Hi All -
New member here, and new owner of a pistol-grip 930 SPX.
In narrowing my purchase to the Mossberg, I appreciated all the information I was able to glean from the site. So, I just wanted to offer some notes on my experience, in case it might help someone else who’s interested...
I placed an online order for the 930 with Bud’s on June 4th. Bud's shipped the box the next day and UPS got it promptly to my FFL.
Given the issues I’d read about, I considered the online purchase something of a roll of the dice. I just kept it in mind that I might have to reject the 930 if it seemed to be suffering any of the major manufacturing flaws others have talked about.
Once I made it to my FFL’s place, I asked him to hold off preparing any paperwork until I’d had a chance to go over the gun in detail. He had a quiet spot in the back of the shop where I was able to unpack the gun and go down the “QC” checklist, including:
Heavy profile barrel - yep
Third-gen. front site, straight and level - yep
Forearm retainer solid - yep
Magazine extension - straight, no dings or dents - yep
Forearm sling attachment - yep
Round bolt knob - yep
All screws correct in rail - yep
Trigger group not too loose - yep
The manufacturing date listed on the factory shipping box was May 15, 2012, or just about three weeks prior to my order.
With that, I took custody. Back at the house I broke the weapon down and gave it a thorough cleaning.
Measuring the magazine tube spring revealed a length of just over 39”. I’ve had no issues loading seven 2-3/4” shells, using different brands and types of ammunition on hand, including slugs. During disassembly I didn’t note any rough transition areas on the magazine or extension tubes. I do have a Wolff replacement magazine spring on hand, should the need arise.
Three of the screws attaching the rail were fully seated but barely tightened down, almost like they were installed by a kitten. Of the four, only the screw closest to the stock had any thread-lock. Now they’re all tight and thread-locked, of course.
The rear sight ring was centered and the base was installed firmly, but the sight was positioned at the very front of the rail.
When the time came for the 930‘s first range trip, I took along a variety of ammunition in order to see what the gun might like, or not.
Quick summary of those results:
Started with some Fiocchi Exacta Buck Shot - 1325 FPS. Not encouraging -- the rounds were ejecting very weakly, just about dribbling out the ejection port, and I had several FTEs. Sort of concerned at that point.
Shifted to Federal slugs - 1600 FPS. Different story, with all running fine, no issues.
Tried some Fiocchi Dove Loads - 1290 FPS. Trouble again, with multiple FTEs, including two fired shells stuck in the bore. I was able to open the bolt and gently extract those. Both offered slight to moderate resistance, or drag, when being removed by hand.
Next up were some Remington sporting clay shells - 1300 FPS. These were flawless and ran through the gun like silk, with ejected shells landing halfway into the next county.
Finally, some Estate hunting load - 1330 FPS. These worked well, also. I did a fast ammo dump on the last series of eight shells prior to packing up the gun and heading home -- no problems. Except by this time a sore shoulder.
I typically ran each series of shells beginning with a full seven in the magazine. No feeding problems, other than one instance when one Estate shell stuck on the elevator, if I recall correctly.
I seem to recall another fellow reported issues with Winchester shells in his gun. In my case, I had definite extraction issues with both types of Fiocchi rounds (I don't know whether it's true of all Fiocchi rounds, but these were the type with the translucent plastic). On the other hand, the gun definitely can and will run beautifully when fed what it likes.
Since the initial range trip, I’ve broken the gun down again for cleaning, noting no particular wear issues of concern.
I did find the LOP on the long side for me, so I shortened the stock nut and tube and removed the stock spacer, and that’s been a big improvement.
So with that, I’ll keep running rounds through the 930 and avoid Fiocchi, and I might even get out the Dremel and polish the chamber, as per Starfury’s example.
Thanks again to everyone for all the great info on the site!
-----
Edited for a typo
New member here, and new owner of a pistol-grip 930 SPX.
In narrowing my purchase to the Mossberg, I appreciated all the information I was able to glean from the site. So, I just wanted to offer some notes on my experience, in case it might help someone else who’s interested...
I placed an online order for the 930 with Bud’s on June 4th. Bud's shipped the box the next day and UPS got it promptly to my FFL.
Given the issues I’d read about, I considered the online purchase something of a roll of the dice. I just kept it in mind that I might have to reject the 930 if it seemed to be suffering any of the major manufacturing flaws others have talked about.
Once I made it to my FFL’s place, I asked him to hold off preparing any paperwork until I’d had a chance to go over the gun in detail. He had a quiet spot in the back of the shop where I was able to unpack the gun and go down the “QC” checklist, including:
Heavy profile barrel - yep
Third-gen. front site, straight and level - yep
Forearm retainer solid - yep
Magazine extension - straight, no dings or dents - yep
Forearm sling attachment - yep
Round bolt knob - yep
All screws correct in rail - yep
Trigger group not too loose - yep
The manufacturing date listed on the factory shipping box was May 15, 2012, or just about three weeks prior to my order.
With that, I took custody. Back at the house I broke the weapon down and gave it a thorough cleaning.
Measuring the magazine tube spring revealed a length of just over 39”. I’ve had no issues loading seven 2-3/4” shells, using different brands and types of ammunition on hand, including slugs. During disassembly I didn’t note any rough transition areas on the magazine or extension tubes. I do have a Wolff replacement magazine spring on hand, should the need arise.
Three of the screws attaching the rail were fully seated but barely tightened down, almost like they were installed by a kitten. Of the four, only the screw closest to the stock had any thread-lock. Now they’re all tight and thread-locked, of course.
The rear sight ring was centered and the base was installed firmly, but the sight was positioned at the very front of the rail.
When the time came for the 930‘s first range trip, I took along a variety of ammunition in order to see what the gun might like, or not.
Quick summary of those results:
Started with some Fiocchi Exacta Buck Shot - 1325 FPS. Not encouraging -- the rounds were ejecting very weakly, just about dribbling out the ejection port, and I had several FTEs. Sort of concerned at that point.
Shifted to Federal slugs - 1600 FPS. Different story, with all running fine, no issues.
Tried some Fiocchi Dove Loads - 1290 FPS. Trouble again, with multiple FTEs, including two fired shells stuck in the bore. I was able to open the bolt and gently extract those. Both offered slight to moderate resistance, or drag, when being removed by hand.
Next up were some Remington sporting clay shells - 1300 FPS. These were flawless and ran through the gun like silk, with ejected shells landing halfway into the next county.
Finally, some Estate hunting load - 1330 FPS. These worked well, also. I did a fast ammo dump on the last series of eight shells prior to packing up the gun and heading home -- no problems. Except by this time a sore shoulder.
I typically ran each series of shells beginning with a full seven in the magazine. No feeding problems, other than one instance when one Estate shell stuck on the elevator, if I recall correctly.
I seem to recall another fellow reported issues with Winchester shells in his gun. In my case, I had definite extraction issues with both types of Fiocchi rounds (I don't know whether it's true of all Fiocchi rounds, but these were the type with the translucent plastic). On the other hand, the gun definitely can and will run beautifully when fed what it likes.
Since the initial range trip, I’ve broken the gun down again for cleaning, noting no particular wear issues of concern.
I did find the LOP on the long side for me, so I shortened the stock nut and tube and removed the stock spacer, and that’s been a big improvement.
So with that, I’ll keep running rounds through the 930 and avoid Fiocchi, and I might even get out the Dremel and polish the chamber, as per Starfury’s example.
Thanks again to everyone for all the great info on the site!
-----
Edited for a typo
