Mossberg 930 SPX Tactical: First Impressions

The Mossberg 930 SPX Tactical has several factory features which make it a great combat shotgun right out of the box. An LPA Fiber Optic front sight with Ghost Ring rear sight was a pretty big selling point for me. The red fiber optic front sight is adjustable for elevation and shows up well in daylight; the rear sight is adjustable for both windage and elevation and the click adjustments are well defined and are clearly marked in white. The rear sight is mounted to the receiver on a Picatinny rail, which allows mounting a red dot sight if so desired. Both front and rear sights are protected by metal ears and seem very sturdy.


15 yards

While some semi-auto shotguns are unreliable with Low Recoil Buckshot and Slugs as well as Birdshot, my rudimentary range testing last night found the 930 SPX Tactical 100% reliable out of the box. Prior to any modifications and without cleaning or lubing, I ran 40 rounds of Winchester 7 1/2 Birdshot and 20 rounds of Winchester 2 3/4" 00 Buckshot with no malfunctions whatsoever. While certainly not a torture test, 60 rounds out of the box, without prior cleaning is a pretty good indication of how the gun will run. I suspect that further shooting of mixed ammunition will reveal no issues either. This thing is a beast!


20 yards, Winchester 2 3/4" 00 Buckshot

Operation and controls of the gun are well thought out and user friendly. Being a longtime Remington guy, the tang mounted safety may take a little while to get used to but, my only criticism is that I have to take my hand off the pistol grip to operate it. That wouldn't be a problem if the shotgun had the standard, non-pistol-grip stock. A minor knock at most.


12 yards

As with most gas operated shotguns the 930 SPX Tactical is a soft shooting gun. No matter what loads I’ve fired, so far, it has handled them all with gusto. While recoil with some rounds is obviously more noticeable than others, none were what I would call punishing.

Last night was basically a functioning test and I found the 930 SPX Tactical to be reliable out of the box. The action is extremely smooth and the trigger-pull is quite good. Mossberg claims they set it at 5 lbs. at the factory but mine feels slightly less than that.

My initial impression is that the 930 SPX Tactical is durable and user friendly, at a price that leaves money for ammunition and training.

Good review. Thanks. They're fun to use in action shotgun matches too.

Here's the reason I got one...

CroftonBilly said:

Good review. Thanks. They're fun to use in action shotgun matches too.

Here's the reason I got one...

Click to expand...

My kind of gal! She can come with me to the range and shoot mine any time she wants!

I do not have a 930 but my 590 had the similar low profile safety switch which can be a PITA if you are wearing gloves, hands are wet or sweaty. I would try and get the enhanced safety with the ridge on it.

https://www.brownells.com/shotgun-p...930-935-enhanced-safety-button-prod26966.aspx

jrumann59 said:

I do not have a 930 but my 590 had the similar low profile safety switch which can be a PITA if you are wearing gloves, hands are wet or sweaty. I would try and get the enhanced safety with the ridge on it.

https://www.brownells.com/shotgun-p...930-935-enhanced-safety-button-prod26966.aspx

Click to expand...

Seems worth it for only $20. Mossberg should probably rethink the placement of the safety for shotguns with pistol grips? The tang mounted safety isn't all that practical but, again, it's a minor gripe. I'm very satisfied overall.

Zzzzz_man said:

Seems worth it for only $20. Mossberg should probably rethink the placement of the safety for shotguns with pistol grips? The tang mounted safety isn't all that practical but, again, it's a minor gripe. I'm very satisfied overall.

Click to expand...

Then it would be a remington. lol

Impressive! The sights seem to work well for you. Tight pattern on that buck shot at 20 yards. Regular 00 or Federal flight control?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

fidelity said:

Impressive! The sights seem to work well for you. Tight pattern on that buck shot at 20 yards. Regular 00 or Federal flight control?

Click to expand...

Regular Winchester 2 3/4" 00 Buck.

Nice work! Keep us updated as you get more rounds through it.


-RM, with Benelli M4 taste, 930 budget

rmaybach said:

Nice work! Keep us updated as you get more rounds through it.


-RM, with Benelli M4 taste, 930 budget

Click to expand...

Thanks! The 930 wasn't even on my radar until a friend recommended it as one to consider and so far, I have no serious complaints. It shoots great and holds some decent patterns with Double 00 Buckshot at 20 yards. I think that would be an extremely long shot in any HD situation but it's nice to see its capabilities at that distance. I'm eager to see how it does with slugs.

And I know exactly how you feel with the M4 tastes and 930 money. That fits me too. I had been saving my $ since June and was only a few hundred away from buying a Benelli M4 when I got a bill in the mail that I couldn't blow-off. I still plan to get an M4 but I don't think it'll be any time real soon.

jrumann59 said:

I do not have a 930 but my 590 had the similar low profile safety switch which can be a PITA if you are wearing gloves, hands are wet or sweaty. I would try and get the enhanced safety with the ridge on it.

https://www.brownells.com/shotgun-p...930-935-enhanced-safety-button-prod26966.aspx

Click to expand...

