Wife just bought a 500 at a local gunshot for a great price. I broke it down cleaned up and all checked out good. Very fimiliar with it due to being doorman on my first deployment. Anyway it came with a 28" ported barrel with a full choke installed. My question is what would this have possibly been used for. We want it for home defense and also for clays and bird hunting if the opportunity shows itself. Just unsure what this barrel setup may have been used for???

Perhaps for Turkey, pheasant, squirrel, trap, hogs with buckshot... There are uses beyond home defense and entry for a pump shotgun.

The ported barrel helps reduce the recoil. It can be used the same as any other shotgun barrel. The only negative of the ported barrel would be shooting it at night. It will have a nice orange flame coming out of the ports at night. With the set-up you describe (full choke and ported barrel), it sounds like it was set up for slugs. The slugs have a lot of recoil, and the ported barrel will reduce that. If you get the various Mossberg choke tubes, you can change out the choke yourself for birds, skeet, or whatever. I have all the various sizes.

I also have a Mossberg 500 as my primary shotgun, and I like it a lot. It has been put through a lot and has held up well.

I bought one about a year ago at Cabelas and it came standard that way. Not sure if they all do, but it was not billed as any special set up just the same as the 870. General purpose.

Sounds like it was set up for predator, or pig hunting using buck shot or dead coyote etc.

Shooting foster slugs through a full choke is fine but an open choke has better accuracy.

Or it could have been used for waterfowl etc.

Keep your 28" barrel around for birds. I think all the 28" Mossberg barrels are vented.

Pick up a 18" barrel new or used for + or - $100.

Turkey-thumper!

Turkey, coyotes as a secondary, or late season dove. I love rocking a full choke for late season dove or even in a duck blind.

Oh and rabbits, squirrels, etc.