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Hey Calgunners,
I finally got my shotgun out of jail yesterday so I wanted to put a thread together with my first impressions of this gun in case anyone else is considering one. I will update this with a range report as soon as I can get to it. (helping the in-laws move this weekend and it looks like its gonna rain anyway.)
This is my first shotgun and as such I wanted a gun that would fit multiple roles, i.e. home defense and skeet/clays. I do not hunt, but its nice to know that I can if need be. So after reading endless Remington 870 vs Mossberg 500 threads and basically understanding that semi-autos are perceived to be slightly less reliable than pumps, I settled on the Mossberg 930 Field Security Combo. I did like the SPX model, but in the end I decided that it would probably just sit in the safe waiting for the zombies to show up so the combo was the better choice as I have really wanted to get into clays and this would allow me to do that.
This is Mossberg item #85325 and comes with both a 28" ventilated rib barrel with a fiber optic sight and an 18.5" barrel with a plain brass bead.
Some specs from the Mossberg website (which could really use an update as it has some incomplete info): http://www.mossberg.com/products/def...ction=products
GAUGE
12
CHAMBER
3
CAP.
5 (4+1)
BBL LENGTH
28"VENT RIB
18.5" BEAD
SIGHTS
FIBER OPTIC
BEAD
CHOKES
FULL
IMPROVED
MODIFIED
CYLINDER BORE
LENGTH (in.)
48 1/2"
39"
LOP (in.)
14"
DROP AT COMB (in.)
1 1/4"
DROP AT HEEL (in.)
2"
FINISH
Blue
Blue
STOCK
Synthetic (black)
WT. (lbs.)
7 3/4 LBS
7 1/2 LBS
MSRP.
$634.00
I was fortunate enough to find this at Buds which is a great place to buy online. The transaction is very smooth if you have an account already set up with them. Shipped price from Buds was $515. I paid $65 for the transfer at my dealer for a total of $580 out the door which I think is a pretty good deal. I could have saved $20 paying cash but I didn't want to risk it selling out again like it did before as I had been waiting since Christmas for this thing! I'm typically a patient man but strangely not when it comes to guns...I'm sure some of you can relate.
On to the gun:
It comes with several goodies which I think make this a darn good value. It includes a set of Full, Improved, and Modified Accu-chokes, as well as stock spacers that allow you to adjust the vertical position of the stock from 1/4" drop to 3/8" rise to better fit the shooter.
The Package: Gun, extra barrel, spacers, chokes, chamber flag and manuals.
Whenever I get a new firearm, the first thing I do is field strip it, inspect, clean and lube it to get a good feel for it. Then I do it again. I was quite happy with the fairly simple, tool free process to break this gun down. It appears to be well constructed with no play in the parts, but only a true 1000 shell torture test can reveal that to us!
I was also pleasantly surprised by the Fiber Optic sight on the long barrel as it looked like it was a plain bead on the Mossberg website. The only problem with it is that it is slightly turned as if it was a bit over tight, but I think I can adjust that. The 930 is a popular model so I suspect Mossberg is doing all it can to get as many of these out the door. There have been sight issues with the SPX variant as well so I guess Mossberg's QC is not up to the task.
The only other issue I have with this gun is the fact that both barrels have some blueing that has rubbed off. It could just be where they were rubbing in the boxes or the fact that the chokes and spacers where just floating loose in the box. Its not a huge deal, but a new gun should not have this issue as it either left the factory this way or they are not doing a good job of packing these things for shipping. I will contact them to see what they say. Its not worth it to me to ship anything back and will probably just cold blue these spots:
Planned upgrades for it include a 2 round extension from Nordic, neoprene shell carrier for the butt stock, a light and possibly a new front sight for the Security Barrel such as an XS Big Dot. After I shoot a few hundred shells I will do an update on the shooting side of things. As I have read, these are solid, reliable guns that may not be as pretty as the more expensive Big "B" guns but get the job done at a good price.
If you want more info, I would recommend you check out the Mossberg Owners Forum at http://www.mossbergowners.com/index.php which has a subsection devoted to this gun. I would also suggest M24shooter's SPX review at Weapon Evolution for great upgrade suggestions: http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...930-SPX-Review
Let me know what you guys think. As I mentioned, I will follow up with a range report ASAP!
