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Mossberg 930 Pro-Series Sporting: first impressions

Called my favorite local dealer on a Friday and had them order the Mossberg 930 Pro-Series Sporting from their distributor. The following Thursday, it arrived and I picked it up Friday. $857 out the door ($799 + tax and call-in). Since the dealer was having a major anniversary sale beginning that morning and there were literally 80-100 people milling about the store, I just wanted to pick up the gun and get the hell out of there. At the counter, I only opened the box for a general inspection to ensure that all components were present, there was no apparent damage, and did a basic function test. Seeming good to go, I closed the box, completed my paperwork, and got the hell outta there. I hate crowds.

When I got home, out into the workshop I went to get the gun on the bench for a thorough inspection and cleaning. The first thing I notice is upon stripping is... it's dirty. I realize that manufacturers test fire their products, but every gun I've ever bought new that was test fired arrived clean. There usually isn't much residue from firing one cartridge, anyway. Not this one. There were burnt carbon 'stains' and residue on the magazine tube, piston, bolt assembly, inner receiver, and trigger assembly. The inside of the barrel and the choke were dirty. Even the ports had residue in them. There were oily/greasy fingerprints on the receiver, barrel, and wood. It looked the same as my other auto-loaders after I do a 100-round day at the club. This was more than a quick wipe down. I had to do a full cleaning, solvent and all. Not necessarily happy about this, but onward I go.

The fit and finish are pretty well done. More than acceptable for an $800 gun and actually a little better than I expected. The only visually obvious of the 'new coatings' is the cerakoted receiver. The boron nitride and 'additional coatings' of the internals are not as apparent, since I do not have and standard 930 parts to do a side by side comparison. The primary point I want to make is that other than the receiver, there is initially nothing that made me say, "Oh, wow! Check out what they did here!" as the marketing literature and web offerings suggest. However, there were no apparent detractors, either. I put a Birchwood Casey shell catcher on the receiver and the double sided adhesive doesn't seem to stick as well to the cerakote, as it does to blued, or nickel receivers. I somewhat expected this and we'll see if it holds and for how long.

Upon reassembly, I began shouldering and getting a feel for the gun. The butt pad is squishy, but firm. The stock fits nicely against my cheek. The pistol grip is comfortable. Out of the box length of pull, cast, and drop seem to fit me quite well. I have not even opened the bag of included shims and washers. When I mount the gun, with my eyes closed, then open them, my visual is right down the center of the rib and the mid bead is just under the muzzle sight, which is a HiViz green. I'll probably switch the front sight to the small, white tube. Although I don't necessarily use sights, it was good to see that my 'instinctive' mounting position put me where I think I need to be, right out of the box. The forend is a bit 'fatter' than I imagined it would be and I didn't care for it the first time I held the gun. However, after handling the gun for a while and doing several practice mounts, I find it to be more than adequate. Not what I would consider perfect for me, but I adapted quickly to how it feels. The strange 'checkering' of the pistol grip and forend aren't bothersome at all, like I thought they may be. It's more of an etching, or texturing, than a checkering.

I lock back the bolt, drop a snap cap into the receiver, then press the bolt release. Everything looks and sounds great. Upon shaking the gun a bit, there are no rattles. Seems a bit odd to be handling a Mossberg, without having the infamous 'Mossberg rattle'. More prevalent in their pumps, I know, but the few Mossberg autos I've shot over the years had the rattles. This thing seems to be tight. Here's where the trouble begins...

I press the safety forward, then pull the trigger to dry fire it against the snap cap. And I keep pulling... and pulling... and pulling. Finally, the trigger breaks at what seemed to be about a 20 pound trigger pull. Hmmmm... Rack the bolt and chamber the snap cap again. Same results. Hmmmm... Rack the bolt, chamber the cap, and move the safety back and forth between 'Safe' and 'Fire'. The detent in the 'Fire' position doesn't seem to stay in place. It moves back slightly, almost as if it has an extra detent. I press and hold the safety in the 'Fire' position and pull the trigger. Bingo! A nice, crisp, 4-5 pound or so trigger pull! Rack the bolt, fidget with the safety, and pull the trigger several more times with the same results, both hard and soft trigger pulls. Something is amiss with the safety.

My first thought was, "It's a target gun and I don't need a safety. I'll just disable it."
That thought was quickly replaced with, "Just take it back to the dealer and have them return it to Mossberg.", which is exactly what I did. The salesmen, store manager, and gunsmith all were aggravated that Mossberg delivered this well anticipated gun with an issue, but we all know it happens. They are sending it back to Mossberg and I am awaiting it's return.

No photos to post, as I was more intent on checking out the gun and forgot entirely about snapping some pics. When it comes back from Mossberg and I check it out again, I'll include some pics.
As they say: To be continued...
 
That's a pretty good shake down and quick review of your initial impressions!

I'll be watching for its return!
 
Good initial review--sorry you are having problems with it. Since I wasn't familiar with the model, I went HERE to check it out. They mention some internals with "additional finishing"--I don't know if added thickness of the coatings could interfere with function...

Welcome aboard, Fart! :)
 
..."Just take it back to the dealer and have them return it to Mossberg.", which is exactly what I did. The salesmen, store manager, and gunsmith all were aggravated that Mossberg delivered this well anticipated gun with an issue, but we all know it happens. They are sending it back to Mossberg and I am awaiting it's return.
Well, that says something great about your dealer if they responded to your concerns that favorably and rapidly. Gold star for them!

Nice and thorough report, MOF. I can't wait for the next episode.
 
Well, that says something great about your dealer if they responded to your concerns that favorably and rapidly. Gold star for them!

I went in there prepared for battle. First the original salesman looked at it, then the floor manager, and finally the shop gunsmith. When the salesman came back and said, "You're not going to like what I have to say...", I thought he was going to tell me there was nothing they would do about it.
However, he followed up with, "This is unacceptable and you're going to be without your gun for a while. We want to send it back to Mossberg."
I was thrilled, because that is exactly what I wanted to happen. It's the right thing to do and they did it. Not much of that these days, so yeah... gold star for them.
Florida Gun Exchange in Ormond Beach, FL
 
Boy, I love stories like that. You got a keeper there with those guys.

[I used to live in Daytona Beach. Good to have you with us, MOF.]
 
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