Mossberg's 590A1 Retrograde pairs the heavy-wall 20-inch barrel, Parkerized metal and bayonet lug of the service gun with walnut furniture and a corncob forend. It is a 12-gauge pump with a 3-inch chamber that also takes 2 3/4-inch shells, an 8+1 capacity, dual extractors and dual action bars, a vented heat shield and ghost ring sights. The safety sits on the tang where either hand reaches it, the length of pull is 14.25 inches, and the gun weighs 7.25 pounds at 41 inches overall. The barrel is a cylinder bore.

Although Mossberg pitches it for home defense and law enforcement, the Retrograde counts as a shotgun under North Carolina's deer rules, which allow shotguns throughout the gun season: October 17 to January 1 in the Northeastern and Southeastern zones, with November openers elsewhere. With nine shells aboard and a 3-inch chamber it is a plausible thick-cover deer gun. Hunter orange is mandatory and the season limit is six deer, two antlered.

Key features

• 12 gauge pump, 3-inch chamber, 8+1 capacity
• 20-inch heavy-wall cylinder bore barrel, Parkerized
• Walnut stock with corncob forend
• Ghost ring sights, vented heat shield, bayonet lug
• Ambidextrous tang safety, 7.25 pounds

Delivered to the North Carolina FFL dealer you name at checkout, where you fill in Form 4473 and clear NICS before taking it home.