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OR3GUN Marine Spacer Tube - Competition Model

LAZY EYED SNIPER

Overwatch
Global Moderator
Supporter
"Philanthropist"
Have always had issues with most light target ammo in my 930 Tactical.

With the 18.5" barrel, the gas system has an even tougher time properly cycling low recoil and light loads than the SPX models that are notorious for stoppages. It chews through most any HD loads, slugs, buckshot, etc. but when the muzzle velocity drops down into the sub-1300 fps range it quickly becomes a single shot and the bolt has to be manually operated to extract the spent shell. This can be particularly frustrating and has severely limited my use of this shotgun for competitions and club matches, many of which only allow #6 or smaller target shot.

Enter the OR3GUN Marine Spacer Tube...

http://www.or3gun.com/OR3GUN/about_or3gun_marine.htm

For anyone unaware, the good folks at OR3GUN became a site vendor here on the forum a while back and I have followed their progress as several members started using their products. After a few glowing reviews I decided to give it a try in my extraordinarily ammo sensitive 930 Tactical...



Installed the OR3GUN Marine Spacer Tube a few days ago and made it out to the range this morning with an assortment of ammo to put it to the test...





Pictured above from left to right:

1. Federal #8 Target Load - TG12 8
2. Winchester #8 Super Target - TRGT12M8
3. Winchester AA #7.5 Light Target Load - AA127
4. Estate #8 Dove and Quail Load - GTL12XHN 8
5. Remington #8 Gun Club Target Load - GC12L8
6. Rio #8 Target Load - TLT328
7. Rio # 7.5 Game Load - BG2875
8. Rio #8 Elite Target Load - RE328

Detail stripped then thoroughly cleaned and lubed the 930 Tactical last night to start off with a clean slate. These rounds were selected to test based on a personal history of virtually 100% failures in this shotgun with the factory spacer tube. Spent the morning working my way through all 200 rounds...



Took me nearly as long to clean up as it did to run through them...



I shot seven consecutive rounds of each type at roughly one second intervals to start. Next, I loaded the tube with one of each alternating rounds at random and shot using the same cadence. This was repeated until I had shot at least four of every round. After that, I went back to using a single type in a full tube and emptied the tube as fast as I could. Here are my results by ammo type:


1. Federal #8 Target Load, TG12 8 - zero failures




2. Winchester #8 Super Target, TRGT12M8 - 24/25 FTE, 96% failure rate




* These failures were all completely failed extractions. The bolt would only retract about half way back, then re-chamber the spent shell. The shell stop did not disengage and the following round would not enter the receiver.


3. Winchester AA #7.5 Light Target Load, AA127 - zero failures





4. Estate #8 Dove and Quail Load, GTL12XHN 8 - zero failures





5. Remington #8 Gun Club Target Load, GC12L8 - zero failures





6. Rio #8 Target Load, TLT328 - 15/25 FTE, 60% failure rate




* These failures were partially failed extractions. The spent shells were caught between the bolt and chamber (stovepipe) with the following round jammed below them on the lifter.


7. Rio # 7.5 Game Load, BG2875 - 5/25 FTE, 20% failure rate




* Just like the Rio Target Load above, these failures were partially failed extractions. The spent shells were caught between the bolt and chamber (stovepipe) with the following round jammed below them on the lifter.


8. Rio #8 Elite Target Load, RE328 - zero failures





When the smoke cleared and I was out of ammo, the OR3GUN Marine Spacer Tube had yielded a 78% reduction in the number of failures with this selection of ammo in one of the most ammo sensitive 930 models on the market. I consider that a HUGE win, considering I could not use any light target or game loads with the factory part. Now I have an assortment to choose from. The testing will continue and I will post back here on any further findings with additional types of ammo.

@OR3GUN ,

Thank you for this outstanding upgrade. Your time spent on research and development will help countless shooters improve their performance and relieve a LOT of frustration dealing with ammo related stoppages.


If anyone here on the forum is having these issues or on the fence about this product, order an OR3GUN Marine Spacer Tube today. This is hands down the best money I have spent on any part for my 930...
 
Great review LES.

Happy to hear you got your 930 shooting any ammo now.

Kudos to OR3GUN.
 
I was an early adopter of the MST. Love mine. Just about everyone I know that has a 930 has one now. I have 3 now. I luckily didn't have any issues with lighter loads, but did see a few issues with my friends guns, so got one just in case. It's inexpensive insurance in my opinion.

It's also interesting to note the fact that different 930's can have issues with different ammo. My JM Pro runs 100% with anything Winchester I can feed it. Most of my issues were with Federal ammo. I run the 100 round bulk packs that you get at Walmart. And I keep a few Winchester AA 1300fps rounds for spinners
 
Well Done LES. Thanks for spending the time to document your testing and findings. Good info.
 
My local range is a PITA and I do not enjoy shooting there so I do not get out as much as i would like.
 
My JM Pro has also been good to go out of the box with anything I feed it...

95% of JM Pro's run like a champ out of the box. But that 5% can be a huge PITA if you don't know how to fix them. Mine ran 100% until about 1200 rounds through her, and then started having issues. They were easy to fix, but I knew how to fix them.
 
