Mossberg still adheres to the principles that grew the company and are embodied in their historic slogan, "More Gun for the Money." This is a rifle designed for mass production. The MVP Patrol exhibits above average fit and finish. The cylindrical receiver is machined from utilitarian barstock and not a more costly forging.

The polymer stock is solid and not at all slippery in the hands, either dry or wet. The sights appear to be perfectly level and not canted. A Picatinny rail is factory mounted on the receiver but is sufficiently low that the MVP Patrol can be sighted with the open sights if an optic is not mounted. My only complaint is the bolt knob is styled like those used for Benchrest rifles, large and conical.

I could have done with a smaller, lighter, and more simple knob, like that of the Model 70 or Model 700, but that’s a project for a later time. The Mossberg MVP Patrol was the first factory-new bolt-action rifle that I purchased in probably decades, simply because I wanted a bolt gun that accepted AR magazines, particularly USGI aluminum ones. In making the purchase, I relearned an important lesson—always do due diligence on an unknown product, particularly one that’s relatively new to market.

The MVP Patrol is about ten years old, maybe more, but compared to a Winchester 94, this Mossberg is still an infant. And with infants come teething problems. Because I did not check reviews, the MVP’s magazine well "teething problem" bit me, but fortunately Tromix and an hour or so of my time took the pain out of that bite. AG