Hello, first post to MossbergOwners.com. Sorry for the long post - you've been warned!
Just purchased a 930 SPX with pistol grip last weekend at the Ft.Worth fun show. This is my first Mossberg product. I have a couple of older Winchester shotguns and a Rem. 1100. Like most 930 SPX buyers, I was attracted to the 930's combination of features and pricing. I Picked up my my 930 at the show last weekend for $599 NIB. Based on most of the local pricing I've seen, that seemed like a really good deal. My ultimate goal for this shotgun is home defense and general plinking.
Before I fired it, I dismantled it and gave it a thorough cleaning. I did this based on numerous posts I read about the 930's needing a good cleaning to get rid of the brownish manufacturing/shipping grease they have on them out of the box . Sure enough, mine had a considerable amount of rust-colored grease in several places including the gas piston. The grease cleaned up easily with Hoppes and aerosol bore scrubber. I applied small amounts of gun oil on the moving parts and anywhere I saw wear marks. After cleaning, oiling and reassembling, the action was noticeably smoother.
This past Friday afternoon, I took my new 930 to a local indoor range that allows shotguns. Brought along
20, Win. 2-3/4" 00 buckshot rounds and a mixed bag of 100+ old birdshot shells of various manufacturers and ages, some dating back to the '70's. this was my remaining stash of plinking 12 ga. shells. I figured if the 930 will function reliably with this stuff, it "should" work with anything. To my pleasant surprise, the gun functioned flawlessly with every single round! The only functional issue I had was with the mag tube or the extension. For the first 30+ rounds I could only load 5 shells. Then, without doing anything, the mag tube started accepting 7 rounds and continued to do so until I was out of shells. I have yet to clean it after that range trip, but when I do I will check the alignment between the mag extension and the mag tube.
The other issue I had was the LOP. It's a little long for me. Need to shorten it at least an inch to shoulder it comfortably, more than an inch to shoulder it with thick clothing. I've researched stock options and I see the limiting factor is the recoil spring and tube that extends into the stock. It looks like the only shorter option is the Mesa Tactical "Urbino" stock. Kind of disappointing since I was hoping to be getting into a shotgun that had good aftermarket following. I also would have expected Mossberg to do the engineering required to shorten the LOP instead of leaving it to the aftermarket. The M.T. stock looks like a high quality product, but I was hoping for more than just one option.
As of this post, the biggest issue I have with the 930 is the "pusher assembly". To me, the 930's gas system is an odd mix of "NASA" and "Nerf". The piston assembly is a beautiful piece of engineering and manufacturing. In contrast, the "pusher assembly" looks like something I might find inside one of my son's Nerf guns. And from reading other posts, threads and reviews, it does appear that the pusher assembly is the 930's Achilles heel. Just doesn't seem like a good application for a plastic part. I'm surprised nobody has come up with an aftermarket replacement part made out of metal. With that in mind, I plan to keep a close eye on the pusher assembly as I continue to up the round count.
Looking forward to my next shooting session with the 930 SPX. Thanks for reading!
Just purchased a 930 SPX with pistol grip last weekend at the Ft.Worth fun show. This is my first Mossberg product. I have a couple of older Winchester shotguns and a Rem. 1100. Like most 930 SPX buyers, I was attracted to the 930's combination of features and pricing. I Picked up my my 930 at the show last weekend for $599 NIB. Based on most of the local pricing I've seen, that seemed like a really good deal. My ultimate goal for this shotgun is home defense and general plinking.
Before I fired it, I dismantled it and gave it a thorough cleaning. I did this based on numerous posts I read about the 930's needing a good cleaning to get rid of the brownish manufacturing/shipping grease they have on them out of the box . Sure enough, mine had a considerable amount of rust-colored grease in several places including the gas piston. The grease cleaned up easily with Hoppes and aerosol bore scrubber. I applied small amounts of gun oil on the moving parts and anywhere I saw wear marks. After cleaning, oiling and reassembling, the action was noticeably smoother.
This past Friday afternoon, I took my new 930 to a local indoor range that allows shotguns. Brought along
20, Win. 2-3/4" 00 buckshot rounds and a mixed bag of 100+ old birdshot shells of various manufacturers and ages, some dating back to the '70's. this was my remaining stash of plinking 12 ga. shells. I figured if the 930 will function reliably with this stuff, it "should" work with anything. To my pleasant surprise, the gun functioned flawlessly with every single round! The only functional issue I had was with the mag tube or the extension. For the first 30+ rounds I could only load 5 shells. Then, without doing anything, the mag tube started accepting 7 rounds and continued to do so until I was out of shells. I have yet to clean it after that range trip, but when I do I will check the alignment between the mag extension and the mag tube.
The other issue I had was the LOP. It's a little long for me. Need to shorten it at least an inch to shoulder it comfortably, more than an inch to shoulder it with thick clothing. I've researched stock options and I see the limiting factor is the recoil spring and tube that extends into the stock. It looks like the only shorter option is the Mesa Tactical "Urbino" stock. Kind of disappointing since I was hoping to be getting into a shotgun that had good aftermarket following. I also would have expected Mossberg to do the engineering required to shorten the LOP instead of leaving it to the aftermarket. The M.T. stock looks like a high quality product, but I was hoping for more than just one option.
As of this post, the biggest issue I have with the 930 is the "pusher assembly". To me, the 930's gas system is an odd mix of "NASA" and "Nerf". The piston assembly is a beautiful piece of engineering and manufacturing. In contrast, the "pusher assembly" looks like something I might find inside one of my son's Nerf guns. And from reading other posts, threads and reviews, it does appear that the pusher assembly is the 930's Achilles heel. Just doesn't seem like a good application for a plastic part. I'm surprised nobody has come up with an aftermarket replacement part made out of metal. With that in mind, I plan to keep a close eye on the pusher assembly as I continue to up the round count.
Looking forward to my next shooting session with the 930 SPX. Thanks for reading!
