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{This first post is copy & paste from an old thread on another forum from late 2013, when I first got the gun.}
Thought I’d share my initial impressions of the new shotgun I picked up & mentioned here; a Mossberg 930SPX. Gun is the standard (non-pistol-grip) stocked version, with 18.5” barrel and 7-round tube.
Not my gun; a generic pic of the same model:
![Air gun Trigger Gun barrel Gun accessory Composite material]()
It’s supposed to be able to run all 2¾” and 3” 12-gauge shells, so for initial testing, I dug out several types; birdshot, buckshot, and magnum slugs. The birdshot were generic game loads from Federal & Winchester both (the Federal was very old stuff, the Winchester new), the buckshot was normal 2¾” Sellier & Bellot in both 00 and #4 buck, and the slugs were Brenneke Black Magic magnum. The Black Magic Magnum is an even heavier load than most 3" magnums, with more than 3,000 ft/lbs of power behind the extra-heavy 1 3/8 oz slug. I figured between that load and the birdshot, those should pretty much cover the extreme ends of the spectrum as far as what this gun is ever likely to be fed.
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Seventy-five rounds in all for this first range trip; 50 birdshot, 20 non-magnum buckshot, and 5 magnum slugs.
Short version, it fed, fired, & flung everything fine. Weather was cold at 28 degrees, which I thought might have an impact on functioning with the light loads, but didn’t. Before firing it, I only did a cursory breakdown of the gun at the store to make sure everything was intact and there were no hang-ups or blockages in the action, and then headed to the range straight from the gun shop. I figure to run it without cleaning to see how dirty it gets, and how long it takes before it starts experiencing malfunctions. I tend to do this with new pistols, so why treat this one any different…
The sights are definitely different than I’m used to on a shotgun, but do give a good picture for this kind of gun; basically an AR-style peep rear sight with a fiber-optic front sight that mates up well in the aperture without over-filling it. May change the sights, and may even put a red dot on it as it has a short section of picatinny rail that the rear sight sets on. Haven’t made up my mind yet; figure I’ll see how I get to like the stock sights as they are while I wring it out some over the next few weeks or so, and then make a decision on whether to leave them as they are.
May also make some other changes to it; likely a sidesaddle, as my old 500 has had one for 20+ years and I’ve come to like it. Will definitely put a sling on it. May or may not put a speedfeed stock and/or a small red dot on it; haven’t decided yet on those.
Pro’s:
The short 18.5” barrel. Most shotguns with a >5 capacity in the magazine tend to run barrels more than 20”-21”; in length. This short barrel length keeps the same minimal OAL that I'm used to with the old 500 riot gun, while providing 7+1 capacity. If I want, I can always add a slightly longer barrel & magazine extension, but doubt I will. I like the compact package.
Reduced recoil compared to my old pump gun. The self-loading and reduced recoil of the 930 over the 500 made for much faster follow-up shots, even on the initial outing. As I get more familiar with it, it should get better still.
Small rail section will let me easily put a Sparc, TRS-25, etc on it if I decide to go that route.
Gives me a second 12-gauge firearm. While one of my sons is primarily a shotgun guy, I had only one 12-gauge in my possession; now I have a spare and that's a very good thing imo.
Price; was $150 less than a comparable remington 1100, and more than $500 less than the benelli M4.
Con’s:
The picatinny rail wasn’t completely tight. Had to loctite the screws on it. Not a big deal, but worth noting.
Slow reloading due to the tube feed, but that’s inherent in most normal shotguns whether pump or auto & just something to either accept or not.
The potential for mechanical unreliability, as with any new semiauto. Only time will tell on that; but just as I prefer my semiauto carbines over my lever-action carbines and semiauto pistols over revolvers for defensive use, I see no reason that the same couldn’t hold true of shotguns as well; as long as I take the time & expense to verify that reliability. And I plan to.
{second outing with the gun, back in late 2013 or early 2014}
Second outing - was colder at 23 degrees today, and I only took 50 rounds this time, 25 normal birdshot (remington this tiem just to mix it up) and 25 oddball target loads low recoil, low noise load from Winchester; a load Id never tried before. It’s loaded at almost ridiculously low power levels. Twenty-six grams (0.9 oz) of shot at 980fps; roughly half the muzzle energy of regular birdshot, and one-third the energy of normal 2¾” buckshot.
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The box specifically warns that it won’t cycle a semiauto, but I was curious about it as a worst-case load on the light side & wanted to try some thru the gun.
Short version, Winchester was right; it won’t cycle a semiauto. Ran ten rounds thru it and it never completely cycled the action once. It would move the bolt enough to re-cock the action, but not enough to eject the empty or load a fresh round.
Other than that, it ate the other stuff fine. Only a hundred rounds thru it so far (other than the ten oddball rounds), but no cleaning or lubing, and no hiccups.
Fwiw, the ‘low recoil’ load might be worth considering if I were an apartment dweller using a 12-gauge non-semiauto for home defense. While I’m not as big a fan of birdshot for in-home defense as some are and even though it’s loaded extremely light compared to normal 12-gauge loads, it’d definitely make for faster recovery time between shots, and the fact is it’s still putting out near .44-magnum power levels.