I finally got my shotgun out of jail yesterday so I wanted to put a thread together with my first impressions of this gun in case anyone else is considering one. I will update this with a range report as soon as I can get to it. (helping the in-laws move this weekend and it looks like its gonna rain anyway.)
This is my first shotgun and as such I wanted a gun that would fit multiple roles, i.e. home defense and skeet/clays. I do not hunt, but its nice to know that I can if need be. So after reading endless Remington 870 vs Mossberg 500 threads and basically understanding that semi-autos are perceived to be slightly less reliable than pumps, I settled on the Mossberg 930 Field Security Combo. I did like the SPX model, but in the end I decided that it would probably just sit in the safe waiting for the zombies to show up so the combo was the better choice as I have really wanted to get into clays and this would allow me to do that.
This is Mossberg item #85325 and comes with both a 28" ventilated rib barrel with a fiber optic sight and an 18.5" barrel with a plain brass bead.
Some specs from the Mossberg website (which could really use an update as it has some incomplete info): http://www.mossberg.com/products/def...ction=products
GAUGE
12
CHAMBER
3
CAP.
5 (4+1)
BBL LENGTH
28"VENT RIB
18.5" BEAD
SIGHTS
FIBER OPTIC
BEAD
CHOKES
FULL
IMPROVED
MODIFIED
CYLINDER BORE
LENGTH (in.)
48 1/2"
39"
LOP (in.)
14"
DROP AT COMB (in.)
1 1/4"
DROP AT HEEL (in.)
2"
FINISH
Blue
Blue
STOCK
Synthetic (black)
WT. (lbs.)
7 3/4 LBS
7 1/2 LBS
MSRP.
$634.00
I was fortunate enough to find this at Buds which is a great place to buy online. The transaction is very smooth if you have an account already set up with them. Shipped price from Buds was $515. I paid $65 for the transfer at my dealer for a total of $580 out the door which I think is a pretty good deal. I could have saved $20 paying cash but I didn't want to risk it selling out again like it did before as I had been waiting since Christmas for this thing! I'm typically a patient man but strangely not when it comes to guns...I'm sure some of you can relate.
On to the gun:
It comes with several goodies which I think make this a darn good value. It includes a set of Full, Improved, and Modified Accu-chokes, as well as stock spacers that allow you to adjust the vertical position of the stock from 1/4" drop to 3/8" rise to better fit the shooter.
The Package: Gun, extra barrel, spacers, chokes, chamber flag and manuals.
Whenever I get a new firearm, the first thing I do is field strip it, inspect, clean and lube it to get a good feel for it. Then I do it again. I was quite happy with the fairly simple, tool free process to break this gun down. It appears to be well constructed with no play in the parts, but only a true 1000 shell torture test can reveal that to us!
I was also pleasantly surprised by the Fiber Optic sight on the long barrel as it looked like it was a plain bead on the Mossberg website. The only problem with it is that it is slightly turned as if it was a bit over tight, but I think I can adjust that. The 930 is a popular model so I suspect Mossberg is doing all it can to get as many of these out the door. There have been sight issues with the SPX variant as well so I guess Mossberg's QC is not up to the task.
The only other issue I have with this gun is the fact that both barrels have some blueing that has rubbed off. It could just be where they were rubbing in the boxes or the fact that the chokes and spacers where just floating loose in the box. Its not a huge deal, but a new gun should not have this issue as it either left the factory this way or they are not doing a good job of packing these things for shipping. I will contact them to see what they say. Its not worth it to me to ship anything back and will probably just cold blue these spots:
Planned upgrades for it include a 2 round extension from Nordic, neoprene shell carrier for the butt stock, a light and possibly a new front sight for the Security Barrel such as an XS Big Dot. After I shoot a few hundred shells I will do an update on the shooting side of things. As I have read, these are solid, reliable guns that may not be as pretty as the more expensive Big "B" guns but get the job done at a good price.
If you want more info, I would recommend you check out the Mossberg Owners Forum at http://www.mossbergowners.com/index.php which has a subsection devoted to this gun. I would also suggest M24shooter's SPX review at Weapon Evolution for great upgrade suggestions: http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...930-SPX-Review
Let me know what you guys think. As I mentioned, I will follow up with a range report ASAP!
-- Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun
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