This is the third, and probably the last (for now) of my reviews on guns that are either new, or as in this case, new to me. Don’t expect too much detail on this review. If you’ve read them before, you probably know what I’m interested in is accuracy, functionality and reliability. I won’t talk about patterning, chokes, split times, trigger weight, and other extraneous non-combat related material. There are some other very detailed reviews out there if you want that information.
I’ve been shooting Mossbergs ever since I got my first one issued to me as a Marine. It was an old, rickety, model 500 and the worn parkerized finish was more like chrome. But it ran like a champ! They had a reputation for running good and shooting anything you could put through them. The Marine Corps also used Remington 870s, which I was also issued at some point. The latter gun ran nice and smooth as well, and since I had grown up on Remington rifles, I was a bit partial.
After exiting the Marine Corps and becoming more involved in the law enforcement community, I began to see a good mix of both Mossys and Remingtons. I’d say it was about a 50/50 mix, with the deciding factor coming down to what the chief or firearms instructor used to hunt with as a kid. There were a smattering of FNs and Benellis out there, but those were the exceptions. So I stayed with my tried and true 870 when I took up instructing. I was FAST with that thing, and even faster after I put optics on it. It was not that I disliked the Mossberg so much as it was that I preferred the Remington. I must say, however, that I disliked the tang safety on the Mossberg.
My preference changed not too long ago when I picked up a Mossberg 930 JM Pro at SAWS Manufacturing in Whitefield, NH. I didn’t buy it, but the balance, handling, and simplicity of the weapon did impress me. So did the price tag. Later on, I had the occasion to see a used 930 Tactical in mint condition for sale, and I bought it. This gun had no frills. It was a simple design with a bead sight, and standard four plus one capacity.
I took this gun home and soon began to put it through its paces. I shot EVERYTHING I could think of through it, and to date, have not had a single malfunction, save one stuck case from some Winchester AA sporting clay loads. That was not the fault of the gun itself, as I’ve had that malfunction with the same ammo in various shotguns numerous times (hopefully someone from Winchester reads this). As is typical of any torture test I conduct with a weapon, I did not clean it. I put at least a thousand rounds through the gun, mostly skeet and target, without cleaning or lubricating it. No problems. I finally broke down and had to clean it after my last combat shotgun course. The filth was more than I could put up with.
This is a simplistic but accurate description of how the gun cycles: When fired, two gas ports direct gasses from the barrel to the gas piston surrounding the magazine tube. The piston forces the action back in much the same way a pump action cycles, extracting and ejecting the spent shell, and a recoil spring forces the bolt to close again, while the mechanism feeds a new round into the chamber.
What impresses me most about this gun, other than the fact that it doesn’t malfunction, is the lack of felt recoil. I can shoot a pump shotgun faster than a lot of people can shoot a semiauto. But I am able to get back on target faster with the gas fed Mossberg, meaning I can shoot even faster while not suffering in accuracy. Also, I can shoot full strength loads with much less abuse to my shoulders and cranium. Each time you shoot a 12 gauge, compare it to getting a good stiff jab to the face from a boxer. That tends to affect the brain and eyes. People have actually suffered detached retinas after prolonged training with shotguns. Reducing the recoil helps mitigate that risk.
I mentioned that I fed this gun all kinds of ammo, and I was not exaggerating. This gun, or rather should I say ‘these guns’ because I now own two, and I have tested others for two different PDs, have fired light skeet loads, low-brass game loads, reduced recoil slugs, reduced recoil buckshot, 3 inch magnum slugs and buckshot, etc. Zero encountered malfunctions. I also shot some frangible breaching loads. This is not to say that the 930 is flawless. In doing research for this article, I found that the first run of the 930 SPX had feed issues. Further research led me to conclude that the problems were identified and remedied. I have found only one round that will not work reliably in the 930, and that is the Mini round. Those don’t work that well in any repeating gun I know of that is not modified properly. I knew that, but had to try…
Features? Plenty. I’m just going to discuss the features and options of the 930 Tactical and SPX, because I know you can only take so much of my ramblings… They can come from the factory with a muzzle break designed for breaching, a Picatinny rail, ghost ring sights, tritium sights, fiber optics, extended tubes, and pistol grip stocks. I do not recommend the latter because of the aforementioned tang safety inherent in Mossberg shotguns. Note the tall and robust shields protecting the ghost ring front and rear sights in the photo below. These are crucial if you are running fiber optic sights and are a benefit even if you are not.
My two 930s are pictured below. I prefer to keep them simple. I have not yet mounted optics on them, and I’m not sure that I will. I like the lighter weight and simplicity of the standard 4 + 1 version, and have gotten a couple partridge with it. However for home defense I use the extended tube (7 + 1) and mount a 200 lumen light. I almost always use a shotgun card or sidesaddle with my guns. I do not always mount slings to my home defense guns. I may in the future. I keep these guns locked and cocked, with a downloaded tube, so as not to keep the spring compressed.