{end of copy & paste from other forum's 2013 posts}
Thought I’d share my initial impressions of the new shotgun I picked up & mentioned here; a Mossberg 930SPX. Gun is the standard (non-pistol-grip) stocked version, with 18.5” barrel and 7-round tube.
Not my gun; a generic pic of the same model:
It’s supposed to be able to run all 2¾” and 3” 12-gauge shells, so for initial testing, I dug out several types; birdshot, buckshot, and magnum slugs. The birdshot were generic game loads from Federal & Winchester both (the Federal was very old stuff, the Winchester new), the buckshot was normal 2¾” Sellier & Bellot in both 00 and #4 buck, and the slugs were Brenneke Black Magic magnum. The Black Magic Magnum is an even heavier load than most 3" magnums, with more than 3,000 ft/lbs of power behind the extra-heavy 1 3/8 oz slug. I figured between that load and the birdshot, those should pretty much cover the extreme ends of the spectrum as far as what this gun is ever likely to be fed.
Seventy-five rounds in all for this first range trip; 50 birdshot, 20 non-magnum buckshot, and 5 magnum slugs.
Short version, it fed, fired, & flung everything fine. Weather was cold at 28 degrees, which I thought might have an impact on functioning with the light loads, but didn’t. Before firing it, I only did a cursory breakdown of the gun at the store to make sure everything was intact and there were no hang-ups or blockages in the action, and then headed to the range straight from the gun shop. I figure to run it without cleaning to see how dirty it gets, and how long it takes before it starts experiencing malfunctions. I tend to do this with new pistols, so why treat this one any different…
The sights are definitely different than I’m used to on a shotgun, but do give a good picture for this kind of gun; basically an AR-style peep rear sight with a fiber-optic front sight that mates up well in the aperture without over-filling it. May change the sights, and may even put a red dot on it as it has a short section of picatinny rail that the rear sight sets on. Haven’t made up my mind yet; figure I’ll see how I get to like the stock sights as they are while I wring it out some over the next few weeks or so, and then make a decision on whether to leave them as they are.
May also make some other changes to it; likely a sidesaddle, as my old 500 has had one for 20+ years and I’ve come to like it. Will definitely put a sling on it. May or may not put a speedfeed stock and/or a small red dot on it; haven’t decided yet on those.
Pro’s:
The short 18.5” barrel. Most shotguns with a >5 capacity in the magazine tend to run barrels more than 20”-21”; in length. This short barrel length keeps the same minimal OAL that I'm used to with the old 500 riot gun, while providing 7+1 capacity. If I want, I can always add a slightly longer barrel & magazine extension, but doubt I will. I like the compact package.
Reduced recoil compared to my old pump gun. The self-loading and reduced recoil of the 930 over the 500 made for much faster follow-up shots, even on the initial outing. As I get more familiar with it, it should get better still.
Small rail section will let me easily put a Sparc, TRS-25, etc on it if I decide to go that route.
Gives me a second 12-gauge firearm. While one of my sons is primarily a shotgun guy, I had only one 12-gauge in my possession; now I have a spare and that's a very good thing imo.
Price; was $150 less than a comparable remington 1100, and more than $500 less than the benelli M4.
Con’s:
The picatinny rail wasn’t completely tight. Had to loctite the screws on it. Not a big deal, but worth noting.
Slow reloading due to the tube feed, but that’s inherent in most normal shotguns whether pump or auto & just something to either accept or not.
The potential for mechanical unreliability, as with any new semiauto. Only time will tell on that; but just as I prefer my semiauto carbines over my lever-action carbines and semiauto pistols over revolvers for defensive use, I see no reason that the same couldn’t hold true of shotguns as well; as long as I take the time & expense to verify that reliability. And I plan to.
{second outing with the gun, back in late 2013 or early 2014}
Second outing - was colder at 23 degrees today, and I only took 50 rounds this time, 25 normal birdshot (remington this tiem just to mix it up) and 25 oddball target loads low recoil, low noise load from Winchester; a load Id never tried before. It’s loaded at almost ridiculously low power levels. Twenty-six grams (0.9 oz) of shot at 980fps; roughly half the muzzle energy of regular birdshot, and one-third the energy of normal 2¾” buckshot.
The box specifically warns that it won’t cycle a semiauto, but I was curious about it as a worst-case load on the light side & wanted to try some thru the gun.
Short version, Winchester was right; it won’t cycle a semiauto. Ran ten rounds thru it and it never completely cycled the action once. It would move the bolt enough to re-cock the action, but not enough to eject the empty or load a fresh round.
Other than that, it ate the other stuff fine. Only a hundred rounds thru it so far (other than the ten oddball rounds), but no cleaning or lubing, and no hiccups.
Fwiw, the ‘low recoil’ load might be worth considering if I were an apartment dweller using a 12-gauge non-semiauto for home defense. While I’m not as big a fan of birdshot for in-home defense as some are and even though it’s loaded extremely light compared to normal 12-gauge loads, it’d definitely make for faster recovery time between shots, and the fact is it’s still putting out near .44-magnum power levels.
{end of copy & paste from other forum's 2013 posts}
