Mossberg 930: Gunsmith/Engineer/Owner Question

[Jackal1]

Point blank question for professional gunsmiths, mechanical engineers and owners:

Is the Mossberg 930 a good, robust and reliable semi-auto shotgun, or just an inexpensive semiauto? I keep hearing of the polymer pusher assembly cracking and other assorted failures of different types.

I actually really want the 28" field / 18" home defense combo, but I'm wondering if the 930 is a good robust design or not.

 

[Jenrick]

One of the guys at work sold his competition 930 to another guy at work. He has shot the living daylights out if as well, including 100 slugs approximately in about an hour after work one day. Still runs like a top.

-Jenrick

 

[rule303]

Solid, well engineered design. The polymer pusher is common to a lot of autos, and the 930 with dual bars on the pusher assembly should be less likely to fatigue and break than a single bar. My personal 930 has tens of thousands of rounds through it without any parts failures. Most have been 1 oz target loads, with a few thousand 3" steel loads, heavy field loads, and slugs mixed in.

 

[Sam1911]

I haven't voted because I don't really know how I'd vote. Like many auto shotguns out right now, it seems you either get a good one, or you get one that needs stuff. Most of the 930 owners I know haven't had to do much more than open up the loading port with a grinder. (Which isn't critical unless you're going for speed.) A few others have reported sending theirs back to the factory for fixes.

That's a pretty decent showing, compared to some of the competition out there. The Benelli 1301, for example, seems like a total lemon. At least in the circle I shoot with. Multiple unhappy customers there.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I had one. I never got it to run reliably to the point where I would put it in service as a self defense weapon. I sent it back to Mossberg and they did some work on it but I sold it without shooting it again. The proceeds from the sale resulted in my buying another 590A1 (I'm getting multiples of the home defense weapons).

The 930 was fine as a range toy though. I've taken a lot of shotgun classes over the years. The only semi-auto I've seen that has been consistently reliable has been the Benelli M4. Even it needs to be cleaned every 250 rounds or so.

If you want it as a range toy or hunting shotgun I think it is fine. If you want it as your home defense weapon, I would avoid it and go with either a pump or Benelli M4. Again, all based on my personal observations. If you must own one, I'd PM those who say their 930 is utterly reliable and offer them a premium over the used price.