An advantage of the ghost rings or optics over the bead sight is the fact that you can sight it in for distance. Personally, if I’m going to take a head shot at 50 yards, I’m going to use a rifle. I’ve noticed that both my guns with bead sights shoot slugs about 10 inches high at 50 yards. Know the capabilities of your weapon, and your own capabilities, right? However for home defense, I prefer the faster target acquisition of the bead sight over the ghost rings. Both options have advantages and drawbacks, so it boils down to personal preference.
Another feature that I believe is beneficial is a ‘cocked hammer’ indicator on the inside forward portion of the trigger guard. See photo below. I’ve read numerous reviews on this gun, and just about all of them say it allows the user to conduct a quick ‘press check’ without taking his/her hands off the gun or eyes off the target. NOT TRUE! A press check allows the shooter to CONDUCT A MAGAZINE AND CHAMBER CHECK. All this little knob does is tell the shooter whether or not the gun is cocked. There is no loaded chamber indicator on this gun. If someone knows different, please tell me and I’ll give you credit.
A common theme in the reviews I’ve read or watched was the lighter recoil of this gun compared to pump guns. Again, that is due to the gas piston system of the gun. However another common theme is the price. Let’s put it this way: you can basically buy three of these guns for the price of a Benelli M4, or two for the price of an 1187. The Mossberg is a field horse, whereas the other two are thoroughbreds. Not knocking those other excellent guns, but merely noting the price difference. Hey, I want to get the most for my buck, like anyone else.
At this point I’m going to assert something that could be considered sacrilegious by some. I think this gun is more reliable than a pump action shotgun, especially for new shooters, or shooters who don’t train as often as they should or would like to, and sadly that means the LE community. Why is that? Well because having an autoloader takes out the human element in the reloading process. There is no need to rack the slide. As a combat shotgun instructor, I have seen pumps malfunction numerous times. These malfunctions are usually caused by one of two things: bad ammo, or user-induced by short-stroking the action which can cause a failure to feed or a double feed. I’m positive I have suffered this malfunction myself, although I can’t remember when.
New shooters and shooters under stress are more likely to induce their own malfunctions. This is not just inherent in pump action shotguns, but also lever action, bolt action, and pump action rifles. It can even happen with single action revolvers. Long ago, the military got away from bolt and lever action rifles, and went to automatics. There was no reduction in reliability. The LE community did the same, with the same results. So too should they when it comes to shotguns. Couple that with the fact that it is a hell of a lot easier for a smaller person to shoulder and shoot the semiauto versus the pump, myself included, and the logic is undeniable—the semiauto shotgun makes as much sense as the semi auto carbine sitting in the cruiser rack, or by your bedside. Compare it for yourself.
Less lethal munitions:
I was just about to publish this article when I realized that I had neglected to try out less lethal munitions (LLM) in the weapon. I could hardly publish without testing out some of the ammo that makes the shotgun such a versatile option, could I? Of course not. So I acquired a sampling of LLM consisting of bear crackers, rubber slugs, and rubber buckshot. I was not able to get any bean-bag rounds. In case you’re not familiar with them, bear crackers are basically a 12 gauge shell loaded with an M-80 firecracker. The others are exactly what their names imply.
I pretty much knew what to expect: the velocities of the cartridges, and weight of the projectiles would preclude reliable functioning of a semiauto 12 gauge. However I wanted to see if they would be reliable if I worked the action manually. To my delight, firing the rounds did not move the bolt at all. If it had, then I would have worried about inducing failures to eject and feed malfunctions. But of the dozen or so rounds I put through the gun, the bolt did not move. When I worked the action, all rounds ejected and fed as though I were using a pump gun. And that is the key: now the gun is functioning like a pump, so I don’t see a loss of capabilities or reliability, as long as you train for it. A large, aggressively grooved bolt handle aids in that. I come from under the gun to work the bolt with my left hand, and that handle is perfect for my thumb.
COPS, PAY ATTENTION: What does this mean? Well I was initially going to recommend to LEAs that if you swap out your pumps for autoloaders, you should maintain a percentage of your pump guns for LLM deployment. However, now I see this is not necessary, and the gun will function reliably if you manually work the action. I would be derelict if I did not tell you to do your own testing, as any LEA should when selecting a new firearm.
One thing I wish Mossberg would do with this gun is make a 20 gauge version. There are 20 gauge semis in Mossberg’s inventory, but not one just like the 12 gauge tactical. I believe it was offered for a couple years, and then discontinued. Pity… I’d trade in both my 870 20 gauges for a pair of Mossy autoloaders if they had it in a Tactical configuration.
Tactical note: There is a way to increase the mag capacity of this gun by one shell, called ‘ghost loading.’ This procedure calls for the shooter to load the magazine tube fully, slip another round on top of the shell carrier, and then chamber the last round. I do NOT recommend doing this unless you are absolutely and intimately familiar with your weapon and how it works. Even then, I certainly do NOT recommend this procedure if you’re using your 930 for home defense, as it will possibly cause a very specific type of malfunction called a shit sandwich. No one wants to take a bite out of that, so avoid the possibility altogether. If for some reason you want to practice this technique on the range, get the procedure down with dummy rounds before you go hot. Personally, I’d rather put the time into practicing sustained loading procedures.
One more note: I got over my dislike of the tang safety really fast. LOVE this gun.
Stay safe. Stay lethal.
QUOTH THE RAVEN 