My local range is a PITA and I do not enjoy shooting there so I do not get out as much as i would like.

I fully understand.

I drive just over an hour to get to this range. There are three others within 20 minutes, one of which is five miles from my house, but they cannot compare to facilities at this range. Also every member must go through a background check and an interview process before being voted in by a membership committee, then go through safety orientation and training courses once voted in.

There is no range staff. It is the responsibility of every member to observe and enforce safety rules and practices. It's really developed into a great place to shoot...
 
Same scenario for my range LES ....I drive an hour instead of the ones in the 20 minute range for the facilities, people etc etc...Only on weekends do we have range officers & rest of the week its on whomever is there, long orientation for that reason ..... open 364 days a year too, closed one for our clubs family picnic...
 
Lazy Eyed Sniper, I just saw your report after having been out of town for a few days. Very thorough and informative!

That's great to see that much more of the target load world has been opened up to you as a result of our part. Your findings mirror much of our testing with our early SPX models in attempting to cycle stuff that never would before. We would always like to see everything cycle in our guns, but without reducing the effectiveness of the gun in other roles, it becomes tough to get the really light stuff to run reliably in some of them.

The Winchester Super Target (and even their Super Speed @ a quick 1350 FPS) are anomalies for more than the 930. They use what seems like an even thinner hull than the Winchester Universal (and the same, thin aluminum base). I even have problems with those rounds locking up my pump guns. The hull and base deform when fired and make my Mossberg 500s extremely hard to rack the spent hull out of. The higher the velocity of the Winchester Super series, the harder it is to get out. I have polished the chambers on two of my 500s and it seemed to help a bit, but I have placed that stuff at the very bottom of the stack as a result. If it won't cycle reliably in a pump, I see dim hopes for it in an autoloader. It is great for malfunction clearance practice, however.

Again, excellent write-up!

-William

http://www.OR3GUN.com
 
Thank you Sir.

I really didn't expect much out of the Win. Super Target to be honest, but I figured I'd give it a whirl anyway. A true test is difficult to validate without a control group. I have issues with that stuff out my pumps too. Usually see a lot of rims that get ripped through and I've seen similar occurrence with other thin aluminum bases as well.

In any case, I really couldn't be happier with your product. It truly is the best money I've spent on my 930...
 
95% of JM Pro's run like a champ out of the box. But that 5% can be a huge PITA if you don't know how to fix them. Mine ran 100% until about 1200 rounds through her, and then started having issues. They were easy to fix, but I knew how to fix them.

I would up that to 97% ......and fixing any problems that do arise is no problem for the mechanically inclined .
 
Thanks great info and I've never been a fan of Winchester ammo for any purpose this just confirms my thoughts on the stuff.
 
Fellows, just some thoughts,and some of my experance with my 930 spx BLACKWATER. When I bought the 930, the dealer threw in 5-6 boxes
of amo. In that there was a box of Winchester, low brass # 8 bird shot,my gun did not like the low brass at all. I have found that if I use out of the same box 2.75 or 3.00 in. high brass, then I have no hang ups.
There is a book titled CIVILIAN WARRIORS, BY ERIK PRINCE, FOUNDER,AND FORMER CEO OF BLACKWATER,INC.
BLACKWATER PURPOSE WAS TO BUILD A ELITE TRAINING CENTER FOR MILITARY,AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. ERIK, IS A FORMER NAVY SEAL.
One of his projects was to run tests on the Mossberg 930 spx, under extreme conditions. After that was done then his co name BLACKWATER
WITH A BEAR CLAW, WOULD APPEAR ON THAT VERSION. JUST MY OPENION, THAT GUN COMES OUT OF THE BOX, FOR COMBAT PURPOSE ONLY.
You can take one shell out of the box,and it may be 3 in. long, take another shell out of a different brand and it can be 2 7/8 in. long.
I have never had a hang up with high brass, 3 in. shells. Yes at the range I mix it up, but im really picky what she is loaded with for home work.

COMMENTS PRO AND CON WILL BE APPERICATED, IM HERE TO LEARN ALL I CAN.
THANK YOU
RAMBO
 
old thread ressurection...had to swing back to this as it still pops to the top of most google searches..so I owed a range report myself since I took my time to get around to taking this advice... I had given up on my 930 for anything but slugs/buck..and full brass at that, cause even buck in the cheap Rio or Sparan low brass loads were not running 100%.. was very frustrated with my mossberg purchase..which had already gone back to mossberg for the dreaded stuck lifter problem that is also well known in the marketplace...with the lifter issue corrected, it came down to me wanting to use the gun for clay fun, 3gun, etc...so i finally ordered the OR3 blue tube...after 3 seperate range outings now i can confirm that with proper dram loads..ie Estate at 3.25 dram...the gun is now 100%...dropping down just a hair to brands like Fiocci...I'm back to a jammomatic..but I can certainly make my day work with Estate #8...and yes...this gun was super clean, lubed..breakin has included over 400rds of buck n slug with no change in the guns ability to cycle light loads...until I installed the OR3 tube spacer..that is the only mod I've made and it works for ! thanks to those guys for figuring out how to salvage a gun that I had all but given up on.
 
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