I think I'm also going to pickup one of these for $30.

https://nordiccomp.com/categories/shotgun-barrel-clamp/

A bit surprising that Mossberg doesn't offer it as an accessory. I think it's just a bit of added insurance in case I would either klutz-out and drop it or somehow accidentally knock it off a shooting bench. Been known to happen. It would definitely prevent the mag tube from getting bent.

Lotsa upgrades out there for the 930, that's for sure. I'm just kind of skimming around and looking at different set-ups.

Zzzzz_man said:

I think I'm also going to pickup one of these for $30.

https://nordiccomp.com/categories/shotgun-barrel-clamp/

A bit surprising that Mossberg doesn't offer it as an accessory. I think it's just a bit of added insurance in case I would either klutz-out and drop it or somehow accidentally knock it off a shooting bench. Been known to happen. It would definitely prevent the mag tube from getting bent.

Lotsa upgrades out there for the 930, that's for sure. I'm just kind of skimming around and looking at different set-ups.

Click to expand...

A bit odd considering how much the 590 has in common at.least from the outside.

I see that you are going to Heritage. They have been my go to range myself. I am also interested in the 930 SPX. I was looking at their shotguns for rent and I would have rented one if one is available.

They are a great running shotgun I ran all the junk I could through mine and never had a problem . I did swap the pistol grip stock out for a semi pistol grip though , makes the safety easier to get to and it did make the recoil more manageable not that there is alot to begin with.

Anyone know what they did to improve low pressure reliability? The 930spx (non-tactical model) I have some experience with doesn’t feed ‘birdshot’ reliably.

Minuteman said:

Anyone know what they did to improve low pressure reliability? The 930spx (non-tactical model) I have some experience with doesn’t feed ‘birdshot’ reliably.

Click to expand...

I have shot a few rounds of trap with mine without any issues. I put a 4x power Bushnell banner scope on mine and primarily use it for deer hunting with rifled slugs .

Cool, thx.

Just wondering if they changed anything to make it more reliable to cycle low powered shells. I have issues with some very light loads and even some low recoil birdshot. This is why unless using specific dedicated shells that I know feed 100% reliably in an auto gun for ‘defense’, I prefer a pump.

Cool, thx.

Just wondering if they changed anything to make it more reliable to cycle low powered shells. I have issues with some very light loads and even some low recoil birdshot. This is why unless using specific dedicated shells that I know feed 100% reliably in an auto gun for ‘defense’, I prefer a pump.

dohc97 said:

I see that you are going to Heritage. They have been my go to range myself. I am also interested in the 930 SPX. I was looking at their shotguns for rent and I would have rented one if one is available.

Click to expand...

I live less than five minutes away from Heritage so it's very convenient. I also like that they allow shotguns. Unfortunately, I travel too frequently for my job to get the most out of an annual membership at HTC but, wouldn't hesitate if I were home more often. It's a very nice facility.

I'm just getting back into shotguns after very long and unhealthy obsessions with bolt-action rifles and handguns. I looked at several semi-automatics over a 2-3 month period before deciding to go with the 930 SPX, mainly due to budget considerations and friend who swears-by his 930 as the most reliable shotgun he's ever owned.

I can tell you this much: it's fun to shoot and recoil is noticeably milder than a friend's 500 pump.

rj1974 said:

They are a great running shotgun I ran all the junk I could through mine and never had a problem . I did swap the pistol grip stock out for a semi pistol grip though , makes the safety easier to get to and it did make the recoil more manageable not that there is alot to begin with.

Click to expand...

I agree. Compared to a pump shotgun, the 930 recoils considerably less and that means faster, more accurate follow-up shots. I'm considering 2 3/4" 00 buckshot for HD unless someone convinces me that I should be running 3" loads instead. Target #2 was 4 shots of 9-pellet Winchester 00 Buckshot at 20 yards and it looks like most of it stayed on-target at that distance. I gotta believe it would be pretty effective for close(r) encounters.

Minuteman said:

Anyone know what they did to improve low pressure reliability? The 930spx (non-tactical model) I have some experience with doesn’t feed ‘birdshot’ reliably.

Click to expand...

According to Mossberg, the gas system is 'self adjusting' to the type of load being used. Early runs of 930's had some issues with cycling light field loads but you don't see a whole lot of gripes about it since around 2013. How long have you had yours?

Zzzzz_man said:

I can tell you this much: it's fun to shoot and recoil is noticeably milder than a friend's 500 pump.



I agree. Compared to a pump shotgun, the 930 recoils considerably less and that means faster, more accurate follow-up shots. I'm considering 2 3/4" 00 buckshot for HD unless someone convinces me that I should be running 3" loads instead. Target #2 was 4 shots of 9-pellet Winchester 00 Buckshot at 20 yards and it looks like most of it stayed on-target at that distance. I gotta believe it would be pretty effective for close(r) encounters.

Click to expand...

That would make sense due to some of the energy is used to cycle the loading where as a pump or other non semi-auto forces all the gases down the barrel.